I'm always on the prowl for new ways to connect and provide you with jazz-related links that I've either come across or have been made hip to recently ...

• Although Spring and Summer may seem a long way off (well, OK, they are...), radio station Jazz 90.1 recently announced the 2015 return of its popular jazz cruises aboard the historic Colonial Belle in Fairport on Monday May 18th, June 8th, July 13th and August 17th.
• For those of us of a certain age, we still "wax" nostalgic for the days of vinyl.  Back at the end of October over on Marc Myers' JazzWax blog, he provided those of you who are younger a glimpse into the manufacture of those black discs of sumptuous sounds in How Records Were Made. 
• I refer to jazz musicians in these pages as "artists," and that they are, but as the Boston-based Brilliant Corners blog points out in a short, but provocative, post they are also entertainers. Is paying too much attention to the "art" side of jazz rather than the toe-tapping entertainment side undermining its audience? I'd love to know what you thought after reading Jazz Musician: Entertainer or Artist?  Add a comment below...
• Jazz at Lincoln Center has been putting out a webseries called on the life of a working jazz musician in New York City called A Day In the Life, which in documentary-style explores the multiple facets of a jazz musician's (Kyle Poole) life during the span of a day.  Below is the first of the series on YouTube and there are at least 3 more available (and I'm sure you can find the rest on YouTube after watching  below...):

I'm always finding new jazz links to put out there for you. They won't always get into these posts, but I'll usually share them on the Jazz@Rochester Twitter or the Facebook pages. If you have a jazz link to share here with the Rochester jazz community and beyond, send us an email by clicking on the Contact Us button below the banner.

No jazz on Turkey Day, but you can put some on your sound device of choice while you consume your 4,200 calories of sleep inducing poultry (or whatever you're having). As it is a holiday, take the repeat listings with a grain of salt (or call first, as that will probably be more effective).

Open the link below (if it's there) to find the live jazz in and around the ROC for the next seven days... if you see an underline it is a link with more information for the event or venue. 

Helen Sung Quintet killing it at Exodus To Jazz... and, by the way, the Brother Thelonious ale from North Coast Brewing was killing, too...

In my post on Monday, I intimated that there may be some beer in the offing at the Helen Sung Quintet gig on Friday. In fact there will be and if you want to join me in lifting a sample of Seattle microbrewery North Coast Brewing's Brother Thelonious, come early to the show (doors open at 7:00 pm).

Open the link below (if it's there) to find the live jazz in and around the ROC for the next seven days... if you see an underline it is a link with more information for the event or venue. 

Riding the critical acclaim of her recently released sixth disc as a leader (and first on Concord Records) Anthem for a New Day (affiliate link), pianist Helen Sung is returning to Exodus to Jazz and Rochester this Friday, November 21st at 8:00 pm to once again show us her quite prodigious chops as a pianist, band leader, arranger and writer. Sung will be joined in Rochester by tenor saxophonist John Ellis, drummer Rodney Green, trumpeter Alex Norris and bassist Dave Robaire.

There will be a special treat this time at ETJ. The playlist for the upcoming concert is certain to include Sung's original tune “Brother Thelonious,” written in tribute to Thelonius Monk and commissioned by the presenting sponsor for her concert, North Coast Brewing Co. in California, which has brewed a well-received beer by the same name). I hear that some will be able to sample their wares. Mmmmm beer...... 

The Skinny:

• Venue: Hochstein School of Music, 50 N. Plymouth Ave., Rochester 14614
• Time: 8:00 PM, doors at 7:00 PM qirh two one-hour sets with intermission
• Ticket Prices (Patron and Premium tickets are for specific seats, so buy early!):
• At Brownpapertickets.com—Patron: $40; Premium: $30; Gen. Admission: $25
• At the door—Patron: $43; Premium: $33; Gen. Admission: $28; Student: $15 

Here's Helen Sung playing solo at a radio gig for Seattle station KPLU:

And here's how the whole beer thing came about (let's just say that it was made in partnership with the Monk Institute, which gets some of the proceeds of its sales, and Sung is a member of the the Monk Institute's inaugural class):

Hope to see you there!

