The Bop Shop's non-profit arm Bop Arts is presenting saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition this Thursday, December 4th at 8pm at the Bop Shop Atrium at Village Gate in Rochester. Indo-Pak Coalition is Mahanthappa's current trio project including Rez Abbasi on guitar, and Dan Weiss on tabla. I've been listening to his new album, Kinsmen on Pi Records. Mahanthappa mixes the sounds of his Indian ancestry with straight up bop and a wide assortment of other influences to make a sound that is unique and compelling. Really wish I was going to be in town (but I'll be about as far from hearing Mahanthappa as possible in South East Kansas). A $10 donation is requested to help Bop Arts to continue bringing us such music. Give more if you can...

You can check out some of the music off Kinsmen and other albums and video on Mahanthappa's Myspace page and on his page at AllAboutJazz.

Check out Saby Reyes-Kulkarni's interview, INTERVIEW: Rudresh Mahanthappa Indo-Pak Coalition: Building a better hybrid,in City Newspaper.

It's Friday and, even though its the holiday weekend, I have a fresh batch of links for you:

• WXXI's Mark Grube has some thoughts on the 50th anniversary edition of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue in a post titled Suibokugo.
• In a collaboration with Google, Life magazine has placed millions of photos from their archive online. At least 200 appear when searching for "jazz" (and if you're creative you might find more). The images can be purchased. (Thanks to David Marriott, Jr. at Red Raspus for the link).
• I really enjoyed seeing Dave Liebman Group during 2008's Rochester International Jazz Festival. Here's a review of his November 22nd concert at the Art of Jazz series at Buffalo's Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
• Can't get down to the Village to catch a set at the Village Vanguard? NPR's got you covered, with a new live performance recorded at the venerable NYC jazz club every month. November's offering is Ravi Coltrane Quartet.
• Bay Area bass player Chip Boaz (I was introduced to Chip on Twitter) is doing the Latin Jazz Corner blog, which looks at Latin jazz across the country. Look for it in my blogroll soon.

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

Joe Romano, a sax man close to the hearts of many jazz musicians in Rochester and around the world has passed away. Joe played with a veritable Who's Who of jazz greats, including Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Woody Herman, Chuck Mangione, Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, Billy Higgins, Art Pepper, Barry Harris, Sonny Stitt, and Charlie Parker. As Ron Netsky noted in City Newspaper in 2003, "[o]ver the last half century, few Rochester jazz musicians have pulled off as much as Joe Romano."

Romano was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer a few months ago and recently moved back to Rochester to live out the rest of his days. He died yesterday evening at the age of 76.

If you'd like to leave a comment about memories of hearing or playing with Joe, please feel free to leave a comment or send an email to me here at the blog and I'll collect them and post them at a later date.

Here's a profile of Joe published today in the Democrat & Chronicle. Check out the growing number of rememberances in the comments (click on the Comments link below)

Although I put a number of posts together last week, the wheels fell off and I couldn't get motivated to post anything for the past few days. A lot on my plate (in addition to the anticipation of mounds of food tomorrow, that is...).

Thursday, November 27th (Turkey Day)

• Bill Slater @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 4:30-8:00 pm
• Jazz Dawg @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm

Friday, November 28th

• Bobby Dibaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Bill Tiberio Band @ High Fidelity, 6:00 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 7:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ PaRe Bar and Grill, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Margaret Explosion (opening for Nod) @ Abilene, 8:00 pm
• Fred Stone Pregressive Jazz Trio @ Little Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Bill Dobbins Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Chet Catallo and the Cats @ Merchants Grill, 9:30 pm
• Dubblestuff @ Lovin' Cup, 10:00 pm

Saturday, November 29th

• Jimmie Highsmith Jr. and friends (Lyrical Grooves Toy Drive and First Book Fundraiser) @ Kate Gleason Auditorium, Bausch and Lomb Public Library Building, 2:00 pm
• Dave Spinner @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 7:00 pm
• Ted Nicolosi/Shared Genes @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Primetime Funk @ High Fidelity, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Deborah Sorensen @ PaRe Bar and Grill, 8:00 pm
• Artisan Jazz Trio @ Starry Nites Cafe, 8:00 pm
• Lalo Rodriguez and Orquestra Antonetti @ Water Street Music Hall, 8:00 pm
• Kinloch Nelson Trio @ Little Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Hard Logic @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm

Sunday, November 30th

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

Monday, December 1st

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

Tuesday, December 2nd

• Musique @ Edgerton Community Center, 1:00 pm
• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm

Wednesday, December 3rd

• The Margaret Explosion @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Eastman New Jazz Ensemble @ Kilbourn Hall, 8:00 pm
• Jazz Jam Session w/host Troup Street Band @ Clarissa's, 9:30 pm (sign up at 8:30 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!

