Rochester International Jazz Festival Guide 2012

NEWSPAPER ARTIST BIOS • SCHEDULES • FEATURE INTERVIEWS • MAPS & INFO • JAZZ BLOG DETAILS [pg 25]

CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

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festival information ������������ 4 TICKETS, VENUES, AND MORE.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22 ����������������������� 6 FEATURE: CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE

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16 MONDAY, JUNE 25 ������������������� 20 FEATURE: KIM LENZ & THE JAGUARS

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24 FEATURE: DWEEZIL ZAPPA

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32 FEATURE: ELIANE ELIAS

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38 FEATURE: DARYL HALL

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44 SATURDAY, JUNE 30 ���������������

48 FEATURE: TROMBONE SHORTY

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JAZZ FESTIVAL INFORMATION Welcome to the 2012 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. From Friday, June 22, through Saturday, June 30, hundreds of artists will perform more than 285 concerts in a variety of venues in downtown Rochester.

TICKETS & VENUES Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre Series Headliner shows are held in the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs St). These are ticketed shows; a club pass doesn’t work here. Tickets, which range from $35 to $125 (plus service charges), are available through Vendini (vendini.com) or by calling 585-454-2060. Note that many of the headliner shows are already sold out. Kodak Hall also hosts the free Gerry

Niewood Jazz Scholarships Performance on Monday, June 25.

Club Pass Series A Club Pass is your ticket to the Club Series: you can go to as many concerts as you’d like at 11 smaller clubs and venues (listed below). Club Passes for 2012 XRIJF have already sold out. If you don’t have one, you can still buy tickets ($20-$25) to the individual Club Pass concerts at the door, if space is available. Be advised that Club Pass shows tend to sell out; even if you have a Pass, you should get there early.

Club Pass Venues: Abilene Bar and Lounge 153 Liberty Pole

Way (Roots & Americana Stage) Christ Church 141 East Ave. (Made in the UK Series) Harro East Ballroom 155 N. Chestnut St. Hatch Recital Hall Inside Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs St. Kilbourn Hall Inside Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs St. Max of Eastman Place 25 Gibbs St.

CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

Montage Music Hall 50 Chestnut Plaza Lutheran Church of the Reformation 111

N. Chestnut St. (Nordic Jazz Now Series) Rochester Club 120 East Ave. (Viva Italia Series) Verizon Wireless Festival Big Tent Corner of Main and Gibbs streets Xerox Auditorium 100 S. Clinton Ave.

Free Venues City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage (Gibbs

Street at East Avenue) Free music daily

City of Rochester East Ave & Chestnut St Stage Free shows June 23, 29 & 30 City of Rochester East Ave. & Alexander St Stage Free shows June 30 Monroe County Public Library (115 South

Ave.) Free shows June 25-29 RG&E Fusion Stage (corner of East Ave. and Chestnut St.) Free shows June 22, 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28 State Street Bar and Grill (Rochester Plaza Hotel, 70 State St.) Free jazz jams starting nightly at 10:30 p.m.

PARKING Parking for all East End venues can be found in the East End parking garage at the corner of Scio Street and East Avenue. Additional parking can be found in the Washington Square Garage (111 Woodbury Blvd.). Also be on the lookout for street parking or spots in surface lots throughout the neighborhood.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival’s official website is rochesterjazz. com. You can also visit the Jazz Ticket Shop & Info Center on the corner of East Avenue and Gibbs Street, daily during the festival 10 a.m.-11 p.m. New this year is the XRIJF iPhone app, which can be downloaded on iTunes and includes a full schedule, venue and artist lists, maps, and an option to buy tickets online.

Trombone Shorty plays Saturday, June 30.

PHOTO PROVIDED

For additional Jazz Fest info, check out rochestercitynewspaper.com to get the online version of this guide, plus our daily Jazz Blog. City’s critics will offer up their reviews of the previous night’s concerts, and you can post your own thoughts in the comments section.

We’ll also be posting photos, videos, and more. New blogs will be up by 7 a.m. each morning of the festival. We’ll also be posting updates on our Facebook page (facebook.com/CityNewspaper) and on Twitter (@roccitynews).

ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM

F R I D AY,

JUNE

22

Christian McBride [ PROFILE ] BY RON NETSKY

When bassist Christian McBride hit New York City at the age of 17, he hadn’t planned on starting at the top. But his talent and musical persona were so fully developed that he soon found himself working alongside greats like Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Smith, and McCoy Tyner.

Listening to his lyrical – and impossibly dexterous – style, it’s easy to understand why he’s maintained that position. McBride not only provides a rock-solid foundation in the rhythm section, he is perhaps the most melodic and compelling bass soloist on the contemporary jazz scene.

Like a lot of other talented musicians, McBride started 90 miles southwest of the Big Apple.

“When I got to New York, what kept me above water was all the great music and the great musicians I worked with when I was in Philly,” says McBride. Not only did he come from a town steeped in music (Joey DeFrancesco was in his high-school class), his father played bass with top Philadelphia

R&B artists like the Delfonics, Blue Magic, and Billy Paul.

Still, when you listen to McBride work his straight-ahead magic on the bass, you might not guess the artist that influenced him most from the age of 8.

“James Brown is by far my biggest musical hero, and he was the biggest hero my generation had culturally as well,” says McBride. “He was a very important person in my life.”

McBride not only got to meet Brown, he played a key role in recreating one of Brown’s most obscure – and jazz-oriented – albums. “Soul on Top” was recorded by Brown in 1969 with Louie Bellson’s band and Oliver Nelson’s arrangements.

“We played that album live at the Hollywood Bowl with James Brown on one side of the stage, the Christian McBride Big Band on the other side, and Louie Bellson right in the middle,” says McBride.

The concert was not recorded, but McBride says he will never forget the experience. “I worked with him closely, and we had a chance to be friends,” says McBride. “I was honored to be let into his circle.”

He’s written a book, to be released later this year, about working with Brown called “I Never Got To Say Goodbye.”

At this stage of his career, McBride

Performing with a trio, a quintet (which he brings to the Jazz Festival), a big band, and in duets, Christian McBride makes some of the best music in jazz.

PHOTO PROVIDED

CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

has a four-pronged approach: a trio, the quintet called Inside Straight that he will be bringing to the Jazz Festival, a big band, and his most recent project, which he calls Conversations.

On the CD “Conversations With Christian” McBride performs duets with jazz artists like Chick Corea and Hank Jones and pop stars like Sting and Angélique Kidjo. He is by no means a jazz purist.

“Most musicians come into music the way everyone else does,” says McBride. “We just love music. There’s a certain feeling you get hearing masters at work. Whatever style – it may be happiness, romance, or sadness – you get that feeling, that emotional attachment to the music.”

In fact, the masters who give him those feelings range from Miles Davis to Stevie Wonder, from James Brown to Dmitri Shostakovich, from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky to Sting.

Since 1994, McBride has released a dozen albums as a leader. But as a sideman he appears on hundreds of albums by artists ranging from jazz giants like Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, and Jim Hall to top-tier pop singers like Sting, Paul McCartney, and Willie Nelson.

Because he loves great pop music, McBride bemoans the state it’s in today.

“I see a lot of pop stars and writers and producers, and it seems worse now than it’s ever been,” says McBride. “Now more than ever it’s: let’s just get a hit. Let’s not worry about whether it’s good music or has any musical integrity whatsoever. I hope sooner or later some icon comes along and says I’m not worried about making a hit; I’m just worried about making good music.

McBride is known for making some of the

best music in jazz, but he’s not exactly sure how he does it, especially when it comes to his inventive improvisations.

“Who knows?” he says. “At this point, when you’ve worked at a certain thing for a while, you’re not into conscious thought any more. It’s like speaking.

“I always ask students: Before you asked me that question, did you say to yourself, continues on page 8

Think Clams, We give you choices! [ SCHEDULE ] 4:30 p.m.: Fairport HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: Hilton HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:30 p.m.: Acoustic Alchemy Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 5:45 p.m.: Don Thompson & Neil Swainson Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: ECMS Jazz Combo led by Bob Sneider Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: Tessa Souter Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Christian McBride’s Inside Straight Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Penfield Rotary Big Band Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Lucio Ferrara Trio Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Karrin Allyson Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Yggdrasil Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Get The Blessing Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: The Uptown Groove RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m. John LaBarbera Big Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Acoustic Alchemy Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 7:30 p.m.: Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra Lutheran Church Of The Reformation ($20 or Club Pass)

7:45 p.m.: Rosie Flores Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Don Thompson & Neil Swainson Hatch Recital Hall ($20) 8 p.m.: Diana Krall Kodak Hall Eastman Theatre ($35-$60; SOLD OUT) 8:30 p.m.: L’Orkestre Des Pas Perdus Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Get The Blessing Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Yggdrasil Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: The Uptown Groove RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 9:15 p.m.: John LaBarbera Big Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra Lutheran Church Of The Reformation ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Rosie Flores Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: L’Orkestre Des Pas Perdus Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Christian McBride’s Inside Straight Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Lucio Ferrara Trio Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Tessa Souter Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Karrin Allyson Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: XRIJF Nightly Jazz Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar & Grill (FREE)

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Christian McBride CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

I’m going to start my question off with this word, and then I’m going to follow it up with an adverb, followed by a noun – you didn’t do that, did you? Of course not. You have grasped the English language so well, you don’t consciously think of doing that. It’s the same thing with music. After you study chords and scales and modes and notes at some point you don’t think of that anymore.”

When he’s not busy touring and recording, McBride spends a lot of time with students and others as an ambassador of jazz.

As co-director of the National Jazz Museum

in Harlem, he is working to make the museum (which will be moving to a building across from the Apollo Theater) a cultural institution for everyone in the community.

“People somehow believe that this music has gotten away from the black community because the black community does not appreciate this music anymore,” says McBride.

“That’s about the most wrong summation of what’s happened. When you look historically at where this music was played, there were way more jazz clubs in Harlem.

“The places where you can go hear music now are so few and far between in major cities in this country. If you’re not a contributing member or donor to a big cultural institution

like Lincoln Center, you’re going to have a hard time hearing some quality music. So the music has to be taken back to the community as opposed to expecting the community to always go somewhere else to hear it.

“I’ve been trying to do that in terms of going to different schools, or going to play in community centers or retirement homes.

People don’t have the money they used to to go hang out on a Friday or Saturday night.”

Christian McBride’s Inside Straight quintet performs Friday, June 22, at 6 & 10 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. Tickets cost $25, or you can use a Club Pass.

[ BIOS ] Acoustic Alchemy [ WORLD/ACOUSTIC ] Even with jazz and rock in the equation, once a band incorporates world elements, all shackles are off. For more than 25 years, Acoustic Alchemy has shined through myriad genres via acoustic (nylon and steel string) as well as electric guitar. Various rhythmic underpinnings have accompanied this endeavor on its prolific 18-album discography, which includes 2011’s “Roseland.” (FD) acoustic-alchemy.net Christian McBride’s Inside Straight [ JAZZ ] When bassist Christian McBride hit New York City at the age of 17, he hadn’t planned on starting at the top. But his talent and musical persona were so fully developed that he soon found himself working alongside some of the top artists in the jazz pantheon, including Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Smith, and McCoy Tyner. Listening to his lyrical — and impossibly dexterous — style, it’s easy to understand why he’s maintained that position. McBride not only provides a rock-solid foundation in the rhythm section, but he is perhaps the most melodic and compelling soloist on bass on the contemporary jazz scene. (RN) christianmcbride.com Diana Krall [ PIANO/VOCAL ] Pianist-vocalistchanteuse-enchantress Diana Krall comes off so sultry and cool that it’s hard to get a bead on her mood. Her voice serves to unhinge and CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

unglue the sturdiest of Romeos as she breathes life into standards with the same breathy ease as, say, Julie London. In fact, when speaking about her latest album, “Quiet Nights,” Krall says, “I feel this album is very womanly, like lying next to your lover in bed, whispering this in their ear.” Mr. Costello, you’re a lucky man.

(FD) dianakrall.com Don Thompson & Neil Swainson [ JAZZ ] It’s a double dose of Canadian jazz in the form of pianist Thompson and bassist Swainson. Thompson is a former member of Boss Brass, and brings with him years of expertise at tickling the ivories. Swainson, a top call musician in Toronto, most recently known for touring with Roberta Gambarini, joins him with his swinging mastery of the bass. (WC) Get The Blessing [ JAZZ ] To say Get The Blessing is quirky would be a severe understatement; these guys like to shake things up. The quartet is a bit like America’s wise-ass trio The Bad Plus in terms of sudden dynamic shifts and a sense of humor.

Some of their compositions may remind you of the manic side of Frank Zappa. But what would you expect from a group that came together over the members’ mutual love of avant-garde god Ornette Coleman? The music may sound like jazz-rock fusion with horns, bordering on anarchy, but it’s actually under complete control. Just when you

Get The Blessing PHOTO PROVIDED

think the cacophony is headed over the edge, Get The Blessing will seamlessly transition into a heraldic melody and ride off into the distance. (RN) theblessing.co.uk Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra [ CINEMATIC JAZZ ] Along with his group Subtropic Arkestra, Swedish trumpeter Goran Kajfes’ music has an infectious 60’s European cosmopolitan vibe to it that calls to mind pencil skirts, scooters, and intrigue. The music is heady and innovative, yet has a cinematic, 11th hour accessibility that will no doubt draw more to its obtuse beauty, not unlike the work of that other Arkestra. Sun Ra, anyone?

(FD) myspace.com/gorankajfes Jam Session with Bob Sneider Trio [ JAZZ ] After all the shows are finished, the continues on page 10

ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM

Friday, June 22 Bios CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

out-of-town musicians head back to the Rochester Plaza Hotel. But they don’t go to their rooms. Lured by the sound of a worldclass combo, many head for the State Street Bar & Grill where the Bob Sneider Trio holds down the after-hours jam session. Sneider is a monster guitarist who has superb support from Mike Melito (drums) and Phil Flanigan (bass). And, while the evening might start with student players joining them on stage, the kids step aside for the heavyweights as the session progresses. Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, Chris Potter, Eric Alexander, and too many more jazz stars to mention have sat in with the band. (RN) myspace.com/ bobsneidermusic John LaBarbera Big Band [ JAZZ ] John LaBarbera began playing cornet at the age of 5. By 7 he was joining his parents and brothers Pat and Joe in the family’s band. Fast forward a decade and a half and LaBarbera was playing trumpet in the Buddy Rich Orchestra, where he also began his career in composing and arranging. His works have been recorded and performed by the bands of Woody Herman, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Sammy Davis Jr., Mel Tormé, and even soul star Chaka Khan.

