The fifth night of the Rochester International Jazz Festival is a bit different than the previous night but still presented some scheduling challenges, especially since I’m trying to fit in 4 shows. You do you, but if you’re interested here are the artists/groups I am aiming to hear on June 23rd 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 others I wish I could fit in.
Hiromi’s Sonicwonder
Virtuoso pianist Hiromi Uehara and her Sonicwonder band are fiery and funky. Since debuting in 2003, Hiromi has dazzled audiences with the creativity and complexity of her compositions. This is apparently her first time at the RIJF, at least as a leader. A review of Hiromi’s Sonicwonder’s latest album Out There on the site Consuming the Tangible notes that in her composition she “strikes these incredible balances between Zappa-esque arrangements, ’80s-era King Crimson with repeated and shifting rhythms, and classic mid–70s fusion from the likes of Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul.” Her Sonicwonder band with Hadrien Feraud on bass, Gene Coye on drums and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill (whose father Arturo appeared at the Bop Shop recently) has been together for a few years now and have a tight chemistry. In addition to the RIJF link, I thought I’d also share a YouTube interview I saw recently by 2024 Rochester Music Hall of Fame inductee Rick Beato, Hiromi: The Most Electrifying Pianist Alive. This is also an RIJF Producer’s Pick.
Venue: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Time: 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm
Will Calhoun Quartet from Living Colour
Famous as the drummer for the groundbreaking rock band Living Colour, in which he manned the kit for over 30 years, Will Calhoun has long lived a parallel life in jazz as a leader and sideman, a world music explorer, and producer. He has written, produced, recorded, and toured with a wide range of artists, including among many others Mos Def, Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Public Enemy, and Harry Belafonte, but also Pharoah Sanders, Jaco Pastorius, Jack DeJohnette, Marcus Miller, and Wayne Shorter. Four of his own recordings have been nominated for jazz Grammy awards. This is also an RIJF Producer’s Pick.
Venue: Temple Theater
Time: 7:00 pm & 9:15 pm
Delight Trio with Dawn Clement, Buster Williams & Matt Wilson
For this project, pianist Dawn Clement formed a trio that spans 3 generations with herself, legendary bassist Buster Williams and the always inventive drummer (and frequent RIJF flyer) Matt Wilson. At the end of the recording session for the project at the iconic Maggie’s Farm studio in Pennsylvania, Clement recalled “I’ll never forget the moment at the end of the session when the last note drifted into silence. Buster turned to Matt with a smile and said, ‘Matthew, this has been a delight.’” Hence the album’s (and Trio) title. The way my timing is working out, I may get to Max’s after this starts … or maybe I’ll leave the other one early.
Venue: Max of Eastman Place (and at the Inn On Broadway on June 24th)
Time: 6:15 pm & 10:00 pm (5:30 pm and 7:45 pm on the 24th)
Vitor Gonçalves Brazilian Trio
Vitor Gonçalves is a New York-based jazz pianist, accordionist, composer, and arranger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, whose music blends the many traditions of his native country with progressive jazz. After moving to NYC in 2012, he released his debut album in 2017 and after that started a long collaboration with clarinetist Anat Cohen, joining the Anat Cohen Tentet and the later being one of the foundations of her smaller group, the Anat Cohen Quartetinho. Gonçalves has a number of other projects focusing on the music of the Americas and Brazil, including choro, one of its oldest urban musical forms.
Venue: Inn on Broadway
Time: 5:30 pm & 7:45 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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