My long-suffering family is glad to have my attention again after ten days of jazz-festing with only one brief break, so I'll make this a quick post, the last one about the 6th Edition of the Rochester International Jazz Festival. The theme today is: awesome.

1. The artists. They were awesome.
2. The weather. It was awesomely awesome.
3. The fans. Awesome.
4. New venues. Awesome.
5. Meeting new friends. Awesome.

OK, so here are the specifics:

• Hanging out all week with Seth, Greg, and Jane was a blast. We fed off of each other's energy and enthusiasm--not only in the appreciation of the music, but in our desire to share our experiences with others through blogging. Meeting Jason Crane at the end of the festival was also a highlight. I've almost finished going through all of Jason's podcasts and interviews from the festival. If you haven't checked them out yet, you owe it to yourself to check them out. It's a great way to savor the RIJF experience a little longer.


• If there were any disappointments for me this year, it had only to do with the artists that I didn't see: Matt Wilson, 5 Corners, Bill Frisell, Andy Milne, and particularly Wynton Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and Odadda! performing Congo Square.


• I know that the RIJF blesses us with a great diversity of acts every year, but the 6th edition seemed to have an especially broad variety of acts. Or maybe it's just that the acts I enjoyed most were varied. Midaircondo, Zapp String Quartet, Jason Moran Trio, Zanussi 5, Mamadou Diabate, Soul Rebels, Omar Sosa, and Avishai Cohen were all standout acts and performances. Choosing among them or even choosing a top three, is like an exercise in absurdity. The variety of the shows and the size of the audiences also provides a stiff rebuke to the self-appointed defenders of jazz purity.


• Hooray for the Club Pass! Mine had paid for itself in the first weekend. I'd heard some complaints that Club Pass holders were unable to get into some venues. Honestly, I don't have a lot of sympathy for this line of thinking. The shows were clearly advertised as fist-come-first-served for all listeners. The sad/happy truth is the festival has become so popular that, if there is a show you are absolutely set on seeing, you need to arrive at the venue at least 30 minutes before showtime. Some highly anticipated acts (Lalo, Eldar, Frisell, etc.) required more lead-time, a lesson even we ‘old-timers’ were reminded of when we arrived 40 minutes early to see Avashai Cohen and were stuck standing against the wall.


• On the other hand, venue directors could have done a better job of alerting hopeful fans that their spot in line was in jeopardy of missing the cut. Doing a quick count on the excessively long lines and passing the word that, “Yes, you people wrapped around the corner onto Main St., you might not find a chair waiting for you by the time you get to the door,” would have gone a long way toward easing the despair of many who found themselves locked out too late to make it into an alternative venue.


• Speaking of alternative venues: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mssrs. Iacona and Nugent, for adding another ‘mid-zone’ venue--and a spectacular one at that: the Nordic Jazz Now series at the Reformation Lutheran Church. You only have to read my posts from the past couple of weeks to see how much I personally appreciated the acts and the space.


• Contrary to what we said in the Jazz Session RIJF podcast #9, I have pang of regret at missing out on the final jam session at the Crowne Plaza. Yes, Avashai Cohen was a fitting and proper way to end the festival, but I can't help it. There must have been more. And yes, I do regret missing Mordecai Lipschutz' traditional swan song, which every year always brings the crowd to its feet at the Crowne Plaza in one final, cathartic, communal celebration of the wonder of jazz in Rochester.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday night, I eschewed the line for Bill Frisell in favor of spending the early evening hanging out on Gibbs street to catch some live music. Much of the fun of the Gibbs St. stage lies in the chance encounters with friends and the chance to mingle and meet new people--there's also the food. While we stood in line for ice cream cones, we caught up ran into Mark, Barb, and son Brendan and hung out with them for a while, enjoying their company and listening to the free music on offer, particularly the intriguing singer-songwriter Layah Jane. It was great fun, Ben made friends with almost all of the street vendors (picking up swag along the way), but he was starting to tire after a long day of picnics and birthday parties so Kari and Ben called it a day, after which I met up again with the gang for the last of the Nordic Jazz Now shows at the Reformation Lutheran Church.

