Rochester International Jazz Festival

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 […]

Kansas Smitty’s House Band | kansassmittys.com 5:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.: Geva Theatre Center – Wilson Stage | (Straight-ahead jazz) This band is the houseband for a club they own. Jazz justice, huh? According to John Nugent, the group’s so popular you’ll have a hard time getting a seat. The band bops steady with the […]

The music of New Orleans band Cha Wa is a party in itself, a joyful collision of brass band music, funk, soul, and Mardi Gras Indian music and culture. The group is led by singer J’Wan Boudreaux and drummer Joe Gelini, both of whom learned from the preeminent musician Monk Boudreaux, Big Chief of the […]

Acoustic Alchemy | acousticalchemy.co.uk 5:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.: Geva Theatre Center – Wilson Stage | (Smooth jazz) Acoustic Alchemy began innocently enough in the 1980’s with two excellent guitarists knocking out Londoners with their catchy arrangements. After several personnel changes over the decades, Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale continue to perform their guitar magic, […]

Zion Hill Mass Choir 4:30 p.m.: M&T Pavilion – Squeezers Stage | (Gospel) Under the joyous swagger and baton of choir director Paul Boutte, the Zion Hill Mass Choir is the gospel equivalent to a Sherman Tank with salvation on it’s mind. Soulful and powerful to the max. Get saved, get down. (FD) Over the […]

The voices of Krista Deady, Andrea Gregario and Lauren Pedersen are spun gold, blended so well that they come across as one three-tiered voice. The trio known as The Willows makes other vocalists sound like Edith Bunker. It’s simply beautiful as the group goes at its classic jazz with mucho swing. We tracked down the […]

Fred Costello | fredcostello.com 4:30 p.m.| M&T Pavilion – Squeezers Stage | (B-3 organ jazz) Fred Costello may be best known as a sports organist. And indeed, he is so sought after in that role that he has turned down the Yankees, the Mets and several other major league teams. But when he’s not in […]

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 […]

Soul Passenger | soulpassenger.com 4:30 p.m.: M&T Pavilion – Squeezers Stage | (Rock) Yeah, I know it says soul in its moniker, but the band is more of a rock passenger. This quartet brings considerable heat with its mixed set of originals and covers. And it’s what it draws out of its own compositions that […]

When you’re known for being chased by dinosaurs and being turning into a giant fly, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to do the rounds: going on press junkets, shaking babies, kissing hands, and hocking your latest wares — in this case, a jazz recording. Jeff Goldblum, the actor and Hollywood bon vivant found himself on […]