Jazz@Rochester

We need to start 'em early ... Jazz learnin at the Hochstein School of Music this summer

2013-05-18T20:26:55-04:00

The Hochstein School of Music and dance has announced a bunch of summer programming to help inculcate your kids in this music we call jazz. Gotta start 'em early...

Here's the lineup:

Hep Kids! Jazz Celebration: Music & Fun for Families, Saturday, June 29th from 10am-2pm
Jazz Ensembles I & II, Richard DeLaney, Director, Wednesdays, July 10-August 14 • Ensemble I: 7:00-8:00 pm • Ensemble II: 8:00-9:00 pm; Entering grades 7-12 and adults, NYSSMA Level 5-6, or the equivalent.
Explorations: Jazz & Improvisation Workshop, Aaron Staebell, Director, July 15-19 • 9:00 am-1:00 pm. Entering grades 7-12 and graduating seniors, NYSSMA Level 3-6.
Children's Jazz: So We Know You Can Dance!, Cheryl Johnson, Instructor. Thursdays, 5:00-6:00 pm. Ages 7-12.
Arts in Action Summer Camp for ages 4-10, Session 3: Jazz It Up! July 22-26, 9:00 am-12:00 noon or 9:00 am-3:30 pm. Ages 4-10

Check out the Hochstein School's website for more information about these programs. Do your part to grow the audience for live jazz.

Jazz Around Town: Allergy season and jazz outdoors around the corner...

2013-05-15T18:52:59-04:00

Achoo, sniff, scratch, scratch... damn thing about being in the Flower City is the bloomin allergies! As I get older they seem to be getting worse. Here at Jazz@Rochester, we'll try to get some inside line on live jazz at the various festivals as they are made known to us. Sorry about forgetting about the jazz at the Lilac Festival during the week up to now, but they get their information out pretty well themselves (and it has been raining a bit anyway...).

Here's the live gigs I found in and around Rochester over the next 7 days, plus some things coming up in the near future:

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Moho Collective @ Lilac Festival, Highland Park, 4:00 pm
Jon Seiger All-Stars Trio @ Market Cafe at Wegmans on Calkins Road, 5:30 pm
The Swooners @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 5:30 pm
John Palocy Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
Deborah Branch @ Lemoncello, 6:00 pm
Ted Nicolosi & Shared Genes @ Roncones, 6:00 pm
Mike Kaupa Duo Project @ Monroe's, 6:30 pm
John Nyerges Quartet Live @ WGMC Jazz 90.1, 7:00 to 8:00 pm
Djangoners @ The Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
The Joe Santora Trio with Cabo Frio's Curtis Kendrick & Emily Kirchoff @ Michael's Valley Grill, 7:30 pm
John Akers & Erik Welsh @ Pane Vino Ristorante, 8:00 pm

Friday, May 17, 2013

Bobby DiBaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 5:30 pm
The Music of Ferrante & Furioso @ Yummy Garden Hot Pot (Brighton), 5:30 pm
Ted Nicolosi & Shared Genes @ Hedges Restaurant, 6:30 pm
Marco Amadio @ Pane Vino Ristorante, 6:30 pm
Aleks & Ted @ Pultneyville Grill (Williamson), call for info
NiteFall @ Lemoncello, 7:00 pm

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Celebration of National Tap Dance Day (free Lecture/Demonstration featuring the Hochstein Jazz Ensemble directed by Richard Delaney and guest artist Bill Evans of Bill Evans Dance) @ Hochstein Performance Hall, School of Music & Dance, 1:30 pm
The Music of Ferrante & Furioso @ Yummy Garden Hot Pot (Brighton), 5:30 pm
Bob Sneider @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
White Hots @ Pultneyville Grill (Williamson), 6:30 pm
Ted Nicolosi & Shared Genes @ Jasmine's Asian Fusion (Webster), 6:30 pm
Brent Bond @ Pane Vino Ristorante, 6:30 pm
Ryan T. Carey/Tony Padilla Duo @ Pomodoro (Monroe Avenue), 7:00 pm
Day Break @ Lemoncello, 7:00 pm
Special Blend @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
Annie Wells @ Litttle Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
Upward Groove with Kneptune @ Lovin Cup, 9:00 pm
Family Funktion and the Sitar Jams @ Abilene Bar & Lounge, 9:30 pm