Seth and Greg hiked over with me and we joined Jane who had been saving us some seats. The air in the church was hot, but the music coming from the stage was even hotter as the Jens Winther European Quintet closed out in fine style the parade of Nordic jazz that we had enjoyed all week. Thank you, John Nugent and Marc Iacona for adding this excellent new venue and time slot to this year's festival.

On to the big tent were we caught what was probably the best of the acts for that venue all week, the New Orleans based Soul Rebels, who brought a little bit of Mardis Gras to the festival tent, the rhythms (sousaphone again, yeah!) compelling the crowd to get up and dance.

Jane was definitely feeling it, so we left her in the tent and headed over to the Montage for the Avishai Cohen Trio. Unfortunately, we couldn't return the favor of saving a seat for jane, because it was standing-room-only at the Montage with 45 minutes to go before showtime. We grabbed some wall to lean against and contemplated our chances of grabbing a table later in the show. Once the show began, it was immediately apparent that there was no hope of anyone leaving early, which was fine as we gladly suffered sore feet and knees to see this performance.

After a week of superlative-inflation, I'm not sure what I can say to convey just how amazing this show was. Jason Crane whipped up the crowd with his introduction and the band took it from there. Bass-player and leader Cohen, after an amazing opening number, clued the crowd in that this was the last show on a long tour and they were definitely “feeling it”. They most definitely were. The crowd gave them a standing ovation after just the second tune, “you guys are sick!” shouted one amazed listener. The band kept up the momentum, climaxing in a drum solo that left me in fear for the safety of the drummer and first few rows of the audience. They performed an encore that brought the crowd to their feet clapping, dancing, and singing along to the chorus.

We were more or less dumb-struck as we stumbled out of the club and sat on a railing across the street. Jane and then Jason Crane caught up with us as we struggled to articulate what we had just seen. Jason got the bright idea to pull his microphone out and begin recording our conversation. The results were compiled into the final episode of Jason's excellent series of special reports from the RIJF.

It was an excellent show to end an excellent night ending an excellent week of music.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Friday night was more of the same: incredibly beautiful music of various flavors. We started out enjoying Don Byron’s Ivey Dyvey, including Jason Moran on piano and Billy Hart on drums. Moran was a little less explosive, but no less impressive than he was on the previous night, while Billy Hart anchored things on the drums like he has for years and Don Byron fronted the group with with gorgeous melodies emanating from his tenor saxophone and clarinet. Seth and Greg and I arrived early enough to get good seats while Jane caught up with us afterward.

Once again, we hurried to get to the church on time to see another Nordic act, the Andres Pettersson Quartet. This was a very interesting set of music. Pettersson, on guitar led his band in arrangements of several Gershwin tunes, giving them a jazz twist. This band really knew how to swing and they let it all hang out for the capacity crowd in the Reformation Lutheran Church.

We skipped the festival tent in favor of reggae legend Toots & the Maytals on the East Ave & Alexander Street stage, another of the new venues at this year's jazz fest. Greg, Jane, and I hung out within striking distance of the beer truck while Seth waded into the thick of things. After a few songs, we abandoned Seth to the reggae groove and headed to Max of Eastman Place to grab some seats for the next show.

And we're glad we left when we did, because the place was filling up in eager anticipation of Omar Sosa. Seth joined us just in time to see the set begin as the musicians walk through the crowd chanting and beating a rhythm on some tamborine-like insrument. After settling in, they launched into music that was a dizzingly complex melange of Middle Eastern and African and other influences that would morph and shift around a solid Cuban base. I was alternately leaning forward in my chair in fascination and leaning back, eye-closed, wobbling to the rhythm. I could see that the crowd was similarly captivated.

Still going strong, we made our way to the jam-packed jam session at the Crowne Plaza Grill, led by Bob Sneider and his trio (including Mike Melito on drums and Phil Flanagan on bass). Seth, Greg, and I were able to record the fourth “Da Jazz” podcast on the outside deck (actually it was our fifth, but the epic podcast we had recorded the previous night was sacrificed to the gods of technology). One by one, we cut out of the jam session a little early to prepare for the final push through the last day of the festival.