His 2004 album “On The Wild Side” was nominated for a Grammy Award. johnlabarbera.com Karrin Allyson [ JAZZ ] Of the many jazz singers who have emerged over the last two decades, one of the most engaging and original is Karrin Allyson. Since 1992 she has recorded more than a dozen albums, covering everything from jazz standards to pop tunes by Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Elton John, and Carole King. But that’s just the beginning. On one extraordinary release, “From Paris to Rio,” she beautifully interpreted a collection of French and Portuguese tunes in the original languages.

On another, “Ballads,” she gorgeously re-crafted the more gentle side of John Coltrane’s oeuvre. (RN) karrin.com L’Orkestre Des Pas Perdus [ BRASS BAND ] L’Orkestre Des Pas Perdus 10 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

(translated: The Lost Steps Orkestra) had me at the cover art of its Juno-nominated latest album, “The Brass Age.” The image is a cross-section of a human head with a tuba superimposed over it. The high-energy brass band combines trombone, trumpet, French horn, saxophones, drums, and the aforementioned tuba, to create a sound that shifts between styles. It’s New Orleans funk one second, slower swing tunes the next, all while retaining that full, engaging, powerful, brass-ensemble sound. It’s good fun and a sonic blast, and whoever said you needed string instruments in an orchestra?

(WC) oppmusik.com Lucio Ferrara [ JAZZ ] Born in the Puglia region of Italy, Lucio Ferrara began playing the clarinet at the age of 10. It wasn’t long before he switched to the guitar. After he won Bologna’s top music competition, Ferrara’s career took off. At first he concentrated on Brazilian music, but after attending a few of pianist Barry Harris’s famous seminars in New York, he became more interested in jazz improvisation. Since then he’s honed his post-bop guitar style in collaborations with top players like Lee Konitz, Benny Golson Joey DeFrancesco, and Lew Tabackin. (RN) lucioferrara.com Rosie Flores [ ROCKABILLY ] The sounds of artists like Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and The Everly Brothers initially got rockabilly filly Rosie Flores all shook her up, and by age 16 Flores was in her first band, the psychedelic all-girl Penelope’s Children. By the early 80’s she was slinging and singing in the punk-rockabilly outfit The Screamin’ Sirens. After that Flores went solo, writing her own stuff and covering classics from heroes like Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin. Her diminutive stature and sweet voice are in direct contrast to her wicked guitar prowess. (FD) rosieflores.com Tessa Souter [ JAZZ ] With her ethereal voice and stunning original tunes, Tessa Souter charmed every audience member in packed concerts at two previous RIJFs. Born in London, Souter had a flourishing career going as a journalist. In the 1990’s, at the urging of a friend, she began to sing

at open-mic nights in clubs. After studying with legendary vocalist Mark Murphy, Souter was ready to switch from journalism to a different, more tuneful and emotional form of storytelling: Rosie Flores PHOTO PROVIDED jazz. Recently back from a successful tour of large opera houses in Russia, Souter has just released a daring album featuring her lyrics set to great classical works played jazz-style. She pulls it off beautifully. (RN) tessasouter.com The Uptown Groove [ Jazz ] Rochester five-piece The Uptown Groove isn’t afraid to mix things up. Instrumental jazz songs blend with rock ballads, Motown tunes, a little R&B, and pretty much everything in between. Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean,” Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” Grover Washington’s “Just the Two of Us,” and James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” all have a home on the Groove’s wideranging repertoire list. If you haven’t already seen them gigging around town, now’s your chance. (WC) theuptowngroove.com Yggdrasil featuring Eivor [ WORLD ] Yggdrasil founder Kristian Blak was born in Denmark but he has spent most of the last two decades in the Faroe Islands (in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway). That’s where he assembled Yggdrasil, a band with a name from Norse mythology, based on the idea of a “world tree.” When the group appeared at a previous RIJF, audiences loved its ethereal sound. This year Yggdrasil will be enhanced by Faroe Islands singer Eivør, whose haunting vocal style falls somewhere between that of Melanie and Kate Bush. (RN) eivor.sweetgiggles.net, yggdrasil-sweden.com

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ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 11

S AT U R D AY,

JUNE

23

[ BIOS ]

[ SCHEDULE ]

Bill Cunliffe [ JAZZ ] Jazz pianistcomposer-arranger Bill Cunliffe is the musical equivalent of a Renaissance man — he does it all. He’s won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition and toured as pianist and arranger with the Buddy Rich Big Band.

He’s also worked with Frank Sinatra, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, James Moody, and many others.

Cunliffe has garnered four Grammy and two Emmy Award nominations. In 2009 he won the Best Instrumental Arrangement Grammy Award for “West Side Story Medley,” on the album “Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute to Oscar Peterson.”

(RN) billcunliffe.com

4:30 p.m.: Gates HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: Buffalo Acad./Visual and Perf. Arts HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:30 p.m.: Mike Stern Group Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 5:45 p.m.: Bill Cunliffe Hatch Recital Hall ($20 Or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: RPO Marimba Band Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: ECMS Jazz Combo led by Mike Kaupa Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: Mathias Eick Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Tom Harrell Chamber Ensemble Plays Debussy & Ravel Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Gap Mangione & Special Guests Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Gerald Clayton Trio Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: J.M.O.G. Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Liane Carroll Trio Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: Danielia Cotton East Ave./ Chestnut Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: L’Orkestre Des Pas Perdus Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Mike Stern Group Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 7:30 p.m.: Yggdrasil featuring Eivor Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass)

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings [ ALTCOUNTRY ] With multiple Juno Awards to its credit, Hamilton, Ontario’s Blackie and The Rodeo Kings is a powerfully compelling alt-country trio. And it doesn’t just rely on the twang and heartache; it rocks steady on its latest release, “Kings and Queens,” with undeniable duets with a pile of amazing artists like Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, and Roseanne Cash, to name a precious few. The music rollicks and soars where Byrds and Burrito Brothers fly. (FD) blackieandtherodeokings.com Danielia Cotton [ ROCK ] Switching between acoustic guitar and singing with Joe Cocker-with-a-feminine-twist moves, Danielia Cotton belts, bellows, shouts, and sings. Her songs combine a singersongwriter tone with rock passion and determination. She seasons it all with anger and joy. She is mesmerizing. Cotton fleshes out her tunes in such a way that it’s easy to see where they came from: they’re lean and tight interpretations of simple, beautiful ideas accompanied by simple, beautiful hooks. They may not come from a place of splendor, but Cotton’s brassy patina sure makes them sound that way. (FD) myspace. com/danieliacotton

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings PHOTO PROVIDED

Esperanza Spalding [ JAZZ ] Esperanza Spalding fell in love with the bass while a high school student in Portland, Oregon. Starting with a simple blues run, Spalding found that she could produce a good sound right from the start. So good, that by the age of 20 she had graduated from — and become the youngest musician ever to teach at — Berklee College of Music. In the process she met and played with Michel Camilo, Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano and others. When she formed her own group and began to record, the world found that not only is Spalding an excellent bassist, she also has a beautiful voice. In 2011 Spalding achieved the nearly impossible when her unstoppable talent beat out four pop acts, including Justin Bieber and Drake, for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. (RN) esperanzaspalding.com Gap Mangione [ JAZZ ] Growing up in Rochester, pianist Gap Mangione and his brother, Chuck, were introduced by their father to some of the greatest musicians in jazz. After collaborating as The Jazz Brothers in the 1960’s, they worked together on several of Chuck’s landmark albums in the early 1970’s. And, after Chuck’s phenomenal crossover success, they reunited in 2007 for the “Friends & Love” reunion concerts. A fixture on the Rochester music scene for five decades, Gap Mangione has pursued a continues on page 14

12 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

7:45 p.m.: Bill Cunliffe Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Blackie & The Rodeo Kings Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 8 p.m.: Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre ($33-$65) 8:30 p.m.: Sultans of String Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Liane Carroll Trio Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Outlaws East Ave./Chestnut Stage (FREE) 9 p.m.: J.M.O.G. Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9:15 p.m.: L’Orkestre Des Pas Perdus Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: Yggdrasil featuring Eivor Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Blackie & The Rodeo Kings Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Gap Mangione & Special Guests Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Gerald Clayton Trio Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Mathias Eick Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Sultans of String Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Tom Harrell Chamber Ensemble Plays Debussy & Ravel Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar & Grill (FREE)

ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 13

Saturday, June 23 Bios CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

three-pronged career, playing solo, leading small groups, and directing a big band. (RN) gapmangione.com Gerald Clayton [ JAZZ ] Pianist Gerald Clayton was literally born into the jazz family. His father is bandleader John Clayton and his uncle saxophonist Jeff Clayton. At the age of 22 he was a strong enough stylist to place second in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., impressing judges like Herbie Hancock, Billy Taylor, and Randy Weston. In the years since then Clayton has lead his own trio, with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown, but he hasn’t cut the family ties.

He also plays in The Clayton Brothers, a quintet, with his dad and his uncle. (RN) geraldclayton.com

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Mike Stern Group [ JAZZ ] The fluid sound achieved by Mike Stern on guitar does not just refer to the beautiful, easy flow of his legato runs. Like Pat Metheny, Stern plays with a liquid quality that transports

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band currently includes not one, but two drummers, bass, and piano, all mixing with Eick’s soft and warm trumpet swoons and swells that hang overtop the musical foundation beneath him. Listen closely, and let the complexity sink in; Eick knows how to blow his horn. (WC) mathiaseick.no

Liane Carroll Trio PHOTO PROVIDED

Liane Carroll Trio [ VOCAL STANDARDS ] British songstress stretches her vocal prowess across multiple octaves and tones. Consequently, the standards in the well-worn bible she swears on get a nice kick in the ass. She has performed in groups with the likes of Trevor Watts and in the Dave Holdsworth Band before forming her own group in 1990 with her husband, Roger Carey. (FD) lianecarroll.co.uk

the music into dream territory. Fresh out of Berklee College of Music, he joined jazzrockers Blood, Sweat & Tears at the age of 22. Next stop was Billy Cobham’s fusion band. And then, still in his 20s, Stern was tapped by Miles Davis. After three years with Davis, he joined Jaco Pastorius’ group and, later, the fusion band Steps Ahead. Since the mid-1980’s Stern has recorded more than a dozen albums as a leader and hundreds more as a sideman, always remaining true to his unique sound. (RN) mikestern.org

Mathias Eick [ Smooth Jazz ] Norwegian trumpet player Mathias Eick has been quite busy for somebody who just hit 30. He’s won international jazz-talent awards, has a second album in the works, and yet still has time to lend his chops to the Jaga Jazzist group, the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and Chick Corea. His touring

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door of replacements, before arriving at its current line-up, which includes original members singer-guitarist Henry Paul and drummer Monte Yoho. The group’s latest album, “Hidin’ Out In Tennessee,” was released this spring. (FD) outlawsmusic.com Sultans of String [ WORLD ] Canadian guitar quintet Sultans of String plays a joyous mix of flamenco, Arabic, Cuban, and Gypsy jazz. Each component serves to augment the other, helping the band flesh out entire hybrid genres usually left in the cracks between by other artists. The band further dominates its own style with the inclusion of other rhythm sources and stringed instruments, like the six-string violin. (FD) sultansofstring.com Tom Harrell Chamber Ensemble [ JAZZ/CLASSICAL ] Tom Harrell once compared playing jazz to an artist painting spontaneously, expressing feelings “through the textures and colors of the sensual material world and then transcending that into the spiritual realm.” Those words are an apt description of the gorgeous music Harrell creates when picks up his trumpet.

Since the late 1960’s he’s worked with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Horace Silver, Bill Evans, Lee Konitz, and many more.

He’s also recorded more than two-dozen albums as a leader. Harrell’s beautiful playing combined with the wonderful compositions of Ravel and Debussy sounds like a match made in heaven. (RN) tomharrell.com Yggdrasil featuring Eivor See listing for Friday, June 22.

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[ BIOS ] 78 RPM Band [ BIG BAND ] Starting out as an Oktoberfest band way back in 1973, local band 78 RPM plays a mix of big-band favorites as well as contemporary cuts with its brassy flourish. (FD) 78rpmband.com Bill Tiberio Band [ JAZZ ] Bill Tiberio is one of the most beloved music teachers in the Rochester area, having led jazz bands and other ensembles at Fairport High School for more than two decades.

But when he’s not teaching, he’s honking away on his saxophone with a broad, funky sound reminiscent of Maceo Parker.

Tiberio specializes in nicely shaped melodic solos catchy enough to appeal to both jazz and pop audiences. Often called upon to enhance a visiting performer’s horn section, Tiberio has shared the stage with Fred Wesley, Lou Gramm, The Temptations, Nestor Torres, and The Four Tops. (RN) billtiberioband.com Brandi Disterheft [ JAZZ WITH A TWIST ] Bassist-singer Brandi Disterheft left her native Vancouver for New York City to study with the legendary bassist Ron Carter. But it isn’t all jazz. This young lady studies classical as well, and incorporates doses of eccentricity

[ SCHEDULE ] and rock to the mix. She is both beautiful and beautifully compelling. [FD] brandidisterheft.com Breach [ AVANT-GARDE ] Breach is an experimental trio composed of three of the most progressive musicians in Scotland.

Guitarist Graeme Stephen, organist Paul Harrison, and drummer/percussionist Chris Wallace use a variety of electronic devices to enhance their traditional jazz instruments. The resulting compositions invite audiences to enter ethereal sonic landscapes that can instantly veer in a variety of unexpected, but always dynamic, directions. (RN) breachtrio.com Catherine Russell [ SOUL/JAZZ ] Chances are you’ve previously seen or heard Catherine Russell. Russell, an associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music, has lent her formidable pipes to songs and concerts by Steely Dan, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Madonna, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and Rosanne Cash, to name a few. That’s because the vocal utility in her arsenal is fortified with everything from barrelhouse bellows to sultry ballad swoon to cool torch-song come-ons.

