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 […]
review
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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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CD Review: Veronneau “Jazz Samba Project”
There is hardly anything as common in jazz as the inclusion of a bossa nova tune on a vocal album, so what makes “Jazz Samba Project” by Veronneau stand out from the crowd? First, there is the sensual voice of Quebec native Lynn Veronneau, which comes close to rivaling that of the great Astrud Gilberto. […]
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MUSIC BLOG: Lydia Loveless, Scott Biram, Moho Collective, Subsoil, and Roots Collider
Certain guitars beg to be played certain ways. A Gibson J-200 wants to be strummed, while a Les Paul is there to reward your efforts with miles of sustain. You pick up a Gretsch 6120, and you can practically hear it say, “Chicken pick me, fool.” So when Bloodshot beauty Lydia Loveless took to the […]
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MUSIC BLOG: Ray Massa’s EuroRhythms, Henry Prego, Joe Scalissi, and Mitty & the Followers
I dug into my roots (half of them anyway) and spent the weekend at Festa Italia at EdmundLyonPark in East Rochester. Besides the copious amounts of food I consumed, I was there for the music. Ray Massa’s EuroRhythms got things going Friday night as the accordion-driven band from Columbus, Ohio, ping-ponged between traditional Italian and […]
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CONCERT REVIEW: RPO “Pictures at an Exhibition”
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra brought down the house Thursday night for its final program of the season. The strategy of ending with “Pictures at an Exhibition” was brilliant. How can you fail to excite the audience when the final moments of “The Great Gate of Kiev” involve huge, loud sounds, including chimes and drums and […]
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MUSIC BLOG: Dave McGrath, Anonymous Willpower, Amanda Ashley, and Into the Now
Thursday night was the grand opening of the Dinosaur’s upstairs lounge and party room. Well wishers and coattail riders piled into this plush layout while Dave McGrath played the blues and damn near everything else from his perch in the corner. His originals — like my personal favorite, “Mississippi Mud” — held up amongst the […]
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ART REVIEW: “An Astonished Eye: The Art of Kenneth Patchen”
The Rare Books & Special Collections department at the University of Rochester’s Rush Rhees Library has become one of my mainstays for offbeat, educational art exhibitions. Last week it opened yet another of its excellent shows, "An Astonished Eye: The Art of Kenneth Patchen," the largest-ever exhibition of the graphic art of this relatively obscure, […]
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ART REVIEW: Saints, pervs, and St. Paul
Saints & PRVRTS Through April 30 1975 Gallery @ Surface Salon, 658 South Ave 466-4278, 1975ish.com Tue-Thu noon-8 p.m., Fri 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat10 a.m.-4 p.m. The Saint Paul Project Featuring the work of Kurt Ketchum Through April 6 4Walls @ VenuResto-Lounge & Nightclub, 151 St. Paul St. 442-7824, fourwallsartgallery@gmail.com Mon-Sat 8 p.m.-2 a.m. A […]
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REVIEW: “Pride and Prejudice, the New Musical”
It’s akin to found-object assemblage, or maybe sampling, when some imaginative soul takes a piece of literature and fashions it into a stage musical full of songs that the source material never envisioned. And it’s happened numerous times; think of "Les Misérables," "The Phantom of the Opera," and "My Fair Lady," to name just a […]
