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Choice Concerts
Ron Netsky on February 21st, 2012
If you're thinking it's been a while since Harold Danko's last annual concert, you're right. Danko's yearly event is held on leap-year day, so like the old man who has only celebrated 20 birthdays, this will be Danko's ninth annual concert in 33 years. Danko, professor of jazz studies
Choice Concerts
Ron Netsky on February 7th, 2012
Dennis Mackrel was ready at the age of 19. He moved to New York City and landed a job playing drums in the pit band for "A Chorus Line." He then became the youngest member of the Count Basie Orchestra and the last drummer hired by Basie himself. A
Choice Concerts
Ron Netsky on February 7th, 2012
When it comes to soul-jazz, tenor saxophonist Houston Person has few rivals. He's been at the top of the genre for five decades. Perhaps best known for his work with singer Etta Jones, Person has set the standard for mellow and melodic playing. Over his long career, he's been
Music Articles
Ron Netsky on February 7th, 2012
When you grow up as an only child with two high-profile performing artists for parents, your fate may be sealed. It took a while, but Kristen Shiner McGuire has finally released her debut album, and it's a satisfying feeling.
"It was one of the most thrilling things in my life,"
Choice Concerts
Ron Netsky on January 31st, 2012
Saxophonist Tia Fuller turned heads with her muscular style while on tour with pop star Beyoncé. On the jazz scene she's collaborated with Don Byron, Jimmy Heath, Don Braden, and others. But she took it up a notch last year with the release of "Decisive Steps." The title's reference
Music Articles
Ron Netsky on January 31st, 2012
It's not hard to find examples of jazz records dedicated to great songwriters. Miles Davis recorded an album of Richard Rodgers tunes, Herbie Hancock released an all-Gershwin CD, and The Wee Trio has just put out an album of David Bowie songs. One of these things is not like
Choice Concerts
Ron Netsky on January 24th, 2012
The Swooners excavate the Great American Songbook with no shortage of swing. The Bob Sneider Trio is upstate New York's premier hard-bop guitar combo. Keyboardist-vocalist Todd East combines the styles of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder in his R&B repertoire. And the University of Rochester YellowJackets take a cappella
Choice Concerts
Ron Netsky on January 24th, 2012
The Malcolm Moore Band's tunes are influenced by a range of eclectic musicians wide enough to include Thelonious Monk, David Bowie, Tom Waits, and Radiohead. Conceptually, the group's recent album, "REANIMATION," draws inspiration from the albums of Kate Bush (specifically "The Dreaming" and "Hounds of Love") and the 1985
CD Reviews
Ron Netsky on January 18th, 2012
Pianist Silvano Monasterios was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and had a substantial career going there as a teenager when he decided to strengthen his jazz chops with study in the United States. Over the next decade he won numerous awards in competitions along with his degrees. "Unconditional," his second
CD Reviews
Ron Netsky on January 18th, 2012
"Cumbanchero" is a slang word south of the border, referring to one who is an expert in the fine art of having fun. That would be an apt description of Mark Weinstein and, by extension, anyone who has the pleasure of listening to his wonderful new CD. Weinstein is
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Music Blog
Ron Netsky on June 19th, 2011
Once in a while a jazz artist will journey backward, exploring the roots of jazz and moving her own music forward in the process. Violinist Regina Carter took the audiences at Kilbourn Hall on that journey with her during two sets of absolutely wonderful music from her new album, "Reverse Thread."
As
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Ron Netsky on June 18th, 2011
My first seven nights of blogging have gone pretty smoothly. Even though it might be 2 a.m., I've found the words to write about every artist I've heard. But that was before I went to the Lutheran Church Friday night to hear Tonbruket play its first gig in the United
Music Blog
Ron Netsky on June 17th, 2011
Bill Frisell's "Beautiful Dreamers" started like the universe, with primordial soup. At Kilbourn Hall Thursday night Frisell, violist Eyvind Kang, and drummer Rudy Royston hit a few notes and beats here and there until a combination of them gelled into melodies and rhythms that soon began to multiply.
On the first
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Ron Netsky on June 16th, 2011
Saxophonist and vocalist (should I also say dancer?) Grace Kelly charmed the crowd at Kilbourn Hall with her own kind of variety show Wednesday night. She played straight-ahead jazz and funk, she sang Sarah Vaughan-style and singer-songwriter style and even did a silly little dance with an audience member. And
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Ron Netsky on June 15th, 2011
Bela Fleck and the Original Flecktones seemed to be having the times of their lives up on the stage at Kodak Hall Tuesday night. Pianist and harmonica player extraordinaire Howard Levy has not been with the group since 1992, and the reunion appeared to be a genuine love fest.
Visually and
Music Blog
Ron Netsky on June 14th, 2011
The most remarkable performance I heard Monday night was by pianist John Escreet at Christ Church. Most of the audience walked out.
Escreet is far from a typical jazz pianist. He is classically trained but instead of interpreting a challenging repertoire, he uses his knowledge and his unbelievable technical skills to
Music Blog
Ron Netsky on June 13th, 2011
It was the interplay of organization and wildness that made John Nugent's concert with strings so wonderful Sunday afternoon at Kodak Hall.
In Dave Rivello's arrangements the strings served as a lush, beautifully structured counterpoint to the free spirit of Nugent's sax. While the string players were reading their composed parts,
Music Blog
Ron Netsky on June 12th, 2011
Listening to the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 you might suddenly hear the notes practically sing out: "There's a place for us." Of course, the concerto was written in the early 19th century, and Leonard Bernstein, let's say, recycled the notes in the mid-20th for his song
Music Blog
Ron Netsky on June 11th, 2011
When I left the Natalie Cole concert at Friday night's XRIJF, the first friend I ran into asked, "Was she OK?" Over the past few years when Cole's been in the news it's been about her kidney transplant. And she's spoken honestly about her past drug abuse. So people wonder.
But
Music Blog
Ron Netsky on June 10th, 2011
The 10th edition of the Rochester International Jazz Festival may be lacking in jazz-giant headliners, but for me it's always been the Club Pass shows that make the festival.
This year's model is no exception. I'm looking forward to hearing a wide variety of musicians, from fantastic veterans like octogenarian
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