And the talent runs deep; her dad was Louis Armstrong’s musical director when Satchmo moved operations to New York in 1935. (FD) catherinerussell.net Eivør Palsdottir w/Mikael Blak [ WORLD ] It doesn’t matter what language she sings in, or if she uses words at all; the trance-inducing sounds that emanate from Eivør Palsdottir make her seem a woman possessed. Possessed with a gorgeously haunting vocal style, that is. The voice of the Faroe Islands singer at times may recall that of folk-hippie Melanie or emotional British rocker Kate Bush, but mostly it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before.

Mikael Blak supplies solid support on bass and keyboards. Together they can be counted upon to produce some of the

Brandi Disterheft PHOTO PROVIDED

16 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

continues on page 18

4:30 p.m.: Brockport HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: Spencerport HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:30 p.m.: Catherine Russell Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 5:45 p.m.: Kristian Blak Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Joe LaBarbera Quintet Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Ninety Miles Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: ESM Honors Performance Units Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: 78 RPM Big Band Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Luca Ciarla Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Brandi Disterheft Group Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Breach Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: Bill Tiberio Band RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Catherine Russell Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 7:15 p.m.: Jazz FM Big Band directed

by Jules Estrin Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:30 p.m.: Eivor Palsdottir with Mikael Blak Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Ha Ha Tonka Abilene ($20 or Club Pass)

7:45 p.m.: Kristian Blak Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 8:30 p.m.: Monophonics Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Breach Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Bill Tiberio Band RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 9:15 p.m.: Jazz FM Big Band directed

by Jules Estrin Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: Eivor Palsdottir with Mikael Blak Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Ha Ha Tonka Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Luca Ciarla Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Brandi Disterheft Group Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Ninety Miles Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Joe LaBarbera Quintet Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Monophonics Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jazz Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar and Grill (FREE)

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most ethereal sounds of the festival. (RN) eivor.sweetgiggles.net Ha Ha Tonka [ AMERICANA ] Ha Ha Tonka is a roots-rock band, but one that stretches beyond the genre’s usual themes and limits. There’s plenty of faded denim and big-sky vistas, but Ha Ha Tonka isn’t fenced in. Think Wilco, just not as extrapolated, or maybe even early R.E.M. The band delivers its message hook, groove, and sinker in tight little episodes and anthemic opuses, like the ones all over its most recent album, “Death of a Decade.”

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Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey [ JAZZ ] Medeski Martin & Wood and Bad Plus may be the best known of the fusion groups to have emerged when jazz bands and jam bands collide, but the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is gaining ground. Hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, the quartet is unusual not only for its use of lap steel guitar, but also for its repertoire. In addition to playing tunes by Charles Mingus and Dave Brubeck, JFJO also covers songs by Bjork, Brian Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, and Neil Young. The group’s most recent project is also its most serious and ambitious, a suite of music inspired by the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. (RN) jfjo.com Jam Session with Bob Sneider Trio See listing for Friday, June 22.

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Joe LaBarbera Quintet [ JAZZ ] Drummer Joe LaBarbera was born in Mt. Morris, New York, to a family that produced three major jazz players.

(The other two are saxophonist Pat LaBarbera and trumpeter-arranger John LaBarbera.) He was a top drummer on the Rochester scene in the mid-1960’s when he worked with Joe Romano, and in the 1970’s when he played with Chuck Mangione. LaBarbera rose to national fame while touring for two years in the trio of pianist Bill Evans. Since then he has worked with some of the top names in jazz, including Tony Bennett, Randy Brecker, and Jim Hall. (RN) myspace. com/joelabarberamusic Kristian Blak [ Nordic/World ] Ever heard of the Faroe Islands? I hadn’t, but the musical soundscape there has given Denmark-born Kristian Blak his muse.

A pianist and composer, Blak blends the Nordic folk tradition with jazz sensibilities, creating a sound that is rooted in both world and folk music, yet also knocks on the door of jazz’s rhythmic complexities and musical intricacies. Each song is a musical journey to the very island shores that Blak now calls home, taking the listener to worlds not often travelled. Blak is also the founder and member of Nordic group Yggdrasil, also playing the festival.

(WC) kristianblak.com Luca Ciarla Quartet [ JAZZ ] Falling somewhere between Gypsy and Mediterranean, and traditional and modern, Luca Ciarla is taking the violin (and baritone violin) kicking and screaming into the future. His equally virtuosic partners in his quartet are Vincenzo Abbracciante on accordion; Nicola Di Camillo, acoustic bass guitar and double bass; and Francesco Savoretti, drums and percussion. Aside from his own tunes, Ciarla favors the music of greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Django Reinhardt. (RN) lucaciarla.com

Ninety Miles PHOTO PROVIDED

Monophonics [ PSYCHEDELIC SOUL ] Since 2005, San Francisco psychedelic sextet Monophonics has brought as much funky heat as it has the fuzzy cool.

The band plays psychedelic soul, which sometimes gets pegged as black rock on account of its marriage of black soul and white rock. There’s some Sly soul in there along with some big rhythm ’n’ brass in the band’s overall classic groove. It’s a groove from an era when funk, r&b, rock, and soul shared the airwaves to create excitement and a sexy groove. It ain’t the Mothership, but it’ll get you there. (FD) monophonics.com Ninety Miles [ JAZZ ] Trumpeter Christian Scott was born in New Orleans, saxophonist David Sánchez is from Puerto Rico, and vibraphonist Stefon Harris hails from in Albany. All three are bona fide stars on the American jazz scene, but their latest project takes them off shore, over 90 miles of ocean, to reach the great musical legacy of Cuba. Seeking to explore the links between rhythmically and harmonically challenging Aftro-Cuban musical traditions and American jazz, Scott, Sánchez, and Harris recorded their latest album in Havana. The project — which also includes some excellent Cuban musicians — is among the most vibrant they have produced in their careers. (RN) ninetymilesproject.com

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Kim Lenz & the Jaguars Lenz’s adoptive father first introduced

[ PROFILE ] BY FRANK DE BLASE

With her flame-red titan tresses, sexified on-stage hip-swivel, and throaty purr, Los Angeles’ Kim Lenz is one righteous rockabilly filly. After four albums and roughly 20 years on the scene, Lenz and her band, The Jaguars, continue to barnstorm the States and beyond.

Lenz recently gave City a call after returning from a quick trip to Spain.

Spanish jet lag notwithstanding, she was bubbly and chatty about these recent shows.

“They really love American rock ’n’ roll,” Lenz says. “They are crazy audiences. They love to get down front, jump around, and get all crazy. It’s like it was here 15 years ago.”

Crazy? She hasn’t seen Big Al at Abilene when he sees a band he likes.

Still, she’s right; things have changed.

“The paradigm is shifting over here,” she says. “Record companies are pretty much dead; radio’s pretty much nonexistent.”

But while social media and digital downloads are erasing human contact, Lenz sees it as a way of getting closer. She maintains a stable of around 12,000 fans on Facebook, announcing shows, sharing songs, keeping her followers updated.

“In a way, it’s more intimate,” she says. And the fans are diehard. “I have to say, with people that are into roots music, they don’t change much,” Lenz says.

“They’re not like people into pop music.

They stick around forever.”

Those diehard fans stuck around when

Lenz, at the height of her career, took a maternity leave in 200X. “I took six years off to have my son,” she says, “playing a date here or there, but I thought, No one’s going to remember me, no one’s going to care, I 20 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

Rockabilly artist Kim Lenz notes that the recording industry in America is changing rapidly, but advances in social media has allowed her to be more intimately involved with her fans than ever before. PHOTO PROVIDED

guess I’ll just retire. But dang, everybody remembered me, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I get to keep doing this. Excellent!”’

Her triumphant re-emergence was marked by the release of her fourth album, “It’s All True,” on her own Riley Records Label in 2009.

“It was my first record after taking a break,” Lenz says. “I had grown as a person — you know, being a mom. And I think in the earlier part of my career, I was a little insecure and relied on other people with the producing. I didn’t trust myself in a lot of the ways that I wish I had. With this record, I decided I was going to do as much as I could myself. I got everything exactly as I wanted it.”

Lenz to music. By the early 80’s, she was hanging out in San Diego’s mod-rocker scene. It was when she moved north that the rockabilly bug bit.

“I moved to L.A. in 1988,” she says.

“And that was during the time there was this explosion of all these amazing bands in L.A., like Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys, The Dave & Deke Combo. Royal Crown Revue was just getting started. It was a pretty magical time, and I really got hooked on that kind of music.”

Lenz returned to college at the University of North Texas to finish her degrees in anthropology and sociology with a minor in music. “I always thought I would be a psychologist,” says Lenz.

It was during this academic jaunt that Lenz first performed, and there was no turning back. “My first gig was at a coffeehouse,” says Lenz. “I couldn’t sleep the whole night after. I was like, This is so cool. It was then that I realized what I’m supposed to do.”

So the degree in sociology helps her deal with rowdy audiences, both here and abroad. The minor in music helps her read the dots. And the degree in anthropology gives her insight to the future, when scientists unearth the remains of rockabilly man and his longgone culture.

“I think those people will still think rock ’n’ roll was pretty crazy,” she says.

Kim Lenz & the Jaguars perform Monday, June 25, at 7:45 & 9:45 p.m. at Abilene Bar & Lounge. Tickets cost $20, or you can use a Club Pass.

[ SCHEDULE ] 4:30 p.m.: WebsterThomas HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: ECMS Latin Jazz Ensemble Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:30 p.m.: Jeff Lorber Fusion Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 5:45 p.m.: Eldar Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: ESM Honors Performance Units Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: Mike Cottone Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Pedrito Martinez Group Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Brockport Community Big Band Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Terence Blanchard Quintet Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Gregoire Maret Quintet Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Nicholas Payton XXX Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Fraser Fifield Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: Teagan & The Tweeds RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Jeff Lorber Fusion Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 7:15 p.m.: Calle Uno Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:30 p.m.: Sunna Gunnlaugs Trio Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Eldar Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass)

7:45 p.m.: Kim Lenz & The Jaguars Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 8 p.m.: Gerry Niewood Jazz Scholarships Performance Kodak Hall (FREE) 8:30 p.m.: Gypsophilia Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Fraser Fifield Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Nicholas Payton XXX Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Teagan & The Tweeds RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 9:15 p.m.: Calle Uno Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: Sunna Gunnlaugs Trio Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Kim Lenz & The Jaguars Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Terence Blanchard Quintet Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Pedrito Martinez Group Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Mike Cottone Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Gypsophilia Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Gregoire Maret Quintet Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jazz Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar & Grill (FREE)

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Monday, June 25

of a poppy indie component, the band found itself standing alone, but also standing in front of sold-out audiences everywhere it went. The music is fun, with forays into darkness and light, like a disco breakdown in the middle of a violin-driven bop number.

That’s right. (FD) gypsophilia.org

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

[ BIOS ] Calle Uno [ LATIN ] If you are an aficionado of salsa and merengue music, or you simply love to move and shake, your best bet at this year’s XRIJF will be the hottest band this side of the Genesee.

Calle Uno’s got it all: the punctuating horns, the polyrhythmic percussionists, and dynamic singer Robert Navarro ruling the roost. Once this group enters the Afro-Cuban groove, it never lets it go. This band is simply impossible to resist. (RN) grupocalleuno.com/home.cfm Eldar [ JAZZ ] Eldar Djangirov has been turning heads since the age of 9, when he wowed the audience at a jazz festival in the Russian city of Novosibirsk. The following year a jazz aficionado brought him from his home in Kyrgyzstan to the United States to study at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. His family moved to Kansas City in 1998, and at the age of 12 he was on “Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz.” After winning a variety of jazz competitions in his teenage years, he was signed to Sony at the age of 17. Now in his mid-20s, Eldar is still stunning audiences at every appearance. (RN) eldarmusic.com Fraser Fifield [ WORLD ] Whether he’s playing pipe, saxophone, or low whistle, Fraser Fifield seems to channel the entire musical legacy of Scotland in his beguiling melodies. But it’s by no means merely echoes of the past that emanate from the instruments he plays; Fifield’s gorgeous improvisations are as contemporary as those of any musician at the XRIJF. At the age of 9 Fifield started with bagpipes.

By the time he reached the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow he had moved on to saxophone and, in recent years, he has favored the low whistle. Before striking out on his own, Fifield played with Wolfstone and The Old Blind Dogs. (RN) fraserfifield.com Gerry Niewood Jazz Scholarships Performance [ JAZZ ] When Gerry 22 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

Jam Session with Bob Sneider Trio See listing for Friday, June 22.

Fraser Fifield PHOTO PROVIDED

Niewood died in a plane crash near Buffalo three years ago, the world lost a brilliant musician and a wonderful human being.

Though he was an occasional bandleader and a sought-after session man, Niewood’s most familiar role was as sideman extraordinaire with Chuck Mangione, playing multiple reed instruments.

Niewood studied at Eastman, and it’s a safe bet some of the students playing at this concert in his name will be the jazz stars of the future. (RN) Gregoire Maret Quintet [ SMOOTH JAZZ ] You know, I was just going to say that Swiss harmonicat Gregoire Maret plays with the same fluid elegance as Toots Thielemans, when I read that Toots and Maret have shared both studio and stage time together. Maret is in high demand, and has played with contemporary jazz favorites like Pat Metheny, George Benson, Cassandra Wilson, and David Sanborn. His style could be very easily tagged as smooth jazz if it weren’t for his pursuit of the ethereal. (FD) gregoiremaret.com Gypsophilia [ GYPSY JAZZ/POP ] It seems that Gypsy jazz is the go-to spice on the rack for a lot of artists in search of delicate heat. So what happens when Gypsy jazz gets infused with, let’s say, indie rock? The answer is Nova Scotia’s Gypsophilia. The band started in 2004 as a Django send-up, with the inclusion of related styles like klezmer and even classical. But with the introduction

Jeff Lorber Fusion [ Fusion/Smooth Jazz ] Jeff Lorber was playing fusion before fusion was simply called “contemporary jazz.” At one point he dropped the term “fusion” from his group entirely, only to now find himself pushing the musical envelope with his 2012 genre-mixing and -mashing release, “Galaxy,” which pulls in more styles and genres than there are stars in the sky.

