ILLUSTRATION BY MAX SEIFERT
Forget Christmas; for Rochester music lovers, mid-June is the most wonderful time of the year. A big part of that is the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, which brings hundreds of musicians and thousands of fans to the East End for nine days of incredible shows.
This year's festival, running June 11-19, has plenty of star power, from R&B legend Gladys Knight to cutting-edge composer and pianist Herbie Hancock to guitar god Jeff Beck. But make sure those big names don't distract you from noticing some of the exciting up-and-comers, like Russian Tom Waits acolytes Billy's Band, a huge hit at the 2008 edition of the festival.
Choosing between the XRIJF's many quality concerts can be tough work, so City's top jazz writers - Ron Netsky and Frank De Blase - are here to help. Inside City's Jazz Fest Guide you'll find full-length interviews with many of the festival's stars, as well as brief artist descriptions to help you plan the rest of your night. If you need more information, find a complete list of artist bios at rochestercitynewspaper.com, where you'll also find our Jazz Blog June 11-19, with daily dispatches from the festival.
Guides
Although several headliners were announced months ago, the full lineup for the ninth edition of the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival was released Tuesday, March 30. We already knew about Gladys Knight, Herbie Hancock, and Jeff Beck,...
Guides
Below find the full line-up for the 2010 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Specific times and other details will be announced shortly, and look for City's day-by-day breakdown of the festival in the next few weeks. Note that the...
Guides
Adam Niewood Quartet Saxophonist extraordinaire Adam Niewood is the son of Gerry Niewood, who emerged from Rochester in the early 1970's as the versatile reed player in Chuck Mangione's quartet. But don't expect him to be a chip off the old...
Guides
Ticket & Venue Information Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre Series Headliner shows are held in the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St). These are ticketed shows; a Club Pass doesn't work here. Tickets, which range from $55 to $125...
Guides
Friday, June 11 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:30 p.m.: Billy's Band, Harro East Ballroom (Club...
Guides
Gladys Knight is no stranger to anyone who has listened to pop music over the past five decades. In the car, with a radio blaring, who among us has not joined Knight in belting out "Midnight Train To Georgia"? (OK, some of us settle for being...
Guides
Saturday, June 12 2:30 p.m.: Smugtown Stompers, Mary Jemison Riverboat (Free) 3:45 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Smugtown Stompers, Mary Jemison Riverboat (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area...
Guides
We didn't know much about Billy's Band when we piled into Max of Eastman place during the 2008 Rochester International Jazz Festival. We knew the musicians were Russian. We knew they played tunes by Tom Waits. That was about it. But as the...
Guides
Sunday, June 13 2:30 p.m.: Smugtown Stompers, Mary Jemison Riverboat (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Smugtown Stompers, Mary Jemison Riverboat (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area...
Guides
It wasn't just another gig: In January 2009 Christine Ohlman and her band Rebel Montez were invited to play Barack Obama's inaugural ball at the Ritz Carlton in Washington, D.C. After eight years with an administration that couldn't dance, it...
Guides
Monday, June 14 Noon: Alana Miller, Rochester Public Library (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:30 p.m.: Stanley...
Guides
The XRIJF program says that Stanley Jordan will be playing solo, but it might be argued that there will be a duo on the Harro East stage. Jordan is known for using his "touch technique" to play two guitars at once. And on his latest album,...
Guides
Tuesday, June 15 Noon: Matt Valerio, Rochester Public Library (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:30 p.m.: Trombone...
Guides
In the video for Herbie Hancock's 1983 smash hit, "Rockit," everything from mannequins to animal skeletons is in constant motion. The pinnacle of his popular success, the video is also a fitting metaphor for Hancock's career: more than any...
Guides
Wednesday, June 16 Noon: Mike Kaupa, Rochester Public Library (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:30 p.m.:...
Guides
Steve Turre can still recall the day he met Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the blind reed player who changed his life. "I sat in with him when I was 18. We're still friends," Turre says. Kirk died in 1977. Talking by phone from his New York apartment,...
Guides
Thursday, June 17 Noon: Bob Sneider, Rochester Public Library (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:30 p.m.: Pablo...
Guides
Though hard work and demand has placed The Bottle Rockets - the self-proclaimed "best band on the planet" - in some fancier, seated venues as of late, this Festus, Missouri Americana powerhouse is a true-blue American bar band. But whatever the...
Guides
Friday, June 18 Noon: Herb Smith, Rochester Public Library (Free) 2 p.m.: Kids Jazz Jam, Eastman School of Music (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area High School...
Guides
There is a staggering amount of music - righteous, unbelievable, get-on-up, get-down, god-almighty soul music - that would not exist were it not for Booker T. Jones and his legendry group, Booker T. & The M.G.'s. As the house band for...
Guides
Saturday, June 19 3:45 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 4:30 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street Stage (Free) 5:15 p.m.: Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, Jazz Street...
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