The fifth night of the Rochester International Jazz Festival is a bit different than the previous night but still presented some scheduling challenges, especially since I’m trying to fit in 4 shows. You do you, but if you’re interested here are the artists/groups I am aiming to hear on June 23rd of the 2026 RIJF. The headings are links to their RIJF page so you can check them out yourself. It is possible to go hear the full sets on these picks (depending on how fast you walk, in some cases). I’ve added links at the end to others I wish I could fit in.

Hiromi’s Sonicwonder

Virtuoso pianist Hiromi Uehara and her Sonicwonder band are fiery and funky. Since debuting in 2003, Hiromi has dazzled audiences with the creativity and complexity of her compositions. This is apparently her first time at the RIJF, at least as a leader. A review of Hiromi’s Sonicwonder’s latest album Out There on the site Consuming the Tangible notes that in her composition she “strikes these incredible balances between Zappa-esque arrangements, ’80s-era King Crimson with repeated and shifting rhythms, and classic mid–70s fusion from the likes of Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul.” Her Sonicwonder band with Hadrien Feraud on bass, Gene Coye on drums and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill (whose father Arturo appeared at the Bop Shop recently) has been together for a few years now and have a tight chemistry. In addition to the RIJF link, I thought I’d also share a YouTube interview I saw recently by 2024 Rochester Music Hall of Fame inductee Rick Beato, Hiromi: The Most Electrifying Pianist Alive. This is also an RIJF Producer’s Pick.

Venue: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre

Time: 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm

Will Calhoun Quartet from Living Colour

Famous as the drummer for the groundbreaking rock band Living Colour, in which he manned the kit for over 30 years, Will Calhoun has long lived a parallel life in jazz as a leader and sideman, a world music explorer, and producer. He has written, produced, recorded, and toured with a wide range of artists, including among many others Mos Def, Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Public Enemy, and Harry Belafonte, but also Pharoah Sanders, Jaco Pastorius, Jack DeJohnette, Marcus Miller, and Wayne Shorter. Four of his own recordings have been nominated for jazz Grammy awards. This is also an RIJF Producer’s Pick.

Venue: Temple Theater

Time: 7:00 pm & 9:15 pm

Delight Trio with Dawn Clement, Buster Williams & Matt Wilson

For this project, pianist Dawn Clement formed a trio that spans 3 generations with herself, legendary bassist Buster Williams and the always inventive drummer (and frequent RIJF flyer) Matt Wilson. At the end of the recording session for the project at the iconic Maggie’s Farm studio in Pennsylvania, Clement recalled “I’ll never forget the moment at the end of the session when the last note drifted into silence. Buster turned to Matt with a smile and said, ‘Matthew, this has been a delight.’” Hence the album’s (and Trio) title. The way my timing is working out, I may get to Max’s after this starts … or maybe I’ll leave the other one early.

Venue: Max of Eastman Place (and at the Inn On Broadway on June 24th)

Time: 6:15 pm & 10:00 pm (5:30 pm and 7:45 pm on the 24th)

Vitor Gonçalves Brazilian Trio

Vitor Gonçalves is a New York-based jazz pianist, accordionist, composer, and arranger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, whose music blends the many traditions of his native country with progressive jazz. After moving to NYC in 2012, he released his debut album in 2017 and after that started a long collaboration with clarinetist Anat Cohen, joining the Anat Cohen Tentet and the later being one of the foundations of her smaller group, the Anat Cohen Quartetinho. Gonçalves has a number of other projects focusing on the music of the Americas and Brazil, including choro, one of its oldest urban musical forms.

Venue: Inn on Broadway

Time: 5:30 pm & 7:45 pm

You Might Also Consider …

There were more choices than I had time or speed between venues to catch. I won’t be hearing these artists, but that doesn’t mean you can’t:

• Corey Bernard & Eternity Ensemble
• The Empress
• Djabe with Chieli Minucci

Whatever you choose, I hope you take some chances and let something unexpected grab your ears. Tell me who you’re planning on seeing in the Comments below (for those of you who get the email, you’ll have to come to the site first). I’ll be back with more picks for the rest of the RIJF soon.

Click to Check Out the Rest of our RIJF Coverage

The fourth night of the Rochester International Jazz Festival is one of those nights where there are choices I had to make due to timing as these Picks are possible to hear logistics-wise but I just couldn’t make others I wanted to hear work. So, you do you, but if you’re interested here are the artists/groups I am aiming to hear on June 22nd of the 2026 RIJF. The headings are links to the artists’ RIJF page so you can check them out yourself. It is possible to go hear the full sets on these picks (well, not this time, as explained below). I’ve added links at the end to others I wish I could fit in.

