RIJF Diary - Day One
I was able to leave work in time to get in line for the Charlie Hunter concert about 15 min. prior to the start. Thanks to cup'o'books and jazz@rochester, a great seat was being saved for me. As for the concert itself, all I can say is, well, wow.
I had heard about Hunter's unusual guitar and playing style. I own a couple of his cd's and although I enjoy his music, I wondered if the whole eight-string guitar1 thing was just a gimmick.
Let me tell you, this guy is the real deal. His trio sounds more like a quartet (or even a quintet) thanks to his ability to play bass and lead guitar simultaneously (and seemingly effortlessly). The climax occurred about 3/4 of the way into the set, when Hunter's wah-wah'ed guitar slid into the groove of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground." There was some serious funk dripping off his guitar by the end of that particular jam.
Next came the first disappointment of the festival, as we stood in the bluster and cold of Rochester in June to listen to the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. I had been looking forward to hearing this band, but--maybe it was the weather, maybe they just suffered in comparison to Charlie Hunter--there wasn't enough there for me to really get into. I may give them a second chance at Milestones tomorrow night. It will depend on what other acts strike my fancy as I am somewhat undecided at this point.
Oh, and then there was the Bob Sneider Jam Session. The noisy crowd notwithstanding, this nightly show is one of the best parts of the festival. Tonight's highlights included two local youngsters, a 16 year-old on guitar and a 14-year-old on piano playing one of my favorite jazz standards, Kenny Dorhham's "Blue Bossa." Unfortunately, I couldn't catch their names above the din of the crowd.2 The other artist who got the crowd whooping was Cynthia Sayer, pianist for the Woody Allen New Orleans jazz Band, who took a turn on the banjo to the crowd's delight.
Tomorrow night's picks (still very much up in the air):
- Cedar Walton
- Whit Smith's Hot jazz Caravan
- Little Feat
- Jacob Fred?
- Bob Sneider Jam Session
2 -I'll update this post if I ever learn their names.
Comments
i had good intentions to try and make it out last night but was exhausted by the time i got home and the weather killed any motivation to get out and walk about. mayhaps i'll meet up with you guys tonight!
Posted by: jane | June 10, 2006 10:52 AM
Well, my blog host has decided that today, in the middle of my post, was the time they needed take their adminstrative functions down, so I'm dead in the water you and Seth have the floor RIJF-wise. Great post (wasn't going to add much in the way of original thought to what you already had--so early this morning, by the way. Sorry to have missed you at the after-hours... maybe later in the Fest? Hope to be posting soon as they get their act together over in Ireland, where Blogsome's servers are located.
Posted by: Greg | June 10, 2006 11:21 AM
Hey Greg, thanks. I was hoping to read about Dr. Lonnie Smith, but I'll be patient for another day or so. Hope to see you at Roberto Occhipinti tomorrow night!
Posted by: ken | June 10, 2006 9:34 PM