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Scott Bradley @ The Rabbit Room (Honeoye Falls), 12:00 pm
Live Music & Tap Dance Jam Session @ Tango Cafe, 2:30 pm
Prime Time Funk @ The Lilac Festival, Highland Park, 5:30 pm
Bill Slater @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, call for info

Monday, May 20, 2013

Alphonso Williams @ Bistro 135, 5:30 pm
JazzHappens Band @ Green Lantern Inn (Fairport), 6:30 pm
The Bowties @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Tinted Image @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 5:30 pm
Jim Nugent @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
Charlie Mitchell Group @ Flipside Bar & Grill (Rochester), 8:00 pm

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Big Band Dance Spring Series @ Charlotte Beach, Roger Robach Community Center, 6:00 to 9:00 pm
Jim E Leggs @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
ECMS Spring Festival with the New Horizons Vintage Jazz Ensemble and New Horizons Big Band @ Kilbourn Hall, ESM, 7:00 pm
Margaret Explosion @ The Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
John Pizzarelli with Williamsville East High School Jazz Orchestra and local jazz musicians @ Williamsville East High School, 7:30 pm
Vince Ercolamento & Joe Chiappone Jazz Quartet @ Murph's, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, 8:00 pm

Heads Up ... Look for these Jazz Gigs and Special Jazz Events in the Future

Art Loves Jazz (Benefit for WGMC Jazz 90.1) @ Artisan Works, Thursday, May 23rd, 6:30-9:30 pm (tickets)
Retrospective Exhibit of Photos from Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival Opens @ Center at High Falls Gallery, 60 Brown's Race, Rochester, Thursday, May 23rd (Gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 12 noon to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m; closed Monday and Tuesday)
Bop Arts presents The Mack Goldsbury Quartet @ Lovin' Cup Brews & Bistro, Sunday, June 2d, 8:00 pm
International Society of Bassists Convention @ Eastman School of Music (in addition to the concerts below, there may be others open to the public, so check the schedule)
International Society of Bassists Concert: Eastman alumni Brett Shurtliffe, Yung-Chiao Wei, and Ron Carter with Russell Malone & Donald Vega @ Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, Tuesday, June 4th, 8:00 pm
International Society of Bassists Concert: Thomas Martin; Jazz Bass Supergroup “Talking Hands” with John Clayton, Rufus Reid, Lynn Seaton and Martin Wind @ Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, Wednesday, June 5th, 8:00 pm
International Society of Bassists Concert: Diana Gannett performs new works; Chuck Israels, bassist with the Bill Evans Trio, pays tribute to a master of bebop with “Oscar Pettiford Octet and Beyond” @ Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, Thursday, June 6th, 8:00 pm
International Society of Bassists Concert: Orchestral and chamber music bassist Szymon Marciniak and Grammy-winning Dave Holland @ Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, Friday, June 7th, 8:00 pm
Michael Formanek Quartet with Tim Berne, Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver @ Bernunzio Uptown Music, 122 East Ave., Rochester, Friday, June 7th, 10:30 pm
International Society of Bassists Concert: Joel Quarrington, new principal bassist of the London Symphony Orchestra, and Victor Wooten, acclaimed soloist and bassist for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones @ Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, Saturday, June 8th, 8:00 pm
Groove Juice Swing presents Stompology Swing Dances with the The Careless Lovers (Seattle, WA), Friday, June 7th, 8:00 pm; The Low Down Sires (Asheville, NC), Saturday, June 8th, 8:30 pm and June 9th, 7:30 pm
Tessa Souter with John Nyerges Trio @ Lovin Cup, Saturday, June 8th, 9:00 pm
Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, Friday, June 21st to Saturday, June 29th

If you go out to hear a performance listed here, feel free to drop a comment to this post to let us know how it went (see the Comment link at the bottom). I want to hear from you! Please share the post with your friends who love jazz.

