Music Blog

British vocalist, guitarist, and pianist Julia Biel and her band brought melancholic jazz-tinged pop songs to Max at Eastman Place on Wednesday night. Amidst her brooding original songs, Biel's vocal aesthetic was often hushed, intimate, and confessional. Though she clearly has a powerful voice, she never overstated her case, singing with a controlled tone that was somehow both breathy and substantive. Biel's light, almost whimsical approach to intonation and phrasing recalled the idiosyncrasies and innate tunefulness of indie singers like Anaïs Mitchell and Regina Spektor.

Unfortunately, the individual songs did little to separate themselves from another. Virtually all the compositions were mid-tempo or slower, and the monochromatic mood of unrequited love pervaded, resulting in a limited emotional palette.

In addition to the original songs, Biel sang a pretty rendition of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good," but it had no bite, no sense of the struggle amidst darker times since left behind. In this way, the cover song was representative of Biel's entire set: beautiful music ultimately lacking in gravitas.

You can still catch Julia Biel and company at Christ Church at 6:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. today as part of the " Made in the UK" series.

If anything, the Polish ensemble known as the High Definition Quartet was at the other end of the spectrum -- all gravitas and very few traditionally beautiful melodies. Instead, the band took jazz harmonies, textures, and mannerisms and married them to a contemporary classical approach to timbre, structure, and attitude.

The most pertinent example of this hybrid was the exquisite performance of pianist Piotr Orzechowski, whose stunning post-minimalist interludes evoked Terry Riley's "Keyboard Studies" and Timothy Andres's 2010 album "Shy and Mighty." It would have been something to hear Orzechowski perform a solo set at Hatch Recital Hall, but the quartet dynamic provided plenty of opportunity for the pianist, as well as the other members of the ensemble, to shine.

With uncanny chemistry, Orzechowski and the rhythm section displayed astounding speed and precision as tenor saxophonist Mateusz Sliwa condensed the ecstatic energy of jazz into concise, sharp solo phrasing.

For those looking for a more conventional sound, the music was likely too polarizing, as the end of each composition saw handfuls of listeners leave the sanctuary at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation. But the genius of the High Definition Quartet was its fusion of jazz sonorities with avant-garde dissonances. If 20th-century composer Igor Stravinsky were alive today and leading a small jazz ensemble, it would sound like this -- rhythmically precise, harmonically exotic, and far more interested in sound textures than in catchy melodies.

Though it may sound as if the music was highly cerebral, the net result was actually elemental, base, and earthy. The High Definition Quartet exuded viscerality like no other group I've witnessed at the festival this year, and it was a complete surprise. And while Julia Biel's set left me feeling a bit detached emotionally, the quartet's intensity enabled me to connect again.

If I could choose only one venue, the Lutheran Church of the Reformation consistently proves to be the setting for some of the festival's most intriguing and thought-provoking performances. Fortunately, there are still three more days left to go.

• PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE
• Sonny Knight & The Lakers got the crowd moving in Harro East Ballroom.

Sonny Knight was a solid sender at his Harro East Ballroom early set Wednesday night. It was some seriously intense stomp and git-it rhythm and blues. The band took the stage and immediately brought the heat with bass, guitar, drums, organ, and a smoking horn section including the royal rattle, rumble, and honk of the baritone sax. I loved it. Though he can belt like Brown, Knight is more of a soul crooner than a shouter. And croon he did over a set that was segued so tight the band essentially played one song. The emotion poured out of him like the sweat that threatened to drench his neon duds. He held the audience in his hand getting it to jump up and down un-self-consciously. There were car keys and change all over the floor and satisfied smiles for miles. Great tone. Great sound. Great band. I want more ... and I aim to get it, too.