His song “Rain Dance” became a huge hit for Notorious Big and Lil’ Kim as “Crush on You.” You may also recognize a few of his tunes without knowing it: several of his songs have been featured on the Weather Channel’s various segments, and he also did musical work on the video game “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,” in case the Weather Channel doesn’t get your blood rushing.

(WC) lorber.com Mike Cottone Quartet [ Jazz ] Currently residing in New York City, where he performed with the likes of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Mike Cottone will return to his hometown of Rochester for this year’s XRIJF. Cottone holds degrees from both Eastman and Julliard, has performed on the Royal Caribbean cruise lines, aboard the Queen Mary 2, and at previous iterations of the RIJF. Last year saw the release of his debut album, “Just Remember,” on which Cottone demonstrated both his performing and composing chops. After the homecoming festivities, Cottone will be heading to Los Angeles to study with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter as part of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, putting his name in some great company indeed. (WC) mikecottone.com Nicholas Payton XXX [ JAZZ ] Looking back it seems inevitable that Nicholas

Payton would become a great trumpet player. Born in New Orleans to a musical family, he received his first trumpet at the age of 4. By age 9 he was sitting in with the Young Tuxedo Brass Band, and by 12 he was touring with the All-Star Brass Band.

When it came time for college he chose the University of New Orleans, where he studied with the great Ellis Marsalis. Since then his beautiful tone has enhanced the music of Clark Terry, Ray Brown, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, and many others.

Among his many recordings is a Grammy Award-winning collaboration, 1997’s “Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton.” (RN) nicholaspayton.com Pedrito Martinez [ WORLD ] With roots in the Afro-Cuban rumba tradition and the vocal chants of Yoruba and Santeria music, the Pedrito Martinez Group is one of the most infectious bands you’re likely to hear. While Martinez and keyboard player-vocalist Ariacne Trujillo were born in Havana, Cuba, percussionist Jhair Sala is from Peru, and bassist Alvaro Benavides is from Venezuela. At the age of 11 Martinez was already singing and playing. In 1998 Jane Bunnett brought him to the United States with Spirits of Havana and, in 2000, he took first place in the Thelonious Monk Competition in Afro-Latin Hand Drumming. Since moving to New York he’s worked with Paquito D’Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill, Bebo Valdés, and many others. (RN) pedritomartinezmusic.com Sunna Gunnlaugs Trio [ WORLD ] Born near Reykjavik, Iceland, pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs plays in a contemplative style that may remind you of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. As a child Gunnlaugs began playing Beatles songs, polkas, and Strauss waltzes on the organ. Then she heard her first record by Evans and there was no turning back. In 1993 she came to study in the United States and 1996 she moved to Brooklyn. As deeply as she dived into jazz, she never left Icelandic folk music behind, and it’s that intriguing combination that makes her music unique. Seven albums later she is living in Iceland and

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touring the world with her music. (RN) sunnagunnlaugs.com Teagan and the Tweeds [ ROCK ’N’ ROLL ] Back in 2006, a then-18-year-old singer-songwriter Teagan Ward determined that she had had enough of the laidback coffee-bean scene. She wanted to step it up a little bit and have more fun with a lot of people on stage, play a little bit louder, and a little bit faster. Ward’s material always came on strong with its rock hooks and tenacity; you could almost hear the ghost of a band clamoring in the background even when she was a solo act. The now fleshed-out band comes off pleasant and unassuming in person but sprouts horns once it hits the stage. (FD) teaganandthetweeds.com Terence Blanchard Quintet [ JAZZ ] You probably know more of trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s music than you think.

Blanchard has composed more than 50 film scores, including several for Spike Lee (“Malcolm X,” “Jungle Fever”), and he has played on others (“Do The Right Thing” and “Mo’ Better Blues”). He has a wonderful trumpet tone that, when muted, recalls the finest work of Miles Davis.

In recent years Blanchard has appeared on HBO’s New Orleans-based series, “Treme,” and has expanded his scoring work to include a Broadway production of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” (RN) terenceblanchard.com

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Dweezil Zappa living in the past, or having the people who formerly played it being key to it.

So you needed the right mindset first? How about the audience?

Part of the whole process of doing this is to kind of re-educate the audience to have a different perspective, because it’s very easy for people to think of this as nostalgiabased entertainment. Frank’s music is very contemporary and, in fact, way ahead of its time. Future generations should want to learn this music and play it correctly.

What has Frank Zappa’s music taught you?

Through Zappa Plays Zappa, Dweezil Zappa brings to life the work of his late father, the legendary Frank Zappa. “Frank’s music is very contemporary and, in fact, way ahead of its time. Future generations should want to learn this music and play it correctly,” Dweezil says. PHOTO PROVIDED [ INTERVIEW ] BY FRANK DE BLASE

Frank Zappa was a musician whose approach to music was unconventional, humorous, free, and consequently maligned by those who clung to the predictable safety of mainstream music’s teat. Zappa explored the fringes as a composer and as an incendiary guitarist. In 1966 he formed The Mothers of Invention and tested the boundaries of avant-garde music as well as polite society with the band’s irreverent explorations of both music and humor. Frank Zappa broke the mold and continued to break it until his death in 1993 at age 53.

Since 2006, Dweezil Zappa — one of Frank’s sons — has taken chunks of his father’s catalogue and painstakingly re-created them note for note, word for word, ad hoc, verbatim. As much as we know of Frank Zappa —his enigmatic genius and off-color, off-tempo, off-beat humor — there is plenty we don’t. His project Zappa Plays Zappa tackles this reverently and referentially.

Frank Zappa once said talking about music is like dancing about architecture.

Dweezil Zappa called up from his home 24 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

in California, and we did just that for 10 minutes or so. An edited transcript of our conversation follows.

CITY: How did you choose which songs to tackle?

Dweezil Zappa: There’s so much music to

choose from; it’s a constant challenge to see what we’re going to focus on.

Was Zappa Plays Zappa inevitable?

It’s something I didn’t know was going to be totally possible until I put some effort into learning the music. I didn’t want to do it unless it was done to the right standards.

It’s a daunting catalogue. How did you approach it?

The real key to all this stuff is the music itself is inspirational — not only to me but to other people. The idea would be, if you’re inspired to learn the music the way it is written, future generations will have the opportunity to be exposed to it and be inspired... not just perceiving the music as

There’s so much, it’s hard to tell. The main thing — and what people probably don’t know about Frank’s music — is he started writing orchestral music as a young teenager. He studied on how to be a composer from books at the library. He sent music he had written out to orchestras with no one taking him seriously.

So over the years, his music was developed by rock bands under his baton. He would use his rock band as his orchestra. He did work with orchestras in his career, but his music was more along the line of compositions than a rock band writing four-chord songs.

When I was young, a lot of things appealed to me in the music. When I was younger, I didn’t know what the names of those things were. So when I studied the music, I had to discover the devices — not equipment, but the things Frank used in his compositions.

This is clearly more than a Zappa tribute or cover band.

People may say Zappa plays Zappa is a cover band. Well, technically an orchestra is a cover band.

And Frank Zappa is virtually a genre at this point.

The problem we perpetually run into with this project and with his music was, people want to continues on page 26

[ SCHEDULE ] 4:30 p.m.: GreeceAthena HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: PittsfordSutherland HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:30 p.m.: Big Sam’s Funky Nation Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 5:45 p.m.: Bill Dobbins Plays Ellington Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Jack Allen Big Band Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Marcello Pellitteri Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: 5 After 4 Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Benny Green Trio Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Jayme Stone Group Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Tommy Smith & KARMA Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: NeWt Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: Tussey Mountain Moonshiners RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: New Horizons Big Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Big Sam’s Funky Nation Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 7:30 p.m.: IPA Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Bill Dobbins Plays

Ellington Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Clinton Curtis Band Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 8 p.m.: Zappa Plays Zappa Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre ($40-$95) 8:30 p.m.: Pedrito Martinez Group Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: NeWt Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Tommy Smith & KARMA Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Tussey Mountain Moonshiners RG&E Stage (FREE) 9:15 p.m.: Music Educators Big Band w/Bill Tiberio Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: IPA Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Clinton Curtis Band Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Marcello Pellitteri Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Benny Green Trio Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: 5 After 4 Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Jayme Stone Group Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Pedrito Martinez Group Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jazz Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar & Grill (FREE)

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In-depth interviews with top performers.

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Dweezil Zappa CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

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take the easy route and say, “I could see any cover band play this stuff.” But you really can’t, you know? To hear it played correctly, it takes a lot of time and effort. It’s like training for the Olympics to play this stuff.

Do you think your father’s humor overshadows the music a bit?

I think it has over the years. It’s just one of those things. Some people think if you have a sense of humor, then you don‘t take yourself seriously. Frank took what he did very seriously. He just also liked to have a good time. People who have a very pompous view of what they do and what their music is supposed to represent tend to be taken more seriously. But Frank didn’t really care for that kind of presentation.

Where does the Dweezil get interjected amid all the Frank?

that for a number of reasons. In the beginning, I didn’t want to have any recordings available of what we were doing. That didn’t seem to be part of the process for me. The reason I started this was to be the catalyst to a new generation of people to experience this music — not just the long-time fans, but new people.

Upon first listen, I wanted what we did to be as close to the original as possible, so when they got to the original they knew what they were in for. So adding my own thing to it would be opposite of that goal.

But over a period of time, people have grown accustomed to the band, and they’ve been interested in hearing it deviate from the goal of the original project. It gives life to the music. People are aware of the different versions out there already, and this gives them a few more.

Dweezil Zappa performs Zappa Plays Zappa Tuesday, June 26, 8 p.m. at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Tickets cost $40-$95.

Since I started this in 2006, I stayed away from

[ BIOS ] 5 After 4 [ JAZZ ] Powerhouse drummer Vito Rezza is one of the most in-demand percussionists on the Toronto jazz scene.

Just watch him solo, making use of every facet of the drum set — seemingly all at once — and you will understand why. The formidable group he leads, 5 After 4, with Matt Horner on various keyboards, John Johnson on sax, and Peter Cardinali on bass, gives new meaning to the term “wall of sound.” (RN) 5after4.com Benny Green Trio [ JAZZ ] While Benny Green was growing up, the stereo in his Berkley, California, home was always playing music. And, since his dad was a jazz saxophonist, the music tended to be

by Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker.

By the time Green was 7, he was trying out some of those tunes at the piano. In his teenage years he joined a band with Chuck Israels. Then it was off to New York, where he played with Betty Carter, Art Blakey, and Freddie Hubbard. In 1993 the great Oscar Peterson recognized his talent when

Big Sam’s Funky Nation PHOTO PROVIDED

he selected Green as the first recipient of the City of Toronto’s Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in Music. Since then he has forged a career as one of the top pianists in jazz. (RN) Big Sam’s Funky Nation [ NEW ORLEANS FUNK ] Fronted by ex-Dirty Dozen Brass Band trombonist Big Sam Williams, Big Sam’s Funky Nation is like a parade at a red light, just waiting on the green. Williams has added his brassy blast to tours with artists like Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint. But don’t let the funk scare

you; there’s a whole lot of swing in there, too. It’s going to get sweaty up in this joint.

(FD) bigsamsfunkynation.com Bill Dobbins Plays Ellington [ JAZZ ] Bill Dobbins has a well-earned reputation as a top-notch big band director. In Rochester he currently serves as director of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and the Eastman Studio Orchestra. In Europe jazz fans know him as the long-time conductor of the WDR Big Band (1994-2002) and occasional conductor of the famed Metropole Orchestra. But when his hands are not busy conducting large ensembles, they are gliding over a piano keyboard with equal measures of facility and

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dexterity. Dobbins, who has played with Clark Terry, Red Mitchell, Phil Woods, and Peter Erskine, is an expert on Duke Ellington, whose oeuvre he’ll be exploring at the XRIJF. (RN) esm.rochester.edu/faculty/dobbins_bill Clinton Curtis Band [ ROCK ] Clinton Curtis is all over the map, literally and musically. His parents owned the legendary dancehall Club Kokua on Negril Beach, where a young Clinton got to hang with reggae greats like Gregory Isaacs and Desmond Dekker. At 17 Curtis moved to the Big Apple to pursue acting before settling back on music. If it weren’t for his rock leanings, you might think he’s a jammer. Everything is in there, but it isn’t blended into an indiscernible puree. It still rocks. (FD) clintoncurtis.com Jack Allen Big Band [ BIG BAND ] Legendary band leader Jack Allen shuns the standard-issue podium, opting to sit in the continues on page 30 ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 27

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Thursday, June 26 Bios CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

trench with the other players, often playing his horn with one hand so as to conduct with the other. The man’s an expert, operating with confidence and ease. That’s because he’s been playing for most of his 80 years. By the time Allen was 17 he was gigging regularly in Rochester hotspots like The Swing Club on Buffalo Road, The Riviera Club on Mt. Read Boulevard, The Bartlett Club on Bartlett Street, and The Chateau on Monroe Avenue.

In 1943 Allen hit the road with The Tommy Reynolds Big Band, touring the East Coast and Midwest, including stands at The St. Charles Theatre and The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. In the late 70’s he joined The Chick Edmond Big Band. Fifteen years later he would take over the group with Edmond’s blessing. (FD) thejackallenbigband.com Jam Session with the Bob Sneider Trio See listing for Friday, June 22.

Jayme Stone [ FOLK/WORLD ] The Globe and Mail in Toronto has called Jayme Stone “the Yo-Yo Ma of the banjo,” and it’s not hard to see why. Two-time Juno Award-winning banjoist extraordinaire Stone specializes in investigating the folk music of different cultures. From West Africa to Scandinavia, from South America to Appalachia, Stone finds vital indigenous music and breathes new life into it. His latest album, “Room Of Wonders,” with music from North America, Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, Brazil, and Italy, is indicative of the wide sweep of his interests.

