Caught a few songs from Catherine Russell‘s sensational swing set at the Harro East Ballroom before venturing into the Italian microcosm that is the Rochester Club’s “Viva Italia” series to catch the Luca Ciarla Quartet. The band’s sound was edgy and fast with the accordion player wielding the squeezebox as if it were a percussive […]
Jazz Festival
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 3: 78 RPM Big Band, Eivor, Monophonics
My Sunday night at the Jazz Fest was one of extremes. I took in three groups that couldn’t be further apart musically, yet all brought together under banner of this year’s festival. That’s one of the things I enjoy most about the XRIJF, as the festival is really a grab bag filled with new talent […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 2: Yggdrasil, Tom Harrell, Bill Cunliffe
Yggdrasil has played at the LutheranChurch several times at past XRIJFs, but I’ve never taken in a set until Saturday night. I was afraid they might be a little too new-agey for my taste. Instead, I was blown away by not only the talent of all seven members of the group, but also by their […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 2: Esperanza Spalding, Liane Carroll, Danielia Cotton, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings
On Saturday night Liane Carroll mounted the ChristChurch altar — which doubled for a stage – in a fairly understated fashion. I mean, she got up there carrying her purse. What do you suppose she had in there? One thing’s for sure: the lady can certainly carry a tune without a handbag. She has a […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 2: J.M.O.G., Sultans of String, Gerald Clayton
This afternoon I discovered that some idiot (that’d be me) somehow forgot to include a bio for the group J.M.O.G. in City Newspaper’s 2012 Jazz Guide. So I felt obligated to start my Saturday night at the fest by checking out the group’s early show at Xerox Auditorium. The band – an acronym for Jazz […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 1: Tessa Souter, Get the Blessing, Karrin Allyson
You might say that Tessa Souter chooses her collaborators wisely. We’re talking guys like Beethoven, Fauré, and Chopin. Her new album, “Beyond The Blue,” features her lyrics set to some of the greatest melodies ever written, and she sang a lot of them Friday night during her first set at Montage Grill. Even though they […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012, Day 1: Lucio Ferrara Trio, Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra, L’Orkestre des Pas Perdus
The Lucio Ferrara Trio kicked off the 2012 Jazz Festival for me at the Rochester Club. It played soft, slow, romantic jazz, with Ferrara’s guitar playing holding most of the spotlight. His fingers walked up and down the frets, guiding the string bass and drums while each took separate turns at soloing. The trio was […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012: Meet Ron Netsky (Day 1 Preview)
This year’s Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival may not have too many hardcore jazz headliners. But the ClubPass venues are so full of excellent acts, it’s going to be tough to choose what to see on more than a few nights. I’m going to start the festival Friday with one of my favorite artists from […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012: Meet Frank De Blase (Day 1 Preview)
I’m Frank De Blase, and I’m the music writer at City Newspaper. Though I’m thrilled with this year’s Jazz Fest line-up, I’m still holding out for the sleepers, the underdogs, the dark horses. Steve Martin and Trombone Shorty are the odds-on favorites, but you’ll find me digging a little deeper over the next nine days. […]
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JAZZ FEST 2012: Meet Willie Clark (Day 1 preview)
“But if you’re gone during the summer, you’ll miss the Jazz Fest.” Over the past four years that’s what I told many friends and fellow UR students. One of the biggest, and musically best, events in Rochester happens every summer, and as they all left for home or other internships, I always reminded them of […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Going Dutch
Sugar, spice, everything nice, and a tendency to break into cartwheels, song, and dance… that’s what the girls in the after-school double Dutch program at School 30 are made of. And maybe a little more spice than most. A group of about 15 first to fifth graders gather in the School 30 gym at 36 […]
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News briefs 7.31.02
Fountain of youth Brad Welker and Ernest Orlando playing Peter Pan at Seabreeze. Wife, kids, job, foot fungus, life in general got you down? Find yourself praying you won’t wake up in the morning? Baptize yourself in chlorinated redemption and be saved. Water parks can cure your blues and ease the heat. And no […]
