Even though the RIJF is coming, there is still some ... Live jazz around ROC, June 1-7

glowing there is Jazz out there

After the fold you will find the listings for live jazz gigs in and around Rochester for the next seven days, plus listings through the rest of June and now into July. Please note that the regular listings posts I do on Wednesdays will focus on those gigs outside of the Rochester International Jazz Fest toward the end of June. I'll have other coverage of the RIJF before and throughout the festival.

Let me know when you hear about things... and let your friends and family know where you go to find live jazz around Rochester. Right here....

Continue reading "Even though the RIJF is coming, there is still some ... Live jazz around ROC, June 1-7" »

This post was originally published on JazzRochester.

Asking That Perennial Question, Drummer Rich Thompson Releases New Album “Who Do You Have to Know?”

RThompsonWDHTKWelcome to the first in what I hope will be a growing series of posts about new albums being put out by one of the talented jazz musicians or groups in and around Rochester, NY. The first is by local drummer (and Eastman professor) Rich Thompson, who is asking that perennial question of those breaking into anything new with his new album Who Do You Have to Know? on Origin Records out of  Seattle, Washington. The quartet on the album includes Bobby Floyd on piano and organ, Corey Christiansen on guitar and Peter Chwazik on bass.

Rich, an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media at Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, isn’t “breaking in” to the world of jazz, he’s been there a long time as a educator and veteran sideman, touring and recording with Byron Stripling and other well-known jazz musicians as well as the Count Basie Orchestra, and Glenn Miller Orchestra. He directs the Eastman Jazz Lab Band. He performs with numerous symphonies in the U.S. and Canada.  You may have also seen him as a featured drummer at Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Pops concerts. Locally, you’ll see Rich playing with his bands Trio East and Rich Thompson’s Trio “Generations” (if you check out my listings posts, that is….). 

I asked Rich a few questions about Who Do You Have to Know? Below I've set out his answers, edited slightly for clarity. More information and links about the album on where you can get your own copy or stream it are at the end of this post, as well as a link to stream the title cut.  

What made you decide to record this album? 

After performing all over the US, Switzerland, and on five jazz cruises with Bobby Floyd while playing with Byron Stripling Quartet, I knew that I had to record a project with Bobby, other than the ones recorded previously. I wanted to give Bobby more of a lead role in the group. His ability to craft a melody, accompany others, and fire up an organ solo had to be heard. After performing with Corey at the Las Vegas Arts Jazz Festival in the spring of 2022, I remembered playing with him with Byron and Bobby for the Salt Lake City Jazz Society around 2010. The Las Vegas gig lasted 3 days and I was able to reconnect with Corey on a musical and personal level, and knew that he would be a natural for this CD. Peter Chwazik is a bass player who I have played with more and more the past few years and his ability to adapt to any situation from a trio to a large ensemble is something I admired. He has huge ears both on and off the bandstand. I felt really comfortable having him on this record as my right-hand man. He is incredibly supportive in the studio, as well as helping to mix the project afterward. Many thanks to all the musicians for their contributions to the recording!

What are the influences behind the music on the album? 

I wanted it to be a rhythm quartet, less horns. In following John Scofield’s trios, as well as Melvin Rhynes organ quartets with Peter Bernstein for years, I thought, this would be a perfect opportunity for me to record a project of that nature with people I knew personally and also loved playing music with. Both drummers Kenny Washington and Bill Stewart have been huge influences for me over the past 25 years. Kenny recorded extensively with Melvin’s organ quartets and Bill with John Scofield. It’s hard not to pay homage to these drummers even though I’m trying not to copy them verbatim. It’s inevitable that some of their vocabulary will creep into my interpretations of a couple of these tunes. Drummer Bill Goodwin was also a big influence musically, as Scofield’s Gray and Visceral [the third track on the album] was recorded only once in 1980 with John, Steve Swallow, and Goodwin on Bill’s record Solar Energy. My original tune Who Do You Have To Know is a nod to Miles Davis’s Freddie Freeloader [from the album Kind of Blue] as I’ve always been partial to that blues with its few altered changes producing a first and second ending on the head. I’ve performed Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World many times w/Byron Stripling in the context of jazz symphony outings and wanted to try my hand at a totally different approach, hence the A sections are in 7/4 and the bridge is set in 6/8 w/an extension harmonically before returning to the last A section in 7/4.

What is your favorite cut on the album? 

I guess I like so many of these tracks for their originality and subtle nuances, that this question is the hardest. It’s like asking a parent of 9 children who their favorite son or daughter might be.

What about this new album that make you most proud? 

I think that I’m most proud of the way everyone came together to make this music a reality. The musicians, Greg Thompson the engineer, Dave Darlington who mastered it, my wife Janine who kept encouraging me to record it, and all of people who’ve emailed and commented on Facebook about how the music made them feel after hearing it for the first time.

How is the CD being received so far?  

Through John Bishop of Origin Records and Lisa Reedy (music publicist extraordinaire), this CD is being heard all across the US, Europe, the Canary Islands, etc. It has been reviewed at Jazz Weekly and AllAboutJazz.com

Final thoughts? 

My hope is that one day, when I’m long gone, someone will hear this CD and comment in a very positive way about how the music made them feel. I think that most musicians want to do something that makes people forget about their everyday struggles, if even for the time that they are listening to our music. Art Blakey said “Music washes the everyday dust of life from one’s feet.”

