This weekend the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival starts swinging, with more acts than you can possibly ever see. With hundreds of live shows at venues around town, the experience can be overwhelming June 8-16. If you're one of those whose jazz appetites are hearty but who need a break from all the live concerts, don't fret; you have several options for entertainment, by way of jazz films, paintings, and drawings being shown at a number of venues during the festival.
The Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House will screen the animated jazz films of Hubley Studios on Sunday, June 10, and Monday, June 11. John Hubley, the creator of Mr. Magoo, was an animator who drew animated films for Disney and other studios, and also produced more personal, artistic work with his wife, Faith. The Dryden will show nine of Hubley's short films, many of them set to the music of jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald. The George Eastman House is located at 900 East Avenue. The program screens both days at 7 p.m.; admission is free. For more information visit www.eastmanhouse.org.
Although not strictly jazz-based, Rochester Contemporary is hosting an innovative, populist exhibition during Jazz Fest titled "Moving Graffiti,"a collection of local music, photography, and film that will projected on an outside wall of the gallery. At press time seven artists had contributed entries, with more reportedly on the way. Check out the outdoor mini-film fest on Jazz Fest weekends, Friday and Saturday, June 8-9 and 15-16, screening 8-11 p.m. on the side of RoCo, 137 East Avenue. For more information visit www.movinggraffiti.com.
Through June 30 The Baobab Cultural Center will show a series of portraits by Italian artist Angela Rossi called "Icons of Jazz." In the paintings Rossi portrays 41 of jazz's most famous faces mid-performance, capturing their intensity with acrylic on plexiglass. Rossi will also give an artist's talk Wednesday, June 13, 7:30 p.m., at Nazareth College's Casa Italiana, and there will be a jazz mixer/champagne party on Saturday, June 16, 10 p.m.-midnight, after the closing of the festival (reservations required, 820-6403). The gallery is located at 789 University Avenue, and is open Wednesday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m. For more information call 563-2145, or visit www.thebaobab.org.
Also on the art tip, The Flat Iron Café will show pen-and-ink jazz drawings by Denise P. Logan during the festival. Her series, "Jazz in Pen and Ink," depicts Jazz titans such as Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday in black and white. The exhibit continues until June 20. The Flat Iron is located at 561 State Street, and is open weekdays 4 p.m.-midnight, weekends 10 a.m.-midnight, with a jazz jam starting at 2 a.m. during the festival. For more information call 454-4830, or visit www.flatironcafe.net.