I left all pre-conceived hatred of contemporary pop at the Kodak Hall door as I strolled in with the Tin Man to catch the big show. Well, goddamn; that Jennifer Hudson can belt. And she's as disgusted as I am with current R&B and its vacuous, melody-less meanderings by shitheads masquerading as musicians. And like Herb Alpert questioned as well on the very stage a few days ago, she asked, "Where's the melody?" Well, she answered it with this show. Hudson not only has excellent tone and range to her voice, but her phrasing and brilliant re-working of classic soul and R&B sounds is simply amazing. It seems like I'm on the edge of tears at a lot of these shows lately and Hudson probably came the closest to getting the waterworks flowing with a heartbreaking rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

Back to more soulful blues with a kick in the balls from Dana Fuchs. Fuchs plays classic roadhouse rock 'n' roll. Her second set at the Big Tent stage was low down and dirty. It was as intense as a lap dance from a belt sander. Her voice is righteously raspy and raw and that hair ... I think I'm gonna start crying again. Tito, get me a tissue.

• PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE
• Jennifer Hudson almost brought Frank to tears when she played Kodak Hall Wednesday night.

The most joyful experience I've had so far at the XRIJF was watching and hearing the Omer Avital Quintet Wednesday night at Xerox Auditorium. Part of the reason was that the dancing bassist, Avital, and the other members of his group were clearly having a great time and it was infectious. But it was also because the music they played was simply great.

Avital, who is originally from Israel and now lives in Brooklyn, stirs up a strange brew of styles, including Arabic, Sephardic Jewish, and ancient Andalusian. But he's also obviously heard a few Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers albums because that great 1950's group sound was very much in the mix.

Slideshow Omer Avital -- Jazz Fest 2015

3 slides

Omer Avital -- Jazz Fest 2015

By Jake Clapp

Click to View 3 slides

His all-star group boasted a front line of two of the finest saxophonists playing today: Joel Frahm and Greg Tardy. Every solo was inspired and the camaraderie between them was real. Johnathan Blake was having a great time, and doing a great job, on drums. And Yonatan Avishai was excellent at the piano. The group had an admirable spontaneity to it; they changed course a couple of times in the middle of tunes, pulling it off with signals and the skill it takes to do it.

Avital did not put himself out front. But he was a vibrant presence, constantly moving with his bass in the middle of the group. At the beginning of the final tune he played a long bass solo with such variety and dexterity that it was engaging from start to finish.

Xerox Auditorium was the perfect venue for such a big sound. I was up in the balcony and it was flawless.

‪Earlier in the evening I heard Antonio Sanchez & Migration at Kilbourn Hall. The problem was Sanchez is one of the greatest drummers in jazz and he doesn't hold back. Kilbourn Hall, with acoustics designed to hear a pin drop on stage, is not kind to full-tilt drummers.

Aside from that inherent problem, Sanchez and his group were wonderfully ambitious. The players were first rate with John Escreet on piano; Seamus Blake, saxophone; Matt Brewer, bass; and Thana Alexa, vocals. They played Sanchez's latest composition, the hour-long Meridian Suite.

All of them contributed excellent solos, with Alexa and Blake also shining on some voice and sax unison passages. There was one movement with words but most of Alexa's singing involved the voice as an instrument and she did it beautifully.

After hearing Aaron Diehl at Hatch Hall, it was easy to see why Cecile McLorin Salvant chose him to be her pianist. He is a walking (and playing) encyclopedia of the kind of early jazz she loves to perform. He illustrated the evolution of the jazz piano from its early practitioners like Jelly Roll Morton and Willie "The Lion" Smith up to Duke Ellington and the Modern Jazz Quartet's John Lewis, playing each style beautifully.

I'll be getting an early start Thursday because pianist Bill Charlap is playing at the new venue, 440 East Avenue, in a 4 p.m. concert. Then I'll check out Polish saxophonist Maciej Obara and his group, Obara International, at the Lutheran Church. And then I'll find out if Xerox Auditorium is big enough to handle the thunder of bassist Stanley Clark.

Fred Hersch was so perfectly in command of everything he played at Kilbourn Hall Tuesday night that you would hardly have noticed anything subversive going on. But toward the end of his set I realized that I knew the ballad he was playing very well, but at that moment I didn't know it at all. The same thing happened with the final song. It was a familiar tune by Thelonious Monk, my favorite jazz composer, but I couldn't place it.

So I asked him about the songs after the concert and it turned out he was up to his old masterful tricks. The ballad was "The Song Is You," but it's usually not a ballad; it's an up-tempo tune. And that faster Monk tune? It was "Let's Cool One," but Monk never played it that fast. Hersch is a great re-inventor of songs.

