Jazz@Rochester

See a lotta art, hear a lotta jazz . . . Jazz 90.1 Art Loves Jazz fundraiser

Our local 24-hour jazz station, Jazz90.1 (WGMC) and the nonprofit Artisan Works will be presenting the 3d annual Art Loves Jazz gala fundraising event to benefit Jazz90.1 on Thursday, May 15th 2008,  from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at Artisan Works, located at 565 Blossom Road in Rochester.

The event features a live art auction, silent auctions, live jazz in several locations, great food, and access to Artisan Works' 40,000-square-foot gallery space with art from around the world. Jazz90.1 must raise its annual operating budget through a series of membership campaigns and fundraising events.

Tickets to Art Loves Jazz 2008 are $30 each and are on sale now. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (585) 966-2660 or purchase tickets online at www.jazz901.org.

The lilacs are in bloom and jazz is in the air . . .

While the lilacs are in bloom the evening of the Lilac Festival that is dedicated to jazz is not until next week's post. Nonetheless, there IS a lot of live jazz music. Here is what I've found for the next seven days.

Thursday, May 8th

• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 6:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• The Russell Fielder Quintet @ Merchants Grill, 8:00 pm
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Café (E. Rochester), 9:00 pm
• Julie Ketchum @ The Rabbit Room (Honeoye Falls), no time given

Friday, May 9th

• Bob Sneider/Paul Hofmann Duo @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• John Nyerges/Vince Ercolamento Duo @ Wegmans Market Café (345 Eastern Blvd (Rt 5&20), Canandaigua, NY), 5:00 pm
• "Night of Hot Jazz and Cool Art" to benefit the Advocacy Center with Wycliffe Gordon, Jimmie Highsmith Jr. and Tyler Owens with Filthy Funk, Kenwood Anderson and Paul Boutté @ Memorial Art Gallery, 7:00 pm
• Fred Vine @ Bohdi's Café, 7:00 pm
• Kinetik-Flo @ Pazzo Cucina, 7:00 pm
• Penfield High School Monday-Wednesday Jazz Ensemble @ the Bop Shop Atriumin the Village Gate, 7:30 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Swing Dance w/Tom Knight & the Blue Moon @ Rochester Museum and Science Center, 8:00 pm
• Mike Kaupa/Bill Dobbins Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm

Saturday, May 10th

• Paul Hofmann Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Ralph Scicchitano @ Flat Iron Café, 6:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Jim Nugent Trio @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Paul Hofmann Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moe's (East Ave.), 9:30 pm
• After Hours Jam Session with the Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Café, 12:00 am

Sunday, May 11th

• Dave Spinner @ The Rabbit Room (Honeoye Falls), 10:30 am
• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am
• Musicale Sundays @ Artisan Works, 12:00 pm (call or check out their website for artists)
• Footnote @ Lilac Festival (Main Stage), 2:30 pm
• Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Café, 3:00 pm (Anniversary Weekend)
• Herb Smith Quartet @ Flat Iron Café, 6:00 pm (Anniversary Weekend)

Monday, May 12th

• The Rick Holland Evan Dobbins Little Big Band, Tasteology, 8:00 pm
• The White Hots @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Big Apple Mondays Swing Dance Class and Live Jazz with Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Cafe, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, May 13th

• Rhythm Six @ Lilac Festival (Main Stage), 2:30 pm
• Mambo Kings @ Lilac Festival (Main Stage), 5:30 pm
• Dubblestuff @ Boulder Coffee Co., 8:00 pm
• Joe Santora & Emily Kirchoff @ Virtu, no time given

Wednesday, May 14th

• Jimmie Highsmith Jr. & Friends @ Lilac Festival (Main Stage), 2:30 pm
• Nostalgic Reunion Jazz Ensemble @ Ontario Beach Park, 7:00 pm
• The Margaret Explosion @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and from other sources. Please forgive me for any discrepancies with reality; feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible. Any list items that contain an Added image or struck-through text reflect corrections implemented after initial publication of this post. Email subscribers should check the listings post online for updates or revisions before making decisions based on the information in this post. For additional information regarding a particular performance (where I haven't previewed it in a separate post in advance), you may want to check the artist or venue web sites listed in the right panel of this weblog. If you go out to hear a performance listed here, feel free to drop a comment to this post about how it went. I want to hear from you!

