And away we go . . . time to get these 2024 RIJF posts started! I and my alter ego JazzRochester will be coming out for CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival, June 21st through the 29th. All 9 days, baby!  Like last year there are fewer "bucket list" concerts this year, which is not a bad thing in my book. I've heard plenty of my "bucket list" jazz artists and groups over the years of attending the festival (and elsewhere), although there are still some I hope to hear. 

At the RIJF you are often confronted with many options, pulling you in different directions musically, but you do have to choose. Some of these choices are imposed on you by timing, some by lines, some by sheer accident after hearing raves about an artist you didn't even have on your radar. As RIJF Producer John Nugent's oft repeated adage goes . . . "It's not who you know, it's who you don't know." I've included links to the RIJF page for each artists where you can check out their websites and music on Spotify and decide for yourself. 

So, you do you, but if you're interested, here are some of the artists/groups I am aiming to hear on the first night of the 2024 RIJF:

• Like almost every RIJF, I'll be starting my first night of the festival in Kilbourn Hall to hear Artemis, the 2023 Downbeat Jazz Group of the Year and the Jazz Journalist Association's Mid-Size Ensemble of the Year in 2024. The label's leader Don Was, after hearing them at the Newport Jazz Festival, noted that "these incredible musicians dwell in the rarefied air of bands whose whole is greater than the sum of its already sublime parts." The women of Artemis weave together straight-ahead jazz, more contemporary influences, and a lot of improvisation. Founded in 2017, this group features pianist  Renee Rosnes, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, alto saxophonist/flutist Alexa Tarantino, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller, all who are accomplished composers and bandleaders in their own right. Each member brings her own distinct voice to the mix. Two members have additional connections to Rochester, both related to the Eastman School of Music. Tarantino graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Eastman; Jensen is the sister of saxophonist Christine Jensen, who is now an Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media at Eastman. Artemis will be playing in Kilbourn Hall at 6:00 and 9:00 pm (remember to get your wrist band for the 6:00 pm show).
• The Nasser/Premazzi Quartet is one of those "it's not who you know" choices I mention above, as pianist Simona Premazzi and saxophonist Kyle Nasser are new to me. However, from what I read and have listened to, their music will be weaving modern influences with a deep respect for the tradition of jazz, which is just what my ears are looking for. The Nasser/Premazzi Quartet is playing in the Global Jazz Now series at Christ Church at 7:30 and 9:30 pm
• I will round out my first night with RIJF Festival Producer Pick Christie Dashiell Quartet, who will be gracing the stage at Max of Eastman Place at 6:15 and 10:00 pm. This will be a classic RIJF evening for me. Starting in Kilbourn, ending in Max.  As a singer and composer, Dashiell is mining a lot of music--jazz, R&B, gospel and soul--that pulls at my strings.  

But I don't come out of these choices unscathed.  I'm going to miss a few other artists/groups who I'd love to hear or have been suggested by the festival's Producers (although I may end up hearing one given how things sometimes happen at RIJF). These are:

• Fiery pianist Connie Han with her trio, who will be at the Montage Music Hall at 6:00 and 10:00 pm. If by the end of the night I'm not feeling like vocals, I may close out the night with Ms. Han.  Connie Han will also be playing solo piano at the ESM Hatch Recital Hall the next night at 5:45 and 7:45 pm
• The trio of Allison, Cardenas & Nash (Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas and Ted Nash), all award-winning artists in their own right, will be collaborating at the new venue at the Inn On Broadway at 5:30 and 7:15 pm
• Sometimes I just want something a bit ... different. Electric Kif may fit that bill at the new venue The Duke across from Parcel 5 at 7:45 and 9:45 pm, and then next day in the Rochester Regional Healthcare Big Tent at 8:30 and 10:00 pm
• Producer Picks of jazz for the first night also include the outstanding Stanley Jordan playing Hendrix at Temple Theater at 7:00 and 9:15 pm and the Benny Bennack III Quartet at the Big Tent at 8:30 and 10:00 pm (and on Saturday at the Theater at Innovation Square at 6:30 and 8:30 pm).