Gene Bertoncini, 4 p.m., George Eastman House

Guitar virtuoso Gene Bertoncini has played in a wide variety of settings, from the television orchestras of Skitch Henderson and Merv Griffin to the Metropolitan Opera House orchestra. He’s accompanied singers as diverse as Bette Midler, Astrud Gilberto, Tony Bennett, and Nancy Wilson, and recorded in small groups with Paul Desmond, Wayne Shorter, Chet Baker, Stanley Turrentine, and many others. While he is unquestionably versatile in his ability to support other musicians, Bertoncini is a masterful band leader, a superb soloist, and not a bad comedian. Expect to hear some of the finest straight-ahead guitar solos of the festival when Bertoncini takes the stage.

For more information on Bertoncini, visit http://www.genebertoncini.com/. (RN)

Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, 4:30 p.m. & 5:15 p.m., Jazz Street Stage

Robin Eubanks EB3, 6 p.m. & 10 p.m., Montage

If you close your eyes during Robin Eubanks’ RIJF performance you might think there are six musicians on the stage. That’s because Eubanks’ trio consist of multi-tasking multi-instrumentalists. Eubanks is well known as a versatile trombone player capable of playing with such disparate musicians as his brother, Kevin Eubanks, Jimmy McGriff, Sun Ra, and Stevie Wonder. Perhaps more than any other trombonist, he has experimented with electronic effects, putting them to effective use on tunes like “Blues For Jimi Hendrix.” Drummer Kenwood Dennard has shared the stage with Dizzy Gillespie, Jaco Pastorius, and Maceo Parker. And keyboard player Orrin Evans has played with Bobby Watson and the Mingus Big Band. In the trio no one stands still for long. Bass and percussion parts shift from player to player as the three musicians maintain a six-man sound.

For more information on Eubanks visit http://www.robineubanks.com/. (RN)

Mamadou Diabate, 6 p.m. & 10 p.m., Kilbourn Hall

West Africa’s Mamadou Diabate plays a kora, a traditional West African instrument that falls somewhere between guitar, piano, and harp mounted on a gourd.

Sitting cross-legged, Diabate plays music that transcends its earthly roots with cascading notes that plink and sparkle. It’s like a beautiful, bigger-than-life music box. It is breathtaking in its musical complexity but simple beauty.

Diabate played the Jazz Fest two years ago and knocked people out, not just with the memorable set but also in the fact it was, frankly, an unexpected departure for a jazz festival. But jazz’s roots do actually run this deep. During his set, Diabate careened into Muddy Waters but was quick to point out that he wasn’t being referential at all; the blues --- and jazz --- come from the same place as his music geographically and spiritually.

This is some of the most gorgeous music you will ever hear.

For more information on Diabate visit http://www.mamadoukora.com/. (FD)

Dave Glasser Quartet, 6 p.m., Club Pass Big Tent

Alto saxophonist Dave Glasser has performed with some of the greatest players in jazz: Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughn, Barry Harris, and Clark Terry, to name a few. As a leader, Glasser keeps the tradition alive with a sound that recalls the melodic shaping of Paul Desmond and the tone of Sonny Stitt. His recent album, Above the Clouds, features sinewy treatments of standards like “In a Sentimental Mood” and “Every Day I Fall in Love.” The CD also showcases Glasser’s compositional abilities on slinky tunes like “A Little Funky,” and the beautiful title track.

For more information on Glasser, visit http://www.daveglasser.com/. (RN)

Eldar, 6:15 p.m. & 10 p.m., Max of Eastman Place

Eldar is so steeped in American jazz that he plays the piano with the style and fluidity of an elder statesman. In reality he is a barely 20-year-old prodigy from Kyrgyzstan. Discovered at the age of 9 at a jazz festival in Novosibirsk, Russia, Eldar has been astounding jazz fans ever since. At the age of 14 he claimed the top prize in the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. At 17 he won the Peter Nero Piano Competition. He’s been living in the United States, absorbing American life, for several years, but it’s still mystifying when he sits down at the piano and channels Art Tatum.