Posted by ksmoker at 1:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So Thursday night, I got in line with Seth and Jane outside of Max of Eastman Place just in time to watch Greg, in the Kilbourn Hall line, filing in with the crowd to see James Moody. We were waiting to see the Zapp String Quartet, a group from Amsterdam that I had been really looking forward to after hearing some of their music clips online. The plan was to make sure that I caught the early show rather than risk nodding off during the late show. After hearing them, I don't think there would have been much danger of that. Based on what I remembered of their sound clips, I expected them to sound kind of Steve-Reich-y, but they were more John-Adams-y, or rather, Zapp-Quartet-y. Their incredibly engaging performance was truly breaking new ground as they played an entire set of original music, some written by the group's members and some recently commissioned works that were receiving premier performances that night--one of the composers was even in attendance (Seth's got those details).

With brains still buzzing, we headed over once again to the Lutheran Church and some Nordic jazz, this time courtesy of Norway's In the Country. I'm having a hard time describing this group. If Wednesday night's Ilmiliekki Quartet was thoughtful and introverted, this group was thoughtful and extroverted. The music would build into a crescendo and subside like rolling waves of sound carrying the listener along for a beautiful ride.

We continued in typical fashion from the church to the party tent to hear a few tunes by innovative blues guitarist Corey Harris before continuing on to a 10PM show, this time landing at the Montage for the Jason Moran & the Bandwagon. This was one of the surprise performances for me as this group blew my socks off. To work off my previous metaphor: if the music of In the Country was like rolling waves, Moran's group was like an unpredictable tempest. They would shift from intricate, delicate interplay to an explosion of rollicking jams and then back again. This was heady music that concluded one of my favorite nights of the festival so far.

Posted by ksmoker at 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday was another night of contrasts after the post-work sprint downtown landed me at the tail of the Kilbourn line to join Seth, Greg, and Jane again, this time to see the young trumpet phenom Christian Scott and band. Did I mention he was young? The whole sextet was young. When they first walked out onto the stage, I thought that perhaps some Eastman students had been asked to sit in or something. Still, as they broke into their first song, I had high hopes. The drummer was kicking out some nasty break-beats and Scott can certainly play, but it soon became clear that these guys need a few more years under their belts, just to add a bit more nuance and maturity to their playing and a chance to coalesce as a band rather than a set of talented individual performers. When they do get it together, watch out!

The 7:30 showing of the Nordic Now series is starting to become a habit. What will I do next week, when the Reformation Lutheran Church reverts to its status as a house of worship as opposed to the hottest new venue for jazz in Rochester? Wednesday night's offering was the Ilmiliekki Quartet from Finland. This was a more thoughtful, contemplative show with delicate interplay between the performers, a bracing contrast to the show we had just seen.

From there, we caught the last half hour or so of Bonerama, which was, again, a vivid contrast to the Finns. Whereas, with the Imiliekki Quartet we had to sometimes strain to hear the delicate touches on the piano solos and the breathy playing of the trumpet, with Bonearama, we were nearly blown out the back of the Club Pass Tent. The band was comprised of the standard drums and funky guitar and the entirely non-standard funky sousaphone, while fronting the band were four, count them, four trombones. Our ears were assaulted, but in a good way.

We scattered in different directions afterward, Jane and I heading to Max of Eastman Place to see the Cuban-influenced jazz of the Hilario Duran Trio. This band was off-the-hook amazing. Duran's fingers were flying across the piano, but every note received the most nuanced touch--a truly artistic performance.

Thursday night, I've got the Zapp String Quartet and James Moody in mind, plus something else, but I'm not sure what yet.

Posted by ksmoker at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Took the night off for some much-needed sleep and time with the family. Wednesday night's plans will include Bonearama and possibly Hilario Duran.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those who are interested in hearing about the Rochester international Jazz Festival, there are the traditional media outlets, of course, and the official site's coverage. There's also the small herd of bloggers that I've been hanging around with at the festival, who have been faithfully blogging and podcasting the festival, but there are plenty of other voices and opinions out there as well.