A night of hot jazz and cool art . . . all for a good cause

The Advocacy Center is having its third annual "Night of Hot Jazz and Cool Art" this Friday, May 9th from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at the Memorial Art Gallery, with music by Wycliffe Gordon, Jimmie Highsmith Jr. and Tyler Owens with Filthy Funk, Kenwood Anderson and Paul Boutté. There will also be a silent auction of artwork, pre-bidding will be accepted on works donated by John Lenhard (see the website). The presenting sponsor is Preferred Care.

Tickets to the benefit are $40. All proceeds to benefit The Advocacy Center, which provides services supporting people with disabilities and their families in achieving their goals. The Advocacy Center does this through information-sharing, individual advocacy support, independent service coordination and educational workshops and helps people with disabilities to to build life-long self-advocacy skills.

The comment box . . .

One of the goals of Jazz@Rochester is to get you all talking to each other about live jazz in Rochester. As you may have noticed, I have been bringing other voices to write guest posts on the blog for awhile. What you may not have noticed is that some of you are also talking . . . in the comments to posts. Recently, we've had some great comments and I wanted to point them out to you, in case you missed them:

• After I published "Another voice from Rochester jazz . . . Drummer Mike Melito" on April 10th, a conversation developed in the comments.  Following Mike, bassist Fred Stone wrote about the jazz scene in Rochester in the 60s and leaving the city at 20 to find new ideas and ways to express himself on the bass and finding it in Boston at the Berklee School of Music.  He returned to Rochester and continues to explore those new ideas, although finding the city a pretty lonely place for his brand of progressive jazz. Fred's comment drew a replies from Mike and from Bob Sneider (perhaps it was the "Blue Note buddies at the Strathallan" aside"?) and even Tracy at Rochester Scene (and Heard) chimed in at the end.
• Some time after I posted Ian Kloss's review of Henderson-Owens Trio featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith,  Sean Jefferson, drummer for Paradigm Shift and The Jazz Mad Lab wrote a second review of the show in a comment (we may hear more from Sean in the future).

A blog (at least this blog) is intended to be a social media, to create, feed and join in on conversations that are going on out there. They serve this purpose mostly through comments and through linking to other bloggers; in short, interacting with the conversation. I think they add to the knowledge and the community of jazz here.  For me, these comments are an example of this blog serving that purpose.  I've had over 100 comments in the past 2 years, but there are few instances where they start resembling that conversation. I want to encourage that.

How do you do it yourself?  To read or leave a comment, just click on the Comments link at the bottom of each post. If you're leaving a comment, it is simply a matter of filling in the "boxes" and hitting the button (you'll have to fill in a captcha after that). If you're reading, I hope you feel compelled to join the conversation. My comment policy is pretty simple (for a recovering lawyer, that's saying a lot...):

No spam, stay on topic, play nice, and only put in links where you're guiding my readers to relevant resources or information.

I may expand on this in the "I Told You So..." page, but there it is.  Let's get on with the conversation!

April showers, bring May . . . jazz!

Although I'll have to miss it as I'm writing to you from the fields of Kansas, there's some jazz out there in Rochester over the next seven days.

Thursday, May 1st

• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 6:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Pane Vino, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Cafe (E. Rochester), 9:00 pm
• Dave Spinner @ The Rabbit Room (Honeoye Falls), no time given

Friday, May 2nd

• Bob Sneider and Paul Hofmann @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Kinetik-Flo @ Club Network (420 Central Ave., Rochester), 6:30 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Ted Piltzecker (vibes) with Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Filthy Funk @ Bohdi's Cafe, 10:00 pm
• Noa Bursie @ The Little Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Joan Matthews w/ Jim Rhody @ Starry Nites Cafe, 8:00 pm

Saturday, May 3rd

• Chris Ziemba @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Ralph Scicchitano @ Flat Iron Cafe, 6:00 pm
• Westview Project @ Bohdi's Cafe, 6:30 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Horizons at the Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Jim Nugent Trio @ Little Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Ted Piltzecker with Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Tinted Image @ Flat Iron Cafe, 9:00 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm
• After Hours Jam Session with the Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Cafe, 12:00 am

Sunday, May 4th

• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am
• Musicale Sundays @ Artisan Works, 12:00 pm (call or check out their website for artists)
• Tom Pesciotta Quartet (with John Nyerges, Dave Arenius and Mike Montalbano) @ Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church (131 Main Street, Webster), 7:00 pm

Monday, May 5th

• The Rick Holland Evan Dobbins Little Big Band, Tasteology, 8:00 pm
• Big Apple Mondays Swing Dance Class and Live Jazz with Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Cafe, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, May 6th

• Joe Santora and Emily Kirchoff @ Virtu, 6:30 pm
• The White Hots @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm

Wednesday, May 7th

• Nate Rawls Big Band @ Roger Robach Community Center Ontario Beach Park, 7:15 pm
• Margaret Explosion @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and from other sources. Please forgive me for any discrepancies with reality; feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible. Any list items that contain an Added image or struck-through text reflect corrections implemented after initial publication of this post. Email subscribers should check the listings post online for updates or revisions before making decisions based on the information in this post. For additional information regarding a particular performance (where I haven't previewed it in a separate post in advance), you may want to check the artist or venue web sites listed in the right panel of this weblog. If you go out to hear a performance listed here, feel free to drop a comment to this post about how it went.  I want to hear from you!