(RN) jaymestone.com Marcello Pellitteri Quartet [ JAZZ ] The most common name of a school you will encounter when reading about jazz musicians is Berklee College of Music in Boston. So the fact that Marcello Pellitteri is a professor who has taught drums there for 25 years is no small matter. Of course Berklee professors don’t just teach; Pellitteri has shared the stage with jazz giants like Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Jon Hendricks, and Paquito D’Rivera, not to mention the Boston Pops, the Taipei Philharmonic, and the Gipsy Kings. (RN) myspace.com/marcellopellitteri 30 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

NeWt [ Experimental ] Scottish trio NeWt’s music is much like the animal itself.

It’s slippery and hard to catch, but that won’t stop you from trying to listen or grasp the

NeWt PHOTO PROVIDED

creature or musical concepts being presented.

Guitar, trombone, and drums swirl into an avant-garde stream of musical consciousness.

Moments of what you may expect to hear will break through, but they’re only brief stopping points on a musical narrative that M. Night Shyamalan could have penned. To some NeWt may be an acquired taste, but here’s to trying something a little out of the norm. (WC) newtnet.co.uk Tommy Smith & KARMA [ Fusion ] Perhaps Scottish Saxophonist Tommy Smith did something really right in a past life. He was only 14 when he won both the best solo and group titles at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, and then his first album followed a year later at the ripe old age of 15. Now with his super-group, KARMA, Smith is joined by Steve Hamilton on piano and keys, Kevin Glasgow on bass, and Alyn Cosker on drums. The group blends myriad styles on what the group calls an “acid jazz adventure.”

Now how’s that for some good karma? (WC) tommy-smith.co.uk Tussey Mountain Moonshiners [ BLUEGRASS ] This spirited Central Pennsylvania band has been playing bluegrass and “dodging revenuers” since 2007. It has recently gone from quartet to quintet with the addition of another guitar to the fiddle-mandolin-banjo-bull-fiddle arsenal. This is just good ol’ red-blooded mountain music played by folks who actually reside on the mountain. (FD) tusseymountainmoonshiners.com

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W E D N E S D AY,

JUNE

27

Eliane Elias [ PROFILE ] BY RON NETSKY

When Eliane Elias moved from Brazil to New York City in 1982 she had dreams of breaking into the jazz world as a pianist. “I did not have intentions of becoming a singer,” says Elias.

“My whole devotion had been to the piano.”

Initially, things went according to plan.

She went to all the top clubs and hung out at jam sessions, making a strong impression at the keyboard every time she got the chance. It worked like a dream.

“I was immediately accepted by the jazz community and by the critics,” says Elias. “I was signed to Blue Note Records.” But by the time she recorded her first album, the secret was out. This pianist had a voice.

Sometimes she would use her voice as an instrument, and sometimes she would sing lyrics. At concerts she would sing a song or two, and the audience would always respond strongly.

“Eventually I was asked by a record company to do a special project featuring my voice. I did and it was so well received; everybody liked it. So I had to go out and sing a lot more live.”

Thirty years and two-dozen albums later, Elias has released “Light My Fire.” Although there is no shortage of wonderful piano playing on the CD, the focus is clearly on Elias’s sultry voice.

Growing up in Brazil, it was almost inevitable

Elias would gravitate toward music. Her mother was a classical pianist, and Elias grew up listening to her practice. Her grandmother played guitar and composed songs. And there was no shortage of Brazilian music. “It was on the streets, the radio, the television – everywhere,” Elias says.

But not all of her influences were local.

“I was fortunate because my mother had a great collection of jazz records,” says Elias.

“I heard so much jazz around the house, probably more than the average American 32 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

kid. It was playing all the time.”

She began taking classical piano lessons at the age of 7.

“When I was 11 years old, I was transcribing music from Art Tatum, from Bud Powell. Then I moved into Bill Evans,” says Elias. “I loved his harmonies, and Herbie [Hancock], I loved his inventiveness. Oscar Peterson – these are very Brazilian-born Eliane Elias grew up in a musical family, hearing jazz strong influences.” recordings at home and surrounded by Brazilian music, which was “on the streets, the radio, the television — everywhere.” PHOTO PROVIDED As for singing: Brazilian music is them a cassette of my music. It didn’t take primarily vocal music, says Elias, and the more than that. The word went around New singers were mostly composers who sang York, and I was invited to join Steps Ahead.” their own songs, like Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Although she found herself in one of the “I met Jobim for the first time when top fusion groups in jazz, Elias continued I was 17 years old,” says Elias. “ In fact, taking classical piano lessons.

I worked with his co-writer, Vinícius de “It was more for developing technique, the Moraes, for the last three years of his life. He ability to have an idea and have the technique was the greatest poet Brazil ever had.” and the sonority, which is so important. The The last project Jobim was going to beauty of some works to me as a composer play on was saxophonist Joe Henderson’s and arranger has been extremely important.

“Double Rainbow” album. When Jobim To do works by Ravel, Debussy, Bela Bartok, became too sick to participate, he chose Elias things that I play for my own pleasure – that to replace him at the piano. has been influential too.”

By the time she came to the United States at

the age of 21, her keyboard chops were strong.

“When I look back, it’s almost a fairy tale,” says Elias. “It was like a puzzle and I see all the pieces falling into place, because I moved to New York and I didn’t speak much English but I felt very comfortable in the city. I felt that the city was cute and small and safe compared to where I came from.

São Paulo is huge.”

“I started by going to clubs to hear the names that I was used to hearing on records,” says Elias. “I would introduce myself and give

The decision to focus on vocals has made a

difference in Elias’ current repertoire. “‘Light My Fire’ would not have been a song I would have chosen to perform on my instrumental albums,” says Elias. “When I put together the concept, I knew certain qualities I wanted to bring to music. One was to use the instruments more like sound architecture, where you create colors. Not everybody plays at the same time; elements come and go. I wanted something that would be a little bit more on the cool and sensual side. continues on page 34

[ SCHEDULE ] 4 p.m.: Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers Kodak Hall ($35-$60, SOLD OUT) 4:30 p.m.: Webster Schroeder HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: School of the Arts HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:30 p.m.: Bill Evans Soulgrass Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 5:45 p.m.: Benny Green Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: The Westview Project Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: ESM-XRIJF Jazz Scholarships Alumni Combo Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: Rino Cirinna & Friends Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Kneebody Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Eliane Elias Brasileira Quartet Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Shirantha Beddage Quartet Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Rich Thompson Trio Generations Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Osian Roberts/Steve Fishwick Quintet Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: Russell Scarbrough Soul Jazz Big Band RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Bill Evans Soulgrass Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 7:15 p.m.: Fred Costello Jazz Street Stage (FREE)

7:30 p.m.: FFEAR Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Benny Green Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Yvette Landry Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 8 p.m.: Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre ($35-$60, SOLD OUT) 8:30 p.m.: Big Sam’s Funky Nation Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Osian Roberts/Steve Fishwick Quintet Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Russell Scarbrough Soul Jazz Big Band RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 9 p.m.: Rich Thompson Trio Generations Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9:15 p.m.: Fred Costello Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: FFEAR Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Yvette Landry Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Rino Cirinna & Friends Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Eliane Elias Brasileira Quartet Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Shirantha Beddage Quartet Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Kneebody Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Big Sam’s Funky Nation Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jazz Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar and Grill (FREE) ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 33

Eliane Elias CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32

“‘Light My Fire’ was a hit everywhere. I always liked the tune. When I was coming up with the concept for the record, I put my hands on the piano and played just the way you hear on the record, very sultry.

Immediately I said, Wow, I’d like to record this tune. It’s done like a very slow bossa.”

When she decided to record Paul Desmond’s “Take Five,” she opted for a vocalese rendition.

“It was such an iconic song,” says Elias. “I thought why not bring the Brazilian element

to it and slow it down. Then I checked the lyrics, and I just couldn’t relate to them. But I still wanted to do the tune. I heard that Dave Brubeck heard it and loved it.”

At this point, Elias has a truly international career. She has counted 64 countries she has performed in on four continents. “It’s so wonderful to take the music to all the different cultures,” she says.

“Different people are all touched by the music in a similar way.”

But perhaps the person most touched by the music is Elias herself.

“There are some moments that are beyond what one can expect in terms of

creativity when I’m performing live,” she says.

“I am almost a vehicle. I’m listening together with everybody. Things just flow. There’s no separation, nothing blocking; it’s completely open between the creative state and my hands into the piano. Those things are sublime.”

The Eliane Elias Brasileira Quartet performs at 6 & 10 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, in Kilbourn Hall. Tickets cost $25 or you can use a Club Pass.

[ BIOS ] Benny Green [ JAZZ ] By the time Benny Green was 7 years old, he was plunking out jazz tunes at the family piano. While still a teenager he was precocious enough to play with greats like Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw. And, in his early 20s, he lent his keyboard talents to jazz royalty including Betty Carter, Art Blakey, and Freddie Hubbard. He was almost 30 when the great Oscar Peterson selected Green as the first recipient of Toronto’s Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in Music. Since then he has traveled the world as one of the most formidable pianists in jazz. (RN) Bill Evans Soulgrass [ JAZZ ] Saxophonist Bill Evans has had to contend with sharing a name with one of the greatest pianists in jazz history. To complicate matters, early in his career (like that other Bill Evans) he played with Miles Davis. He also did a stint with John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra.

But in recent years Evans has forged a path guaranteed to distinguish him from all other players. Soulgrass combines Evans’ soulful saxophone with a traditionally bluegrass banjo and fiddle, creating a fresh form of fusion as intricate as it is beautiful. (WC) billevanssax.com/wordpress/ Eliane Elias Quartet [ JAZZ ] Classically trained in Brazil, Eliane Elias honed her piano skills at the Juilliard School in New York in the early 1980’s. But she was adept enough at jazz to be asked to join the jazz supergroup 34 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

Ffear PHOTO PROVIDED

Steps Ahead with well-established players like Michael Brecker and Peter Erskine. Since leaving the group in the mid-1980’s, she’s been concentrating on her own bands. And while she’s known best for her excellent piano skills, she has more recently emerged as a formidable vocal stylist, lending a sultry air to Brazilian classics and American hits like the title tune of her new album, “Light My Fire.”

(FD) elianeelias.com Ffear [ CHAMBER JAZZ ] New York’s experimental chamber jazz ensemble Ffear embodies pretty much everything listeners fear when it comes to improvisational jazz.

But there is clearly a map in the apparent wandering; that or the band members share the same madness. With its classic phrasing amidst contemporary spelunking, this quartet is quirky, slightly chaotic, and fun.

You have nothing to fear but fear itself. (FD) reverbnation.com/ffear

Fred Costello [ SWING/ORGAN ] With a casual elegance and ever-present cheshire grin, Fred Costello has got to be Rochester’s king of hipster swing. Costello works the B-3 as if he had four hands. His organ has accompanied Rochester Red Wings’ balls, strikes, and home runs since 1977. But balls and strikes aside, Costello is a top-notch talent who has gigged everywhere, including extended stands in Vegas. You can get the skinny in his recent autobiography, “Fred Costello: A Lifetime Of Nightclubs & Ballparks.” (FD) fredcostello.com Generations Trio with Rich Thompson [ JAZZ ] When Eastman professor Rich Thompson is not teaching you can find him behind a drum set. Over the years he’s powered The Count Basie Orchestra, Tito Puente’s band, The Byron Stripling quartet, and many other groups. Pianist Christopher Ziemba appeared on “The David Letterman Show” at age 11. In 2011 he won the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. Now 25, Ziemba has been a guest on “Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz.” When Thompson and Ziemba joined forces with young bassist-composer Miles Brown six years ago, Generations Trio was born. (RN) Jam Session with Bob Sneider Trio See listing for Friday, June 22.

Kneebody [ AVANT-GARDE ] The instrumentation may be typical — trumpet, saxophone, keyboard, bass, and drums — but

leave it to Kneebody to transform the classic septet into an exotic mix.

At times it’s about a kind of insistent minimalism: the repeated riff, built upon and expanded.

But it Kneebody PHOTO PROVIDED can also be gorgeously strange harmonies and wild flights of fancy.

The band members are all top-notch players, but what makes Kneebody stand out from the crowd is a sensibility drawing on artists from Ornette Coleman to John Cage, from Frank Zappa to Radiohead. If you’re ready for one of the festival’s most adventurous journeys, get on board. (RN) kneebody.com

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Osian Roberts/Steve Fishwick Quintet [ JAZZ ] Saxophonist Osian Roberts is a Welshman and trumpeter Steve Fishwick is British. But put them together and you get a straight-ahead, hard-bop jazz band as American as apple pie. Roberts and Fishwick may both have studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, but their blistering solos have no British accent. When they harmonize, improvise or trade fours, they’re likely to remind you of an early Miles Davis group or Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

(RN) osianroberts.com, stevefishwickjazz.com Rino Cirinna & Friends [ MINIMALIST SAXOPHONE ] When the crowds and the heat have your radiator running in the red this year, this is the cat you’ll want to cool off to. Sicilian saxophonist Cirinna has been described as a minimalist, but frankly he’s a just-rightist with his subtle phrasing and willingness to let the others in the sandbox play as well. A third-generation musician, Cirinna also spends his time as a full-time member of the Mediterranean Jazz Orchestra.

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Wednesday June 27 Bios CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

Russell Scarbrough Soul Jazz Big Band [ JAZZ ] If you wonder what the word “soul” is doing in this big band’s title, check out a list of Russell Scarbrough arrangements. It includes songs by Ray Charles and Van Morrison, even Billy Paul’s “Me and Mrs. Jones.” Scarbrough’s innovative compositions and distinctive arrangements use the big-band palette in fresh and decidedly different ways. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Scarbrough is director of the Roberts Wesleyan College Jazz Ensemble. His own band is a 19-piece contemporary jazz orchestra boasting some of Rochester’s finest musicians. (RN) home.earthlink.net/~rscarbro/russell Shirantha Beddage [ JAZZ ] Born in North Bay, Ontario, saxophonist Shirantha Beddage came to Rochester to earn his doctorate at the Eastman School of Music. While there he received the school’s Raymond and Maxine Schirmer Prize for achievements in jazz composition. His wonderful album, “Roots and Branches,” confirms the high level of his compositional talents in addition to showcasing his formidable skills on baritone, tenor, and soprano saxophones.