First, there is the excellent podcasting that Jason Crane has been doing over at The Jazz Session. I've been listening to the Jazz Session podcast for a few months now, including its previous incarnation, the Jason Crane Show. It's great to have such an advocate for the RIJF, for Rochester, and for jazz getting the message out with such professionalism and poise.

Other sites of interest:

• Tracy Kroft, over at Rochester Music Scene (And Heard).
• The always interesting and intriguing Refrigerator has some cool pictures and comments about this festival as well as each of the past five.
• The City Newspaper has a blog.
• Not to be outdone, the D&C has a blog too. They seem more fun there than they do in print.
• Will Yurman's slideshow is still the best thing that the local “big media” produce.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Monday was a night of "and now, for something completely different." I rushed downtown after work and was able to jump on to the end of the line that was filing in to Kilbourn Hall for the six-o'-clock performance of the Mamadou Diabate Ensemble. I'd heard rave reviews of his previous visit to the jazz fest two years ago and didn't want to miss him this time through. Diabate is a master of the kora, a twenty-one stringed instrument from Western Africa (Diabate is from Mali) and this time through, he was backed by a bass guitar, traditional African percussion including the talking drum, and a balafon. To the oft-repeated question, &lduqo;is this jazz?” directed at certain jazz fest acts, I answer, “Who cares?” The music was complex, but engaging. Actually, “engaging” is something of an understatement as Diabate's group had the entire capacity crowd on their feet and dancing by the end of the show.

I met up with Greg who was sitting a dozen or so seats away from me in Kilbourn Hall and we headed over to to meet Seth and Jane for the next of, what was for me, an unbroken streak of Nordic jazz so far in the festival. Monday's entry was midaircondo, Lisa Nordström on bass flute, Lisen Rylander on tenor sax, and both performers on a variety of electronically enhanced sound-making devices and kitchen implements. Outside of Lotte Anker, this was the most “out-there” music of the festival. Unlike Anker, whom I found merely interesting, this show was entrancing. Jeff Spevak called it “music under construction” which perfectly describes this duo's approach as they layered sound upon sound using samplers and sequencers to create a soundscape against which they would occasionally sing or play their instruments.¹ All this technology comes at a price: the show had a late start as some electrical issues needed to be ironed out, but delay was a small price to pay for such captivating entertainment.

After the West African rhythms and the Nordic electronica, the gang headed to the Montage to round out the night with a grooving trombone trio headed by Robin Eubanks. We had some extra time before the show, so Seth, Greg, and I spit out the next episode of our Da Jazz podcast in which I struggle to pronounce “Mamadou”, Greg impresses with his knowledge of the griot tradition, and Seth describes how Walt Whitman helps him appreciate jazz.

After wrapping that up, we settled in to enjoy Eubanks' electronically enhanced trombone and rock solid rhythm section. The music was hot and the grooves were solid. I was fading fast, but was able to hang in for all but the encore. The last tune Eubanks played was a blues tribute to Jimmy Hendrix, the perfect ending for such an eclectic night.

Posted by ksmoker at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm only just a little bit sleep-deprived, so I was able to make it almost all the way through another full night of jazz. I'll be keeping my comments brief tonight in the hope of heading off to bed shortly. You should keep an eye out for more detail to come from Seth, Greg, and (now that she has had her internet access restored) maybe even Jane.

I met the gang in line to see the Fred Hersch Trio at Kilbourn Hall and the show was quite a treat. I thought my night was in jeopardy, when after downing a beer and a chicken sandwich prior to the show, I struggled to keep my eyes open through the first couple of tunes. I woke right up when Hersch shifted gears and the group blazed through an Ornette Coleman tune followed by a Thelonious Monk tune that started off sounding as if Hersch was channeling Webern or Berg. Through the rest of the set, I was enthralled by the complexity of the music and the interplay between Hersch and bassist Drew Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Reformation Lutheran Church once again, this time to see the more avante-garde music of Lotte Anker. I was totally impressed by the size of the crowd that filled the church for what I expected to be some rather challenging free jazz. And I was certainly challenged. After 45 minutes, we had heard two long and completely improvised pieces of music which had me alternately enthralled and confused. There was enough there that spoke to me that I could have stayed to the end, but we ended up joining an (unfortunately large) exodus of listeners and parted ways with Greg as we split up to hear different acts.

