Last week, on the anniversary of September 11, religious organizations all over the United States commemorated the events of last year with prayer services. But in a modern building in a suburb of Buffalo, a small group gathered for a secular commemoration. The Center for Inquiry in Amherst, with its multiple offshoot organizations and […]
Ron Netsky
Posted inMusic
One-note samba
Caption: Profound statements, profound moves: Gray Mayfield comes of age. Gray Mayfield will never forget the day Wynton Marsalis showed up at his dorm room. “A friend of mine used to study with Wynton. He was always saying, ‘I’m going to contact Wynton and have him come and hear you.’ So, one day, when […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Smokin’ signal
It’s been on the radio dial for 30 years and it’s been playing jazz for more than a decade. But WGMC has just recently found its groove.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Can Rochester handle success?
The buzz had hardly died down from June’s Rochester International Jazz Festival, but festival promoter John Nugent was back in town last week attempting to garner support from business and government leaders for next year’s festival. Over the next few weeks we’ll find out if Rochester’s got what it takes to build a new […]
Posted inMusic
Still pithy after all these years
September 11, anthrax, shoe bombs, dirty bombs — are we depressed yet? Sometimes the only defense against gloom and doom is finding the dark humor where you can. One night, while losing sleep, I tried thinking about what would make the perfect line-up of songs on a compilation album for the apocalypse. There would […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Timeless impressions
Talent is never enough, at least not in the art world. Of course talent’s important, but timing is everything. And if an artist wanted to be noticed, the early 20th century was no time to be doing Rembrandt. Portrait of Life: The Etchings of Arthur William Heintzelman, at the Memorial Art Gallery, showcases the […]
Posted inMusic
Into the future on a high note
If you’re a
jazz fan, you’ve probably seen him playing his trumpet — on the stage of
Hochstein Performance Hall with Jon Faddis, sitting in with Wycliffe Gordon and
Marcus Printup at the Pythodd Jazz Lounge, or at an after-hours jam at the
Crowne Plaza during the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Jump Jim Crow (Part 2 of 2)
Read part 1 from this 2 part series here Slavery was abolished after the Civil War in 1865, but the aftershocks continue to this day. A key chapter in the history of race in the United States took place in the mid 20th century, whenmillions of Blacks migrated north from the segregated South. This two-part […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Jump Jim Crow (Part 1 of 2)
Read part 2 from this 2 part series here Around 1830 in Cincinnati, Dan Rice, a white minstrel who performed in blackface, came upon a small, ragged Black child singing “Jump Jim Crow.” He added the song to his repertoire, and it became a popular part of his performance. Six decades later, the term “Jim […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Questioning the Native American image
Walk through The
Master Prints of Edward S. Curtis at George Eastman House and you will find
beautiful prints with compelling subjects. But beware, you’re not supposed to
like this work too much.
Posted inMusic
Post-bop through hiphop
With dazzling technique and an adventurous spirit that takes his music in uncharted directions, Jason Moran is not content to let jazz stand still. The 27-year-old has recorded three Blue Note albums, the latest of which, Black Stars, was named best jazz recording of 2001 by The New York Times. On Thursday evening, May 9, […]