NYC Jazz All Stars Featuring Eric Alexander & Jeremy Pelt

I’ve heard trumpeter Jeremy Pelt play a number of times, both at the RIJF and other gigs in Rochester. The first time I heard Eric Alexander play saxophone was in the 90s at a gig in Chicago (where I lived for about 25 years) with B3 organ master Charles Earland. I’ve seen him several times at RIJF and in Rochester as a sideman and leader. I’ve never seen them together and with the killer band they are bringing, I didn’t want to miss this swinging set. This is an RIJF Producer Pick.

Venue: Temple Theater

Time: 7:00 pm & 9:15 pm

Dave Stryker Quartet with Troy Roberts

Guitarist Dave Stryker built his sound, praised by Pat Metheny as having a “joyous feel,” working with organist Jack McDuff and a long relationship with saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. He has recorded more than 35 albums, the latest Blue Fire: The Van Gelder Session brought his long-time organ trio, including organist Jared Gold, into the legendary Rudy Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Stryker and Gold will be joined by drummer Steve Johns and 3x Grammy-nominated saxophonist Troy Roberts, who has performed or recorded with Joey DeFrancesco, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Kurt Elling, Christian McBride, Orrin Evans, John Scofield, and Veronica Swift, among others, and released 16 recordings as a leader.

Venue: Theater at Innovation Square

Time: 6:30 pm & 8:45 pm

Allan Harris Quartet

Male vocalists are not as common at the RIJF. Even though he’s been at it for a long time, I’ve managed to miss Allan Harris (I think he was last at the RIJF in 2017). Born in Brooklyn and based in Harlem, this vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader has a voice the Miami Herald described as blessed with “the warmth of Tony Bennett, the bite and rhythmic sense of Sinatra, and the sly elegance of Nat ‘King’ Cole.” Now, given how my itinerary works out this time, I’m afraid I may miss a bit of his last set at Max’s, but the mellifluous tones of Mr. Harris will likely be a nice way to close out the night.

Venue: Max of Eastman Place (also June 23rd at Montage Music Hall)

Time: 6:15 pm & 10:00 pm (6:00 pm & 10:00 pm on the 23rd)

You Might Also Consider …

Although I wanted to, I likely won’t be hearing these artists but that doesn’t mean you can’t:

• Raul Midón: I’m leaving Midón off my itinerary because I’ve heard him more than once at the RIJF (he’s been here 5 times, although the last was over 10 years ago in 2015). You can’t go wrong with this singer-songwriter and guitarist celebrated for his singular fusion of soul, jazz, Latin, and acoustic music.
• The Headhunters: I really wanted to hear the Headhunters but could not make it work with the Alexander/Pelt and Stryker gigs. I still may find a way. The Headhunters have never played the RIJF before.

As my itinerary for this night has some gaps, I will be wandering around a bit listening to the rest of the (free) festival at times but that’s an opportunity for discovery (and perhaps some grub and a cigar). Whatever you choose, I hope you take some chances and let something unexpected grab your ears. Tell me who you’re planning on seeing in the Comments below (for those of you who get the email, you’ll have to come to the site first). I’ll be back with more picks for the rest of the RIJF soon.

Click to Check Out the Rest of our RIJF Coverage

The third night of the Rochester International Jazz Festival again offers many choices pulling you in different directions. So, you do you, but if you’re interested here are the artists/groups I am aiming to hear on June 21st of the 2026 RIJF. The headings are links to their RIJF page so you can check them out yourself. It is possible to go hear the full sets on these picks (depending on how fast you walk, in some cases). I’ve added links at the end to a couple more I wish I could fit in.

Arturo Sandoval

A protégé of Dizzy Gillespie, he co-founded the groundbreaking Cuban jazz group Irakere (one of my favorites) with saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and pianist Chucho Valdés in 1973, helping ignite the Afro-Cuban jazz fusion movement with its blend of bebop, classical, and Afro-Cuban traditional music and rhythms. Known for his ability to mine the upper register of his trumpet, Sandoval is still hitting the notes and hitting them fast well into his 70s. He and his band cook and may have some folks dancing in the aisles in Kodak Hall.

Venue: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre

Time: 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm

Makoto Ozone & Tommy Smith

Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone joins Scottish saxophonist (and RIJF frequent flyer) Tommy Smith for a duo performance. The intimacy of a duo performance by these two masters who have worked together repeatedly since being in Gary Burton’s Quartet should be special (again … they were last at the RIJF together in 2016, which was the only year of the festival I have missed). This one is a RIJF Producer Pick.

Venue: Kilbourn Hall

Time: 6:00 pm & 9:00 pm

Joe Farnsworth Quartet featuring Sarah Hanahan

I like to end a night in Max at Eastman Place, and drummer Joe Farnsworth’s Quartet with saxophonist Sarah Hanahan will likely be a great on my third night at the RIJF. Farnsworth has appeared at the RIJF many times as a leader and side-man. Hanahan was named a Rising Star in last year in Downbeat’s 2025 Critics’ Poll. How Farnsworth and Hanahan came together illustrates the mentorship that often occurs across generations in jazz. The two first met during the pandemic, when Hanahan came by Farnsworth’s place for a livestream he was doing with saxophonist Eric Alexander. Farnsworth recounts that during that session when she hit a certain note, it “was kind of raw and mean, but that note, I swear to God, gave me goosebumps. I could hear the spirit of Jackie [McLean], McCoy and Pharoah inside her.”