Mr Something Something was next on the bill and they were, ummm, something. This African-influnced party band couldn't have been much more of a departure from the free, idiosyncratic jazz of Anker. It took me a few minutes to get into the new groove, but once I was there I stayed with them to the end, when we promptly split to secure a seat to see the vibraphonist Lalo.

Unfortunately, tables we already in short supply when we arrived, and we had to make do with seats near the door. Despite the noise from the street whenever someone entered or left, and despite the people milling around or standing directly in front of where we were sitting, I could certainly appreciate the music. The vibraphone is one of those instruments that I don't quite “get”. It baffles me how someone can hold two mallets in each hand and still control them well enough to hit perfect notes and chords every time. I was astonished when I watched Lalo do this with impeccable timing and creativity. Paired with slide guitarist Jack West, the duo produced music that juxtaposed driving grooves with airy soundscapes to devastating effect.

The long night on Saturday had taken its toll, though and I had to head home before the end of the set. So no podcast for Sunday, but check out the Saturday night podcast in which Greg tells of doing battle with the Los Lonely Boys horde and surviving to tell the tale, Seth tries out a couple of different ways to pronounce “Goudie”, and I struggle to find the words to describe the Stephane Wrembel Trio.

Tomorrow night's must see: Midaircondo. Possibly also Mamadou Diabate and/or Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks

Posted by ksmoker at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The beautiful weather led me to spend much of Saturday browsing the outdoor free venues. Ben and Kari joined in on the fun as we started off with the Newark High School Jazz Band, followed by blues guitar of Scott Goudie on the Jazz St. stage. We took our time hanging out on Jazz St. chatting with Jane and Seth as well as Seth's converts to the jazz scene: Christine, Will, and Sally.

Ben unfortunately ran out of steam before the Shuffle Demons took the stage, so he and Kari went out for ice cream, while I caught up with Jane in the Robert Mondavi Festival Tent to catch the last third of the gypsy-jazz guitar of the Stephane Wrembel Trio. Both Wrembel on guitar and Rochester native Jared Engel on bass were blisteringly creative, but I was particularly impressed with percussionist David Langlois and his washboard kit. Every year, the big tent seems to host some lesser-known yet heavy-duty talent that brings the crowd to its feet. Wrembel was the first instance of this that I've witnessed this year.

After Wrembel, we caught back up with Seth and wandered over to catch the tail end of the homegrown-and-poised-for-national-breakout Afro-Cuban jazz of The Mambo Kings on the East Ave/Chesnut St. stage. We joined a sizable crowd who clearly appreciated what they were hearing and we decided to hang out for the Los Lonely Boys show that would open at 9:00. We only caught the first few songs of this hot, up-and-coming and clearly talented “Texican” rock band, but the lasting impression I'm left with is the crowd, which Seth described as Mardis-Gars-in-New-Orleans dense. It was nearly impossible for us to exit the crowd in time to make the next show on our list.

Thankfully, our efforts were well-rewarded as we arrived just in time for the Zanussi 5, Saturday's edition of the Nordic Now Jazz series at The Reformation Lutheran Church. While Peter Asplund's quartet on Friday night was mind-blowingly talented and entertaining, the Zanussi 5 were mind-blowingly mind-blowing.

