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 […]
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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: Frank reviews The Willows, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, and Bria Skonberg
Bria Skonberg. Yup, Bria Skonberg. I was just gonna type her name here a few thousand times. But even that would leave a hole that needs explaining. Let’s talk about the music of other artists I witnessed on Monday night first. Angelic splendor The Willows arrived at Max of Eastman Place as if descending on a […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 4: Jeff reviews Enemy and Paa Kow
Embracing the uncomfortable When a band climbs onstage, a trio wearing all black, you will soon discover one truth. There are many shades of black. Cavernous Christ Church can make a band look and sound like trolls scuffling through a shadowy cavern. Enemy overcame that through sheer virtuosity during its first set Monday night 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: Jeff reviews the Campbell Brothers and Circus No. 9
A kind of church Rochester’s sacred-steel gospel stars, the Campbell Brothers, parted ways with the House of God because the Pentecostal church wanted to keep the music within its walls. The Campbells wanted to take the sound to the world. It was a difficult decision for the Campbells, but jazz festivals throughout this country and Europe […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 3: Frank reviews Stefon Harris & Blackout, Over the Rhine, and Michael Winograd & The Honorable Mentshn
In memory of Jack Allen I am dedicating this blog entry and all those to follow this week to the memory of Rochester big band leader and trumpeter Jack Allen. Allen passed away peacefully Saturday. He was 93. Check out this story we did on Allen back in 2005. R.I.P., big daddy. Like a cool […]
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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: Frank reviews Steven Taetz, Patti LaBelle, and Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
My Saturday night was a tale of three singers. During early set from Steven Taetz at Max of Eastman Place, the Toronto-based singer sang and rang like a veritable bell. His tone was pristine and clear as he wove in and out his set of originals and American Songbook classics. Patti LaBelle has vocal range […]
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Jazz Fest 2019, Day 2: Jeff reviews Bill Frisell Trio and Kevin Gordon Trio
Off the top of his head It’s a stunning moment when an artist allows us inside his or her head, to that lifetime-retrospective rattling around in the brain. But that’s what happened during the second show from the Bill Frisell Trio on Saturday night at the Temple Building Theater. This is the 18th Rochester International […]
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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 […]