What's on the radio? In June, jazz.... and the JazzWeek Summit

I was at the Future of Music Coalition presentation this evening and was reminded of something that I've meant to do for a long time—find out more about a local jazz media institution that I've known about for awhile but have yet to connect to.  JazzWeek is a weekly report of the top fifty Jazz and Smooth Jazz recordings played on radio stations across the United States and Canada and is located right here in Rochester.  After some financial issues that resulted in missing 2007, they've recently regrouped and are retooling and again will be holding a JazzWeek Summit here in Rochester at the end of the Rochester International Jazz Festival from June 19-21st at the Clarion Riverside Hotel.

One of JazzWeek’s missions is to provide a conduit for radio, retail, and the rest of the industry to work together.  Part of that effort is the Summit, which is intended for radio station program and music directors, representatives of major and independent music labels, jazz artists, and journalists. They try to get all of these disparate groups together to discuss the issues facing them in promoting jazz and smooth jazz music. One of the things I learned at the FMC event tonight is how much people can learn from each other when they get together to explore something they're passionate about (heck, I learned about some things tonight that surprised me and, most importantly, learned something about what musicians—on whom the FMC event was focused—are seeking to learn).

Check out the JazzWeek website for the Summit and, if you're interested in promoting jazz or yourself as a jazz artist, think about attending the conference.

Did'ya know that . . . . (there is jazz in Roch-cha-cha and here are the listings)?

... on April 25th in 1960, Hammond B3 organist Jimmy Smith recorded two albums in one day? According to AllAboutJazz.com, at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Jimmy Smith—accompanied by Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell and Donald Bailey—recorded two classic albums: Back at the Chicken Shack and Midnight Special. Now, if Mr. Smith could squeeze that much jazz into a single day, imagine how much you might be able to catch in this final week of Jazz Appreciation Month. Of course, to advance that cause, I gladly provide your Rochester area jazz listings for the next seven days—the last seven days of Jazz Appreciation Month. Enjoy!

Thursday, April 24th

• Nick Humphrey @ The Rabbit Room, 5:30 pm
• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 6:00 pm
• Joe Santora and Emily Kirchoff @ Michael's Valley Grill, 7:00 pm
• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ The Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Nazareth College Jazz Ensemble with Paul Smoker, director @ Nazareth College Wilmot Recital Hall, 7:30 pm
• Rick Holland-Evan Dobbins Little Big Band with Honeoye Falls-Lima High School and Middle School jazz ensembles (see article here) @ Honeoye Falls-Lima High School, 7:30 pm
• Russell Fielder Quintet @ Merchants Grill, 8:00 pm
• Fay Victor Ensemble @ Bop Shop Atrium at Village Gate, 8:00 pm [Sorry, Tom...]
• Swing Dance @ St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 8:30 pm
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Cafe, 9:00 pm

Friday, April 25th

• Bob Sneider and Paul Hofmann @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• John Nyerges/Vince Ercolamento Duo @ Wegmans Market Café (345 Eastern Blvd (Rt 5&20), Canandaigua), 5:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ Sanibel Restaurant, 5:30 pm
• Joe Santora and Emily Kirchoff @ Michael's Valley Grill, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Hard Logic @ Smokin Joes, 7:30 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Tasteology, 7:30 pm [added]
• Bill Dobbins/Mike Kaupa Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm 
• Cyrus Chestnut Trio (Exodus to Jazz) @ Clarion Riverside Hotel, 7:00 & 9:00 pm (free jam session with local musicians following second set, around 10:45 pm)
• Nazareth College Jazz Ensemble w/ The School of the Arts Band @ School of the Arts, 7:00 pm
• Geneseo Wind Ensemble with James Walker, conductor, and Geneseo Jazz Ensemble with J. David Gibson, director @ SUNY Geneseo Wadsworth Auditorium, 8:00 pm
• Fay Victor Ensemble @ Bop Shop Atrium at Village Gate, 8:00 pm
• Filthy Funk @ Dub Land Underground, 10:00 pm

