Smokin from the first of the first ...

It's Take Five Friday and a fresh batch of links for you:

• The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, which has a mission to offer public school-based jazz education programs for young people around the world, has begun a series of online animated Journeys Into Jazz to teach kids about jazz. The host is Herbie Hancock and uses his Memorized Logarhythmic Deporter to Yesteryear (or MeLoDY) to transport kids back to the roots of jazz.
• Just some Brazilians in a garage on a farm with their guitars and a tractor holding down the beat on Sweet Georgia Brown (with thanks to Mike Kaupa and Carl Atkins). Actually, I have no idea where they're at. I had Brazilian YouTube hijack my browser for awhile... When it happened again this week, I started wondering why all the jazz videos were coming up on Brazil's YouTube.
• The website/blog of the Esencia Latina Radio program on Jazz 90.1, which details everything happening in the world of salsa, merengue, bachata, etc., every Saturday from 6-10am NY Time on Jazz 90.1
• You think I have a lot of links, you should check out the links on Kurt Elling's site.
• A community with some sax appeal ... Saxophone People.

So take five and explore. Let me know what you think in the comments....There will be five more next week.

Here are your listings for jazz in and around Rochester for the next seven days, plus a bit of politics. Although I hope you pull the lever for my guy, I really just hope you get out to vote. It's important . . . .

Thursday, October 30th

• Jazz Merchants @ Café Vas, 6:30 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• John Nyerges @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Jimmie Highsmith Jr. & Friends @ Merchant's Grill, 8:00 pm
• Marco Amadio @ Pane Vino, 8:30 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Village Rock Café, 8:30 pm ( premier of six arrangements by Dave for Madeline's upcoming CD)
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Café, 9:00 pm

Friday, October 31st (BOOO!)

• Bob Sneider/Paul Hoffman Duo (Jazz Happy Hour) @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Bobby Dibaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Nate Rawls Band @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Madeline Forster with Chris Ziemba, Dave Baron, Aaron Staebel, &Tim
  Forster @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 3259 S Winton Rd, 7:00 pm
• The Sylvia Cuenca Quartet featuring Joe Locke (Exodus to Jazz Series) @ Clarion Riverside Hotel, 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm (jazz combos from Fairport High School and the School of The Arts open starting at 7:00 pm)
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 8:30 pm
• John Bailey with Bob Sneider Quartet @ Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Filthy Funk @ Dub Land Underground, 10:00 pm

Saturday, November 1st

• Shared Genes @ Triphammer Grill, 6:30 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 3259 S Winton Rd, 7:00 pm
• Danny Sullivan @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Mambo Kings CD Release Party @ Tango Cafe Dance Studio, 389 Gregory Street, 7:00 pm (Spencerport High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by John Viavattine; admission $10, $5 for under 18).
• Madeline Forster with Chris Ziemba, Dave Baron, Kevin McDonald, and several guests @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Jeff "Tain" Watts & Ebonix (Exodus to Jazz Series) @ Clarion Riverside Hotel, 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm (jazz combos from Fairport High School and the School of The Arts open starting at 7:00 pm)
• The Westview Project @ Pane Vino Ristorante, 8:00 pm
• Tom Passamonte @ Pomodoro Grill & Wine Bar, 8:00 pm
• Steve Greene Trio w/Tina Albright @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• John Bailey with Bob Sneider Quartet @ Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Hard Logic @ Bistro 135, 9:00 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm

Sunday, November 2nd

• The 46th Bop Shop Fall Record Show and Sale (over 40 dealers will set up over 60 tables of merchandise ranging from rare and collectible records, tapes, and CDs to autographs, posters and other music related memorabilia) @ The Bop Shop in the Village Gate Square, 274 N. Goodman St. , 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am
• Tony Giannavola @ Artisan Works, 1:00 pm
• Nazareth College Jazz Combo, Paul Smoker, director @ Nazareth College Arts Center, Wilmot Recital Hall, 4245 East Ave., 3:00 pm
• Chris Botti @ Eastman Theatre, 7:00 pm

Monday, November 3rd

• The White Hots @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Big Apple Mondays Swing Dance Class and Live Jazz with Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Café, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, November 4th (Election Day! Go out and VOTE!!!)