I won't say it was a religious experience, but I left the church not fully comprehending what it was that I had just heard. There was the music itself, in which a near cacophony of atmoshperic sounds would suddenly gel into a tight and satisfying groove (reminding me a bit of one of the 2006 festival's big Nordic acts, e.s.t.), and then there were the sounds that were actually being emitted from the instruments. The bass player and drummer made more or less the sounds you would typically expect, but the remaining band members provoked moments of confusion. First, there was the baritone saxophone that would occasionally sound like an alto sax (while I stared at the alto sax player, wondering why his fingers weren't moving). Meanwhile, the alto sax player (who sometimes used his left knee as a mute) was making popping noises that sounded like some kind of musical bubble wrap. Last, but not least, were the inhuman banshee noises coming from the bell of the tenor sax. After a full set of this kind of wonderment, they to wowed the crowd further with an encore that included a sweetly-rendered old Cuban-style jazz tune (one that I should have been able to identify) and was topped off by a driving, insanely-paced klezmer piece that echoed in my head for hours afterward.

We topped the night off with a trip to the after-hours jam session, where Seth and I hooked up with Greg to record our second podcast in two nights. The first of our thoroughly unprofessional, three-guys-in-a-bar-talking series of podcasts is already available at Jazz@Rochester for your listening pleasure. Be sure to also check out Greg's moblogging podcasts as well as the expanding repertoire of reportage over at Jason Crane's podcasting blog.

Day Three's expected highlights: totally up in the air. Tonight the whim will guide me as there are a variety of acts for which I hold roughly equivalent levels of interest.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was a great first night for the sixth annual Rochester International Jazz Festival, despite a brief torrential thunderstorm which shut down the outdoor venues temporarily. I arrived downtown at about 5:30 to meet Seth and, somewhat daunted by the line for Esperanza Spalding, we headed over to see Madagascar Slim at the Montage.

Unfortunately, Madagascar Slim was not to be found. Due to a death in the family, he had to pull out of the festival at the last minute. Instead, we were treated to the Jon Ballantyne piano trio who gamely filled in.¹ Ballantyne reminded me of Brad Mehldau: quiet, introspective and exploratory. Unfortunately, this is quite a different kind of jazz from what was expected. Except for Jane, who joined us for the third tune, the crowd slowly faded away until the band was playing to mostly empty tables. Those who remained were enthusiastic, but the overall mood was a little dispiriting.

Despite this, I left feeling that we had seen some good music and I was eager for more. We hoofed it the few blocks to one of the new venues for the RIJF, the Reformation Lutheran Church and the first of the Nordic Jazz Now series of acts, The Peter Asplund Quartet. Well. Now these guys are the real deal. They totally wowed the crowd with their technical virtuosity and incredibly tight interaction. The new venue gets a big thumbs-up as well. A sharp contrast to the muddy acoustics of the Montage, the sound here was top notch.

As we left to meet up with local New Media star, Greg, we were treated to the sight of a rainbow stretching over the Club Pass Tent. This was the good omen we were looking for. We caught a couple of songs by the Shuffle Demons in the big (and getting bigger every year) Tent, then headed over to get a good table at Max of Eastman Place to see 21-year-old vocalist and bassist, Esperanza Spalding.

Honestly, I had my doubts in the first few minutes with her scatty rendition of Autumn Leaves, but about 3/4 of the way through the the tune, either in my head or on the stage, something clicked. All of the pieces came together. Spalding's light Brazilian-style scat singing contrasted nicely with her bass while Leo Genovese on piano and Francisco Mela on drums locked into a groove around her and stayed there throughout the set.

After the show, Greg, Seth, and I put together a brief podcast recap, which I'll post here as soon as Greg makes a link available. I'm totally looking forward to the week ahead.

Tomorrow night's picks:

• Paul Tillotson Love Trio
• Zanussi 5
• free shows in between: Mambo Kings, Shuffle Demons, Los Lonely Boys
• Bob Sneider Trio Jam Session

Posted by ksmoker at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've finally made it through all of the artist listings on the RIJF site and I can't tell you how excited I am about the upcoming lineup. Some of the acts I'm most interested in are the ones that blend influences and tread on the borders of jazz. It can be tricky, dangerous even, to attempt to define what jazz is. The definition that the festival organizers have used when deciding which acts to book is a little bit broader than even my definition would be, but unlike some I'm totally cool with that.

