Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds will play an acoustic concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, at the Constellation Brands Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua.
Tickets are $75 for reserved seats and $40 for the lawn. They go on sale at 10 a.m....

As I write this, the hard-rocking Methanol is in the capable hands of producer Roy Stein as the quartet chisels out its first full-length album. Besides his years behind the drums with New Math, The Jet Black Berries, and The Atomic Swindlers,...

The 2010 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival is finally here! As if seeing Billy's Band (Harro East Ballroom, 5:30 & 7:15 p.m.) isn't enough, I've got hipster goddaddy Mose Allison (Kilbourn Hall, 6 & 10 p.m.) and blues...

I'll begin the festival by diving right into the fire with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt at Montage Grille (6 & 10 p.m.). Pelt and his band are as hard-driving a hard-bop unit as you'll find at this years XRIJF. Then I'll head over the see Gladys...

After years of presiding over City Newspaper's Jazz Fest coverage, I'm actually joining the fray by getting out there and blogging this year's festival. I've resisted doing so in the past because, frankly, I know next to nothing about jazz music....

I'll be checking out the new tent at Abilene's Roots & Americana Stage - one of the new Jazz Fest venues. Pity I've lost my normal parking spot, but it's worth it for a chance to see Earl Pickens & Family (7:45 & 9:45 p.m.). Then...

My Jazz Fest started off with the early show by the Lynne Arriale Trio at Xerox Auditorium. The set was heavy on original numbers composed by talented pianist Arriale (my favorite was the more melodic "Longing," which succeeded in evoking the...

I'll start with a scoop: Davey Jones 0- yes, that Davey Jones, of The Monkeys -- may sing on Earl PIckens' new children's CD. But it's not quite official yet. Maybe Monday. But still! Earl Pickens & Family really should add the word "Show" to...

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...

It's hard to imagine that I've done this 10 times; stomping around downtown to the direct --- and indirect --- annual blasts of syncopation, sophistication, and elation.
Started things off this year with my pick for the best at 2008's Jazz Fest,...

I had some time to kill before my one and only scheduled show for the night, so I swung by the Jazz Street Stage to catch a set by the Pittsford-Sutherland High School Jazz Ensemble. Since there are literally hundreds of internationally renowned...

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....

I have to say the Pittsford-Sutherland High School Jazz Band didn't sound like a high-school jazz band at all during its set on the Gibbs Street stage. High-school ensembles -- you know, the ones with the meandering time signature and one or two...

When I arrived at Harro East to see Catherine Russell at 5:40, just 10 minutes past the start time, the venue was already full and things were in full swing. And I mean swing, with the brave few already up dancing. I did a double-take when I saw...

I kicked things off Sunday night swingin' like a punch-drunk palooka with The Jack Allen Big Band in the Big Tent. This group is one big wall of suave brass, and Allen makes it move. I think it's all in the reeds --- the saxes to be specific....

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....

It's very strange when an artist is introduced -- whose name is the same as the band -- and she doesn't come out on stage. After a bit of piano into, Viktoria Tolstoy sidled on to the stage at the Lutheran Church Monday night. And yes, there is a...

I walked into the Kodak Hall at 7:30 p.m. Monday to catch the XRIJF-ESM Scholarship Concert, which was listed in the official Jazz Fest guide (and everywhere else) as starting at 8 p.m. But apparently it started at 7 p.m., since the scholarships...

Good day, and welcome to Day 4. I think I'm getting the hang of this now. Started out the evening with Stanley Jordan and the gentle cascade of sparkling notes his unique attack emits. Not only is it lilting and beautiful in its many harmonic...

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...