• Dick Stacy @Edgerton Community Center, 1:00 pm
• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Joe Santoro and Emily Kirchoff @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• An Election Night paradigm shift with Paradigm Shift @ Abilene, 8:00 pm

Oh, in case you were wondering:

Wednesday, November 5th

• Todd East @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• The Margaret Explosion @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and other sources. The aim is to give you a one stop place to find all your jazz in Rochester. Please forgive me for any discrepancies with reality and feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible (click on the "Send an email to Jazz@Rochester" link). 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!

I love to add pictures to the posts on this blog, but have a lousy camera and always forget to bring it to gigs anyway. A number of blogs that I've come across have created image pools to draw new images from and I thought . . . why not? . . . I'd love to start highlighting images taken by readers on Jazz@Rochester. So I created the Jazz@Rochester image pool on Flickr (I think you need to have a Flickr account to do so). If you take some images at a gig or have jazz-oriented pictures that you'd like to share with other Jazz@Rochester readers, then I invite you to come by join the group.  To get things started, I've posted a few of the Listings "wordles" and some images that I've taken from the past couple of years at jazz gigs.  Make sure that you take a look at the group rules and make sure you indicate how you would like attribution when you leave images (if you don't, I'll use your Flickr ID anyway).  Let me know what you think in the comments.

So, if you're interested, visit the image pool, take a dip, leave an image or two.

To celebrate its third anniversary, the Exodus to Jazz series is trying something new, a "Weekend of Jazz" featuring groups on two nights. On Friday, October 31st will be the Sylvia Cuenca Quartet, featuring Joe Locke. On Saturday, November 1st, Jeff “Tain” Watts will be bringing his project Ebonix here. Both shows will be at the Clarion Riverside Hotel. The Sylvia Cuenca Quartet featuring Joe Locke will be appearing in the Genesee Suites Ballroom. Leader-drummer Sylvia Cuenca is expanding her leadership resume while maintaining her position in the legendary Clark Terry’s quintet and maintaining an active accompaniment schedule. Cuenca’s October appearances have become an annual ETJ tradition. Cuenca will be joined on Friday by renowned vibraphonist (and native son) Joe Locke, who is likely to "turn it up to 11" and give his hometown fans some love. Guitarist David Gilmore returns with Sylvia, with bassist Essiet Essiet to fill out the group. Jeff “Tain” Watts & The Ebonix will be appearing Saturday in the Frontier Room. Drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts is the only musician to appear on every Grammy Award winning recording by both Wynton and Branford Marsalis. “Tain” has established himself as one of the most uniquely creative composers and drummers in today's jazz. Watts will be joined by pianist David Budway, Downbeat Magazine’s ’08 'Rising Star’ and JazzTimes Magazine’s’ '06 ‘Best New Artist' saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and bassist Christopher Smith, a New School (Manhattan) student and winner of Downbeat’s June ’07 Best Composition award.

In addition to these great artists, Exodus to Jazz is offering some specials for this Weekend of Jazz, including:

• A two-show Weekend ticket with a 25% discount off the standard ticket price.
• Free Hors D’oeuvres buffet served at the 8:00 pm show, available beginning 7:00 pm.
• Opening acts each night with some of the amazing local high school jazz musicians playing from 7:00 to 7:45 pm each night.
• For more fun among friends, wear a mask on Friday, Oct. 31 to join the "Frightful Mug" competition (prizes include ETJ gift certificates and CDs).

Both shows are at the Clarion at 120 East Main St., Rochester. Show times are at 8:00 and 10:00 pm each night, with the doors opening at 7:00 pm. Tickets are as follows: One show--Reserved, $25; General Admission, $20. The "Weekend Package" includes a 25% discount off the single show ticket if coming both nights, making two tickets Reserved, $ 37.50; General Admission, $30. Purchase tickets by heading over to Ticketweb.com or by emailing your order to [email protected].

Check out Anna Reguero's article in the D&C....

