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 emotion of the title), but I actually responded more positively to the group's takes on established songs. To me, that was where the three musicians really seemed the most focused and expressive, and their deconstructions became utterly fascinating.

That was especially the case with the trio's take on The Police's "Wrapped Around Your Finger," the melody instantly recognizable, but twisted and toyed with so that the song went to totally new places. The minor keys and slightly discordant, running notes gave it an almost Middle Eastern flavor at points. The band also did wonderful interpretations of "Ballad of the Sad Young Men," written in response to the AIDS epidemic, and Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia," which ended with such force that an audience member actually shouted out, "Wow!"

My second show of the night was the Stan Tracey Trio's late set at Chris Church's Made in the UK Series. Tracey is known as the "Godfather of British Jazz," and he certainly acted the part of the reserved elder statesman at this show. Tracey played the hell out of his piano with surgical precision, but also with the kind of laid-back ease many of us reserve for pouring a glass of water. He was very generous - I would argue too generous - with the spotlight, giving ample opportunities for soloing to his two trio-mates, percussionist Clark Tracey and Andrew Cleyndert on double bass.

I believe every single song featured a solo by Cleyndert, who is a fantastic musician with nimble fingers and a gorgeous tone to his instrument. But his solos just kept going and going for multiple minutes at a time, which unfortunately killed the momentum in many of the songs. His sonic explorations were interesting, they simply went on too long, at least from my point of view. And I think that was the case for many in the audience too, as a sizable chunk of the crowd got up and left after each song. That's too bad, because when the trio played together the boogie was undeniable. And it was a total pleasure to listen and watch Tracey command the keyboard.

If I'm being honest, the most exciting music I heard all night came from non-Festival-affiliated bands. Between my two shows I wandered past a funky little quartet playing outside the Inn on Broadway, and when I stopped for a drink at Spot Coffee there was this great moody, vaguely experimental trio holding court inside. Both bands had an energy about them that was a refreshing change of pace from the more buttoned-down acts I saw performing on the XRIJF stages, and they just seemed to be happy to be playing music at all. What's more jazz than that?

Saturday night I'll be heading to Michael Kaeshammer at the Montage, and probably something else. Any suggestions?