Other than the meteorological mind games the clouds played with our heads, it turned out to be a beautiful day as we traipsed the jazz fandango well into the night. Ron Netsky knows what I like and immediately insisted I check out Grace, Sophia, and Hulda, The Quebe Sisters. These three fiddle-wielding young women from […]
Jazz Fest
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 2: Daniel reviews Neil Cowley Trio and Durham County Poets
The Neil Cowley Trio doesn’t really play jazz. Yes, all the tell-tale instrumentation is there — piano, upright bass, and drums. But the music itself is more accurately post-jazz: spacious minimalism meets percussive pop piano and driving rock rhythms, resulting in a sound that is alternately introspective and punchy. The British trio delivered on that […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 3: Frank catches Bill Kirchen and reviews Jack Broadbent and John Paul White
< Master blaster of the Telecaster Bill Kirchen literally blew the roof off the joint at Abilene. Okay, it was a tent out back, but we did have liftoff. To show what a beautiful talent this man is: while the gusts of inclemency threatened to jettison the tent again, Kirchen held things down with his […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 1: Daniel reviews Jacob Collier and Gwilym Simcock
English phenomenon Jacob Collier may be the most immensely talented musician I have ever seen live. As hyperbolic as that may sound, the proof was in the first of his two performances at Anthology on Friday. The first thing I noticed about the live performance of the London-based multi-instrumentalist was his irrepressible energy. The 22-year-old […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 1: Ron reviews Roberta Picket, Yggdrasil, and Tierney Sutton
Roberta Piket began her set at Hatch Hall, Friday night, with a kind of call and response between her right hand and her left on the Steinway grand piano. The dialog ranged from sparse melodies answered by blunt chords to lush clusters answered by pounding bass. Eventually all of this morphed into “Monk’s Dream,” the […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 1: Frank reviews Barbra Lica, Joss Stone, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones
Well, the 16th edition of the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival took off its clothes and did a cannonball. The energy in the thick arid air was surprisingly electric; a vibe this strong at Jazz Fests past usually didn’t get this feverish so quickly. It must have been the battle for souls raging on two […]
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Jazz Fest 2017: Music around the fest
If the XRIJF’s more than 320 shows isn’t enough to quench your jazzy thirst, several other Rochester venues not affiliated with festival will host their own performances Friday, June 23, through Saturday, July 1. If you need a break from the Jazz Fest crowds, or want to catch one more show late night, keep an […]
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Jazz Fest 2017: What’s FREE at the fest
If you want to see live jazz but don’t want to shell out the extra cash for a Club Pass, the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest will feature around 100 shows across the nine-day event that are free of charge. Everyone likes free stuff, though, so be sure to get there early — good vibes […]
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Jazz Fest 2017: Meet the writers covering the XRIJF
Ron Netsky My real job is Chairman of the Art Department at Nazareth College and my main work is in the field of printmaking, but I love music and I’ve been writing about jazz for CITY since the 1990’s. Late-June is one of my favorite times of the year, a chance to indulge in great […]
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[Updated] Jazz Fest announces 2017 lineup
With the headlining acts already announced, the Xerox Rochester International Festival’s bigwigs filled in the remaining blanks with the what’s what of who’s coming to town for the festival’s 16th edition. The 2017 XRIJF takes place Friday, June 23, through Saturday, July 1, in and around Rochester’s downtown. There are a few past Jazz Fest […]
