The Exodus To Jazz series of jazz gigs continues with the Johnny O’Neal Trio on Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 at the Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside with sets at 8:00 and 10:00 pm in Frontier Hall at the hotel. Doors open at 7:00 pm. Those of you that caught Eldar Djangirov's sets last month (I had a previous thing that night so I regrettably had to miss), or one of the other great sets of jazz Jose DaCosta has presented over the past few years, know that Exodus to Jazz shows give you a great night of music by top jazz artists in an intimate setting.

O'Neal will combining his great piano and vocal chops in sets he's titling “Play Jazz and Shout the Blues” with bassist Marion Hayden and drummer Sean Dobbins completing his trio. Since his 1983 debut album “Coming Out,” Johnny O’Neal has worked with Ray Brown, Milt Jackson and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Anita O’Day, Lionel Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Sonny Stitt, Benny Golson and Clark Terry, among others. You may remember him as Art Tatum in the movie about Ray Charles. O'Neal was recently honored as the sole pianist invited to perform at the celebration of Tatum’s 100th birthday at the 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival. Bassist Marion Hayden has performed with Nancy Wilson, Roy Brooks, Hank Jones, Benny Golson, Frank Foster, Jon Hendricks, James Carter, Ellis Marsalis, Geri Allen, Lionel Hampton and Curtis Fuller, among others. Drummer Sean Dobbins has performed with Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Frank Morgan, Joey DeFrancesco, Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whittaker, Jon Hendricks, David "Fathead" Newman, Cyrus Chesnut, Mose Allison, and others.

The Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside is located at 120 East Main St., Roch., NY, 14604. General admission tickets are $20, reserved seat tickets are $25, and student tickets are $ 10 with a current ID. All tickets may be purchased through TicketWeb.com or ordered with an email to [email protected]. For more information call (585) 733-7685.