For more information on Eldar, visit http://www.eldarjazz.com/. (RN)

4 Brothers 7, 6:30 p.m. & 10 p.m., High Fidelity

Once you see 4 Brothers 7, the name will begin to make sense. The four brothers are a saxophone quartet led by master saxophonist Frank Tiberi. Tiberi is also the director of the Woody Herman Orchestra, where the “four brothers” concept originated. The other three saxophonists --- festival promoter John Nugent, Larry McKenna, and Mike Brignola --- are Herman alumni. Add a top-notch rhythm section featuring David Berkman (piano), Lynn Seaton (bass), and Matt Wilson (drums), and you’ve got seven. This group is all about fantastic arrangements and passionate solos. While some of the arrangements are Herman adaptations by Brignola, others are new. Especially wonderful is Tiberi’s treatment of John Coltrane’s “Central Park West.” Needless to say, with giants like these, the exciting solos never quit.

For more information on Tiberi and 4 Brothers 7 visit http://www.franktiberi.com/. (RN)

Fred Costello Quartet, 7:15 p.m. & 9:15 p.m., Jazz Street Stage

With a casual elegance and ever-present smile, Fred Costello has got to be Rochester’s king of hipster swing. Costello works the B-3 as if he had four hands. His boogie has accompanied Rochester Red Wings’ balls, strikes, and home runs since 1977. The Amerks skate to Costello’s boogie and battle cries as well. But sports aside, Costello is a top-notch talent who has gigged everywhere, including extended stands in Vegas. (FD)

Midaircondo, 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., Reformation Lutheran Church

If the name Midaircondo conjures up some sort of futuristic world, the group’s music and looks will not disappoint. Midaircondo consists of three young women from Sweden who employ a variety of instruments, voices, and audio and video devices to create the music of the future, and from some other planet. Malin Dahlstrom and the others sing and deploy an endless array of computer sounds; Lisa Nordstrum also plays various flutes and Lisen Rylander plays saxophones. Welcome to the 22nd century.

For more information on Midaircondo visit http://www.midaircondo.com/. (RN)

John Fedchock/Eastman Jazz Ensemble, 8 p.m., Eastman Theatre

Trombonist John Fedchock began his extensive big band career in 1980 when he joined the Woody Herman Orchestra. He not only enhanced the sound of Herman’s “Thundering Herd,” he was also the band’s musical director and a featured soloist. Since then he’s worked with Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band, Louie Bellson’s Big Band, the Bob Belden Ensemble, and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. Today he is the leader of his own “herd,” the 16-piece New York Big Band. Fedchock will be the special guest with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble at the annual RIJF/Eastman School of Music jazz scholarships concert.

For more information on Fedchock, visit http://www.johnfedchock.com/. (RN)

Rik Emmett, 8:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m., Harro East Ballroom

Canadian Rock Hall Of Famer Rik Emmett may be better known for the big guitar sound he produced as a founding member of rock power trio Triumph, but the man digs all over to fully explore the instrument. His album Ipso Facto paid tribute to Wes Montgomery, among others, and he has recorded classical guitar pieces as well. Emmett is essentially a utility player who can enviably play anything, putting the guitar through all the paces in all aspects, be they tone, style, mood.

For more information on Emmett visit http://www.rikemmett.com/. (FD)

Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks, 8:30 p.m. & 10 p.m., Club Pass Big Tent

Tom Waits once said “Dan Hicks is fly, sly, wily, and dry.” Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks swing with a world-weary wisdom that subverts your standard showbiz shill. The Hicks mix is Beat-poet insight with psychedelic musings and a little Django and Wills tossed in. He is a hipster in the extreme.

Hicks is a product of late ’60s San Francisco’s post-folk rock, pre-psychedelic scene. Within this historic musical morph Hicks stood alone with his Tin Pan Alley pre-war jump. Hicks’ subversive slant is a hysterical blend of brows both low and hi, and is just so cool.

For more information on Hicks visit http://www.danhicks.net/. (FD)

Jazz Jam w/Bob Sneider, 10:30 p.m., State Street Bar & Grill

The crowd will grow larger and larger every night as festival-goers catch on to one of the RIJF's best treats. Starting at around 10:30 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza's State Street Bar and Grill, the superb Bob Sneider Trio hosts a rousing jam session. Sneider is a world-class jazz guitarist who has equally top-notch support from Mike Melito on drums and Phil Flanigan on bass. If that's not enough, you never know who will visit the bar and jam after a gig. George Benson, Chris Potter, and Eric Alexander are among the stars who have sat in with the band. So have a wide range of local musicians, from high school students to pros.

For more information on Bob Sneider, visit http://www.bobsneider.com/index.shtml. (RN)

For more information or to buy tickets, visit the Rochester International Jazz Festival website.