Music Blog

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.

For Day 1 of the fest I'm keen on checking out Diana Krall at Kodak Hall to see if she really is as cool as she comes off, or if she's just bored. I'm gonna gawk at the prestidigitatious dexterity of Acoustic Alchemy at Harro East, and end my night with honky-tonk queen/rockabilly filly Rosie Flores at Abilene.

In other words, tonight I'm easing my way into this year's XRIJF like an old man into a warm bath. But tomorrow I'm going to cannonball into the m*****f*****.

To get live updates on City Newspaper's Jazz Festival coverage Like City Newspaper on Facebook or follow us @roccitynews on Twitter.

"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 what they were missing. And I rubbed it in their faces a little bit.

Oddly enough, my first time ever at the Rochester International Jazz Festival was playing on the Jazz Street Stage with my high-school jazz band. I've had fond memories of the festival ever since, be it the music, the food, the community getting together, or moshing during Smash Mouth's "All Star" a few years back. This will be my second year actually covering the festival. This year I'm covering a lot of names that are new to me, but the discovery part of the festival has always been one of my favorite parts.

Musically, I tend to lean more toward the modern and contemporary sides of jazz; loud, fast music that borders on rock is fine by me. Throw in some bluegrass-leaning tendencies and I'm pretty happy as well. Oh, and anything with a tuba in it wins automatically. Nothing beats tuba jazz.

For Friday night I'm set to check out a good mix of groups: the Lucio Ferrara Trio, Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra, and L'Orkestra des Pas Perdus (which does have a tuba).

And I'm really hoping that Bayou Billy's food cart is returning. I've got my collectable mugs still kicking around, and homemade jambalaya and root beer hits the spot every time.

To get live updates on City Newspaper's Jazz Festival coverage Like City Newspaper on Facebook or follow us @roccitynews on Twitter.

The E3 dust may have settled over the Los AngelesConvention Center, but there's hardly time while running around the show to get thoughts down on every game that I played. I've got some notable ones I still wanted to hit, so here's a few more of the big hitters from E3 2012.
"Call of Duty: Black Ops 2″ (Multi-platform)

There was no hands-on demo for the latest entry in the mammoth shooter franchise, but I did get to sit through a walk-through of the single player. The multiplayer was notably missing from the show as well, which hopefully wasn't a bad sign of things to come.

The game looked great running in real-time, but most of the demo was the same as what was shown earlier in the week at Microsoft's conference. They did show off a flight sequence, that was full free control flying, and it was somewhat surreal to see Los Angles falling apart in flames while actually, you know, in LA.

The more interesting mode addition is what they are calling "Strike Force" missions, which will be spread throughout the main levels in the single player. This one took place in Singapore, and combines first person shooting with an RTS like approach. It's actually really interesting, and at least they are trying something to shake up the COD formula.

In the mode you manage the squads of soldiers on the ground while flying above the battlefield, and then can zoom in to take control of units or squads on the ground to get shit done. It allows you to manage several squads at once, and it had a very "Command and Conquer" vibe. Unlike other missions, if you win or lose the game will continue and the storyline will be impacted thusly. It's one of the more unique ideas I've seen in the franchise lately, and it will be interesting how much of a focus they put on it. (Or how many of the levels will actually be included come final release).

"Resident Evil 6″ (Multi-platform)

Zombies are all the rage now it seems, but "Resident Evil" has been doing them since before zombies were cool. My time with 'Resident Evil 6" started off with Leon's story, which opened with a cut scene of him having to shoot the president, now all zombified and rotting and coming after him. It's an intense way to be thrown into the action, and already sets off quite the interesting story line. (Not least of all is who is the Vice President?).

The game looked good, and the engine was making very effective use of lighting and shading to set that "Resident Evil" mood. Some of the other textures in the game still looked a little muddy or grainy, which could have been for effect, but there was also an odd separation blur line that ran through half of my screen at times; but who knows how early this playable build was. The bulk of Leon's mission was sneaking around looking for some annoying lost girl, and I don't think I even got to fire my gun once. But, if Leon's levels are going to be slow-paced back-to-roots survival horror, I'm ok with that.

