Upon hearing Iris Bergcrantz Group (featuring Anders Bergcrantz) at the Lutheran Church, the individual performances stood out immediately. As an ensemble, however, the net effect was more muted. To describe Iris’s pure vocal tone as merely ethereal would be clichรฉd and somewhat misleading. Her voice was also grounded and worldly. At times, the melodies had […]
Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 7: Frank reviews The Wee Trio and Sheryl Crow
The Wee Trio was anything but wee as they filled the Wilder Room Thursday night with hip, bouncy bop. The atmosphere in the room is a tad stiff without music, and it’s still stiff with music. The picture the band painted didn’t entirely color the walls, but I loved it. The trio was equal amounts […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 7: Daniel reviews Phronesis, Jeff Coffin’s In Orbit, and Oskar Stenmark NYC Quartet
As the members of Phronesis made their way to the front of the Christ Church sanctuary for its first set on Thursday night, they looked more like a rock band than a jazz trio. Group leader and double bassist Jasper Hรธiby looked a bit like a lankier, Nordic version of the late, great Kurt Cobain, […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 7: Ron reviews Youn Sun Nah, Manuel Valera, and The Walt Weiskopf Quartet
How did a South Korean singer with a fantastic voice end up on a Rochester, New York, stage singing Tom Waits’ “Jockey Full of Bourbon” with a punk-metal vibe and earn a standing ovation and an encore? That might have been the question on your mind if you had just arrived at the Xerox Rochester […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 6: Daniel reviews Shauli Einav Quartet, Electric Kif, and Klabbes bank
Shauli Einav Quartet’s first set at Max of Eastman Place on Wednesday night was among the more traditional jazz performances I’ve heard at the festival so far. While this isn’t exactly my style, the musicianship was impeccable, and the overall vibe was suave and sexy. An Eastman School of Music alumnus, Einav’s delivery on the […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 6: Ron reviews Charles Pillow Large Ensemble, George Cables, and Ryan Keberle & Catharsis
When jazz aficionados think of Miles Davis and jazz orchestra music, the first thing that comes to mind is a series of recordings Davis made with arranger Gil Evans in the late-1950’s. Wednesday night at Xerox Auditorium, the Charles Pillow Large Ensemble performed something fairly radical: jazz orchestra arrangements of some of Davis’s most controversial […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 6: Frank reviews Tommy Smith, Marcia Ball, and Mavis Staples
As Tommy Smith slowly strode down the aisle in the Lyric Theatre, I got to thinking how I would describe it. I first thought it took on the look and speed of a wedding march. Nope; that would be too happy for what he was playing on his tenor saxophone. How about a funeral march? […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 5: Frank reviews Vanessa Rubin, Postmodern Jukebox, and Hot Club of Cowtown
What a splendiferous, fantastical, and magical evening I had. After Monday morning quarterbacking the night before, and handicapping the upcoming schedule with the JAZZ90.1 jumpin’ jazzperts, I dove right in to Max of Eastman Place once again. This time it was to see Vanessa Rubin. What an absolute joy she was as she sang with […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 5: Daniel reviews Mario Rom’s Interzone and Ole Mathisen’s Floating Points
At The Little Theatre on Tuesday night, the Austrian jazz trio Mario Rom’s Interzonepicked up right where it left off two years ago during its last appearance at XRIJF. Interzone is almost too much fun, if that’s even possible: Lukas Kranzelbinder continues to be one of the most riveting double bassists I’ve seen, and Herbert […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 4: Ron reviews Miguel Zenon, Ikonostasis, and Red Hook Soul
Miguel Zenon let the music do the talking at Kilbourn Hall Monday night as his excellent quartet burned through selections from his latest album, “Tipico.” Zenon was front and center with his saxophone, but the band also boasts one of today’s greatest pianists, Luis Perdomo, and a superb rhythm section with Hans Glawischnig on bass […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 4: Frank reviews Marquis Hill Blacktet and New Breed Brass Band
The Marquis Hill Blacktet got my motor running right tonight with an outasight dose of the bop during the matinee set at Max of Eastman Place. His trumpet zipped and ping-ponged off the walls into a shimmery cascade that was straight from the fridge, dad. Hill traded off liberally to his alto sax man while […]
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Featured Artist: Caravan Palace
Does anyone remember “Hooked on Classics,” a schmaltzy record put out in 1981 by K-Tel that featured a cross section of classical masterpieces set to a driving disco beat? French band Caravan Palace takes a somewhat similar house beat and screws it onto the end of classic swing music. The difference here is that it […]