Where can we get our hands on Who Do You Have to Know?

You can also stream the album at:

Click below to listen the title track Who Do You Have to Know? 

This post was originally published on JazzRochester.

Fairport Canal Days 2023 coming next weekend

Fcd_logo_2023Fairport's Canal Days is coming soon on June 2-4. Spread out over the village of Fairport, Tim Forster and the others responsible for the music at FCD usually serve up a healthy helping of jazz from local musicians and often describe it as the "jazz festival before the jazz festival."  If we get good weather, this is a great place to hang and hear some great music and stretch those RIJF muscles a bit (it's only 3 weeks away!). So, here's the jazz that will be presented during FCD:

When

Who's Playing?

What Stage?

Friday, June 2nd    
5:30 pm  Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra     Fairport Junction (FJ)
Saturday, June 3rd    
10:00 am

SOTA MS Jazz Ensemble, SOTA Senior High Jazz Ensemble

FJ
10:30 am

FHS Jazz Combo

Village Hall (VH) 
11:00 am New Horizons Jazz Band Kennelley Gazebo (KG)
12:00 pm  The Blue Room FJ
12:30 pm Bob Sneider Quartet     KG

1:30 pm

ER Jazz Band

FJ

2:00 pm

Madeline Forster

KG

3:00 pm

Mid-Century Jazz Quartet 

VH

3:00 pm

Big Blue House

Fairport Brewing Company (FBC)

4:30 pm

Daniel King Band

 VH

5:00 pm

Deepak Thettu & Friends

KG

Sunday, June 4th

 

 

10:00 am

New Horizons Jazz Band

KG

11:00 am

Jazz Generation

VH

11:30 am

JP Middle School & 9th Grade Jazz Bands

KG

11:30 am

Higher Ground Quartet

FJ

12:30 pm

Mid-Century Jazz Quartet

VH

1:00 pm

Solar Energy +1

KG

1:00 pm

FHS Day Jazz Band

FJ

1:00 pm

Paradigm Shift

FBC

2:30 pm

Bill Tiberio Band

FJ

2:30 pm

Dean Keller's Soul Jazz Joint

FBC

4:00 pm

Harley Jazz Band

KG

4:00 pm

Sofrito

FJ  

4:00 pm

The Blue Room

FBC

There is other music at Fairport Canal Days, so check out the lineup when you hit the festival to catch other great local musicians. I'm hoping to get out one of the two days, so look for me in a JazzRochester t-shirt (I'm taking orders if you're interested). 

This post was originally published on JazzRochester.

Need some ... Live jazz from May 25-31? Here it is...

Black & white Jazz sign

After the fold you will find the listings for live jazz gigs in and around Rochester for the next seven days, plus listings through the rest of May and June. Please note that the regular listings posts I do on Wednesdays will focus on those gigs outside of the Rochester International Jazz Fest toward the end of June. I'll have other coverage of the RIJF before and throughout the festival.

Let me know when you hear about things... and let your friends and family know where you go to find live jazz around Rochester. Right here....

Continue reading "Need some ... Live jazz from May 25-31? Here it is..." »

This post was originally published on JazzRochester.

Between rounds of PGA golf, perhaps catch some ... Live ROC jazz, May 18-24?

Neon Jazz Club sign

Yes, the post title is a blatant attempt at grabbing some of that PGA attention on the interwebs.... On the jazz front, the Jazz Journalists Association has announced its JJA Jazz Awards.  Congratulations go to Charles Lloyd (Lifetime Achievement in Jazz), Ashley Kahn (Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism), Terri Lyne Carrington (Musician of the Year, Record of the Year for New Standards, Vol. 1), Samara Joy (Up and Coming Musician of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year), Lauren Deutsch, Aidan Levy, Willard Jenkins, Bob Perkins and all the recipients of Awards in 49 categories of excellence in music and music journalism, voted by professional members of the JJA (as well as the finalists and the voters themselves). See the complete list of winners at JJAJazzAwards.org

After the fold you will find the listings for live jazz gigs in and around Rochester for the next seven days, plus listings through the rest of May and June. Please note that the regular listings posts I do on Wednesdays will focus on those gigs outside of the Rochester International Jazz Fest toward the end of June. 

Let me know when you hear about things... and let your friends and family know where you go to find live jazz around Rochester. Right here....

Continue reading "Between rounds of PGA golf, perhaps catch some ... Live ROC jazz, May 18-24?" »

This post was originally published on JazzRochester.

Let others know where you find ... Live jazz in and around Rochester, NY, May 11-17

Live ROC jazz over keyboard

Things are picking up a bit in the listings, but I'd like to see more gigs from closer the Rochester area ... It is JazzROCHESTER after all. Let me know when you hear about things... and let your friends and family know where you go to find live jazz around Rochester. Right here....

After the fold you will find the listings for live jazz gigs in and around Rochester for the next seven days, plus listings through May and into June. Please note that the regular listings posts I do on Wednesdays will focus on those gigs outside of the Rochester International Jazz Fest toward the end of June. My RIJF coverage should start soon. 

Continue reading "Let others know where you find ... Live jazz in and around Rochester, NY, May 11-17" »

This post was originally published on JazzRochester.