XRIJF Jazz StreetIf you follow my path across Twitter, Facebook and here, you’ll see that I took some detours on the first night of the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. And yet, it all worked out. Microcosm of life. You make choices. The ones I made last night were right for me, although I wished I could have been 2 (or 3) places at once. Jeff Spevak came to a similar conclusion over at D&C’s Arts blog.

Like last year, I started off tweeting and posting like a fiend. I soon discovered that I spent too much time focused on the little iPhone screen down between my legs (to avoid annoying people nearby) and too little listening and enjoying the music in front of me and the people around me. Trying to get to 4 performances in one night when you have so many good choices in front of you is just crazy and cannot be sustained. I’m going to slow down so I can hear the music, smell the barbeque, and enjoy friends’ (and I hope my wife’s) company.

There’s lots of coverage around and I’ll try to point you to them from time to time, like the video from the D&C that gives you a great montage of the wide range of offerings on hand during opening night..  See you on Jazz Street!

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