And I mean, dual wielding Leon? What's to hate there?

I only got a second to check out any of the other characters demos, and got a very brief time with Chris Redfield. It looks like the game may be taking a page out of "Resident Evil: Revelation's" book and having the separate characters each play a little differently: Leon's area felt very much like the survival horror and I was told that Redfield's were a lot more action packed. It's a good way to mix things up, and we'll see how Capcom balances what fans want and expect from a main entry Resident Evil when the game hits this October.

"New Super Mario Bros. 2″ (3DS)

It really is hard for me to get excited for the "New Super Mario Bros." line of Mario games. Nintendo seems to pump them out faster than anything, and this year we are getting two new games in the series, one for the 3DS and one for the Wii U. Aside from the fact that continually calling them 'New' Super Marios Bros. is a redundancy in naming, all of the titles are pretty much the same: Decent platformers that never really break the mold or much new ground. (Though "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" contains one of my favorite Mario levels of all time).

This time around there are a few new wrinkles thrown into the fold: The player is tasked with collecting a million coins. That's right, Mario is all about the gold stuff, and the game is entirely focused upon you collecting as many coins as possible. Coins are all over the levels, and new power ups, such as the gold fire flower, turn you into a shiny gold Mario, big pimping as only Midas can, turning everything around him into coins. It's pretty awesome.

The tanooki suit is also returning, but this time you can actually, you know, fly, so take a moment for some applause there. I also noticed dry versions of goombas, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we've ever seen those before.

Taking a nod from "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" this game is also fully co-op, with two players being able to play through the entire game together, which is an added plus (4 player in NSMBW was a hoot and a half). The 3D effect in the game wasn't really pronounced and didn't add much, but for a 2D platformer you can only expect so much depth of the levels to be there, even with layering.

I'm curious how much of a collectathon the game will become: Nintendo is touting that is will be a long Mario experience, and I could go for a good ol' "Mario 64" style collecting adventure. Either way, hopefully it will satisfy that Mario bone in my body.

The show may be over, but the games aren't. I'll have videos and slideshows on the conference up throughout the next few weeks, and keep an eye to City for continued reviews and coverage of all of your favorite games. Game on.

This was Willie's third year at E3, and he managed to escape the show and take down a few zombies with him, but didn't manage to find a million coins. If you are a zombie and wish to settle the score, Facebook or Twitterare probably the best bets.

When the work of a great artist is released posthumously, there is reason to be wary: Sometimes that incomplete Hemingway novel was tucked away in a drawer for a reason. But when the emerging conductor/arranger Ryan Truesdell discovered a treasure trove of previously unheard arrangements by Gil Evans, there is reason to celebrate. Turns out Evans' cast-offs are better than just about everyone else's best work.

Evans, who is at, or near the top of, everyone's short list of the greatest arrangers in jazz history, was best known for his work with Miles Davis. Their collaboration ranged from the 1949,1950 "Birth of the Cool" sessions to the late 1950's masterworks "Porgy and Bess" and "Sketches of Spain." But Evans did a great deal of work for other artists and produced a significant body of work as a leader.

Truesdell's album begins with the unmistakable sound of an Evans classic. But the tune, "Punjab," never made it on to 1964's "The Individualism of Gil Evans." Truesdell had to do some tweaking to make it work, but his addition of a tabla solo at the start (and tabla throughout) was a brilliant solution on a tune based on Indian folk music.

Truesdell's liner notes provide a vivid sense of the excitement he felt discovering these works. When he was investigating Evans' three arrangements for vocalist Lucy Reed, Reed's son said he'd be happy to send him all four. Four? Well, I don't know how the other three sounded on the original album or why the fourth was not used, but "Smoking My Sad Cigarette" is a not only a great arrangement of a wonderful song (by Don George and Bee Walker), but the version here features a stunning vocal performance by Kate McGarry.