I thought I'd start a new regular post on Fridays, which I've decided to call Take Five Friday and designed a special image (with a deep bow to the Dave Brubeck Quartet album Time Out on which Paul Desmond's Take Five is found).  Each Friday, I'll do a post with five links to jazz-oriented sites and sounds I've come across out there in the wide world of the "interwebs" that were unique, made me stop and listen or read, or I thought my be interesting. Here is the first set:

• Doug Ramsey reviews McCoy Tyner's new disc Guitars on Rifftides.
• Chatting With Jimmy Cobb, Kind of Blue's Last Surviving Player: Remembering the greatest jazz album of all time, 50 years on (by Rob Trucks in The Village Voice, Oct. 8, 2008).
• A jazz blog, This Shape of Jazz, with the musings of Matthew Ditullo about different albums primarily from the 1960s of the avant-garde, but also touches on bop, hard-bop, soul jazz and post-bop.
• Howard Mandel describes a recent bit of fun that Steven Colbert poked at jazz in Jazz Beyond Jazz.
• Billie Holiday singing Fine and Mellow in 1957 with a historic lineup of greats, including Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan, Roy Eldridge, Doc Cheatham, Vic Dickenson, Danny Barker, Milt Hinton, and Mal Waldron.

So take five and explore. Let me know what you think in the comments....There will be five more next week.

Here with the first snow of the season are your listings for the next seven days. Please don't hold it against me.

Thursday, October 23rd

• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 7:00 pm
• Nate Rawls Band with Dilynda Cassoni @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Sean Jefferson & the Jazz Mad Lab @ Roberts Wesleyan College's Shewan Recital Hall, 7:30 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Russell Fielder Quintet @ Merchant's Grill, 8:00 pm
• Mark Cassara @ Pane Vino, 8:30 pm
• Swing Dance w/DJ @ St Thomas Episcopal Church, 2000 Highland Ave, Rochester, 8:30 pm

Friday, October 24th

• Bob Sneider/Paul Hofmann Duo Jazz Happy Hour @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Westview Project @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 6:00 pm
• Bobby Dibaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Bodhi's Café & Lounge, 6:30 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 3259 S Winton Rd, 7:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ Café Vas, 7:30 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Café Antarsia Ensemble @ The Mez, 389 Gregory St, Rochester, 8:00 pm
• Bill Dobbins Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Mark Cassara 4-piece @ Bistro 135, 9:00 pm
• Tom Monte Trio @ Pomodoro's, no time given

Saturday, October 25th

• Jazz Charity Benefit Concert with Fairport High School Jazz Ensembles with Special Guests the Bow Ties and The Bill Tiberio Band@ Fairport High School, Minerva DeLand Auditorium (140 Hulburt Rd. In Fairport), 6:00 pm
• Westview Project @ Bodhi's Café & Lounge, 6:30 pm
• Dave Spinner @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino w/The El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 3259 S Winton Rd, 7:00 pm
• Primetime Funk @ High Fidelity, 7:00 pm
• Bob DiBaudo Trio @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Eddie Israel's Thatt Group @ Bistro 135, 7:30 pm
• Shared Genes @ Pane Vino Ristorante, 8:00 pm
• Steve Greene Trio with Tina Albright @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moe's, 9:30 pm

Sunday, October 26th

• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am
• Tony Giannavola @ Artisan Works, 1:00 pm

Monday, October 27th

• White Hots @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Big Apple Mondays Swing Dance Class and Live Jazz with Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Café, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, October 28th

• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Joe Santoro and Emily Kirchoff @  PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Nostalgic Reunion Jazz Ensemble @ Edgerton Community Center, 7:30 pm

Wednesday, October 29th

• Dave Mancini Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:30 pm
• Golden Sounds with the Al Bruno Trio featuring Tom Monte @ Roger Robach Community Center, 7:15 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and other sources. The aim is to give you a one stop place to find all your jazz in Rochester. Please forgive me for any discrepancies with reality and feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible (click on the "Send an email to Jazz@Rochester" link). 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!

I'm going to echo Jeff Spevak in the D&C this morning in a couple of ways.  For those of you that missed it (and that will figure later), Kurt Elling's Dedicated to You appearance last night at the Eastman Theatre, in a benefit for the Commencement Park, was as Jeff put it "jazz as good as it gets." The seven hundred souls who came to hear this Grammy-nominated singer were treated to a wonderful hour-and-a-half or so of some of the tunes from Elling's new album Night Moves, earlier discs, and to arrangements of standards that Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane recorded and performed together 45 years ago.