Earlier in the set he'd paid tribute to Monk in another way, playing "Dream of Monk," his own composition that had such an uncanny resemblance, it could easily pass for a newly discovered Monk tune.

Hersch's trio, with John Hebert on bass and Eric McPherson on drums, was as tight a unit as you'll find anywhere. McPherson was especially subtle on the drums, an important factor when playing Kilbourn Hall.

Hersch will be playing a solo show on Wednesday, June 24, 4 p.m., at the Lyric Theatre, 440 East Avenue.

Slideshow Fred Hersch Trio -- Jazz Fest 2015

3 slides

Fred Hersch Trio -- Jazz Fest 2015

By MARK CHAMBERLIN

Click to View 3 slides

I headed over to the Lutheran Church where I heard a fine set by Julia Hulsmann and her excellent trio: Marc Muellbauer on double bass and Heinrich Köbberling, drums. Hulsmann is a deliberate pianist who carves out melodies in her solos; no frills for her. She also honored Thelonious Monk with one of her finest tunes of the night, "Who's Next."

She played one song from her latest album exploring the music of Kurt Weill. The older folks in the audience may have remembered "Alabama Song" from the first album by The Doors. Hulsmann's rendition wasn't as raunchy, but it had its own quirks, including a verse played like a music box cranked a little bit too slowly.

But perhaps her most evocative song was one that she explained was inspired by flower-filled roundabouts. As a child, on a vacation trip to France, she said, she found herself fascinated by them. The song's chorus featured a circular theme. Between choruses she would go on melodic excursions but eventually come to another roundabout, another chorus.

Earlier in the evening I caught most of the set by yet another brilliant pianist, George Colligan, at Hatch Hall. Colligan, who studied trumpet at Peabody Conservatory and serves as a drummer on several albums, is now known for his keyboard prowess.

Before the concert he told me the trumpet was just too hard so he switched to piano and is largely self-taught. Let's just say he's quite a teacher. Colligan played a dazzling set consisting of a 15-minute medley of Billy Strayhorn tunes, another 15 minutes of Kenny Wheeler tunes, and then finally some of his own.

Wednesday night, I'm looking forward to catching a great drummer and his group, Antonio Sanchez & Migration, at Kilbourn Hall. Then I'll head over to Hatch Hall to hear Aaron Diehl, the pianist who was so impressive playing with Cecile McLorin Salvant. And I'll also catch the British group, Troyka, at Christ Church.

• PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE
• Beth Hart opened for Gary Clark Jr. in Kodak Hall on Tuesday, June 23.

I first witnessed the female phenomenon that is Beth Hart at Lollapalooza some 15 years ago when the headliners on the main stage were Metallica, Rancid, Soundgarden, and The Ramones. Tucked away on a little stage among the merchandise was this skinny little hippy girl with cathedral pipes and a throaty wail. Flash forward to last night and Hart is a full-blown, full-grown woman. The pipes are still there along with manic intensity that draws you close then strangles you. This chick is dangerous when she tips her head back and lets fly. Comparisons to Janis Joplin are to be expected, and shouldn't be dismissed. I think Hart is better; I mean when was the last time we've heard something new from Joplin anyway?

Hart played a surprisingly reserved set while warming up the sold out Kodak Hall crowd. It only gave a glimpse every now and then of her sheer power. Songs about addiction and lost love were sung with such conviction and promise that they waxed church-like and tear-jerk. I notice as I get older I'm more susceptible to these outburst of emotion and welled up at the beauty and magnitude more than once. I think it's good for you. Try it and cry. You'll see.

Gary Clark Jr. followed by easing into a set of what is easily to become the next generation of blues thought. He balanced finger style dexterity with long drawn out sustain and sinister low-register riffs that personified murder. Clark is a no frills player and performer prowling about the stage with his Red SG playing exploratory solo patterns without an ounce of fat. It was terse, economical, and bad ass. This is the future, and the future is blue.

• PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE
• Gary Clark Jr. headlined the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival on Tuesday, June 23.

