City Newspaper Archives - 6/2007
ENTERTAINMENT: '07 Jazz Fest wraps with big numbers
Published by Frank De Blase on Jun 20, 2007
Local cat burglars could have really made out last Saturday night, as it seemed nobody in Rochester was at home. They were all downtown, choking the streets for the last day of the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Jazz Fest organizers estimate that more than 100,000 people attended the nine-day festival, which ran June 8-16 - that's up 20 percent from last year's estimated 80,000.
Like last year, all 2000-2500 Club Passes - which granted access to dozens of performances at multiple venues - sold out before the festival began. New venues like Harro East Ballroom and the international stage at Reformation Lutheran Church were well received, and festival promoters are hinting at a few more being added next year.
This year's line-up was so densely packed it was impossible to catch it all. King Solomon Burke brought down the house at Eastman Theatre. Bettye LaVette burned up the Harro stage with some of the most incendiary soul I've ever heard. Esperanza Spalding knocked me out as she juggled scat and bass lines both cool and sweet. Paul Tillotson's Love Trio drove 'em wild, like I knew it would. Wynton Marsalis gave me a lesson on how the body - when unaware - reacts to the beat, especially when it's primal. Corey Harris kept it rooted in both the jungle and the Delta. And I got to hear Dave Brubeck "Take Five." I'll never, ever forget that.
So what's up for next year, Mr. Nugent?
Article Photos
Bettye LaVette was one of hte highlights of the 2007 RIJF. CREDIT: Frank De Blase