Venue: Max at Eastman Place

Time: 6:15 pm & 9:15 pm

You Might Also Consider …

There were more choices than I had time or speed between venues to catch. I won’t be hearing these artists, but that doesn’t mean you can’t:

• Paul Cornish Trio
• Bowmanville Swing
• Bonerama

Whatever you choose, I hope you take some chances and let something unexpected grab your ears. Tell me who you’re planning on seeing in the Comments below (for those of you who get the email, you’ll have to come to the site first). I’ll be back with more picks for the rest of the RIJF soon.

Click to Check Out the Rest of our RIJF Coverage

The Rochester International Jazz Festival offers many choices that pull you in different directions. But, you have to make a choice. So, you do you, but if you’re interested here are the artists/groups I am aiming to hear on June 20th, the second night of the 2026 RIJF. The headings are links to their RIJF page so you can check them out yourself. It is possible to go hear the full sets on these picks (depending on how fast you walk, in some cases). I’ve added links at the end to a couple more I wish I could fit in.

Alexa Tarantino Quartet

It’s great to see Alexa Tarantino getting a prominent place at the Rochester International Jazz Festival. Alexa is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music who has clearly made her way as a force to be reckoned with in the jazz world. I remember Tarantino gigging around Rochester while a student and heard her raw talent. Her career has blossomed since graduating from Eastman with a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Saxophone Performance and Music Education along with a Certificate in Arts Leadership. She also obtained a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from The Juilliard School. Recently, Tarantino was named to replace Ted Nash, the first woman in a permanent position in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She has also made a name as a leader. Tarantino was nominated as a “Rising Star – Alto Saxophone” in Downbeat Magazine’s Critics’ Poll in 2021 and 2020, and the JazzTimes Critics’ Poll named her one of the “Top 5 Alto Saxophonists of 2019”. Tarantino has also performed with Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and with Cécile McLorin Salvant among others. She is an RIJF Producer Pick as well.

Venue: Kilbourn Hall (Club Pass)

Time: 6:00 pm & 9:00 pm

Bob James Trio

Keyboardist, arranger, and record producer (and Producer Pick) Bob James made his mark at with producer Credd Taylor at his CTI label in the 1970s, where he helped build an innovative new sound that fused jazz with classical music and funk. During this period that he arranged for major CTI artists including saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. While still with CTI, James recorded his solo debut One in 1974, which featured the track “Nautilus,” which is one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop, which earned him the nickname the “unlikely godfather of hip-hop.” James co-founded the band Fourplay, a local favorite, which became a commercially successful smooth jazz group in the 1990s and beyond. He is widely regarded as the godfather of smooth jazz. While I’m not a major fan of this sub-genre in jazz, I think anyone who, like James, is always looking for something different is worth a listen.

Venue: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre (Club Pass)

Time: 7:00 pm

Harvey Mason’s Chameleon

Producer Pick Harvey Mason is among the most recorded and in-demand drummers of all time — a legendary, he has been nominated for multiple Grammy’s as a session drummer, producer, composer, and recording artist. Mason started his career with jazz piano titan Erroll Garner in 1970. Mason played on Donald Byrd’s seminal fusion bestseller for Blue Note, Black Byrd. In 1974, he was asked by Herbie Hancock to join his new band, with which Hancock aimed to fuse jazz with funk and reach a larger audience. The result was one of jazz’s landmark recordings. Herbie Hancock’s million-selling Head Hunters, which contained the funk-jazz fusion classic Chameleon (co-composed by Mason) and an arrangement of Hancock’s 1962 standard Watermelon Man. Harvey Mason has worked with musical giants including Barbra Streisand, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Björk, Carlos Santana, Michael Jackson, John Legend, Seal, and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has also composed and written songs recorded by artists ranging from Nancy Wilson and Mary J. Blige to The Notorious B.I.G., Lupe Fiasco, and T.I. He linked up with Bob James as a founding member of Fourplay. As Mason has noted, naming his group “Chameleon . . .defines me. That’s what I identify myself as. I can easily switch into different areas of quality music.”

Venue: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre (Club Pass)

Time: 9:30 pm

You Might Also Consider …

There were more choices than I had time or speed between venues to catch. I won’t be hearing these artists, but that doesn’t mean you can’t:

• Adam Nussbaum Trio
• Sketches of Trane: Jon Ballantyne & Tommy Smith

Whatever you choose, I hope you take some chances and let something unexpected grab your ears. Tell me who you’re planning on seeing in the Comments below (for those of you who get the email, you’ll have to come to the site first). I’ll be back with more picks for the rest of the RIJF soon.

Click to Check Out the Rest of our RIJF Coverage