It's Friday and I have a fresh batch of links for you:

• AccuJazz is a multichannel jazz radio station, featuring nearly a dozen channels of classic and mainstream jazz.
• Sing along with jazz or closet karaoke crooner? Jazzbacks has play along backing tracks of jazz standards for instrumentalists and vocalists, each has a description of its arrangement and can be played using the Real Book.
• A scat poem Presenting the Harlem Jazziacs (for Larry Scott), by Michael A. Gonzales, on the Blackpower: News, Blogs and Commentary for Metropolitan Thinkers.
• A new season of Jazz It Up! featuring Esperanza Spalding, Benny Golson, Lewis Nash, Bill Evans, and jazz news. Jazz It Up! is a production of BrownStone Digital, Inc., and contains live performances, news, and discussions by artists playing the array of styles that make jazz.
• Check out Marc Myers' take in Jazz Wax on Boz Scaggs' recently released CD Speak Low. He may make you think twice about having pooh-poohed Boz's appearance as a headliner at this year's Rochester International Jazz Festival, writing "[h]is voice continues to amaze with a soft leather-on-burlap feel."

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

After a short hiatus while he settled in his new digs near Albany, Jason Crane has been recording his great interviews with jazz artists and publishing them regularly at the Jazz Session blog again (since August with an occasional post in May-July). While we were out making the world safe for democracy, Jason was interviewing Sonny Rollins about his new album of live cuts Road Shows: Vol. 1 (Doxy Records, 2008) and "everything from the prospect of an Obama presidency and the crisis of global warming to the mystery and beauty of jazz improvisation." I need to add him back into my podcast queue and catch up.

We'll try to get some more posts out soon, but here's some listings for you to chew on in the meantime.

Thursday, November 20th

• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Matt Valerio @ Grill at Strathallan, 7:00 pm
• Nate Rawls Band @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ PaRe Bar and Grill, 7:00 pm
• Nazareth College Jazz Ensemble (Paul Smoker, Dir.) @ Nazareth College Arts Center, 7:30 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• The White Hots @ Rochester Swing Dance Network Swing-In, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2000 Highland Ave (at Winton), 8:15 pm

Friday, November 21st

• Bob Sneider/Paul Hofmann Jazz Happy Hour @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Bobby Dibaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 3259 S Winton Rd, 7:00 pm
• Jimmie Highsmith & Friends @ Charlie Brown's on the Green at Jack's Place, 1200 Kings Hwy N Rochester, 7:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Friday Jazz at Immanuel Series with the Bill Welch Band @ Immanuel Baptist Church, 815 Park Avenue, 7:00 pm
• Kinloch Nelson @ Bohdi's Café, 7:30 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Fred Stone Progressive Jazz Trio @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Mike Kaupa Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Prime Time Funk @ NOLA's BBQ, 9:00 pm
• Money Shot @ Merchants Grill, 9:00 pm
• Mark Cassara Four Piece @ Bistro 135, 9:00 pm
• Filthy Funk @ Dub Land Underground, 10:00 pm

Saturday, November 22nd

• Dave Spinner @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Shared Genes @ Café Vas, 7:30 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Pane Vino, 8:00 pm
• David Liebman Group @ Art of Jazz at Albright-Knox Gallery (Buffalo), 8:00 pm (pre-concert conversation "On The Corner: The Visionary Crossroads of Miles Davis" with series producer Bruce Eaton, 7:00 pm)
• Kinloch Nelson Trio @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Jennifer Heieck Band @ Bistro 135, 9:00 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm

Sunday, November 23rd

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

Monday, November 24th

• 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 25th

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

Wednesday, November 26th

• Dave Mancini Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:30 pm
• The Margaret Explosion @Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Jazz Jam Session w/ Troup Street Band @ Clarissa's, 9:30 pm (sign up at 8:30 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!

