If it’s Tuesday, this must June 12th, another day of the Rochester International Jazz Festival. Here are my picks for this evening’s festivities:
Bonerama
Trombones….right? While out tonight, I heard that Tom Kohn of the Bop Shop thought this funky group fronted by four trombones and a tuba was one of the things not to miss during the RIJF. May get my ears pinned back from all that hot air shooting out of the bell of the bones, but Tom doesn’t often steer me wrong and I need a bit of fun here in the midzone of the RIJF. They are fun. In addition to their website, try the sounds on their MySpace page.
Trio Beyond (John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette & Larry Goldings)
0ne of my forays into the Eastman Theater will be for Trio Beyond, who are opening for Jean Luc Ponty (we’ll see if I stay for him although there will be somewhat of a nostalgia pulling me there as I used to listen to him quite a lot 20+ years back). I’m really going to see the Trio, who are touring for their new release Saudades, which pays tribute to the late Tony Williams’ fusion group Lifetime. It will be interesting to see a trio fill the space in Eastman, but I’ve got a feeling they’ll be up to it. You can check out a review of Saudades on AllAboutJazz.com. There appears to be a minute of their music from the North Sea Jazz Festival on YouTube.
It Gets A Bit Difficult to Choose After That . . . .
After coming out of Eastman, I may go over to the tent and catch some of the set by locals Paradigm Shift, who are appearing with special guests Gray Mayfield, Marcus Printup and Wycliffe Gordon. Guitarist Mel Henderson and keyboard player Gerry Youngman are usually are playing at the RIJF, but often it is just one or two of the Trio backing another artist like Dr. Lonnie Smith. I’ve never seen them play with Mayfield, Printup and Gordon, although I can imagine that it will be fantastic as I’ve heard the same lineup on their disk. Then again, I may also try to catch the Nordic Jazz Now set of the Five Corners Quintet or Kyle Eastwood or try to get a bit of all three.
OK, tonight I’m running out of steam and the darn festival hasn’t even begun. Right now, I’m going to bed so I can make it through today (yes it is after midnight).
See you on Jazz Street for the opening day of the Rochester International Jazz Festival!!!
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