The language of the piano One of the great things about the Rochester International Jazz Festival is the opportunities it has offered over the years to hear members of the greatest generation of jazz players. Sonny Rollins, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck — they’ve all been here, along with several more legends. Harold Mabern belongs to […]
Ron Netsky
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Album review: ‘Road to the Sun’
Amina Figarova ‘Road to the Sun’ AmFi Records taminafigarova.com On “Road to the Sun,” pianist Amina Figarova explores the possibilities of a little big band, at times combined with a string trio. Born in Azerbaijan, Figarova began as a classical pianist. After studying jazz in Holland, she moved to the United States and studied at […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 4: Ron reviews Cyro Baptista, Adam Ben Ezra, and Kari Ikonen
The beat goes on Cyro Baptista was a combination of Frank Zappa and George Clinton all rolled up into one mad Brazilian percussionist at Geva Theatre Center’s Wilson Stage on Monday night. In a furry yellow hat, Baptista ruled the stage with a table full of objects in front of him. With cymbals to the […]
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Album review: ‘Six of One’
The David Berkman Sextet ‘Six of One’ Palmetto Records davidberkman.com There’s an apt quote from pianist David Berkman’s wife in the liner notes for his new album “Six of One.” She compares the music to a “scramble intersection,” a six-way pedestrian crossing in her native Japan. Organized chaos is a wonderful metaphor for the bold […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 3: Ron reviews Kit Downes, Bill Dobbins, and Jostein Gulbrandsen
Pulling out all the stops Kit Downes played an era-bending concert at Christ Church Sunday evening, creating decidedly 21st-century avant-garde improvisations on a late-Baroque organ. Christ Church is famous for its distinctive Craighead-Saunders Organ, a near-perfect copy of a 1776 organ that was built in East Prussia and now resides in a church in Vilnius, […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 2: Ron reviews Peter Johnstone & Tommy Smith, Gilad Hekselman, and Empirical
Deep resonance There were many great moments in the Tommy Smith & Peter Johnstone concert at Hatch Recital Hall on Saturday, but none of them beat Smith’s solo on Robert Burns’ “My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose.” Smith played the song, written in 1794, on tenor saxophone, but he played it into the […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 1: Ron reviews Leo Richardson Quartet, Girls in Airports, and Janice Friedman
Back to the future If you closed your eyes during a set by the Leo Richardson Quartet at Christ Church Friday night, you could easily imagine that you were back at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, circa 1959. The saxophonist wails, with a muscular and edgy sound that meanders, but to all the right places. The […]
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Jazz Fest interview: Sullivan Fortner
He was born in the birthplace of jazz, but New Orleans native Sullivan Fortner grew up steeped in gospel music. Now a fast-rising star in the jazz world, the pianist will play June 28 and 29 at the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival.
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Feature: Sasha Berliner Quintet
When 20-year-old vibraphonist Sasha Berliner received the call, letting her know that she’d won the 2019 LetterOne RISING STARS Jazz Award, she couldn’t believe it. “It was a surreal moment,” Berliner says. “It seemed too good to be true. I thought, I hope I’m not being scammed. But it was real and it’s another incentive […]
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Profile: Bill Charlap
You might say pianist Bill Charlap was born to play standards. His father, Moose Charlap, was a Broadway composer best known for his iconic musical “Peter Pan.” His mother, singer Sandy Stewart, had a major pop hit with “My Coloring Book” in 1963. In recent years, collaborations with her son have revived her career. Although […]
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Profile: Harold Mabern
When Harold Mabern was growing up in Memphis, he had no ambition to become a jazz pianist. “I didn’t choose it; it chose me,” says Mabern, a self-taught musician. “I don’t know anything about Chopin. I never studied piano. It’s a God-given talent.” Many of the homes in his neighborhood had pianos, and one day […]
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Feature: George Coleman Quartet
In the early 1960’s, after saxophonist George Coleman had earned his way to the top of the jazz world playing with Booker Little, Max Roach and Slide Hampton, he was tapped by Miles Davis to play in one of the greatest quintets in the history of jazz. Coleman recorded four seminal albums with Davis: “Seven […]