Saturday, April 26th

• Chris Ziemba @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Ralph Scicchitano @ Flat Iron Cafe, 6:00 pm
• Joe Santora and Emily Kirchoff @ Michael's Valley Grill, 7:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Pane Vino, 7:00 pm [added]
• Bobby DiBaudo Quartet @ Horizons at the Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Westview Project with Nick Brust @ Brio Mediterranean Bistro, 7:30 pm
• Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Mike Cottone Trio @ Flat Iron Cafe, 9:00 pm
• East End Jazz Boys @ Havana Moe's, 9:30 pm
• Kinetik-Flo w/ Freddy Colons, Cinnamon & DJ Selecta Preece @ Club Pazzo (Main St. near State), no time given
• After Hours Jam Session with the Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Cafe, 12:00 am (OK, it's Sunday)

Sunday, April 27th

• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am
• Musicale Sundays Third Sunday Dance featuring Moondance, Ernesto LaBella and others @ Artisan Works, 12:00 pm

Monday, April 28th

• The Rick Holland Evan Dobbins Little Big Band & The Rick Holland Quartet @ Tasteology, starting at 7:15 pm
• White Hots @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Big Apple Mondays Swing Dance Class and Live Jazz with Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Cafe, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, April 29th

• Joe Santora and Emily Kirchoff @ Virtu, 6:30 pm

Wednesday, April 30th

• Jack Allen @ Roger Robach Community Center Ontario Beach Park, 7:15 pm
• Margaret Explosion @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Dubblestuff @ Jazz 90.1 (Live Studio Concert Series), 8:00 pm (listen live on the radio or online) [added]

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and from other sources. Please forgive me for any discrepancies with reality; feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible. Any list items that contain the notation "[added]" or struck-through text reflect corrections implemented after initial publication of this post. Email subscribers should check the listings post online for updates or revisions before making decisions based on the information in this post. For additional information regarding a particular performance (where I haven't previewed it in a separate post in advance), you may want to check the artist or venue web sites listed in the right panel of this weblog.

If you go out to hear a performance listed here, feel free to drop a comment to this post about how it went. I want to hear from you!

Exodus to Jazz presents Cyrus Chestnut at the "Heartbreak Hotel" (OK, it's at the Clarion Riverside...he may be playing that Elvis tune)

To continue its contributions to Jazz Appreciation Month, the Exodus To Jazz series is presenting The Cyrus Chestnut Trio this Friday, April 25, 2008, at the Clarion Riverside Hotel. Chestnut is touring to promote his album Cyrus Plays Elvis of jazz renditions of Elvis Presley classic hits. Bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Neal Smith will accompany Chestnut, comprising the same trio on that recent CD release. Check out this profile of Chestnut at AllAboutJazz.com

Shows are 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm in the Frontier Room elegant Riverview Ballroom at The Clarion Hotel Riverside, 120 East Main Street in Downtown Rochester. Call (585) 733-7685 for information. Tickets are $ 20.00 (student tickets are $ 10.00 with a current ID) and can be reserved and/or paid for at TicketWeb.com (search “Cyrus Chestnut” or “Exodus To Jazz”), through an email reservation request to ExodusToJazz@aol.com (confirmations will be returned), or at the door, the night of the show. All tickets are available for pick-up at the Will Call desk beginning at 6:00 PM on the night of the show.

According to my announcement, there There will be a jam session with local musicians following the second set beginning around 10:45 pm. [Updated Apr. 23rd]

Jazz@Rochester calling in . . .

A post and a cigar from earlier this evening at Havana Moes on East Ave. with the "East End Boys"...

New Energy Jazz Orchestra to anchor the 39th Annual MCC Jazz Festival

Check out the 39th Annual Monroe Community College Jazz Festival on April 23rd, featuring the New Energy Jazz Orchestra, directed by Dr. Carl Atkins and Dr. Jonathan Kruger. The festival features jazz artists along with the MCC Jazz Ensemble. This year's guest is New Energy, which is a large Rochester-based big band performing new compositions as well as more classic jazz repertory. The Orchestra will also be playing at the Rochester International Jazz Festival (RIJF) this summer.

The festival will commence at 7:30 pm at the MCC Theatre in Building 4 (Parking available in Lot F). Tickets are $8.00 with MCC ID and $10.00 for the General Public. Tickets available at monroecctickets.com, at the Campus Center Service Desk in the R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center, Building 3, or by calling the Campus Center Office at 585-292-2534.