You can find it right here, of course.  We collect from jazz musicians, artists and others to give you the most complete and, hopefully, accurate listings for live jazz in and around Rochester.  If you're a jazz musician or venue, please sign up for our email lists so I can remind you when to send them in.

You can give me a hand in growing a more vibrant community for live jazz here in Rochester by sharing this post or this site with those you know love live jazz. Share with the buttons! Sign up to receive our posts via email! Find out all the ways to get you some JazzRochester goodness by checking out my post laying it out for you.  

As always, let me know if any gigs below are no longer happening, if I got something wrong wrong, or if you have heard of something that's not in these listings so I can add it.  The next seven days of jazz in and around Rochester are below....

Right here, of course.  Please give me a hand in growing a more vibrant jazz community for live jazz here in Rochester during the 356 days of the year that XRIJF is not in town by sharing this post or this site with those you know love live jazz. Use the buttons! Sign up to receive our posts via email! Find out all the ways to get you some JazzRochester goodness by checking out my post laying it out for you.  

As always, let me know if any gigs below are no longer happening, if I got something wrong wrong, or if you have heard of something that's not in these listings so I can add it.  You can get more information about the venue by following the links in the right column of the site (if I have one... if I don't I'll try to provide one or an address). The next seven days of jazz in and around Rochester are below....

It's still kind of light out there this coming week. Post-XRIJF jazz hangover?  I hear "hair of the dog" works for that as well, so get out and hear some!

Please give me a hand in growing a more vibrant jazz community for live jazz here in Rochester during the 356 days of the year that XRIJF is not in town by sharing this post or this site with those you know love live jazz. Use the buttons! Sign up to receive our posts via email! Find out all the ways to get you some JazzRochester goodness by checking out my post laying it out for you.  

As always, let me know if any gigs below are no longer happening, if I got something wrong wrong, or if you have heard of something that's not in these listings so I can add it.  You can get more information about the venue by following the links in the right column of the site (if I have one... if I don't I'll try to provide one or an address). The next seven days of jazz in and around Rochester are below....

Yes, that would be right here.  Please give me a hand in growing a more vibrant jazz community for live jazz here in Rochester during the 356 days of the year that XRIJF is not in town by sharing this post or this site with those you know love live jazz. Use the buttons! Sign up to receive our posts via email! Find out all the ways to get you some JazzRochester goodness by checking out my post laying it out for you.  

As always, let me know if any gigs below are no longer happening, if I got something wrong wrong, or if you have heard of something that's not in these listings so I can add it.  You can get more information about the venue by following the links in the right column of the site (if I have one... if I don't I'll try to provide one or an address). The next seven days of jazz in and around Rochester are below....

I know, I know.... this is way late.  But, after beating up my body for 9 days straight, on Sunday morning my body struck back and I came down with a summer cold and, after little sleep Sunday night, arose in the wee hours Monday to fly to to Wichita, KS.  But I needed to do to get closure on the 2017 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival and before tomorrow when we go back to what we do here for the other 356 days of the year.  

On Day 9 of the XRIJF, now so long ago, I started out with the Donny McCaslin Group in Xerox Auditorium.  McCaslin has been getting a lot of press recently as he and the band worked with David Bowie on his final album, Black Star, and accepted a Grammy Award for the album on behalf of Bowie this year. Having listened to McCaslin's new CD Beyond Now, I knew what to expect, but the music was much more intense live.  McCaslin and his band were tight and loud, with McCaslin and his keyboardist liberally using effects on their instruments. A highlight was an instrumental version of the track Lazarus from the Black Star album.

I wanted a final dose of the Nordic Jazz Now series for the year so hoofed over to the Lutheran Church to catch Gard Nilssen’s Acoustic Unity. This group of Norwegians fit the bill that brings me to the NJN series over and over again, with music that was at times "out," but worked its way back "in" at others, all played by excellent musicians. Everyone was percussive (as one might expect of drummer Nilssen's music), with the bass using slaps/plucks and pops on the sax.

I finished the XRIJF at the Christ Church with Tessa Souter. It was Souter's sixth time at the Rochester festival, but the first I had heard her (I'm not usually much for vocalists at the festival). Her concerts this year were done in memory of the Made In the UK Jazz series curator, John Ellson, who passed away in October last year.  Souter's voice was quite beautiful with a wide range.  I'd forgotten how great vocals sound in a space like Christ Church.  One thing that struck me was Souter's choices of material, which were very eclectic, including versions of music that she or others had arranged or set lyrics to by McCoy Tyner, Kenny Barron, Chopin, U2, a standard and even some Nigerian music. She noted that that she thought ROC was best city in the world and joked about buying a place here ("... but what would I do for the rest of the year?"). 

This year I had a plan and, after the UK lady sang, found that it had indeed become my final plan.  I'm not sure what that means....  It could mean that I just planned right or that there was just not much else that appealed to what I was looking for at the XRIJF.  However, I know from talking with my "jazz fest" friends that there was a lot of fantastic music that I missed (some of it regrettably), so it could also mean that I was just being too strict in "keeping to the draft plan." Whatever it means, I had a great time at this year's XRIJF. See you next year on Jazz Street!

Thelonious Monk, two Steinways, Kilbourn Hall and four of the finest interpreters of his music ... how could I go wrong? Started Day 8 with 4 By Monk By 4 featuring Kenny Barron, Benny Green, George Cables and Cyrus Chestnut. The masters alternated between duo and solo piano renditions of Monk's music, including Ask Me Now, Bye-Ya, Green Chimneys, and Ruby, My Dear. The concert ended with a round robin with all four pianists tapping each other out to take over playing. 

Moved on to the Christ Church to catch the duo Binker & Moses.  There was just two young UK players with a sax and drums on the stage, but they produced a sound much bigger than the sum of their parts. Given the instrumentation, there was a lot of repetition in the sax with Binker weaving lines around the drummer Moses' strong, rock-influenced beat.  I always enjoy the Made in the UK Series as they consistently bring in something different that is often very satisfying.  

I finished the night out with the Ronnie Foster Organ Trio in Max.  As anyone who reads this blog will know, I'm a sucker for a Hammond B3 organ. Foster and his trio, who hail from Vegas, baby, did not disappoint.  He was clearly having fun and while I had to leave before the set ended, I hear that he played on until 11:20 ending with a call-and-response with the full audience that remained well pass closing time. 

So I had a sandwich (no, not talking about  the street meat kind, although there was some of that, too), with two straightahead pieces of bread slapped around some meaty substance.