On my way into Kilbourn Hall Saturday night, I passed festival promoter John Nugent in his usual place, checking passes. I asked him how he was doing and he said he'd be better in 20 minutes when he joined the guys inside. Sure enough, when Nugent came out to introduce the group, he had his saxophone with him and when Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen took the stage, they became a formidable, three-tenor front line.

We are so lucky to have Nugent, a fantastic jazz artist himself, running this festival. Of course, he's a great businessman too; I expect the stats on this year's festival to break last year's record (my guess, based on nothing scientific whatsoever, is 150,000). But it's Nugent's intimate knowledge of the music that brings us the incredibly diverse group of superb international artists year after year.

So, it was especially good to watch him having the time of his life on the Kilbourn stage, mixing it up with two of the best saxophonists working today. Actually, it was a mutual admiration society; these guys were even more enthusiastic about each other's solos than the audience was. Nugent had to leave after the spectacular opening tune --- something about a festival to run --- but it was a great moment.

Hamilton and Allen proceeded to play a great set. They are more buttoned down than most of the festival's acts (everyone had a coat and tie - except Nugent) and they are traditionalists, but the tradition is bebop, so it can't be too straight-laced. There were many highlights, but one of my favorite moments came when Hamilton played a beautiful solo version of the classic ballad, "Body and Soul."

Later, at Christ Church, I caught the Dennis Rollins Velocity Trio. Velocity is a fitting term; this is a power trio if there ever was one. I had never seen an organ trio with a trombone in the lead role. It works amazingly well based on the principle that opposites attract.

Rollins is a versatile trombonist, but for much of the time he was the elephant in the room. The wild, unleashed trombone sound proved an excellent contrast to Ross Stanley's organ playing, with its sometimes churchy, sometimes otherworldly sounds. Drummer Pedro Segundo powered the outfit perfectly on drums.

Finally, I ran into some old friends who have been to the XRIJF every year. They insisted this year's festival was the best ever. I don't know about that --- I've loved them all. But, there were some incredible performances. Gladys Knight at the Eastman Theatre, Chuchito Valdes at Montage Grille, Stanley Jordan at Harro East, Gwyneth Herbert at Christ Church, and Joe Locke and Kenny Washington at Kilbourn Hall were among the most memorable for me.