Standing in Coltrane's shoes for the evening was the Grammy-winning saxophonist Ernie Watts, who played some wonderful solos and almost "traded fours" with Elling at times. Behind them was the Laurence Hobgood Trio, although with new members in addition to Hobgood, who has been working with Kurt since the beginning. Joining the trio was Ulysses S. Owens, the incredible talented, young drummer who seems to have made Rochester his second home with multiple appearances at Exodus to Jazz and the RIJF, and Clark Summers working the bass (sorry, Jeff, Rob Amster no longer plays with them). From the bop of Tight from the new Concord disc Nightmoves, to the lesson in vocalese Those Clouds Are Heavy, You Dig from his early recording Close Your Eyes, to a haunting retelling of Billy Strayhorn's Lush Life at the close of the concert, Elling alternately filled that large space with his deep, rich baritone and the squeeks and trills of a trumpet or sax sounds. His instrument is truly amazing. Elling's musical partner Hobgood alternated from flights of fancy to bringing home the hard swing at a turn. As we've heard before, Ulysses Owens' drumming was tight and nuanced. He's clearly loving working with this group and it shows. At one point, Elling went around to each member of the rhythm section and told them to cut free for awhile.  He moved out of the way and leaned on the end of the long Steinway as his band cut loose and played off each other for awhile before Hobgood swung them back into the song. He just leaned back and soaked it up. So did we (and ate it up too).

The turnout for the concert, estimated in Spevak's column to be 700, even after a 1/2 drop in ticket prices and quite a lot of advertising and mentions in a number of media outlets (including this one), may be an effect of the current state of the economy or just mean that those who love hitting Gibbs Street in June can't be bothered with coming out for a great night of jazz, pretty cheap, for a good cause on Sunday in October. Fair weather jazz fans?  Perhaps. But I think it's more complicated. The venues and promoters that bring jazz music to this town and the artists are also feeling the pinch and seeing a decline in their audiences. Some venues are no longer presenting jazz; some artists are leaving town to try their luck elsewhere. I know my listings are getting lighter (and it's not just the approach of winter). I'm preaching to the choir here, I know, so I'll quit preaching.

I encourage you to leave comments about the concert if you were lucky enough to see it, or if you have any ideas on how to get more people out to hear live jazz around town.

Photo Credits: Garry Geer, Geer Photography

Yes, it's Wednesday already and here are your Jazz@Rochester listings for the next seven days of jazz in the clubs and restaurants around Rochester, NY.

Thursday, October 16th

• Jazz Merchants @ Café Vas, 6:30 pm
• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 7:00 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• John Nyerges @ PARE Bar and Grill, 7:00 pm
• Nate Rawls Band w/ Dilynda Cassoni @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Café, 9:00 pm

Friday, October 17th

• Joe Pera @ Edgerton Community Center, 2:00 pm
• Bob Sneider & Paul Hofmann Duo @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Madeline Forster (w/ guest The Bowties) @ Friday Jazz at Immanuel Church, 815 Park Ave., Rochester, 7:00 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino w/The El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 3259 S Winton Rd., 7:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Bobby DiBaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Tom Passamonte & Special Blend @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Seamus Blake Group (Exodus to Jazz) @ Clarion Riverside Hotel, 8:00 & 10:00 pm (doors at 7:00 pm)
• Squeaky Chair Jazz @ Starry Nites Café, 8:00 pm
• Dave Davies and the Hot Foot Club @ Rochester Museum and Science Center, 8:00 pm
• Dave Gibson Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Shades of Grey @ Bistro 135, 9:00 pm
• Filthy Funk (w/ Subsoil) @ Lovin' Cup, 9:30 pm

Saturday, October 18th

• Dave Brubeck named Honorary Doctor of Music, University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, Eastman Theatre @ 8:00 pm (before Eastman Wind Ensemble & Philharmonia concert).
• Deb Sorenson @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Bistro 135, 7:30 pm
• Tom Passamonte & Special Blend @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Shared Genes @ Café Vas, 7:30 pm
• The Westview Project @  Pane Vino Ristorante, 8:00 pm
• Dave Gibson Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Steve Greene Trio w/Tina Albright @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Starry Nites Café, 8:00 pm
• Kinetik-flo @ Clarissa's, 9:00 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm

Sunday, October 19th

• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am
• UR Jazz Ensemble and Gospel Choir @ University of Rochester-Strong Auditorium, 1:00 pm
• Tony Giannavola @ Artisan Works, 1:00 pm
• Geneseo Wind and Jazz Ensembles @ SUNY Geneseo-Wadsworth Auditorium, 3:00 pm
• Kurt Elling "Dedicated to You" w/ Ernie Watts, Benefit for Commencement Park @ Eastman Theatre, 8:00 pm

Monday, October 20th

• Flower City Jazz Society presents a Dixieland Evening with Ed Clute’s Dixie Five @ Green Lantern Inn, Fairport, 6:30 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 Café, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, October 21st

• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Metropolitan Stompers @ Edgerton Community Center, 7:30 pm

Wednesday, October 22nd

• Todd East @ Bistro 135, 6:30 pm
• Nate Rawls @ Roger Robach Community Center, 7:15 pm
• Madeline Forster w/ John Nyerges @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm

Looking Ahead . . .

• Spyro Gyra @ Roberts Wesleyan College, November 8th, 7:30pm

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and other sources. The aim is to give you a one stop place to find all your jazz in Rochester. I can't go to every venue's site and check there, so if you are a venue, promoter or artist, send me your gigs directly.  Contact me by clicking on the email link in the left panel.  Forgive me for any discrepancies with reality and feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible (click on the "Send an email to Jazz@Rochester" link). 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!

The Rochester International Jazz Festival announced yesterday that local heavy corporate hitter Xerox Corporation is coming on board as the RIJF’s first title sponsor.  The eighth edition of the nine-day Festival, which will run from June 12-20, 2009, will bear the name the "Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival."  According to their press release this morning, RIJF is "honored to welcome Xerox as our first title sponsor and thank them for joining our team,” according to Marc Iacona, Festival Producer and Executive Director. “Xerox’s support, which is a multi-year agreement, recognizes the work we have done to build this Festival and will enable us to continue to deliver a spectacular line-up of great music from around the world.”

Xerox, founded in Rochester in 1906 as The Haloid Company, believes that the festival will enhance its new brand.  John Nugent, Producer and Artistic Director, says “I am thrilled that Xerox has chosen to partner with us. The prestige and international recognition that the Xerox brand brings to our Festival will enhance our Festival’s recognition and stature throughout the world and further heighten the focus on Rochester as a major music destination. The fact that a major international company has chosen to invest its marketing dollars in our event underscores the prominence that Rochester and our Festival have attained. We are grateful for their support.”

It is great to see that a major player here in Rochester is showing their commitment to the city and the area by putting their name to a developing major player.  I'm not going to be using XRIJF as an acronym anytime soon, but I think this is great for the festival and for the city of Rochester.  Way to go!

In other RIJF news, the festival Club Pass will go on sale next Friday, October 24th at 10 a.m.  For those of you that were worrying, the ticket prices for the Club Pass and individual Club Pass shows will remain the same as last year. The popular Club Pass, which provides access to approximately 150 Club Pass shows will begin sales at a special holiday price of $105 plus $4 service charge until noon EST on January 1, 2009, when it increases to $135 plus $4 service charge until sold out (which happened last year before the festival began (half were sold before the end of December). You can purchase at the RIJF website or through Ticketmaster (585) 232-1900, its website, or at any Ticketmaster outlet.

Yes, Virginia, there is jazz elsewhere in Western New York (actually, quite a lot, but I only have so much time to keep up). While I can't get it all in, I like to try to let you know about some of the more exceptional stuff when I can. One such series of jazz concerts the Art of Jazz series, now starting its 10th season at Buffalo's Albright-Knox Art Gallery. This year's lineup is, as usual, full of new stars, recent folks who you may have heard at the RIJF, and a few old favorites.  Between now and May 2, 2009, the following artists/groups will be appearing:

• Cindy Blackman Quartet (if you missed her at the RIJF, she's the former Lenny Kravitz drummer who came here with her own Quartet) (October 18).
• David Liebman Group (another you may have missed at the 2008 RIJF) (November 22).
• Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio (February 1, 2009).
• Mulgrew Miller Trio (if you missed him at ETJ) (March 1, 2009).
• Ted Nash and Odeon (March 28, 2009).
• Kendra Shank Quartet with Frank Kimbrough (May 2, 2009).