She's just one of the great musicians Truesdell recruited for this inspired project. Romero Lubambo (guitar), Joe Locke (vibraphone), Lewis Nash (drums), Donny McCaslin and Steve Wilson (saxes) and Luciana Souza (vocals) are just a fraction the talent on the CD. Truesdell includes some familiar works in earlier incarnations, but they too are fascinating. "The Maids of Cadiz," well known from "Miles Ahead," is offered here in a looser form, offering fascinating insight into Evans' creative process.

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. Then there is the spirit of the album, an homage of sorts. The members of the group, based in Washington D.C., realized that one of the greatest albums in jazz history, Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz's "Jazz Samba," had been recorded at All Souls Church in Washington in 1962. Once they decided to celebrate the album's fiftieth anniversary, the group began rehearsals at the same church.

Although the CD includes three songs from "Jazz Samba" ­- "E Luxo So," "One Note Samba" and "Samba Triste" - this is by no means just a rehashing of history. In fact, Veronneau ventures outside of bossa nova far enough to nicely cover a Bob Marley tune, "Waiting in Vain." But the group is also respectful of tradition, offering gorgeous renditions of two of Antonio Carlos Jobim's finest songs, "Wave" and "Meditation." The core group, which includes two superb guitarists, Ken Avis and David Rosenblatt, and drummer Pete Walby, is augmented by Jeff Antoniuk on tenor sax, Alejandro Lucini, percussion and Jim McFalls, trombone. Antoniuk only plays on four tunes but his wonderful melodic playing may remind you of the style of a saxophonist named Getz.

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."

• Scott Biram performed at Abilene on Wednesday, June 13. PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE

So when Bloodshot beauty Lydia Loveless took to the Abilene floor on Wednesday, June 13, and strapped on an old Gibson ES-125, I expected some rootsy, bluesy thump and twang; some rural plank-spank. Instead, this abbreviated young lady standing stock-still and statuesque in high heels strummed the hell out of the thing as she sang gentle and urgent. Her upright bass-slapper was a torrent of hair and percussive bottom end, and the duo struck me a lot like Lone Justice or The Del Fuegos -- two roots-rock acts from the 1980's that got filed under punk because Americana hadn't been invented yet. Loveless was captivatingly cool, though her lyrics got plowed under a bit by the loud mix in the tiny room.

Headliner Scott Biram, on the other hand, was heard loud and clear as he howled his homicidal blues through a megaphone and a mic to a by-then-packed house. The man makes crazy a viable option. The set was full-bore, four-on-the-floor rock 'n' roll.

Moho Collective was doing the load-out mambo when I walked into Sticky Lip's Juke Joint Friday night. The joint was jumping and kept up a steady bob and bounce during Subsoil's substrata-shaking hip-hop jams. MCs Mooney and Laz are a thrill to watch as they mug and exaggerate the lyrics like they're in a hip-hop soap opera. I know: we could call it "Days of our Rhymes" or "As the Word Turns." Roots Collider (High Times Magazine's unsigned band of the month) closed out the night, opening its set uncharacteristically slow but still with its trademark weight. Soon it was up to light speed and the dance floor responded in kind. This band can melt your face.

• The Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin tribute show was part of Festa Italia in East Rochester June 9-10. PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE

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 Italian-American favorites. It ain't a party until you hear you some Louis Prima. Or maybe it's just that I really identify with the lyrics to "Just A Gigolo."

The highlight of the weekend had to be the Vegas-style Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin tribute show. Now, it's no mystery how I feel about cover bands and artists. But this was a spectacular, well-researched, well-executed show with the performers successfully blurring the line between themselves and the venerable originals. It was as thorough and spellbinding as the Broadway endeavor "Million Dollar Quartet" that played last fall at the Auditorium Theatre. The personalities were just as important and captivating as the music.

Henry Prego as Frank Sinatra and Joe Scalissi as Dean Martin admirably took on the mannerisms as well as the singing styles of these legendary crooners from their infamous Las Vegas/Rat Pack era. Scalissi in particular remained in character even when offstage, chain-smoking, chain-drinking, and cracking wise. Prego was well-studied in the music's vocal nuances, I got to spend some time with him later that night at Bistro 135, discussing tonal subtleties over chocolate milk between tunes by Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, and Julie London.

