Rochester Jazz Day 1

Plan: leave work, drive, buy pie, drive, say hello with pie, listen to jazz.

So we headed to that fortress of God and Nordic Jazz known as Reformation Lutheran Church and found a long line of people hoping to see Sinne Eeg. A quick check saw that the church was packed and the line was filled with people with more hope than I could muster after 7 hours on the road.

So we walked about a bit aimlessly but ended up singing Down By The Riverside with the three trombonists of Bonerama. And so with a disappointment came great joy.

The next 10 acts would be from various countries outside of the US, and not just Canada like the second act for the evening.

While most of the bands would be doing original music, Brienn Perry was celebrating the great American songbook with his voice and alto-trombone (yes there is such a thing, and yes it was a grand night for the tronmbone)



It was at this point in the evening I realized I had lost our Wednesday evening cheat sheet or maybe we would have ended up seeing Emilie Claire Barlow but instead we headed to see some Italian jazz: LaBarbera-Occhipinti Quartet. What I remember most is an Ellington tune that I had never heard of, but that is what it is all about for us, why stand in line for hours to see the person/band we have heard of playing in Kilbourne Hall when all kinds of new jazz awaits us.. So we would pass up seeing Grace Kelly, Bill Frissel, Kenny Barron, and Regina Carter. Maybe it helped that we had seen all but Grace Kelly, and she is so young there is a good chance that day will come. Here is Roberto Occhipinti and his nonet.