Music Blog
There are few musicians who can reach back into their repertoire 60 years to find the right tune. But, about two-thirds of the way through his wonderful concert with at the Eastman School of Music's filled-to-capacity Kilbourn Hall Monday night, saxophonist Lee Konitz played his quirky
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Joe Lovano works in so many different settings --- from duo to nonet --- that I wondered which band he would bring to Rochester. When his quintet, US Five, took the stage at Kilbourn Hall Saturday night, it was clear that there would be a great deal of musical dialog
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Every jazz fan knows the story of Pat Martino, the great guitarist who suffered a brain aneurysm in the late 1970's and had to re-learn the guitar from scratch. But until you see and hear him play you don't quite realize how amazing his recovery has been. The audience at
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Monty Alexander is a great pianist, so why did I find his performance at Kilbourn Hall Thursday night so lacking? In the opening tune he cut a wide swath through the history of jazz, touching on ragtime, stride, boogie-woogie, barrelhouse, honky-tonk and bop. But it seemed like he was more
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British singer Tessa Souter is one of my favorite vocalists, but I was a bit concerned that the heavy rain and competition from jazz titan Dave Brubeck might make for a sparse crowd at Christ Church Wednesday night. So, on my way into the late show, I asked the door
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I knew, climbing the stairs to the Xerox Auditorium, that Andrey Razin & Second Approach was likely to be the most unusual group I would hear at this year's jazz festival. All of the music on the band's website is either on the edge or way over it, but that
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When the Stephane Wrembel Trio hit the stage at the new, large Club Pass tent, I thought there might be a sound system problem - an electronic buzz that just wouldn't quit. My son suggested that it might be there on purpose and, sure enough, it was a drone that
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One of those great Jazz Festival moments occurred last night near the end of Joey DeFrancesco's late show at Kilbourn Hall. Moments earlier DeFrancesco had introduced singer Colleen McNabb, who proceeded to delight the audience with a vocal rendition of Bill Evans' "Waltz For Debbie." Then he brought out the festival's
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It must be great to be Smokey Robinson. On stage Friday night at the nearly sold-out Eastman Theatre he seemed to be having at least as good a time as the audience. And when it came to putting on a show, he was everything that last year's soul sensation, Al
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How lucky are we? Last month it was announced that after 36 years, due to the rough economy, New York City would be losing its jazz festival. No summer festival in the Big Apple, but after seven great years, we've still got ours in Rochester. And it's starting with
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The end of the Jazz Festival is not easy. Nine days is a long enough time for a routine to begin to set in. I know I will have to stop myself from thinking about when I should leave for downtown several times tomorrow. Saturday night was about
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With Sam Cooke and Philippe Wynne gone, Al Green is my favorite living male singer. And when he sang at his Eastman Theatre show Friday night he was wonderful. The problem was, he didn't sing enough.He spent a lot of time pandering -- "Rochester!!! Rochester!!!" -- a lot of time
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It was clear from the start that Thursday night was a special one for vibraphonist Joe Locke. Before unleashing his Force of Four, Locke talked about growing up and hearing a lot of great music in Kilbourn Hall. But, he said, this was the first time he would play on
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I began Wednesday night at the Rochester Jazz At The Philharmonic All-Star Jam Session where, every 10 or 15 minutes, the Eastman Theatre stage would be filled by a new configuration of top jazz players. The great pianist Eric Reed would replace the great pianist Cedar Walton. Saxophonist Eric Alexander would
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Trombonist Slide Hampton seemed troubled at the late show Tuesday night at Kilbourn Hall. Before he played a note, he said he was 76 and his technique wasn't what it used to be. He said there were probably young trombonists up front who would catch his mistakes. Still, he
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Miguel Zenon is a great saxophonist, so it was frustrating to hear his band at Christ Church, where the acoustics (for jazz anyway) are nowhere near the acoustics of the Lutheran Church. Perhaps because it is a cavernous space, there was a strong echo that turned the full band sound
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Of all the guitarists in jazz today, no one exploits more of the language of the electric guitar than John Scofield. Sunday night at Kilbourn Hall he went from classic jazz tone, through distortion, wah-wahs and wails, to electronic loops. And that was just in his first set. Scofield has
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I have seen the headliners at six previous Rochester International Jazz Festivals, so I do not say this lightly: Dee Dee Bridgewater's performance Saturday night at the Eastman Theatre was the best of them all. And it wasn't just her phenomenal voice. Her movement on stage -- African dance and
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Judging by the capacity crowds at all of the Club Pass shows I went to Friday, the 2008 Rochester International Jazz Festival is off to a great start. An even better indicator is the fact that all of the musicians I saw were top notch. Unfortunately, between Norwegian accents, muffled
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The buzz among jazz fans is that this year's model of the Rochester International Jazz Festival could have used a jazz legend --- a Herbie Hancock, an Ahmad Jamal --- to give it that truly great jazz festival vibe. Still, there's a lot to look forward to in the coming nine