If you blinked on Tuesday night, you might have missed the Austrian trio known as Mario Rom's Interzone, easily one of the most entertaining and scintillating acts at this year's festival. I have yet to hear a group of musicians -- anywhere -- with a more serious sense of play. The band opened its first set at The Little Theatre with "Rise of the Black Centipede" -- already a clue -- and from the outset, with Lukas Kranzelbinder's manic, finger-plucking bass solo, Mario Rom's squealing trumpet, and Herbert Pirker's revelatory rim rolls overflowing with timbral versatility, it was obvious the audience was in for an experience that would be both fun and aurally challenging.

Equipped only with drums, double bass, and trumpet, Interzone's instrumentation is odd for a trio. And yet spatially, the low, rumbling thunder off the rhythm section leaves plenty of room for Rom to cut through with biting articulation. The result is a rare, taut musical atmosphere in which the wonderfully rowdy attitude emanating from Kranzelbinder and Pirker is punctuated by Rom's clarion tone. At times, Interzone sounds like a rambunctious, spastic mini-marching band that has chronic fits of swing.

One of the highlights of Interzone's spellbinding set was the hallucinogenic interlude during "Shooting Wild Bill Edwards," in which lethargic yet ethereal bass glissandi and ambient finger rolls on the drum heads provide the trippy backdrop to cavernous echoes in the trumpet.

Overall, Rom's quiet and unassuming demeanor belies a dynamic musical charisma, his instrument shifting in tone from electrifying and bright to blue and sultry at a moment's notice.

Also, do you remember how I called Nick Anderson (of Stephane Wrembel's band) the most exciting drummer I'd seen at the festival so far? I was wrong. Herbert Pirker is an absolute dynamo, painting with sounds in such a smooth and innovative way that I'm thoroughly convinced that he's explored every sonic possibility on the drums.

This approach is also representative of Interzone as a whole: this is clearly a band in love with sounds, and it's found a way to share that love through songs that are at once wholly accessible and innately avant-garde. No easy feat. Visit mr-interzone.at to see and hear what all my fussing is about.

The solo piano set from George Colligan at Hatch Recital Hall from earlier in the evening was certainly quieter than Interzone's performance, but it wasn't any more subdued. Colligan seemed in perpetual motion, with an irrepressible flurry of momentum carrying him fluidly from note to note and phrase to phrase.

It all felt a bit unwieldy, but the pianist's energy was undeniably potent. Colligan is blessed with a natural feel for the piano keys and an ear for detailed articulation. This sensitivity -- combined with inspired use of rubato and a sophisticated, subtly dissonant chordal vocabulary -- generated intrigue as the pianist offered his interpretations of tunes like Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and Thelonious Monk's "Pannonica."

In a live concert setting, it sometimes makes sense to concentrate fully on the sound, without being deterred by any visual distractions. In this case, I found it impossible to avert my eyes from Colligan's hands as they engaged the keys with a poignant combination of forceful intent and loving care.

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has recently finished one of its best seasons on record, the organization reported today. The RPO set a new record in 2014-15 ticket sales, surpassing the former record-holding 2010-11 season. All told, the RPO gathered $1.66 million in single ticket sales, an increase of 19 percent from the 2013-14 season and 23 percent from the 2012-13 season.

“It is gratifying to note how the Rochester community has responded to our programming initiatives in the past season,” President and CEO Charles Owens said. “From Verdi's 'La Traviata' in concert, to Video Games Live and Audra McDonald, the box office tells us that there is indeed a market for artistically vibrant musical experiences that might not fit the tradition parameters of our subscription series.”

This upswing for the RPO seems to have some continuing momentum, with subscription sales for the 2015-16 Philharmonic, Pops, and Sunday Matinee series already surpassing the 2014-15 final campaign totals. Total subscription revenues and packages are ahead of the prior year by 6 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

The 2015-16 Philharmonic season opens Thursday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m., with Wade Stare conducting “Pines of Rome.”

• PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE
• Kat Edmonson performed at Montage on Monday, June 22, during the 2015 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival.

