Music Blog
Once in a while a jazz artist will journey backward, exploring the roots of jazz and moving her own music forward in the process. Violinist Regina Carter took the audiences at Kilbourn Hall on that journey with her during two sets of absolutely wonderful music from her new album, "Reverse Thread." As
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My first seven nights of blogging have gone pretty smoothly. Even though it might be 2 a.m., I've found the words to write about every artist I've heard. But that was before I went to the Lutheran Church Friday night to hear Tonbruket play its first gig in the United
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Bill Frisell's "Beautiful Dreamers" started like the universe, with primordial soup. At Kilbourn Hall Thursday night Frisell, violist Eyvind Kang, and drummer Rudy Royston hit a few notes and beats here and there until a combination of them gelled into melodies and rhythms that soon began to multiply. On the first
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Saxophonist and vocalist (should I also say dancer?) Grace Kelly charmed the crowd at Kilbourn Hall with her own kind of variety show Wednesday night. She played straight-ahead jazz and funk, she sang Sarah Vaughan-style and singer-songwriter style and even did a silly little dance with an audience member. And
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Bela Fleck and the Original Flecktones seemed to be having the times of their lives up on the stage at Kodak Hall Tuesday night. Pianist and harmonica player extraordinaire Howard Levy has not been with the group since 1992, and the reunion appeared to be a genuine love fest. Visually and
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The most remarkable performance I heard Monday night was by pianist John Escreet at Christ Church. Most of the audience walked out. Escreet is far from a typical jazz pianist. He is classically trained but instead of interpreting a challenging repertoire, he uses his knowledge and his unbelievable technical skills to
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It was the interplay of organization and wildness that made John Nugent's concert with strings so wonderful Sunday afternoon at Kodak Hall. In Dave Rivello's arrangements the strings served as a lush, beautifully structured counterpoint to the free spirit of Nugent's sax. While the string players were reading their composed parts,
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Listening to the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 you might suddenly hear the notes practically sing out: "There's a place for us." Of course, the concerto was written in the early 19th century, and Leonard Bernstein, let's say, recycled the notes in the mid-20th for his song
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When I left the Natalie Cole concert at Friday night's XRIJF, the first friend I ran into asked, "Was she OK?" Over the past few years when Cole's been in the news it's been about her kidney transplant. And she's spoken honestly about her past drug abuse. So people wonder. But
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The 10th edition of the Rochester International Jazz Festival may be lacking in jazz-giant headliners, but for me it's always been the Club Pass shows that make the festival. This year's model is no exception. I'm looking forward to hearing a wide variety of musicians, from fantastic veterans like octogenarian
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After six years and a couple of not-so-great venues, the Exodus To Jazz series seems to have finally found a home. The Lutheran Church of the Reformation has been the site of the Rochester International Jazz Festival's Scandinavian series since 2007. Turns out the magnificent, open space is perfect for
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On my way into Kilbourn Hall Saturday night, I passed festival promoter John Nugent in his usual place, checking passes. I asked him how he was doing and he said he'd be better in 20 minutes when he joined the guys inside. Sure enough, when Nugent came out to introduce
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Friday was a great night for female vocalists at the XRIJF. The longest lines may have been for Jane Monheit at Kilbourn Hall, but I heard two other great singers. Gwyneth Herbert is an anomaly at the festival, a pop singer/songwriter who kind of harkens back to the 1960's. I
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I got two wonderful lessons about the meaning of music Thursday night. Both involved the inspiration for tunes and the resulting performances. The first was from hometown hero, vibraphonist Joe Locke, at Kilbourn Hall. In the middle of a fabulous set (no one has had more fun playing at the
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Steve Turre wasted no time in getting to the most unusual part of his musical repertoire in his first set at Kilbourn Hall Wednesday night. He set up the theme of his first tune by playing four different conch shells in succession. He found his notes by inserting his hand
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I went to hear Herbie Hancock at the Eastman Theatre's Kodak Hall with high expectations. Over a five-decade career Hancock has done just about everything from straight-ahead jazz to funk. He's written some of the most brilliant tunes in the history of the music, and he's still one of the
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There are few guitarists who can fill a large auditorium like the Harro East with the sound of a full band while sitting alone on the stage. Stanley Jordan did just that Monday night, leaving the audience stunned and wanting more even after his encore. Jordan's touch technique makes it
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Many of the Steinway grand pianos in the Jazz Fest venues are on loan from the Eastman School of Music. They're used to having beautiful Chopin preludes played on them. Some of them have probably forgotten that they are percussion instruments. After Chuchito Valdes' two performances on the Steinway grand
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Let me set the scene. The trumpeter and saxophonist, both playing furiously, are locked in a face-off, slowly moving down the middle aisle of a packed Christ Church. Two other saxophonists are cruising through side aisles, playing counterpoint. The music is bouncing off of flying buttresses in every direction and
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There's no doubt about it: Gladys Knight's still got it. She delivered a high-energy set that had the near-capacity crowd at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on its feet several times Friday night. Backed by a solid six-piece band and four singers, Knight used a narrative about her past