It's Take Five Friday and I have a fresh batch of links for you to sample:

• I'm not the only place where you'll find Take Five.  Although not necessarily on Friday, NPR's Take Five: A Weekly Jazz Sampler is meant to help you to get to know jazz fives songs at a time.
• Going on a trip somewhere, here's CNN's list of nine great jazz joints across the world.
• It's hard to get a blog started and especially one like Improvised Communications, which is setting up shop to promote creative improvised music. Tom Kohn at the Bop Shop will probably be a reader, so will I.
• Mark Grube shares his thoughts about the Cassandra Wilson concert at the State Theater in Ithaca last Sunday in 'Til There Was You in his blog over at WXXI.
• You've seen the big pictures around downtown Rochester. They're the result of the Big Picture Rochester project. There's a photo essay on BPR's site showing them putting up the one with Wynton Marsalis and Bob Sneider from the Rochester International Jazz Festival, at the Rochester Plaza Hotel.

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

Been crazy busy the past few days, so got a bit behind on the posting.  Here are some live jazz listings for the next seven days in and around Rochester. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 13th 

• The Westview Project @ PARE Bar and Grill, 6:30 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Matt Valerio @ The Grill at Strathallan, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Footnote @ Lovin' Cup, 8:00 pm
• Dave Rivello Ensemble @ Village Rock Café, 9:00 pm

Friday, November 14th 

• Paul Hofmann/Bob Sneider Duo Jazz Happy Hour @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:30 pm@ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:00 pm
• Bobby Dibaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Eclectet @ 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
• Madeline Forster @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Deborah Sorenson @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Jimmie Highsmith & Friends @ Charlie Brown's on the Green at Jack's Place, 1200 Kings Hwy N Rochester, 7:00 pm
• Tom Passamonte Special Blend @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Squeaky Chair Jazz @ Starry Nites Café, 8:00 pm
• Fred Stone Progressive Jazz Trio @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Mike Kaupa Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Kinetik-Flo @ Pazzo Cucina, 9:00 pm

Saturday, November 15th 

• The Westview Project @ Bodhi's Café & Lounge, 6:30 pm
• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 7:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Tom Passamonte Special Blend @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Deborah Sorenson @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 8:00 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Starry Nites Café, 8:00 pm
• Shared Genes @ Pane Vino Restaurant, 8:00 pm
• Kinloch Nelson Trio @ Little Theatre Café, 8:30 pm
• Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes (East Ave.), 9:30 pm

Sunday, November 16th 

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

Monday, November 17th 

• Ted Howe's Tri-City Jazz @ Green Lantern Inn, 1 E Church St, Fairport, 6:30 pm
• The White Hots @ Little Theatre Café, 7:30 pm
• Eastman Jazz Lab @ Kilbourn Hall, 8:00 pm
• Big Apple Mondays Swing Dance Class and Live Jazz with Quinn Lawrence Trio @ Flat Iron Café, 8:30 pm

Tuesday, November 18th 

• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Joe Santoro and Emily Kirchoff @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Jack Allen Big Band @ Edgerton Community Center, 7:30 pm

Wednesday, November 19th 

• Earl Jerris Septet @ Strong National Museum of Play, 7:30 pm
• 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!

It's Take Five Friday (almost Saturday, but I had a thing...) and a fresh batch of links for you:

• Howard Mandel searches for joyous music after the election of Obama, but "can't think of a movement akin to the bells ringing in Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture' in the repertoire of Miles, Ornette, Cecil or Coltrane, Mingus, Monk, Bird and Diz, or Ellington, Basie and Goodman . . . . Jazz seems to temper its joy with the thought that the struggle continues and it's folly to forget that for even a moment." Read The jazz of victory and celebration in Mandel's Jazz Beyond Jazz blog.
• Another favorite of mine, Rifftides, opened my eyes to the fact that one of the characters of the story of my earlier life in Chicago, Studs Terkel, wrote a book Giants of Jazz, published in 1957, that ends with Coltrane who was just emerging. I didn't know that! Doug Ramsey's post has some great links to learn more about this amazing individual spirit.
• In case you missed it, "Over the Rainbow," played by ukelele sensation Jake Shimabukuro at last year's Rochester International Jazz Festival.
• As the Jazz Impact website says, "[g]ood jazz and high performance business depend on creativity, agility, empathy and flexibility."  Jazz Impact is a company that uses jazz to teach businesses and their employees the skills of collaboration.
• The sweet Ms. Ella Fitzgerald sings "Useless Landscape" by Jobim in Montreux in 1969 with Tommy Flanagan.
  