Joe Locke's double malleted arms were a blur last night at his 6 p.m. Kilbourn Hall show. It was if he were a cross between an octopus and a helicopter. You could literally feel the heat coming off of him. This was my fourth or fifth time seeing the vibe master and by far the best. He has always been lightning fast but sometimes so much so that the melody couldn't keep up. This time however, was different -- or I'm just becoming a better listener perhaps. After explaining the evening program's poetic significance and Rochester's poetic significance on his life and career, Locke and his crew jumped in with his impressive technique raining a flurry of notes in a blinding cascade. It was breathtaking and gasp making.

The Squeezer's stage leaves a lot to be desired in the ambiance department; it feels eerily like a gutted department store. But Blue Highway certainly made up for the deficit with some smoking finger style and beautiful four-part harmony along with impressive, reverent nods to Ralph and Bill. Bluegrass at its bluest and grassiest.

A little bango with the Django ... Stephane Wrembel has changed things up a bit since I last saw him a couple of years ago. First of all, he stands now. Secondly, and more importantly he has changed up his sound considerably, with newer, more electric meanderings permeating his trademark Gypsy chop ... and no doubt winning himself some new fans in the process.

Kat Edmonson was so achingly gentle at her 10 p.m. engagement at the Montage Music Hall stage. A lullaby personified, the young lady with a complexion (she must moisturize) like fine china played with a mix of jazz curiosity, grace, and bliss.

• PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE
• Stephane Wrembel performed a free show on the Jazz Street stage on Monday, June 22.

On Monday night, the members of Blue Highway brought a more traditional bluegrass approach to the Squeezers Roots & Americana Stage. This sound had less swagger and more twang than The HillBenders from three nights before.

• PHOTO BY FRANK DE BLASE
• Blue Highway performed on the Squeezers Roots & Americana stage on Monday, June 22.

And while the music of Blue Highway was perfectly pleasant, it felt staid -- almost commonplace -- lacking the spontaneous improvisational energy and combustible chemistry between players trading searing solos. That's not to say there weren't cohesive, whip-smart licks or beautifully blended harmonies (as in the a cappella song "Someday"). The instrumental textures were wonderfully lush and you're not likely to hear a more pleasing country voice than that of multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lane.

That said, the band's self-described "hillbilly jazz" was safe and laid-back, even during the brisk numbers. I came away merely appreciating the music. What I wanted to do was get lost in it.

In search of something more dance-inducing, I ventured over to the Rochester Regional Health Big Tent, where New Orleans octet The Soul Rebels got my blood pumping with rousing funk rhythms, brass hooks on overdrive, and old-school hip-hop inflections.

Front-loaded with two trumpets, two trombones, tenor saxophone, and the tuba-like sousaphone, The Soul Rebels' tunes got under my skin the best possible way. But the most musically satisfying moments occurred when individual band members such as saxophonist Erion Williams and trumpeters Julian Gosin and Marcus Hubbard took solos, revealing great depth of skill and an intuition for melody.

I couldn't help thinking how much more amazing the experience would have been had the band played on one of the outdoor stages, where the party could somehow feel less inhibited. In other words, we need to dance more, Jazz Fest fans! And if you were at one of the four Soul Rebel sets over the last two days and you weren't at least tapping your toes -- well, that's completely on you.

Slideshow The Soul Rebels -- Jazz Fest 2015

8 slides

The Soul Rebels -- Jazz Fest 2015

By Jake Clapp

Click to View 8 slides

Once again, virtuoso guitarist Stephane Wrembel and his band brought his jaw-dropping music to a captivated Jazz Fest audience, this time outdoors on the Jazz Street Stage. One thing I'm afraid I failed to state clearly enough in my review from last night is just how spectacular Wrembel's supporting cast of musicians is.

Rhythm guitarist Roy Williams was a dynamic and mesmerizing soloist in his own right, so much so that at times I had look up to be sure of exactly who was playing. Bassist Kells Nollenberger quietly set both the pace and mood of the songs in an unassuming but no less impressive manner. I would have liked to hear more solo interludes from him. And drummer Nick Anderson was an unequivocal tour-de-force. His kinetic, flowing style could be thunderous at times, but it never came across as brash or ostentatious. His stamina and hyper-articulate rhythms were astounding, making him the most exciting drummer I've seen at this year's festival so far. But the 2015 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival isn't even halfway done, so who knows for sure....