Paradigm Shift becoming a regular thing here at Moe's ... Mel and I spend enough time in this place as it is, but this time he's workin ...

I want to call the attention of both local jazz artists and venues/promoters to the email lists I'm building which I've conveniently linked to at the bottom of this post (and elsewhere).  I'm trying to build these lists so we can have a direct conversation on how I can use Jazz@Rochester to help build the audience for jazz in the Rochester area (and how you can help me to help you....). Please take a moment to click on the link and follow through. 

Open the link below (if it's there) to find the live jazz in and around the ROC for the next seven days... if you see an underline it is a link with more information for the event or venue. 

Eastman grad and Rochester (now in LA) favorite Mike Cottone competed in this year's Thelonius Monk Trumpet Competition and was a semifinalist. Chicagoan Marquis Hill went on to win, but Mike killed it anyway. Here's his performance (Mike starts at 4:08:13, followed by competition winner Hill or you can watch the whole 5+ hours of music from the beginning):

I'll refrain from the rant that I wanted to engage in, but suffice to say that those who made Arturo Sandoval's concert on Sunday at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre were treated to great music from a quintet of killer musicians that ranged, like Sandoval's mentor Dizzy, all over the spectrum of jazz and other music. But many of you didn't make it.... While I don't know the official figures, Eastman Theatre was probably about one quarter filled for this 10-time Grammy winner. Sure it was Sunday afternoon, but it was kind of sad (if the music hadn't been so great, that is....) and he did notice.  

But they keep coming back.... Perhaps because I don't scour the local pages every day, I missed that Pat Metheny is bringing his Unity Group here on November 18th (see Heads up below).  I just heard about it on Tuesday!  Perhaps the Auditorium just booked it? It's quite possible they don't know that this blog exists, but WGMC doesn't have it on their listings as of this writing either, so it is more likely they just don't know the jazz scene.  Because this happens occasionally as I'm doing this in addition to my regular job, always feel free to drop me a line through the Contact Us button above and let me know about gigs that you don't see here that you think should be.  

Here's the live jazz in and around the ROC for the next seven days... if you see an underline it is a link with more information

Sandoval is appearing as part of the Eastman Presents Series that debuted this year ....

He's tearing it up!

I'm bringing back this feature from a few years ago as search for new ways to connect and provide you with jazz-related links I've either come across or have been sent recently...

• Local jazz musician Rick Holland has started a site, Dr. Rick's Jazz Interviews, with interviews of jazz musicians and the occasional CD.  Check it his interviews of Arturo Sandoval and Paul Smoker this month.  Great stuff, Rick! Drop me a line if you want to write an occasional column here....
• Speaking of interviews, I think I shared the interview of Harold Danko by Mark Polishook in his Improvised Line blog on Facebook awhile back, but here it is again.
• Keeping with the interview theme, for a while I've been meaning to link to a five-part interview of Ned Corman published in August by the "Paleo Retiree" (Ray Sawhill) on the blog Uncouth Relections. Corman played with the Mangione Brothers and others back in the day, taught many years in Penfield, and was behind the Commission Project and its Swingin' Jazz golf tourney, and helped get the Rochester jazz festival going.  Coincidentally, Ned has written an memoir Nows the Time). Here's the interview: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, and Post 5 (beware that portions of this blog, but not the posts, are NSFW...)
• Quincy Jones' staff contacted me recently to share with my readers about his newest film, Keep on Keepin’ On, about the life of jazz legend and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Clark Terry, and his relationship with a blind student pianist and prodigy Justin Kauflin. Here's the trailer for this documentary. It opened in NYC on October 3rd and perhaps will appear somewhere around here?  If you hear it is, let me know so I can get it in the listings.
• Dizzyland: Jazz: Reviewed & Replayed is a blog trying to explore the future of jazz with a bow to its past.  One interesting and apparently regular post is to link to jazz concerts being streamed over the interwebs.

I'm always finding new jazz links to put out there for you. They won't always get into these posts, but I'll usually share them on the Jazz@Rochester Twitter or the Facebook pages. If you have a jazz link to share here with the Rochester jazz community and beyond, send us an email by clicking on the Contact Us button below the banner.