Tickets went on sale August 15, 2008. For tickets, visit their website or call 716.270.8292. They say that concerts usually sell out well in advance, so if you want to go order early. I may just get over to Buffalo yet (yes, I have to admit that I've been in Rochester since 2002 and have never been there, other than to the airport once and to pass by on the way to Niagara Falls for one of the many trips to show visiting relatives and friends).  Could see some great art, too....

Local public radio station Jazz 90.1 has kicked off its Fall 2008 membership campaign to support jazz radio. Jazz90.1 receives no funding from the Greece Central School District, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the state or federal government. Therefore, the station has to come to the jazz listeners in Rochester periodically to help raise their operating budget and get through the year. And no. . . they probably won't spend it on headphones....

Consider supporting Jazz90.1 with a donation at any level. They've eve  got "thank you" gifts (and they aren't those tote bags either).To make a pledge of support, call 585.966.5299, toll free to 1.800.790.0415, or you can pledge securely by clicking here.

He's been here before at Exodus to Jazz with Sylvia Cuenca in 2007 and sitting in at the last minute with Helen Sung earlier this year, but this time saxophonist Seamus Blake is strutting his own stuff, joined by wild piano man David Kikoski (you saw him play here during the RIJF in 2007 with Randy Brecker), Orlando Le Fleming on bass, and Jordan Perlson on drums.

A long-time member of the Mingus Big Band, Blake has performed or recorded with artists such as John Scofield, Bill Stewart, Kevin Hays, Victor Lewis, Brad Meldau, Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Jane Monheit, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Franco Ambrosetti, Billy Drummond and Darrell Grant among others. Blake has released five albums on Criss Cross Records since 1993, his most recent being 2007's Way Out Willy. 

Your "Exodus to Jazz" will commence at the The Clarion Riverside Hotel in downtown Rochester with shows at 8:00 and 10:00 pm. Doors open at 7:00 pm.  Ticket are $25 reserved and $20 general admission. Advance Purchase your tickets through TicketWeb.com or email your ticket order.

Grammy-nominated Kurt Elling, winner of multiple DownBeat and JazzTimes critics’ polls, will be appearing on October 19th at 7:00 pm at the Eastman Theatre at the annual Jazz for the Park concert to benefit the Wilson Commencement Park in Rochester. On his "Dedicated to You" tour this year, Elling is reimagining the collaboration on one of my favorite albums, the incredible 1963 John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman album on Impulse, backed by McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones (on which Dedicated to You appears, although my favorite on the album is Lush Life). Elling will be joined by his regular trio, led by pianist Laurence Hobgood, and by two-time Grammy-winning saxophonist Ernie Watts for this concert.

Proceeds from Jazz for the Park enhance the programs and services at Wilson Commencement Park in Rochester. The Park has 50 townhouse and 18 apartments where single-parent families transition from poverty to self-sufficiency. Family support services help adults achieve personal and professional goals, while an accredited early learning center helps children achieve success in school and in life.

And all of this for less.  As of October 10th, the regular ticket price for this event has been dropped to $10.00, preferred $15.00, with patron tickets remaining at $85.00 (the latter including a post-concert reception). This offer is being extended to the community at large to enable the supporters of Wilson Commencement Park to come out and enjoy an evening of great jazz, while also contributing to help the low-income single parent families and children to reach their dreams through the Park. To order tickets call Ticketmaster at (585) 232-1900 or Wilson Commencement Park at 263-7938. To purchase tickets online visit Ticketmaster.com.

Here are your listings for live jazz here in the clubs and restaurants in and around Rochester, NY. Keep the comments coming on my suggestion on jazz pub crawls; perhaps we can get something started here?

Thursday, October 9th

• The Jazz Merchants @ Cafe Vas, 6:30 pm
• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 7:00 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ The Rabbit Room (Honeoye Falls), 7:00 pm
• Nate Rawls Band w/ Dilynda Cassoni @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Mark Marco @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Standard Jazz Quartet @ Starry Nites Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Cafe, 9:00 pm

Friday, October 10th

• Bob Sneider/Paul Hofmann Duo @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Westview Project @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 6:00 pm
• Bobby DiBaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bodhi's Cafe, 6:30 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Shared Genes @ Cafe Vas, 7:30 pm
• Artisan Jazz Trio @ Starry Nites Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Kinetik-flo @ Club Pazzo, 8:00 and 10:00 pm
• Mike Kaupa Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Mark Cassara 4-Piece @ Bistro 135, 8:30 pm

