Eastman School of Music alumna, vocalist, and upright bassist Katie Ernst brought her “Little Words” project — featuring her original compositions set to the poetry of Dorothy Parker — to Max of Eastman Place and the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival on its last day, along with what may have been the most refreshing voice […]
XRIJF 2015
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 9: Frank reviews The Steep Canyon Rangers, GoGo Penguin, and Bobby Henrie & The Goners
Mother nature was a soggy, wet jerk for this year’s final day of the Jazz fest. Armed with my umbrella (which afore mentioned soggy jerk wrecked with a gust of wind) I ventured out into the Shangri-la-di-da one more time. Though I missed Steve Martin’s quips, The Steep Canyon Rangers put on one helluva matinee […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 9: Ron reviews Clifton Anderson Quintet, Champian Fulton, and the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra
When the Clifton Anderson Quintet took the stage at Kilbourn Hall Saturday night, it was a gathering of veteran players. Five of the men had earned their strips with greats like Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Milt Jackson, and others. Only one, pianist Tadataka Unno, was in a younger, 30-something, generation. That made for […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 8: Ron reviews Kurt Rosenwinkel’s New Quartet, Denys Baptiste, and Melissa Aldana
He had played at the XRIJF twice before, so I wasn’t sure what the “New” in Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet was about, but it didn’t take long to find out at Kilbourn Hall Friday night. I knew he had used a small lapel microphone to vocalize with his guitar for years, but Friday he had […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 8: Daniel reviews Emmet Cohen and Duchess
Before New York City-based pianist Emmet Cohen began playing his second set at Hatch Recital Hall on Friday night, he let the audience know it was going to be “loose.” “It’s jazz — if you wanna scream, comment, say ‘boo,’ whatever.” Those present elected to stay quiet and attentive for most of the set, erupting […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 8: Frank reviews The Steve Gadd Band
Gadd-zooks Batman, that Steve Gadd can really beat the tubs. Celebrating his 70th birthday in front of a sold out, hometown crowd, Gadd and his black clad band were greeted enthusiastically and jumped right into a tight and progressive set. Though the audience clearly loved what was going on, the band struck me more as […]
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Jazz Fest, Day 7: Ron reviews Bill Charlap, Obara International, and Stanley Clarke
I began Thursday at the new festival venue which is one of the oldest auditoriums in Rochester. Pianist Bill Charlap played at the Lyric Theatre and, with its gorgeous dome, it is absolutely magnificent. I don’t know about other kinds of musical acts, but for solo piano, the acoustics couldn’t have been better. Charlap is […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 7: Daniel reviews Theo Croker and Mama Corn
When the nearly 30-year-old trumpeter Theo Croker took the stage at Kilbourn Hall on Thursday night, he did so with a group of young professionals both exceedingly vibrant and undeniably mature. It’s hard to imagine five musicians more dialed into one another than Croker and his band — keyboardist Michael King, tenor saxophonist Anthony Ware, […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 7: Frank reviews Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings and Tedeschi Trucks Band
[IMAGE-1] There will be no pictures this evening of Doyle Bramhall II because the cat played in the shadows with no spotlight. Regardless, he sounded great. He was the second loud guitar player on stage in a poncho this week which added to his good, bad, and ugly guitar-slinger mystique. His guitar was an intense, […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 6: Daniel reviews Julia Biel and the High Definition Quartet
British vocalist, guitarist, and pianist Julia Biel and her band brought melancholic jazz-tinged pop songs to Max at Eastman Place on Wednesday night. Amidst her brooding original songs, Biel’s vocal aesthetic was often hushed, intimate, and confessional. Though she clearly has a powerful voice, she never overstated her case, singing with a controlled tone that […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 6: Frank reviews Sonny Knight & The Lakers, Jennifer Hudson, and Dana Fuchs
Sonny Knight was a solid sender at his Harro East Ballroom early set Wednesday night. It was some seriously intense stomp and git-it rhythm and blues. The band took the stage and immediately brought the heat with bass, guitar, drums, organ, and a smoking horn section including the royal rattle, rumble, and honk of the […]
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Jazz Fest 2015, Day 6: Ron reviews the Omer Avital Quintet, Antonio Sanchez & Migration, and Aaron Diehl
The most joyful experience I’ve had so far at the XRIJF was watching and hearing the Omer Avital Quintet Wednesday night at Xerox Auditorium. Part of the reason was that the dancing bassist, Avital, and the other members of his group were clearly having a great time and it was infectious. But it was also […]
