That’s Xerox Rochester International jazz Festival for the those not in Rochester.

Last night we started out at 5:30 (in line by 4:15) at Harro East, which many of us remember as the auditorium of the JY, to hear Catherine Russell sing for her third trip to the festival in four years.  We had heard her before and didn’t want to miss this year.  The sound in the venue was right on for her and she sang many of the songs from the 20’s that were performed by Fats Waller and later by Louis Armstrong and the band her father lead.  It was a great start to what turned into a wonderful evening even with the scattered rain and chill in the air. 

From there we went to Christ Church to hear a group called Brass Jaw, think of it 3 sax’s and a trumpet in an 1800’s church.  They had arrived an hour before the performance at the end of a 38 hour trek from England with a lengthy stop in Ireland – where apparently they got no rest.  They certainly filled the hall and with sound and with audience.  We stayed through because we were enjoying it so much.

We ate our sandwiches on the hoof (sorry Carol) as we headed to Lutheran Church of the Reformation – it should have been a five minute walk, but the crowds gathering around the two street stages impeded progress.  We arrived to find the church full to almost overflowing to hear Torben Waldorff Quartet with Torben on the guitar.  We advanced our seating toward the center as the set progressed waiting for the last note to fade before dashing out the door to find it raining.  Fortunately the car was across the street with our rain gear so we got out the coats and headed over to Kilbourn Hall to get in line for Billy’s Band. 

This was their fourth performance in two nights and the hall rapidly filled to the limit.  We were way down front and there were some high school jazz musicians sitting in front of us and their enthusiasm was infectious.  The performance was over the top and is was great to see them on a stage where they could move around.  The last time we saw them was at Max which is a nice venue, but the stage is conducive to a group that stays in one place for the performance.

We tried to go to the after hours club across town, but parking was difficult, it was raining and by now it was 11:30 pm.  I must admit after seven hours in the crowds and four of them listening intently to great acts, I was tired.  We made it home before falling asleep.