Beddage, who also plays piano, serves as director of theory and harmony in the music department of Toronto’s Humber College.

(RN) shiranthabeddage.com Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers [ BLUEGRASS ] Steve Martin is more than just a wild and crazy guy, and The Steep Canyon Rangers are more than just a bluegrass band. The banjo is nothing new to Martin, who has incorporated the instrument into his act for years. To be sure, this is no novelty, as Martin knows his way around the oft-maligned instrument’s neck. He first demonstrated his fivestring prowess on Earl Scruggs’ remake of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” in 2001, and has appeared at a plethora of venues including Carnegie Hall, “A Prairie Home Companion,” and Bonnaroo. The band exhibits breathtaking dexterity, beautiful harmony, and a slick sense of humor. Just dig the groups “Atheists Don’t Have No

36 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

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Songs” and you’ll laugh milk through your nose. (FD) stevemartin.com, steepcanyon.com The Westview Project [ JAZZ ] Pianist Jeff Lawlis recently played at the White House, accompanying a young violinist.

Saxophonist Doug Stone has toured with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau.

Bassist Tim Larson has performed in blues, rock, and jazz groups from Boston to Seattle. And drummer Jim Blease laid down the beat in a variety of funk and r&b bands from South Dakota to Texas.

Put them together in the Westview Project and you’re guaranteed generous helpings of classic jazz from the 1950’s and 1960’s.

(RN) thewestviewproject.com Yvette Landry [ HONKY-TONK/AMERICANA ] Call it hard-

rocking honky tonk. Call it alt-country. Call it what you want, but Yvette Landry’s music is that jubilant upstart strain that American music is (was?) known for. Hailing from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, Landry sings pretty with a beautiful tone as twangy as her guitar.

She has toured with or backed up folks like Balfa Toujours, Bill Kirchen, Carol McComb, and the Lafayette Rhythm Devils. Landry also plays bass in the all-female Cajun band Bonsoir Catin. Her debut CD, the 16-track “Should Have Known,” was released in 2010.

(FD) yvettelandry.com ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 37

T H U R S D AY,

JUNE

28

Daryl Hall [ PROFILE ] BY RON NETSKY

I can still remember seeing a poster in Philadelphia in the early 1970’s advertising a show by Whole Oats at a small coffeehouse. Within a year, the duo had put out an album with beautiful harmonies and a song by Daryl Hall with a chorus saying “Don’t want to spend another fall in Philadelphia.”

They didn’t have to. They were off to New York, where they changed their name to Hall & Oates and never looked back.

But, Hall says: “You don’t ever leave Philadelphia. It’s certainly the birthplace of a lot of ridiculously good music.”

Hall was 18 in the mid-1960’s, when he played a talent show at the Uptown Theater.

The prize: cutting a single with two emerging producers, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

“I won,” Hall said in a recent interview.

“I went in the studio and started a relationship with them. I already knew The Intruders, The Stylistics, and the Delfonics from hanging out. It was the early Philly Sound. I got involved in doing studio work, writing songs. Then I started working with John Oates.”

But Hall’s main inspiration was at Motown. “Smokey Robinson was my hero,” said Hall. “I just wanted to be Smokey. If you want to pick me apart and figure me out, what he did as a songwriter and a singer has a lot to do with the way I sing.

“I just sang with him a couple of days ago. I was in Charleston hanging out.

Smokey was down there, so I called him up. I went up on stage with him, and then I did something I never do: I sat in the audience and listened.

I realized how much of what I do is what he does. It was really an ear-opening thing.

When Robinson was Hall’s guest on “Live From Daryl’s House,” the web-based show Hall will bring to the jazz festival, the musicians segued from Hall’s “Sara Smile” to Robinson’s “Ooh, Baby, Baby.”

The melismatic styles of the two singers were obviously linked.

Hall was the lead singer on blue-eyedsoul classics like “Sara

Daryl Hall’s show at the Jazz Fest will be based on his web TV series, “Live from Daryl’s House,” where Hall performs and chats with other artists. The guest for the Rochester show: Keb’ Mo’. PHOTO PROVIDED

38 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

Smile” and “She’s Gone” and guiltypleasure hits like “Kiss on My List” and “Rich

Girl.” Hall & Oates sold more records than any duo in history.

But when that phase of Hall’s career ended, he was looking for the next chapter.

Judging by the spirit of his webcast, he’s found it. The formula is simple. Guest artists visit his house, perform each other’s songs with his phenomenal band, chat, and have a feast.

“It comes out of joy,” said Hall. “It comes out of me doing what I was made to do. I’m the kind of musician that’s comfortable in a lot of different genres. Most musicians aren’t allowed to do that. You get pegged. What are you? You’re a country singer, you’re a soul singer, you’re a pop star, you’re a metal man.

“Thing is, I’m all of those types. So I don’t even know if this was conscious, but I was looking for a way to express myself to the max. A show like ‘Live From Daryl’s House’ is the only way you can really do that. Only through working with other bands, singing their songs and interacting with them singing my songs, can that really be pulled off.”

From the start, Hall’s webcasts have been free.

“There’s a certain amount of payback in it,” said Hall. “I’ve been really lucky in this business. I’ve been treated well by my fans.

But there’s also another thing. I figured, if I do this, it’s a way to draw people in. I haven’t made any money on this yet, but this live show is the beginning of me getting something back as well, so that we all win.

When he brings his “house” to Rochester, he’ll have a stage set identical to his music room, but it won’t be exactly the same.

“What makes my show unique is that it’s all generated from a no-audience standpoint,” said Hall. “It’s a funny balance. When you do it live, in order to make it like the show, you have to have this combination of involving the audience so that they feel like they’re on stage with you and, at the same time, continues on page 40

[ SCHEDULE ] 4 p.m.: The Gutbusters Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: Eastridge HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:30 p.m.: Ruthie Foster & The Family Band Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 5:45 p.m.: Harold Danko Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Greater Rochester Jazz Orchestra Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: The Abney Effect Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Bat McGrath Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: Colin Stetson Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Dominick Farinacci Quintet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Taurey Butler Trio Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Terje Rypdal & Bergen Big Band Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Mark McKnight Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: The Barrel House Blues Band RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Ruthie Foster & The Family Band Harro East Ballroom ($20 or Club Pass) 7:15 p.m.: Soul Stew Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:30 p.m.: Bjorn Thoroddsen Trio Lutheran Church $20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Pokey LaFarge and the South

City Three Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Harold Danko Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 8 p.m.: Daryl Hall “Live from Daryl’s House” w/Special Guest Keb’ Mo’ Kodak Hall At Eastman Theatre ($75-$115) 8:30 p.m.: Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Mark McKnight Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: The Barrel House Blues Band RG&E Fusion Stage (FREE) 9 p.m.: Terje Rypdal & Bergen Big Band Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9:15 p.m.: Soul Stew Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: Bjorn Thoroddsen Trio Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: The Abney Effect Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Dominick Farinacci Quintet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Taurey Butler Trio Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Colin Stetson Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jazz Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar and Grill (FREE)

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Daryl Hall CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38

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40 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

sort of ignoring the audience and interacting between ourselves on stage so that you get the feeling of being a fly on the wall.”

His guest on the tour will be soul-blues artist Keb’ Mo’. “He’s a really cool guy,” said Hall. “Musically, we clicked beautifully.

Personality wise, we have a back-and-forth thing on stage, and I think it’s going to be a natural ‘Daryl’s Housey’ kind of show.”

Hall’s latest album, “Laughing Down Crying,” finds him in top form. Songs like

“Crash and Burn” and “Get Out of the Way” are highly personal.

“All of these songs are a narrative of my life,” said Hall. “I think that’s what gives them whatever power they have. They come from very strong emotions and experiences.

I’ve never deviated from that. I don’t think I’ve ever written a song that didn’t have some relationship to what was actually going on in my reality.

“The two you picked were more tumultuous examples of that. There are songs about how good things are, but there are songs like those two about how things are pretty fucked up in my world and the world at large. That’s all part of the grand picture.”

Before our conversation ended, I couldn’t help mentioning another Philly singer who I thought influenced Hall’s style, the late Philippé Wynne of The Spinners.

“You just mentioned my second biggest influence in life,” Hall said. “You’re giving me goose-bumps saying that. He’s the man.

Nobody ever sang better ad libs than that guy.”

Hall was talking about the stream of conscious lyrics that sometimes come at the end of a song. Jazz artists call it improvising.

“The whole thing with ad libs is you cannot think it through. You have to just open your mouth and whatever comes out…. It’s gospel. It’s getting the spirit and letting it own you. Philippé was a master of it, and I try my best to do the same thing.”

Daryl Hall’s “Live From Daryl’s House,” with guest Keb’ Mo’, will be in Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre on Thursday, June 28. The performance is sold out

[ BIOS ] The Abney Effect [ JAZZ/FUNK ] Trumpeter Mario Abney emerged from the Dayton, Ohio, jazz scene to become a versatile sideman for a wide range of musicians, including Wynton Marsalis to Erykah Badu.

His latest concoction, The Abney Effect, is a little big band exploring musical genres like neo-soul, funk, Latin, and reggae, and the music of Parliament Funkadelic. Fortified by three horn players and two drummers, the group features the dynamic vocals of Zena Moses soaring over an irresistible groove.

(RN) myspace.com/abneyeffect Barrel House Blues Band [ ROADHOUSE BLUES ] You know you’re going to have a good time when a band has cats with names like Chooch, Papa Joe, Barstool Billy, and Nine Fingers Tommy in its ranks. This band offers up non-stop, down-and-dirty barroom blues with music by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Thackery, ZZ Top, Cream, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore, Walter Trout, and Jeff Healey in its arsenal. (FD) bhouseblues.com Bat McGrath [ SINGER/SONGWRITER ] In the early 1960’s, singer/songwriter Bat McGrath cut his teeth in this area with The Showstoppers, a band he formed with guitarist Don Potter. The band caught the ears of Columbia Records’ John Hammond and the band released two singles. In the early 1970’s McGrath worked with Chuck Mangione on the albums “Friends and Love” and “Together.”

Since the late 1980’s McGrath has lived in Nashville cranking out Colin Stetson PHOTO PROVIDED tunes for continues on page 42 ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 41

Thursday, June 28 Bios CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41

artists like Wynonna Judd, who recorded his “Come Some Rainy Day.” (FD) web.me.com/ batmcgrath Björn Thoroddsen [ JAZZ ] Whether he’s playing acoustic or electric guitar, Björn Thoroddsen reinvents the instrument with his lightning-fast runs and thumping percussive techniques. Thoroddsen started with rock in his native Iceland, and there’s still more than a little bit of Dick Dale in his playing. But he gradually gravitated toward jazz and, over the years has collaborated with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Ulf Wakenius, James Carter, Larry Coryell, and many others. If you want to hear virtuoso guitar at the XRIJF, Thoroddsen is your man. (RN) bjornthoroddsen.is Colin Stetson [ JAZZ ] Let’s just say Colin Stetson does the impossible. He lays down a percussive and melodic pattern on his gigantic bass saxophone and doesn’t stop playing it until the end of the tune. But that somehow does not stop him from soloing over that pattern in an astoundingly dreamlike manner. His cheeks flare and his face turns red, and you might think he’s going to explode, but it’s all under control. There are few musicians who really deserve to be described as remarkable; Colin Stetson is one of them. (FD) colinstetson.com Dominick Farinacci Quintet [ JAZZ ] His beautiful tone and the flights of fancy in his solos have prompted comparisons to Clifford Brown and Miles Davis. Not bad for a 28-year-old New York Citybased jazz trumpeter. Dominick Farinacci caught the ear of Wynton Marsalis when he was 17. Impressed, Marsalis asked him to perform with him on a PBS special at Lincoln Center. Since then he’s become an international star, collaborating with top players like Kenny Barron, Mulgrew Miller, Ron Carter, Joe Lovano, and Benny Golson.

(RN) dominickfarinacci.com Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers [ ZYDECO ] Dwayne “Dopsie” Rubin’s old man, Rockin’ Dopsie, is 42 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

considered the king of Zydeco. So here comes the prince. Dopsie grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, surrounded by Zydeco music’s spicy rattle and cry. The young man first got involved by strapping into a washboard before moving on to the accordion, where he really shines. People in the know know; Dopsie was voted “Hottest Accordion In America” in 1999 by the American Accordionists Association.

(FD) dwaynedopsie.com

Born in Ireland, he honed his technique at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Back home in Ireland he won the Best Young Irish Musician Award at the Cork Jazz Festival. In Switzerland he garnered third place in the Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition. (RN) markmcknight.co.uk

The Gutbusters [ ROCK/ BLUES/FOLK ] These five Newfoundlanders may look familiar. They’re some of the smiling mugs who have taken your ticket at the door at past RIJFs. This time they’ll be onstage as the Gutbusters, giving us their take on classic rock, blues, and folk standards. But while their bustin’ guts, who will man the doors? Will chaos ensue?

Tune in jazz fans; same jazz time, same jazz channel. (FD) Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three PHOTO PROVIDED Harold Danko [ JAZZ ] Before becoming chairman of the Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media Department at the Eastman School of Music, pianist extraordinaire Harold Danko honed his skills on the road with greats like Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, and others. His own solo, trio, and quartet albums rival the work of any pianist recording today. Danko, who has released more than two-dozen CDs as a leader since 1975, is also an excellent composer. His best-known tune, “Tidal Breeze,” has been recorded by Baker and Konitz, among others.

(RN) esm.rochester.edu/faculty/danko_harold Jam Session with Bob Sneider Trio See listing for Friday, June 22.

Mark McKnight [ JAZZ ] Mark McKnight is an absurdly dexterous guitarist whose fingers seem to fly over the frets, creating beguiling melodies as they go. With his extraordinary technique and distinctive style, it’s hard to believe that McKnight is still in his 20s.