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

Breuker and the Kollektief are back and filling the Atrium with waves of sound. Moving from swing to free to somewhere in between. Always with outstanding musicianship and intriguing arrangements.   Always a treat!

As the improvisation of change begins in Washington and the U.S., there is improvisation around Rochester for the next seven days.  Here are the listings:

Thursday, November 6th

• Jazz at Noon @First Universalist Church, 12:15 pm
• Jazz Dawgs @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Madeline Forster @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Lumiere @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Standard Jazz Quartet @ Starry Nites Cafe, 8:00 pm
 
• Willem Breuker Kollektief @ Bop Shop Atrium, 8:00 pm
• Gene Bertoncini, John Stowell & Bob Sneider @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:00 pm

Friday, November 7th 

• Paul Hofmann Duo @ The Grill at Strathallan, 5:30 pm
• Bobby Dibaudo Trio @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Ted Nicolosi/Shared Genes @ Webster Arboretum, 1700 Schlegal Rd, Webster, 6:30 pm
• Dawn Thompson with John Nugent @ Bernunzio Uptown Music, 122 East Ave., Rochester, 6:30 pm
• Madeline Forster @ Bodhi's Cafe & 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
• The Westview Project @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Nate Rawls Band @ Triphammer Grill, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• FunkBox featuring Jimmie Highsmith, Jr. @ Club Pazzo, 7:30 pm
• Aaron Staebell @ Starry Nites Cafe, 8:00 pm
• Bill Dobbins Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• Fred Stone Progressive Jazz Trio @ Little Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Mark Cassara Quartet @ Bistro 135, 9:00 pm

Saturday, November 8th 

• Ryan T Carey and Tommy Gravino with the El Rojo Jazz Band @ Thali of India, 3259 S Winton Rd, 7:00 pm
• Greg Clark @ Bodhi's Cafe & Lounge, 7:00 pm
• Squeaky Chair Jazz @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• Gap Mangione New Blues Band @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 7:30 pm
• Spyro Gyra @Roberts Wesleyan College-Auditorium, 7:30 pm
• Sam & Nancy @ Don's Original Pub, 7:30 pm
• Danny Sullivan @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 8:00 pm
• UR Jazz Ensemble @ University of Rochester-Strong Auditorium, 8:00 pm
• The Westview Project @ Pane Vino Ristorante, 8:00 pm
• Kinloch Nelson Trio @ Little Theatre Cafe, 8:30 pm
• Bob Sneider Quartet @ The Grill at Strathallan, 8:30 pm
• East End Boys @ Havana Moes, 9:30 pm

Sunday, November 9th 

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

Monday, November 10th 

• 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, November 11th 

• Joe Santoro and Emily Kirchoff @ PaRe Bar & Grill, 7:00 pm
• Jim Nugent Trio @ Bistro 135, 7:00 pm
• The Amanda Monaco 4 @ The Bop Shop Atrium, 8:00 pm

Wednesday, November 12th 

• Brad Batz Group @ Bistro 135, 6:00 pm
• Margaret Explosion @ Little Theatre Cafe, 7:30 pm
• Todd East Duo @ Mickey Finn's, 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!

At the election night party at Abilene in Rochester, waiting for the shift to begin...
Beautiful night for an Obama landslide....

Tom Kohn, owner of The Bop Shop record store and Bop Arts, Inc., the nonprofit Tom formed to help bring music that we would otherwise not likely hear in Rochester, is bringing back the Willem Breuker Kollektief on Thursday, November 6th at 8:00 pm ($20 donation requested) at The Bop Shop Atrium at the Village Gate, 274 N Goodman St. in Rochester.

Breuker and the Kollektief have been here numerous times since 1991. Take a chance and come out to hear the unique musicianship of this ensemble in the casual and great sounding space in the Bop Shop Atrium. If you'd like a taste of them live, check out this video from 1994 in Amsterdam, and this one from 2000 from who knows where. While they're both a bit dated and this group is not known for staying in one place year after year, they give you an idea of their wild and inspired music.

Some other upcoming Bop Shop and Bop Arts programs:

• Amanda Monaco 4, November 11th (Bop Shop Atrium)
• Scorgies Reunion (not a jazz event, but many have great memories of this club, although some may be hazy), November 21st (German House).
• Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition, December 4 (Bop Shop Atrium).

By the way, you should also check out the Bop Shop's new website, which has been completely re-organized.

Jeff "Tain" Watts & Ebonix live at Exodus to Jazz in Rochester.