Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival

O. K. so we are not on the road.  Gee 2 is in storage for a bit while we catch up with things in Rochester. 

This week – nine nights actually – is devoted to the Jazz Festival in the title.  We have Club Passes, bought last December, just in case, which give us access to ten venues doing two shows a night for the nine nights of the festival.  That is a possibility of ninety different club shows.  Plus there are free shows – four or five a night, plus 6 headliner events which we have not bought tickets for, yet.  Missed Gladys Knight last night. 

The line up is incredible.  The opening night we went to four shows.  We stared with Mose Allison in Kilbourn Hall and left after 30 minutes to catch Stan Tracey at Christ Church (all UK performers there) and then after a stop to pick up sandwiches and eat them we were on to Lutheran Church where the theme is Nordic Jazz.  We then got in line at 8:45 for a 10 o’clock show at Max featuring Michael Klaeshammer.  This was a show where we saw no one leave – of course we were sitting way up front.  The show was supposed to end at 11, but Klaeshammer asked if anyone wanted to leave and then played on until 11:15 when the clean up crew wanted to get in.  We walked the 3 miles home and it was just enough of a walk to get us over the excitement so we could get to sleep. 

We have a line up planned for tonight starting with Catherine Russell at 5:30.  If you are in Rochester you will know where to find us through next Saturday.  If you really want to locate us text me, send email (my phone is with me me) or try to call me, I may answer if I am not in a show and can hear the ring.

Those of you in other cities or on the road, if you love Jazz, plan on joining us this year or next.  This is one of the biggest jazz Festivals around.  They project attendance of 150,000 in a metro area of a million.  Last year was 133,000.