One thing I've noticed about the crowds at previous jazz festivals is the level of interest and curiosity. People from all kinds of backgrounds coming out to hear good music no matter how well it can be defined. The yearly increase in attendance seems to prove that people are liking what they are hearing and are coming back for more. So if Rusted Root or Toots & the Maytals bring a few extra thousand listeners downtown where some percentage will perhaps get drawn into the jazz scene, what could be better?

So cheer up jazz snobs, there's plenty of jazz to go around. John Nugent and Marc Iacona have expanded the number of venues, staggered the start times, and brought in a wide variety of acts. The only complaint I have is that it is impossible to see every act that I might want to.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Among the dozen or so podcasts that rotate into my iPod is the infrequently updated companion podcast to Darcy James Argue's Secret Society blog. One piece that I've been skipping around in favor of back issues of This American Life is a track from a CD recently reviewed by Argue: Jody Redhage's all summer in a day. If I understand correctly, the track is Paula Matthusen's "of minutiae and memory" which Argue calls "an elegiac-sounding Norwegian prayer set amidst fluttering bursts of clicking electronics, bowed tremolos, and harmonics."

After really listening to it for the first time this morning, the juxtaposition of the gently drifting melody with the electronic effects reminded of some of the music my brother Ted has written. And then, as if reading my mind, the iPod shuffled and served up Ted's "Digital Construction #1". Scalp tingling at this bit of serendipity (also from the music itself), I stood in the backyard, ignoring the dogs for a good 10 minutes while verifying the appropriateness of my mental comparison. After that, came Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road", which, as good as it is, didn't exactly fit the mood.

In addition to the excerpts from some of the other tracks on Redhage's new cd and Ted's entire oeuvre to-date, I highly recommend the music of the Secret Society, self-described as "steampunk big band jazz", which, well, you'll see what I mean.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the top questions that a Rochester resident will receive from non-Rochestarians is some variation of “Why would you ever want to live there?” This curiosity is to be expected what with the snow, the decline of our local industry (Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch and Lomb), the snow, and our inferiority complex w/r/t downstate and our more well-known neighbor to the west. Also, there is the snow.

One of the most frequent responses—aside from the clichéd blather about change of seasons—is the high quality and concentration of cultural institutions in Rochester. This is no idle claim and it is perhaps a indication of the plenitude of our cultural resources that Kari and I have only just recently gotten around to attending any of the offerings of the Hochstein School of Music & Dance.

Yesterday, Hochstein hosted their winter carnival, Musical Feast, an event designed to introduce children to music and was no doubt also aimed at acquainting parents to the Hochstein curriculum. After a brief introductory concert by the Youth Orchestra, we took Ben through the instrument petting zoo, where kids get the chance to play the instruments themselves (under very close supervision).

Ben enjoyed the percussion room of course, but his attentions were otherwise split between the strings and the brass instruments, particularly the violin and trombone (the trombone slide was more fun than the trumpet valves). He couldn't have cared less for the woodwind instruments, though. Any dreams of raising the next John Coltrane took a serious hit with Ben's total lack of interest in the saxophone.

We left with a handful of brochures and thoughts of enrolling Ben in a Suzuki Program. Hochstein really puts together an impressive package. The opening program by the Youth Orchestra was enchanting, with some serious talent represented. It's pretty intimidating, though. Ben seems interested in learning an instrument, but his attention span is still that of, well, of a five-year-old.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When stuck in traffic, do like my brother Matt: tune your satellite radio to the bluegrass station and practice the jaw harp.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

This year I'm getting a jump on planning for the RIJF by sifting through most of the acts on the RIJF website and entering them into my calendar. This has thrown a major prioritization problem into sharp relief. Not only do I have a couple of major milestones for a work project landing during jazz fest week, but the 2006 World Cup happens to open on the same day as the festival.

I had planned on recording the World Cup games anyway, but the problem is going to be finding viewing time. Not that I care all that much about Poland vs. Ecuador, but still, I'm in a bit of a panic. And then what if the Sabres advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals?

Oh yeah, plus, I have my family to think about.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)