But it wasn't all music for the paisans at Festa. On Friday night The Coupe de Villes laid down its hard-driving, nouveau-classic blue boogie a la the Fabulous Thunderbirds, with Tommy Bianchi wringing the sting out of the high notes. Saturday saw Mitty & the Followers cutting a soulful groove into the afternoon heat as guitarist Steve Lyons wrung his guitar's neck as well.

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 every instrument performing a great score, composed by Russian Modest Mussorgsky and arranged by Frenchman Maurice Ravel?

The orchestration for "Pictures" takes full advantage of a wide range of instruments, and is a perfect selection to exploit the enormous talent of the RPO. Certain sections were true reflections of the intended character of the 10 vignettes, particularly "Gnomus," "Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells," "Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle," and "Limoges." The score works its way through 10 sections with a primary theme that comes and goes, modulates into different keys, all but falls apart, and then comes roaring back in the final "The Great Gate of Kiev."

What I have found curious about this work over the years is the surprising variation of tempi selected by conductors and pianists for the "Introduction," wherein the piece's main theme begins. The work is also an important part of piano repertoire, so add that dimension to the opening-tempo debate. The range goes from a fairly stately and regal tempo to the brisk stride used Thursday by conductor Arild Remmereit.

Concerning the opening tempo, my comment is this: when a single piano is being used, there is so much less sound being created, so arguably, the musicians should be able to push through the notes and create the dense and heavy sound without muddle or blur. For the orchestra, especially one that creates as rich a sound as the RPO, I would have been more interested to hear a tempo that reflected its title, "Promenade," allowing the sound to travel through the hall, the way one would take an unhurried walk through a park on a Sunday afternoon.

Starting with a promenade-like approach would allow the entirety of "Pictures" to bring forth a wider range of dynamics more and less than the original promenade, as well as a stronger contrast to the final section, in terms of both tempo and dynamics.

Also, the tempo of "Il vecchio castello" ("The Old Castle") might have been more effective had it been slowed down, to better evoke the footfall of approaching a musty old castle in the shroud of fog. A majestic opening and the slow depth of "Il vecchio castello" would then create the deeper contrast which would really punch the already appropriately brisk sections like "Tuileries" and "Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells." In a piece like "Exhibition," a conductor cannot give enough thought to the inter-relationships of the sections, and the way the theme is strung out across the whole work.

In the first half of Thursday night's program we heard "Caution Ahead - Guard Rail Out" by American composer Margaret Brouwer (b. 1940) and "Two Paths: A Dedication to Mary and Martha" by Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931). These two works made for an interesting pairing, and not just because both were written by living women composers. There was a very distinct, unsettling quality to the works created by arrhythmias, unique sounds like the bowing of the frame of the vibraphone, and a tendency toward the lowest and highest of notes in close proximity.

If you attend Saturday night's concert, in place of the Gubaidulina work there will be a second world premiere of a viola concerto by American composer Olly Wilson (b. 1937). (The Brouwer work on the program was also a world premiere, one commissioned by the RPO.)

This season was Arild Remmereit's first as conductor and music director with the RPO. It has also been a season full of new programming, including Thursday-Saturday concert pairings with different works from one night to the next, Friday night concerts, multiple works by female composers, multiple works by living composers, art shows on concert nights, poetry readings in between performance works, and even a contest to create cover art for programs. Even as the season ends, I would imagine that now the analysis begins as to revenues versus applause, and whether these variations attracted ticket sales and donors.

If I have any parting comment on the season it is this: there shouldn't be an empty seat in the house for RPO concerts. Our philharmonic is an exceptional treasure, and one that deserves the community's support. I will state my case through the words of a friend who got to last night's concert in time to hear the second half: "I will never listen to a recorded version of that piece again - it was so amazing to hear it live!" Amen to that. Now go buy your season tickets for 2012-2013.

The RPO will perform the program again -- with one substitution -- on Saturday, June 2, at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St.) For more information or tickets visit the website.