The Jazz Fest really messes with my sleep schedule. I'm up until at least midnight, and those are the nights I don't hit the nightly jam at the Plaza. And I'm sure I'm not the only one already looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning. Some people I've talked to have made this a stay-cation week, but they also tell me they sleep til 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Some of us still work.

Joe Baione's show at Xerox Auditorium began with the threesome of drums, bass, and piano playing "The Stranger." Baione waited in the wings and entered mid-song for what was to be the first of many walk-on roles. But when he approached the vibraphone and began to pound its keys, it looked like so much fun I wanted one myself. (Maybe the kind that you pull along with a string.) Mid-way through he walked off to the wings, boppin' to the music, including a drum solo that others seemed to like but came way too early in the show for me.

The trio moved into a Milt Jackson tune with a great walking bass solo, then a turn to the piano. A big guy, Baione loomed even larger in a cream suit accented with a tangerine shirt. The jacket shed, he again returned to the stage. For a song introduced as written by the great vibe player, there was little of the vibes being played. It kind of reminded me of the theme from "The Odd Couple."

I gotta say the whole only playing bits of songs and all the coming and going from the wings was a bit strange to me. Never was his playing used as a rhythm instrument, or played as part of the group composition. He was playing the lead, or not at all. And when he wasn't playing he was just hanging out. And checking his cell phone - both in the wings and on stage - was just, I dunno. Rude? He had broken a string. Maybe he was checking on a replacement.

Next up was "Alone Together," and disregarding the stage shenanigans, he was quite fun to watch as he skipped and jumped and thumped. Regardless, I saw quite a few people yawning, closing their eyes and beginning to nod off. But I don't think it was the music, except that it was pleasant enough to doze to. But the songs were long and it has been a long week. I left right before the last song because my lids were getting heavy too. The people who left with me had the same sentiments. Although it sounded good, it was a little too quiet for this late in the fest.