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and other sources. The aim is to give you a one-stop place to find all your jazz in Rochester.The aim is to give you a one stop place to find all your jazz in Rochester. Only start times are listed, visit or call the venue for more details (the websites for many of the venues are in the right panel). Please forgive any discrepancies with reality and feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible (click on the "Contact Us" button above). If you go out to hear a performance listed here, feel free to drop a comment to this post to let us know how it went. I want to hear from you!

Learning about jazz, young and old and in-between, at XRIJF

2013-05-14T18:53:14-04:00

Last week, the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival announced two great opportunities to learn more about jazz during the festival.

XRIJF Jazz Workshops for Aspiring Young Music Students

Room 120, Ray Wright Room, Eastman School of Music 1:00-2:30 p.m. No registration is required.

Open to all aspiring grade school and high school music students. This new series of five structured jazz workshops, sponsored by Wegmans, will be hosted by Bob Sneider, Eastman School of Music Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media and Senior Instructor of Jazz Guitar, and led by five visiting international musicians who are performing at the XRIJF. Students will be playing and have the exceptional opportunity to meet, listen to and learn from professional jazz musicians from overseas. In keeping with the festival's international festival focus, all five are based in the United Kingdom and will be performing in the festival's Made in the UK Series at Christ Church, including:

Saturday, June 22: Cleveland Watkiss, Voice
Sunday, June 23: Yolanda Brown, Saxophone
Thursday, June 27: Ryan Quigley, Trumpet
Friday, June 28: Jasper Hoiby of Phronesis, Acoustic Bass
Saturday, June 29 Gwylim Simcock, piano

ESM Offering Introduction to Jazz History During Festival

Room 305, Eastman School of Music | June 24-29, Mon. – Sat., 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. For more information and to register contact Paul Hofmann, instructor and pianist. No materials required. No prior knowledge of jazz needed, just a general love of music. Tuition: $150/noncredit.

Offered during six days of XRIJF, the class will highlight (in chronological/historical order) a particular style/era of jazz, including some of the major personalities and works each day, including:

Day One: Early New Orleans Jazz, including the Jazz Age (1920s); Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, et al.
Day Two: The Swing Era (1930s), including Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Art Tatum, et al.
Day Three: Modern Jazz. part one (1940s and early 1950s), including Bebop (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell) and other schools which were offshoots from that (Lennie Tristano, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, et al.).
Day Four: Modern Jazz, part two (mid-1950s through late 1960s), including Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Charles Mingus.
Day Five: Jazz since 1970, including Chamber Jazz (especially the West German record label ECM), Jazz-Rock(Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Pat Methany Group) and the resurgence of Hard Bop (Winton Marsalis).
Day Six: Week's wrap up & jazz piano performance.

XRIJF's got an App for that....

2013-05-10T09:00:00-04:00

On Wednesday the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival introduced a new app for Android and an enhanced app for iPhone. Both are free and available now for download. One new feature is a photo booth function that allows you to take photos at the festival and share them with your network. The XRIJF apps bring you the latest news, schedule, artist information, photos, maps, venues, travel information and you can buy tickets
(of course). Other options include:

Select your favorite artists.
Share information on Facebook and Twitter, or email.
Create a personal lineup of who you want to hear and share it. No more spreadsheets!
Use the search tool for easy browsing through concert files and artist profiles.
During the fest, click on any venue or artist and get a quick map of how to get there from where you are.
Get concert reminder alerts for to shows about to start.

You can download the apps from iTunes or GooglePlay.