The third night of the Rochester International Jazz Festival again offers many choices pulling you in different directions. So, you do you, but if you’re interested here are the artists/groups I am aiming to hear on June 21st of the 2026 RIJF. The headings are links to their RIJF page so you can check them out yourself. It is possible to go hear the full sets on these picks (depending on how fast you walk, in some cases). I’ve added links at the end to a couple more I wish I could fit in.
Arturo Sandoval
A protégé of Dizzy Gillespie, he co-founded the groundbreaking Cuban jazz group Irakere (one of my favorites) with saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and pianist Chucho Valdés in 1973, helping ignite the Afro-Cuban jazz fusion movement with its blend of bebop, classical, and Afro-Cuban traditional music and rhythms. Known for his ability to mine the upper register of his trumpet, Sandoval is still hitting the notes and hitting them fast well into his 70s. He and his band cook and may have some folks dancing in the aisles in Kodak Hall.
Venue: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Time: 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm
Makoto Ozone & Tommy Smith
Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone joins Scottish saxophonist (and RIJF frequent flyer) Tommy Smith for a duo performance. The intimacy of a duo performance by these two masters who have worked together repeatedly since being in Gary Burton’s Quartet should be special (again … they were last at the RIJF together in 2016, which was the only year of the festival I have missed). This one is a RIJF Producer Pick.
Venue: Kilbourn Hall
Time: 6:00 pm & 9:00 pm
Joe Farnsworth Quartet featuring Sarah Hanahan
I like to end a night in Max at Eastman Place, and drummer Joe Farnsworth’s Quartet with saxophonist Sarah Hanahan will likely be a great on my third night at the RIJF. Farnsworth has appeared at the RIJF many times as a leader and side-man. Hanahan was named a Rising Star in last year in Downbeat’s 2025 Critics’ Poll. How Farnsworth and Hanahan came together illustrates the mentorship that often occurs across generations in jazz. The two first met during the pandemic, when Hanahan came by Farnsworth’s place for a livestream he was doing with saxophonist Eric Alexander. Farnsworth recounts that during that session when she hit a certain note, it “was kind of raw and mean, but that note, I swear to God, gave me goosebumps. I could hear the spirit of Jackie [McLean], McCoy and Pharoah inside her.”
Venue: Max at Eastman Place
Time: 6:15 pm & 9:15 pm
You Might Also Consider …
There were more choices than I had time or speed between venues to catch. I won’t be hearing these artists, but that doesn’t mean you can’t:
Whatever you choose, I hope you take some chances and let something unexpected grab your ears. Tell me who you’re planning on seeing in the Comments below (for those of you who get the email, you’ll have to come to the site first). I’ll be back with more picks for the rest of the RIJF soon.
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