For those of you who have followed this blog over the years you know we are go just a bit crazy for the Jazz Fest. It is nine nights of way too much music to really take in. We are plotting how to get to six performances tonight!
But first I must back up to last week, the Good Sam Rally in Syracuse. We arrived at the NY State Fairground in rain and mud. Somehow we got the coach positioned and had a really great spot so we could walk to the exhibit hall, unless we had stuff to carry, then we had to drive all the way around the outside of the fairgrounds, fortunately we had exhibitor parking permits. We stood on our feet on a concrete floor from 9 to 5 for four days. Fortunately we had been forewarned and had a nice cushy pad to stand on. In all my years of working I never worked so hard for such an extended period of time. I’ve always wondered how the exhibitors at these events do it day after day and show after show. Now I wonder even more. I doubt we will do it again, but we really did have fun while we were doing it.
Today, the first day of summer, the first day of Jazz Fest is the also the first day of our 49th year as a married couple. Yes, we were married June 21 1964, it was a hot sunny day just like today promises to be.
So we are working through the schedule and it looks like we will start at 5:30 at Harro East to hear Nikki Yanofsky. See you fans in line outside the Harro East by 4:45. After that it depends, we are hoping to hear Patricia Barber, Cleveland Watkiss, Trondheim Jazz and for laughs and giggles the Hackensaw Boys, oh yes I left out Christian McBride. Full report on actual results with a lineup for tomorrow in the morning.
As I have noted before, we sold our townhouse and moved into an apartment in downtown Rochester. The result is we are much closer to the center of the Jazz Festival and even closer to The Rochester Plaza where the late night jam session starts at 10:30. It is just the other side of the river so I expect we will stop in for a bit. Couldn’t do that from the townhouse as the walk back late at night would have been too far and to drive meant finding parking.
More tomorrow.