Saturday, October 11th

• Dave Spinner @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 7:30 pm
• Latin Jazz Quartet @ Bistro 135, 7:30 pm
• Shared Genes @ Triphammer Grill, 7:30 pm
• Steve Greene Trio featuring Tina Albright @ Little Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm
• MK Groove Orchestra with Filthy Funk @ Dubland Underground, 9:00 pm (check them out on YouTube)
• Tom Passamonte & Special Blend @ Pomodoro's (no time given)

Sunday, October 12th

• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am

Monday, October 13th

• The 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, October 14th

• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm

Wednesday, October 15th

• Brad Batz Group @ Bistro 135, 6:30 pm
• D.D. Jackson & George Elliott Clarke ("BeBopera" perform songs from Jackson's two chamber operas, "Quebecite" and "Trudeau: Long March/Shining Path" and in "BeBopera Too" Clarke performs his poetry and writing) @ RIT, Engle Auditorium, 7:00 pm
• Eastman Jazz Ensemble and New Jazz Ensemble @ Eastman Theatre, 8:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ The Rex Jazz & Blues Bar, Toronto, 9:30 pm (in case you're in Toronto, the local vocalist is appearing Toronto’s top jazz club, joined by Chris Ziemba, Dave Baron, Kate Pittman, Mike Kaupa, and Tim Forster)

Looking Ahead....

• Tickets still on sale for Kurt Elling "Dedicated to You" @ Jazz for the Park (Benefit for Commencement Park), October 19th, 7:00 pm
• Tickets go on sale on Friday for Grammy Award winning artist Maria Schneider and her Orchestra on January 23rd at the Eastman Theatre. See the D&C for additional information.

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and other sources. The aim is to give you a one stop place to find all your jazz in Rochester. Please forgive me for any discrepancies with reality and feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible (click on the "Send an email to Jazz@Rochester" link). 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!

For those of us who go out to hear live jazz more than the average Joe or Janet, it's  clear that jazz artists and venue owners throughout Rochester and its environs are having an increasingly difficult time getting audiences for gigs. While the recent and marked decrease of "bums in seats" at jazz gigs can be laid at the feet of an economy that is increasingly scaring the living sh*t out folks (or at least causing them to reduce spending disposable income), this is not really a recent phenomenon.  I've heard artists and others time and again say that the jazz lovers all come out at the Rochester International Jazz Festival and the rest of the year, not so much.  Let's face it, jazz and other improvised music is a hard sell.  You have to really love it to make the effort and there's always the fear that it won't be "your kind of jazz" (you know how I feel about that, but it's the truth out there). The fact is that there are a lot more jazz lovers out there in Rochester than those who show up at live gigs around town. Without growth in the audiences for live music there will be an inevitable drop in the amount of live music and especially jazz available to hear.  Sure, Eastman will always guarantee a certain level of highly talented jazz musicians around town and a certain number of folks dropping in who have a connection to the school or its faculty. However, if we're going to have a vibrant live jazz scene here in Rochester, NY, and keep attracting people from out of town, we have to turn out to hear them play. How many times do you think a world-renowned artists like Mulgrew Miller will return when only few hardy souls turn out to hear him?  Same goes for local artists and groups. They have to feed themselves and/or their families.

Since I've been here, I've been thinking about how to bring a tradition from my former home town of Chicago—the jazz "pub crawl"—as one means to turn people on to the fantastic home-grown talent here and the venues that showcase that talent here in Rochester. I was reminded again of why when I read a recent post by jazz journalist Howard Mandel in his blog Jazz Beyond Jazz. As Mandel writes, "[t]he real signs of Chicago's jazz depth and diversity are evident in the unique 'club tour' (aka pub crawl), which the Jazz Institute of Chicago cleverly designs to introduce listeners to local musicians playing small venues way outside the downtown Loop." Typically, the "crawl" involves moving between different clubs throughout the city via bus (we used yellow school buses back in the day when I was hitting these every year, now they're using tourist trolleys) on a single pass over one night.  Everywhere you go, there is live jazz, drink, sometimes food; everywhere you go there your (now $25) pass will get you on the bus and in the club.  When you're ready to move on, you go out the door and a bus will take you to the next stop on the circuit or back to the central connection to take a different circuit. The JIC's jazz pub crawl was a fantastic way to discover the music and where it was being played around the city, showcasing local artists you might not know and venues where you might never have ventured if you hadn't been there before. Due to its proximity to the time of the jazz festival, it was possible that someone was already in town and might sit in somewhere.