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three [ OLD TIME/TIN PAN ALLEY ] If you’re a fan of The Asylum Street Spankers or The Hot Club of Cowtown, then St. Louis sensation Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three’s period-accurate swing and shuffle is for you.

Where some artists infuse their own twist or contemporary elements to the music, Pokey sticks with the classic, the tried, and true.

LaFarge intones with that tight megaphone projection reminiscent of Eddie Cantor or Al Jolson. (FD) pokeylafarge.net Ruthie Foster and the Family Band [ BLUES/GOSPEL/R&B ] Here’s the perfect jazz festival artist. Blending blues, rock, and r&b along with some sanctified and Dixie-fried gospel redemption, Austin, Texas’ Ruthie Foster scratches one itch while creating two more. Born into a gospel-singing family, Foster has applied that joy to more secular sounds.

She was nominated in 2009 for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album and won Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year at the 2010 Blues Music Awards. (FD) ruthiefoster.com

Soul Stew [ R&B ] Many members of the greatest generation of soul singers — Marvin Gaye, Philippe Wynne, James Brown, Teddy Pendergrass — are no longer Taurey Butler PHOTO PROVIDED with us. And legends like Al Green and Stevie Wonder are too expensive for a free show. Soul Stew comes to the rescue, grooving down from Canada to re-create the greatest hits of those stars and a whole lot more. Made up of Toronto’s top studio musicians, driven by the propulsive bass of Roberto Occhipinti, and featuring the powerful lead vocals of Michael Dunston, Soul Stew will see to it that you get up offa that thing. (RN) myspace.com/torontosoulstew Taurey Butler Trio [ Jazz/Soul ] Some say the music always finds a way. For Taurey Butler, his college life ended with him holding degrees in Japanese and electrical engineering; nothing close to the love for the jazz piano that he was cultivating. After music stints in New Jersey, New York Ctiy, Hong Kong, and Dubai, Taurey moved to Montreal, where he honed his fingers at the House of Jazz. Last year saw his first release on Justin Time Records, and this young, swinging pianist sure shows that it takes true musicianship, not just a degree, to be a real performer. (WC) myspace.com/taureybutler Terje Rypdal & Bergen Big Band [ AVANTGARDE ] Terje Rypdal began his career as a rock guitarist in his native Norway, but he gravitated toward jazz and, in 1968, joined Jan Garbarek’s group. He also worked with George Russell and became increasingly interested in free jazz. With most of his recordings on the adventurous ECM label, Rypdal is now best known for his atmospheric and ethereal style, but he can still rock out with the best of them.

He’ll be nicely matched at the XRIJF with the perpetually cutting-edge Bergen Big Band.

(RN) myspace.com/terjerypdalodyssey

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[ BIOS ] Big James and the Chicago Playboys [ BLUES ] Big James Montgomery got his start in Little Milton’s band, moved on to backing Albert King, before landing in Johnny Christian’s band. It’s as the late Christian’s backing band that the Chicago Playboys first came to light. The Playboys have since backed Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Eric Clapton. The Chicago Playboys are a heavy hitting, horncentric blues extravaganza. It’s big, it’s bad, it’s blue. (FD). bigjames.com The Bridge Trio [ PIANO JAZZ ] Though this trio calls New Orleans home, The Bridge Trio’s innovative sound isn’t as heavily reliant on the Crescent City’s highly influential blast as you might think. This is piano-driven jazz with a progressive emphasis mixed with an uplifting sensibility and prevalent percussive push. It’s the musical equivalent of springtime. (FD) reverbnation.com/thebridgetrio Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers See listing for Thursday, June 28.

Jam Session with Bob Sneider Trio See listing for Friday, June 22.

Jean-Michel Pilc [ PIANO ] Jean-Michel Pilc is one of the finest pianists to emerge from the Paris jazz scene in the last two decades. With his gorgeous style and his wickedly fast fingers, Pilc has lent his considerable talent to greats like Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Kenny Garrett, and John Abercrombie. He has also worked extensively as musical director and pianist with Harry Belafonte. Aside from his own excellent tunes, get ready to hear anything from Duke Ellington to Robert Schumann. (RN) jeanmichelpilc.com Jimmie Vaughan [ BLUES ] Whereas his brother — the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan — let fly with torrents of Freddie King- and Jimi Hendrix-tinged guitar wizardry, Jimmie Vaughan’s style is thoughtful and reserved. It still packs a 44 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

wallop, but Vaughan is more akin to the gunfighter with a deadly quick draw. Known for his tenure with contemporary blues heroes The Fabulous Thunderbirds, this Grammy-nominated guitarist’s style is immediately recognizable and just as quickly felt. It’s blues for your soul, blues for your guts.

(FD) jimmievaughan.com Marco Pignataro Quartet [ JAZZ ] Born in Bologna, Italy, Marco Pignataro studied classical music at the Bruno Marco Pignataro Quartet PHOTO PROVIDED Maderna Conservatory of Music without leaning too heavily on either genre. but, by the time he got to the University She has won 12 Grammy awards and has of Miami, he had crossed over to jazz. collaborated with various artists, including When he lifts his tenor saxophone to his Ray Charles. Her fifth and latest album, lips, you are in for a wild ride featuring “Little Broken Hearts,” was produced by swirls of notes reminiscent of John Danger Mouse. (FD) norahjones.com Coltrane. But, like Coltrane, Pignataro is also capable of slowing it down to Orlando Le Fleming Trio [ JAZZ ] Born in demonstrate gorgeous tone and a strong Birmingham, England, Orlando Le Fleming melodic flair while slithering in and grew up with a goal: to play cricket. After five around a ballad. (RN) marcopignataro.net years of professional league play, he changed his focus to music. Le Fleming attended The Music of Gil Evans with Ryan London’s Royal Academy of Music and Truesdell [ JAZZ ] Gil Evans was quickly became a first-call bassist, playing unquestionably one of the greatest arrangers with visiting American musicians like Bill in the history of jazz. While he was best Charlap, Art Farmer, Dave Liebman, and known for arranging four landmark albums Branford Marsalis. After moving to New York for Miles Davis (“Birth Of The Cool,” “Miles and backing Jane Monheit, Jimmy Cobb, and Ahead,” “Porgy and Bess,” and “Sketches of others, he is more than ready to claim some of Spain”), Evans also recorded significant works the spotlight. His superb trio also boasts Will as a band leader. After his death, composerVinson on alto sax and Lage Lund on guitar. conductor-arranger Ryan Truesdell was given (RN) orlandolefleming.com access to Evans’ archive. Truesdell discovered 50 pieces by Evans, from the 1930’s to the Peter Karp and Sue Foley [ BLUES ] Years 1980’s, that were completely unknown to the ago I drove two hours to see Sue Foley play. public. He is in the process of recording an There’s something about a redhead playing album of these works. (RN) ryantruesdell.com Ike Turner tunes, I guess. Her second Blind Pig collaboration with blues troubadour Norah Jones [ POP/JAZZ ] Norah Jones is Peter Karp, “Beyond The Crossroads,” takes the queen of contemporary cool. But there’s the blues medium and gooses it with a more a devil lurking inside Miss Jones. Her songs advanced and heartfelt lyricism. Nothing are exquisitely beautiful, sung in a seductively rings better in the blues than the truth. (FD) coquettish contralto. Her music straddles suefoley.com, myspace.com/peterkarp pop and jazz — among other things — continues on page 46

[ SCHEDULE ] 4:30 p.m.: GreeceOlympia HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: Newark HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:45 p.m.: JeanMichel Pilc Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Marco Pignataro Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: The Music of Gil Evans w/Ryan Truesdell Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: ECMS Saxology Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Rochester Metro Jazz Orchestra Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: The Bridge Trio Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Robi Botos Trio Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Orlando LeFleming Trio Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: Po’ Boys Brass Band East Ave. & Chestnut Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:30 p.m.: Terje Rypdal & Bergen Big Band Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: Peter Karp & Sue Foley Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: JeanMichel Pilc Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass)

8 p.m.: Norah Jones Kodak Hall Eastman Theatre ($36-$60; SOLD OUT) 8:30 p.m.: Big James & The Chicago Playboys Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Orlando LeFleming Trio Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Jimmie Vaughan & the Tilt-AWhirl Band East Ave. & Chestnut Stage (FREE) 9 p.m.: Robi Botos Trio Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9:15 p.m.: Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: Terje Rypdal & Bergen Big Band Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: Peter Karp & Sue Foley Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Music of Gil Evans with Ryan Truesdell Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Big James & The Chicago Playboys Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: The Bridge Trio Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Marco Pignataro Quartet Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jazz Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar & Grill (FREE)

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Friday, June 29 Bios CONTINUED FROM PAGE 44

Po Boys Brass Band [ NEW ORLEANS JAZZ ] Trombone: it’s not just for jazzers, symphony cats, or band geeks anymore.

It’s often bigger, badder, bolder, and more unavoidable than the electric guitar. And the way Rochester’s Po’ Boys Brass Band uses, abuses, and infuses the instrument, it’s straight-up rock ‘n’ roll. The Po’ Boys play with an element of electric wrong, with the lead trombone getting run through stomp boxes that bend and twist and distort the sound into an intense stratospheric tapestry.

It’s like Dumbo on an acid trip. This is the band’s unprecedented third XRIJF appearance in a row. (FD) poboysbrassband.com

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Rochester Metro Jazz Orchestra [ Big Band ] If you are longing to hear the wonderful tunes made famous by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Natalie Cole, the Rochester Metro Jazz Orchestra is the band for you. The 19-piece band, founded in 1998, fosters the preservation of bigband music so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come. (RN) rocjazz.com Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band [ JAZZ ] Most great players have studied the history of jazz; drummer Roy Haynes has lived it. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s Haynes played in the Roy Haynes bands of greats like PHOTO PROVIDED Lester Young and Charlie Parker. Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie — Haynes kept the time for all of them. Still cooking after seven decades at the top of the jazz world, Haynes currently leads the Fountain of Youth Band with excellent young players like Jaleel Shaw on saxophone, Martin Bejerano on piano, and David Wong on bass. (RN)

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Trombone Shorty

New Orleans’ Trombone Shorty has wowed crowds at the past two XRIJFs. He specifically requested to come back this year for his third consecutive appearance. PHOTO PROVIDED [ PROFILE ] BY FRANK DE BLASE

If you’ve been to the last two Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festivals, you may already be well acquainted with Trombone Shorty and his band, Orleans Avenue. This will be the band’s third Jazz Fest appearance in a row.

And according to the Jazz Fest brass, Shorty actually called and asked to come back.

“Every time we go there we have a great time,” says Shorty (government name: Troy Andrews). “I think this is the only festival we’ve done back to back.”

Shorty is bringing the New Orleans sound to a generation of fans perhaps a little removed from its traditions. In a way, he’s saving New Orleans music from complacency with a unique sound that he calls “supafunkrock.” His energetic, ebullient performances — including those at the past two XRIJFs — have a tendency to whip the crowd into a frantic, feel-good frenzy. And yet Shorty remains humble.

48 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

“I don’t think I’m trying to save anything,” he says. “Everything is influenced by New Orleans. I may be creating something new; I’m not sure.

I’m just doing what I feel like at the moment, and I just happen to be from New Orleans, influenced by what’s going on. And I’m part of a next phase of music, where 20 years from now some youngster will take what I’m doing and move the music forward.”

Shorty started out as a shorty playing

the trombone when he was only 4. The instrument dwarfed him, hence the nickname. Three years later he was in a band and on the road. He credits his big brother for it all.

“James Andrews,” Shorty says. “He was a trumpet player and had a band. I started playing around 4, and by the time I was 7 years old, he had me on tour with him, every summer in Europe. Every weekend

I’d play gigs around town with him. He just kept me by his side. That’s the thing that really opened me up. I’ve got to give all the credit to him.”

Credit is also due to Shorty’s vision and musical versatility. He has reached outside his Louisiana wheelhouse to blow his horn on stage with acts like Green Day, U2, and Jeff Beck. And on his new album, “For True,” he has a pile of guests that make sense, and a few that don’t. Besides New Orleans fixtures like Ivan and Cyril Neville, The Rebirth Brass Band, and 5th Ward Weebie, the platter also has guests like Jeff Beck, Kid Rock, Ledisi, Warren Haynes, and Lenny Kravitz. Shorty and his band avoid nothing.

“No, not really,” says Shorty, “as long as I can play it and I respect it. I just let it go — whatever it may be. I just let the music take us there. You know, being in New Orleans we’re influenced by so much, we’re exposed to so much. I’ll go from playing with the Neville Brothers or Dr. John to onstage with Juvenile or Mystikal.”

Shorty is even flirting with heavier stuff, if that’s possible. “I jammed over some Nine Inch Nails on my iPod when I was warming up one time. I’d like to do some of that live,” he says.

It all boils down to Shorty and his trombone, which he wields like a rock instrument — a guitar. Does it measure up?

“I don’t know,” he says. “I’m still trying to figure that out. I’m trying, I’m trying. Hopefully it’ll become the norm soon and the kids coming up after me will keep it going.”

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue perform a free show Saturday, June 30, at 9 p.m. at the City of Rochester East Ave/Alexander Street Stage.

[ BIOS ]

[ SCHEDULE ]

Arun Ghosh [ World ] Arun Ghosh may possess all of the brilliant technique of a top jazz clarinetist, but he doesn’t unwind his beguiling melodies in the usual way.

Born in India and raised in Britain, Ghosh has absorbed the best of both musical worlds and reflects them beautifully in his distinctive compositions and his solos. The resulting improvisational music has strains of Southern Asia but it is more often than not played over urban beats with a punk attitude. (RN) camoci.co.uk/arunghosh/

4:30 p.m.: West Irondequoit HS Jazz Band Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:15 p.m.: Jazz Bones Directed by Evan Dobbins Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 5:45 p.m.: Joanne Brackeen Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Raul Midon Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Mario Romano Quartet feat. Pat LaBarbera Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: ESM Honors Performance Units Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 6 p.m.: Greece Jazz Band Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 6 p.m.: Mederic Collignon Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 6:15 p.m.: Chic Gamine Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 6:30 p.m.: Victor Goines Quartet Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 6:45 p.m.: Arun Ghosh Quintet Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7 p.m.: Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars East Ave. & Chestnut Stage (FREE) 7 p.m.: Thunder Body East Ave. & Alexander Stage (FREE) 7:15 p.m.: Big James & The Chicago Playboys Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 7:30 p.m.: Hakon Kornstad Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 7:45 p.m.: The Sadies Abilene ($20 or Club Pass)

Big James and the Chicago Playboys See listing for Friday, June 29.

