Cecile McLorin Salvant had been singing the songs of the early 20th century for her entire set at Kilbourn Hall Friday night. But for her final tune, she decided to step right back into that era. With all the microphones turned off, she launched into a totally acoustic rendition of Bessie Smith’s “Blue Spirit Blues.” […]
Rochester International Jazz Festival
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 1: Frank reviews Diana Krall, David Gibson’s “Boom,” and Mavericks
I’ve debated for years whether Diana Krall’s poker face was out of boredom or the fact the chick is pretty damn cool. Krall’s 4 p.m. matinee at Kodak Hall? Boredom. She was rather unfocused and bored. Now in her defense, the sold-out crowd was a cadaver convention and it’s hard to vibe off a bunch […]
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Jazz Fest 2015: Meet City’s jazz bloggers
Ron Netsky This year’s Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival opens with one of my favorite artists from last year’s XRIJF, Cecile McLorinSalvant. If you haven’t heard this wonderfully expressive singer, come to Kilbourn Hall and you’ll understand why she won DownBeat Magazine’s Critics Poll as Jazz Artist of the Year in 2014. I’m also looking […]
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Raul Midon
When I reached Raul Midon by phone he had just returned from a tour of Europe. With a vocalist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bassist, percussionist, and trumpet player in tow, it could have been a complicated tour. Luckily, all of those musician are the one-man band that is Raul Midon. Midon plays bass, chords, and […]
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Herb Alpert
It’s 9 a.m., Pacific Time when Herb Alpert gave us a jingle-jangle a few weeks ago. He’d been up for hours recording “Whatever pops into my head,” the 80-year-old jazz and pop trumpeter says. “The night before, I woke up and I’m hearing ‘Blue Skies,’ the song Irving Berlin wrote, and all of a sudden […]
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Jane Bunnett
What is it about Afro-Cuban music that makes it the very embodiment of joy? Is it the dance of the exuberant polyrhythms as they weave in and out of one another? Is it the lilting melodies that remain non-perforated and unadulterated by the dominant beats? Just ask Canadian saxophonist and flautist Jane Bunnett, whose love-at-first-sight […]
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Fred Hersch
Growing up in Cincinnati, Fred Hersch noticed that there was a piano in his house, so, at the age of 4, he sat down and started to pick out tunes. That precocious beginning led Hersch to a career as a sideman with greats like Joe Henderson, Stan Getz, and Art Farmer; as a leader on […]
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Sharon Jones
Sharon Jones was scheduled to sing at the 2013 Rochester International Jazz Festival when her career was abruptly put on hold due to a bout with cancer. Consequently, the following feature article was also put on hold. After treatment, Jones is back fronting the Dap Kings and is now scheduled to play at this year’s festival, so we wanted […]
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Ingrid Jensen
If instruments have personalities, trumpet has to be the most audacious and in your face. Maybe that’s why not many budding female musicians are handed one. But that’s not the way it was in Ingrid Jensen’s family. Her mom played piano and loved traditional jazz, so growing up in the late-1970’s, Jensen was given a […]
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Jazz Fest 2014, Day 5: Ron reviews Louis Hayes & The Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band, Forever Young, and Tessa Souter
I began Tuesday evening in Kilbourn Hall with Louis Hayes & The Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band. I found out later that Hayes had a medical issue and the 10 p.m. show was cancelled. But he seemed fine, if a bit subdued, during the 6 p.m. show. Because Hayes had actually played with the Cannonball Adderley […]
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Jazz Fest 2014, Day 5: Frank reviews The Lustre Kings, dodges the rain, and finds Lucky Peterson
Albany’s The Lustre Kings are a fine example of more than one style of music living together in harmony. Yes, the band offers vintage classics, or a vintage lens which to listen through. But the hillbilly side of the Lustre Kings goes toe to toe with its jazzier/swing side. Generally that equation would equal rockabilly […]
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Jazz Fest 2014, Day 4: Ron reviews Vijay Iyer Trio, Kari Ikonen Trio, and Julian Lage and Nels Cline
Vijay Iyer was clearly relishing his homecoming during his trio’s concert Monday night. It had been a decade since his last XRIJF performance at Max of Eastman Place, and after winning just about every award there is to win in the jazz world, the former Fairport resident was elevated to Kilbourn Hall. His joy clearly […]