Looking at the "scene" here, I think this could work in Rochester, providing people a chance to catch some of the rich and diverse local jazz artists (not all of them can be in the festival) and see where some of the local clubs and restaurants that at least try to bring in live jazz can be found in and around Rochester. Because of Rochester's well-known "in 20 minutes you can be anywhere" geography, they could in both the suburbs and in the City.  Like Chicago, it might make sense to do this right before the RIJF itself or perhaps at several different times during the years. 

You heard it here first....So what do you think?  I'd welcome your thoughts and suggestions in the comments to this post.  If we don't get more people out to hear the music, it's going to be increasingly difficult to find music to hear.

The band with the wonderful singer Alicia Olatuja...

First set is almost over. Where are you...?

Ulysses S. Owens @ Exodus To Jazz, Live!!!

Sorry about my earlier empty posts.  Still learning my iPhone...

Jason Kao-Hwang & Edge @ Bop Shop

I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things and post some more, but my day job and other concerns continue to make that an aspiration rather than a reality.

Thursday, October 2nd

• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 6:30 pm
• The Jazz Merchants @ Cafe Vas, 6:30 pm
• Madeline Forster @ PaRe Restaurant & Lounge, 7:00 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Nate Rawls Band w/ Dilynda Cassoni @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Café (E. Rochester), 9:00 pm

Friday, October 3rd

• Jazz in the Park (prelude to Jazz for the Park) w/Ulysses S. Owens and Paradigm Shift (see my earlier post for details), 3:30 pm
• Bob Sneider & Paul Hofmann Jazz Happy Houro @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Kinetik-Flo (Free Flow Friday) @ Club Network, 6:30 pm
• Shared Genes @ PaRe Restaurant & Lounge, 7:00 pm
• Bobby DiBaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @  Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Ulysses Owens & The USO Project (Exodus to Jazz) @ Clarion Riverside Hotel, 8:00 & 10:00 pm (doors open at 7:00) (check out D&C article on USO)
• Frank Tiberi with Bill Dobbins Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Deep Blue Dream @ Shamrock Jack's, 9:00 pm
• Bill Tiberio Band @ The Village Landing Bar and Grille (at 30 Village Landing, Fairport), 10:00 pm
• Filthy Funk @ University of Rochester-Wilson Commons, 10:00 pm

Saturday, October 4th

• Andy Stobie and the Greater Finger Lakes Jazz Orchestra @ Downtown Commons Park, Canandaigua, NY, 2:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ Triphammer Grill, 6:30 pm
• Pete Patall Trio @ PaRe Restaurant & Lounge, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @  Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Jennifer Heieck @ Bistro 135, 7:30 pm
• Shared Genes @ Pane Vino Ristorante, 8:00 pm
• Steve Greene Trio featuring Tina Albright @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Frank Tiberi with Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Mike Allen @ The Mez, 9:30 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm

Sunday, October 5th

• Bill Slater @ The Lodge at Woodcliff, 11:30 am
• Paul Smoker Trio @ Wilmot Recital Hall, Nazareth College Arts Center, 3:00 pm
• Paul Smoker Trio @ The Bop Shop Atrium (Village Gate), 8:00 pm

Monday, October 6th

• Madeline Forster @ Gala fundraiser fot the Little Theater Film Society (Memorial Art Gallery), 6:00 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 Café, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, October 7th

• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm

Wednesday, October 8th

• Rochester Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra w/The Al Bruno Trio featuring Tom Monte @ Roger Robach Community Center, 6:00 pm
• A.M.P. Trio (1940s style blues and jazz) @ Bistro 135, 6:30 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm

We've compiled these listings from information obtained from the performing artists themselves and other sources. The aim is to give you a one stop place to find all your jazz in Rochester. Please forgive me for any discrepancies with reality and feel free to let me know what the problem is, and I'll get the corrections up on the site as soon as possible (click on the "Send an email to Jazz@Rochester" link). 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!