You may have caught the great Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet recently, but my friend José DaCosta's Exodus to Jazz has more in store for you in coming months. Since our spring and summer schedules will fill up fast, I thought I'd give you a heads up so you can get them on your calendar (they'll be on mine… some of them already are).

As of right now, the following concerts remain in the 2014 season (and they are great ones):

• The Helen Sung Quintet on Friday, May 16th: Pianist Helen Sung has appeared here four times for Exodus to Jazz and is returning in May for a CD release concert for her new disc Anthem for a New Day (affiliate link), which has been getting critical and popular acclaim. The May 16th show has been cancelled, but ETJ will reschedule it later in the year.
• Rachelle Ferrell on Friday, June 6th: A while ago I ran across a video of a live performance by Rachelle Ferrell and was amazed by this vocalist. She defies musical genres, but her live concerts must be experienced to understand this performer's potent combination of range, phrasing, and musicianship.
• Tom Harrell Colors of a Dream on Saturday, August 23rd: Tom Harrell returns to Rochester and Exodus to Jazz with his Colors Of A Dream project (affiliate link), a piano-less ensemble with two bassists—Ugonna Okegwo, Harrell’s bassist for 14 years, joined by Esperanza Spalding, who also contrributes vocals on some tunes—with Harrell's regular band members Wayne Escoffery on tenor saxophone and Johnathan Blake on drums joined by Jaleel Shaw on alto saxophone.

There is an additional ETJ concert in October that remains to be announced. All of the concerts will be at 8:00 pm in the beautiful, historic Performance Hall at Hochstein School of Music, 50 N. Plymouth Ave. in downtown Rochester. You can get more information and purchase tickets through the lineup page on Exodus to Jazz's website.