Chic Gamine [ A CAPPELLA ] Not only are Chic Gamine’s lush harmonies punctuated by beautiful harmonic structure, but by rhythm as well. The Montreal-based quintet refers

Chic Gamine PHOTO PROVIDED

to its output as soul songs for a cappella and percussion. Even with a drum kit behind it, the group remains essentially a cappella, but with a drive that speaks with beautiful simplicity and a hint of ragged soul. It’s the street corner with a beat. (FD) chicgamine.com Gov’t Mule [ JAM ROCK ] Dragging “By A Thread” — its first CD in three years — along with it, Gov’t Mule brings solid Southern-rock muscle to bluesy jams. Head mule Warren Haynes (who also slings strings in The Allman Brothers Band and the Warren Haynes Band) is one of the few musicians continues on page 50

7:45 p.m.: Joanne Brackeen Hatch Recital Hall ($20 or Club Pass) 8:30 p.m.: Locarno Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 8:45 p.m.: Arun Ghosh Quintet Christ Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Victor Goines Quartet Xerox Auditorium ($20 or Club Pass) 9 p.m.: Gov’t Mule East Ave. & Chestnut Stage (FREE) 9 p.m.: Trombone Shorty & Oleans Avenue East Ave. & Alexander Stage (FREE) 9:15 p.m.: Big James & The Chicago Playboys Jazz Street Stage (FREE) 9:30 p.m.: Hakon Kornstad Lutheran Church ($20 or Club Pass) 9:45 p.m.: The Sadies Abilene ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Locarno Big Tent ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Raul Midon Kilbourn Hall ($25 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Mario Romano Quartet feat. Pat LaBarbera Rochester Club ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Chic Gamine Max of Eastman Place ($20 or Club Pass) 10 p.m.: Mederic Collignon Montage ($20 or Club Pass) 10:30 p.m.: Jazz Jam Session w/Bob Sneider Trio State St. Bar and Grill (FREE)

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Hakon Kornstad [ JAZZ ] The harmonies are beautiful, and so are the percussive bass notes that support the imaginative saxophone solos by Hakon Kornstad. It’s all the more remarkable when you consider that Kornstad is alone on the stage. Through an incredible expansion of the instrument’s vocabulary, he is creating the harmonies and playing the bass line on his sax while soloing. Born in Oslo, Norway, Kornstad studied sax at Trondheim Jazz Conservatory. But, judging from his truly distinctive technique, he’s spent countless hours reinventing his instrument.

(RN) kornstad.com Jam Session with the Bob Sneider Trio See listing for Friday, June 22.

Joanne Brackeen [ JAZZ ] Born in California, pianist Joanne Brackeen was precocious enough to play with musicians like Charlie Haden, Charles Lloyd, Bobby Hutcherson, and Dexter Gordon while still in her teens. When she moved to New York in her 20s, she added greats like Sonny Stitt, Woody Shaw, Lee Konitz, and George Benson to the list. Brackeen, who has the distinction of being the first and only female member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, also did significant stints in the bands of Joe Henderson and Stan Getz. Since the mid1970’s she has released two-dozen albums as a leader, showcasing her wonderfully lyrical style. (RN) joannebrackeenjazz.com Locarno [ LATIN ] Born in Mexico City, Locarno leader Tom Landa moved to Ontario, Canada, as a teenager and listened to American and Canadian pop music. But, when he heard a Mexican song on a Los Lobos album, his past came rushing back. Since then Landa has explored the music of his Mexican roots, but he’s spiced it up by adding Cuban songs, folk, pop, funk, and salsa into the mix. In Locarno, Landa’s gritty vocals are supported by guitars, bass, and drums, embellished by violin, and punctuated by trumpet and trombone. The result is an irresistible melting pot combining

the best of many wonderful worlds. (RN) locarnomusic.com Mario Romano Quartet feat. Pat LaBarbera [ JAZZ ] In the 1970’s Mario Romano was an excellent young pianist on the Toronto jazz scene. After a 36-year detour, spent as one of Canada’s major realestate developers, Romano has returned to his first love, music. He’s playing once again with tenor saxophonist Pat LaBarbera, who joined the Buddy Rich Band fresh out of Berklee College of Music. Influenced by the style of John Coltrane, LaBarbera went on to tour and record extensively with Coltrane’s drummer, Elvin Jones. More recently LaBarbera has been an influential figure, as an educator and player, on the Toronto jazz scene. (RN) marioromano.ca, facebook.com/pages/Pat-LaBarbera Mederic Collignon [ AVANT-GARDE ] It’s safe to say that you have not seen or heard anyone quite like Mederic Collignon. When he sings, he uses parts of the voice that you didn’t know existed — squeals, shrieks, and percussive noises that somehow make perfect musical sense. But that’s only half of it. In the middle of a song, he will pick up his tiny pocket trumpet and proceed to prove himself a virtuoso on this most curious of instruments. Did I mention repertoire? Collignon transforms it all, from jazz to King Crimson. Look out avantgarde; this guy will make you feel down right old fashioned. (RN) myspace.com/medericollignofficial Raul Midon [ JAZZ/FLAMENCO/POP ] New York City singer-songwriter Raul Midon stands alone, wringing funk out of his acoustic guitar with a deft attack of slaps, string pops, harmonics, and blows to its wooden body. Atop the froth of this polyrhythmic spree floats a warm voice of multi-dimensional soul. And then of course there’s his imaginary horn. Through just his pursed lips, Midon creates tones that sound exactly — exactly — like a trumpet. You could save yourself some time and simply file the man under jazz, but Midon’s multigenre, multicultural dalliances make him a little more global. He makes room for jazz,

flamenco, blues, soul, pop, and folk. They all show up and they never seem to crowd the party.

(FD) raulmidon.com The Sadies [ ROOTS/ AMERICANA ] The Sadies’ sound is a heady mix of classic country, bluegrass, rock ‘n’ roll, punk, psychedelic rock, garage rock, and surf dusted with a dark ambient cool. It’s Gram Parsons’ cosmic Americana realized. The Sadies can play everything, and have Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars PHOTO PROVIDED been playing everything everywhere with everyone deep, and joyous. And the band’s protracted for the past 15 years. The Sadies is the go-to jams prolong the elation. Thunder Body backing band — both live and in the studio formed in April 2010 when singer-guitarist — for artists like Neko Case, Jon Langford, Matt O’Brian and keyboardist Rachel Orke Andre Williams, and Jon Spencer and Matt split from popular local roots-reggae outfit Verta-Ray’s Heavy Trash. The Sadies deliver Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad. Despite the maximum bang for your concert buck.

GPGDS in its veins, this band adds a further Dressed in their countrypolitan gentleman dash of danger with savage grooves and suits, the band members spin the dial between dreamy ambiance. (FD) thunderbody.com original songs, and the songs found in their musical DNA. In a sweaty, two-hour frenzy, Victor Goines Quartet [ JAZZ ] Whether you’ll hear the band play stuff from The Byrds he’s playing tenor sax, soprano sax, or to Pink Floyd, and many points in between. clarinet, Victor Goines is undoubtedly (FD) thesadies.net among the finest reed men in jazz. He can Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars [ WORLD BEAT ] Made up of refugees displaced to Guinea by the civil war in the Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars’ mission is that of peace and support of humanitarian efforts worldwide. The band’s uplifting sound is the result of joy and triumph after coming through unspeakable hardship. The band’s polyrhythmic output features layers of pop, world music, and even a dash of hip-hop. Absolutely and undeniably beautiful. (FD) refugeeallstars.org Thunder Body [ REGGAE/FUNK/JAM ] Rochester band Thunder Body serves up one of the deepest grooves you will ever encounter. Clearly a reggae band, Thunder Body takes funk’s intensity and blends it with a casual soul aesthetic. It’s spine-bending,

coax all of the beauty out of a ballad and raise everyone’s blood pressure with his uptempo tunes. It’s no surprise that Goines is a member of the most prestigious big band in the country, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and one of the top small groups, the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Over his career he’s performed with a variety of jazz and pop greats, from Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard to Ray Charles and Bob Dylan.

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ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 51

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Parking Garages

3 East End Garage Scio Street. Jazz Festival rates: $5 per car, starting 5:30 p.m. daily.

585-325-7860.

2 Washington Square Garage 111 Woodbury Boulevard. $4 per car, starting at 5 p.m. 585-2323810. (Rates subject to change) 4 NYSUT & Isaac Heating lots 30 N. Union St. Rates unavailable at press time. No overnights or WILL be towed.

1 Sister Cities Garage 28 N. Fitzhugh St. First two hours $1, each additional hour (or any part of) add $1/hr up to $6.75 daily max. (Rates subject to change)

13 2 Vine 24 Winthrop St., 585-454-6020 16 Acanthus Café 337 East Ave., 585-319-5999 5 Baked and Carved Deli 107 East Ave. 585-490-6530 17 Cam’s Pizzeria 336 East Ave. 585-325-2267 1 Duck Soupe 350 East Main St., 585-713-1472 4 Golden Port Dim Sum 105 East Ave., 585-256-1780 7 Henry B’s Authentic Italian Cuisine 140 East Ave. 585-730-8170 2 Java’s Café 16 Gibbs St., 585-232-4820 12 The Little Café 240 East Ave. 585-258-0400

11 Blue Room 293 Alexander St. 585-730-5985 10 Dub Land Underground 315 Alexander St. 585-232-7550 1 Easy on East 170 East Ave. 585-325-6490 4 Havana Moe’s Cigar Lounge 125 East Ave. 585-325-1030 6 Heat 336 East Ave., 585-899-0620 9 Monty’s Korner 363 East Ave. 585-263-7650 7 Pearl Night Club 349 East Ave. 585-325-5660 2 Salinger’s Bar & Grill 107 East Ave. 585-546-6880 8 Scene Ultra Lounge 359 East Ave. 585-861-6803 3 Temple Bar and Grille 109 East Ave. 585-232-6000 5 Wall Street Bar and Grill 330 East Ave. 585-325-6595

NEWSPAPER

knows

jazz

CHECK OUT

THE JAZZ GUIDE AT

rochestercitynewspaper.com

Restaurants

Bars

CITY

AND UP-TO-THE-MINUTE COVERAGE ON TWITTER AT:

3 Abilene Bar & Lounge 153 Liberty Pole Way. 585-232-3230 2 Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County 115 South Ave. 585-428-7300 12 Christ Church 141 East Ave. 585-454-3878 15 East Ave. & Alexander St. Stage 9 East Ave. & Chestnut St. Stage 6 Hatch, Kilbourn, Kodak Halls at Eastman School of Music 26 Gibbs St. 585-274-1000 4 Harro East Ballroom 155 N. Chestnut St. 585-454-0230 10 Jazz Street Stage Gibbs St. at East Ave. 5 Lutheran Church of the Reformation 111 N. Chestnut St. 585-454-3367 8 Max of Eastman Place 25 Gibbs St. 585-697-0491 13 Montage Music Hall 50 Chestnut St. 585-413-1642 9 RG&E Fusion Stage Corner of East Ave. and Chestnut St. 11 Rochester Club 120 East Ave. 585-232-7670 1 State St. Bar & Grill 70 State St. 585-546-3450 7 Verizon Wireless Big Tent Corner of Main St. and Gibbs 14 Xerox Auditorium 100 S. Clinton Ave.

VENDOR ZONE Bayou Billy’s Gibbs Street and in front of the Verizon Tent Abbott’s Gibbs Street and in front of the Verizon Tent Artichoke French Gibbs Street Tony Pepperoni’s Gibbs Street The Beale in front of the Verizon Tent Sunny’s Landing East and Chestnut Stage Snow Daze TBD Ludwig’s Gibbs Street Tuscan Wood Fired Pizza East and Chestnut Stage Chef Marco in front of the Verizon Tent Holy Cow Cookie Co. at all XRIJF bars Red Osier inside Fusion Tent and East and Chestnut Stage Orange Glory Abilene Tavern 58 Abilene Le Petit Poutine Abilene

3 Ludwig’s Center Stage Café 25 Gibbs St. 585-454-4440 23 Mex 295 Alexander St. 585-262-3060 10 Matthew’s East End Bar & Grill 200 East Ave. 585-454-4280 20 Murphy’s Law Irish Pub 370 East Ave. 585-232-7115 22 One 1 Ryan Alley, 585-546-1010 11 Orange Glory Café 240 East Ave. 585-232-7340 15 The Pig 7 Lawrence St., 585-546-6158 21 Pita Pit 311 Alexander St., 585-454-2510 19 Pontillo’s Pizza 315 Alexander St., 585-473-1900 18 Rubino’s Imported Italian Food 343 East Ave. 585-546-1530 9 Spot Coffee 200 East Ave. 585-613-4600 6 Stromboli Express 113 East Ave., 585 546-2121 8 Tournedo’s 26 Broadway St., 585-232-3595 14 Veneto Gourmet Pizza and Pasta 318 East Ave. 585-454-5444

@ roccitynews

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Vendors (as of press time)

DAILY BLOGS,

PHOTOS & LOTS MORE

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54 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012

[ PUZZLE SOLUTION ON PAGE 40 ]

For real jazz in Rochester, tune in to 90.1 FM or jazz901.org.

We’re Rochester’s jazz station, taking jazz further by playing everything from bop to big bands, swing to soul jazz, Latin to fusion and beyond.

We’ll be broadcasting live from the Rochester International Jazz Festival, so please stop by and say hello at our booth on Jazz Street (Gibbs Street).

Thanks for your support and being a cool cat who digs Jazz 90.1!

ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 55

56 CITY • JAZZ FESTIVAL GUIDE 2012