It is Sunday morning and the sounds of the Festival are still ringing in my ears. There was the music in the venues, the music in the free events and there was the crowd noise blended with all of the above. The noisescape shifted as we moved from venue to venue and paused in the midst of it to have a meal or to converse with friends and acquaintances – mostly shouting over the noise or waiting for a break between numbers. 

Last night we only went to two performances, not counting a couple of free stage events on Jazz Street. We joined the mob in Kilbourn Hall to hear Kurt Elling “Super Blue” with Charlie Hunter. This started slowly with some wonderful scat and morphed and grew to a some fine music and interesting sounds, especially when Elling started cupping the microphone with his hand and generating feedback tones which he was able to control for pitch. He ran over a bit and no one seemed to mind.

We decided to get some food and then take our time going to the Theater at innovation Square for Drum Battle: Justin Faulkner vs Joe Farnsworth. This also included Mike Ledonne on piano, a bass player and two trumpet players. The drummers were front and center with the side men providing some great music to support the drums. The “Battle” seemed to be mostly good natured kidding and trading riffs. They built to a climax as time was running out and finished strong just as the hour was up. 

To a standing ovation the lights came up and Faulkner went back to his kit and suggested we give him 5 minutes more. Farnsworth returned to his kit and doffed his suitcoat. They got into it, trading riffs and trying to outdo each other with unique approaches to the drums. At one point Faulkner was shouting into the head of the snare drum and Farnsworth stood drum stick vertically on the drum head and got it vibrating by sliding his hand down the shaft. This duel continued for twenty minutes and the audience was on the edge of its seats through out. 

Carol and I were tired from nine nights and realized that there was no better way to end the 2022 19th Festival then on those drums. We went home.

We attended some or all of 34 performances over the nine nights. This is a low count compared to prior years, but we are older and get tired earlier. We also attended 4 or 5 free stage performances. We were on the Street from 4 to 11, about 7 hours, each night. Of the 38 performances we attended (including the free stage) I think there were 2 or 3 that we didn’t care for at all and maybe another 4 that didn’t hold our attention for the full hour.  That brings to about 30 performances that were engaging and interesting enough to hold us in our seats for most of the hour. This was a GREAT Jazz Festival. We had pined for it for two years and are delighted to have been able to attend this year.

Plans? What Plans? We have none for today other than opening a Family Zoom. There is a calendar full of stuff for the coming weeks, but none of it is Jazz for the moment.

last night was a night of fewer concerts and more straight Jazz. We were starting with Mike Ledonne Trio at Max. After we picked up our timed entry wrist bands we had just over an hour to wait before returning to the line to wait for the doors to open. The timed entry groups are large enough that if we want our preferred seating we need to get back in line before the doors open. While waiting we drifted over to the Jazz Free Stage that opens each evening with sets by local high school Jazz groups. As we found our seats the Harley School Jazz Band was on stage with a particularly precocious trumpeter/singer at the front. She is Amalia Nugent, daughter of John Nugent, producer of the Festival. Next up was Gates Chili High School Jazz Band with massive forces of saxophones, trumpets, and trombones. We couldn’t count high enough, maybe 30 musicians on the stage. They were wonderful and set us up for the evening. 

Ledonne is old school straight ahead keyboard player. He left his Hammond B-3 home and worked with his bassist who he has a long working relationship with and drummer with whom it was is first time out to provide over an hour of fine Jazz. Before the performance we found ourselves at a table with Don Ver Ploeg. Don has been an accredited photographer with the Jazz Fest from its beginning and we have known him for many years even before the Festival. He tole us he had a picture of us taken early in the festival and wanted to send it. I can’t wait. 

Ledonne ran over and rather than run to The Temple for John Locke which would have less than 30 minutes left if we ran (an unlikely happening) we walked over to  Glory House for Jonathan Kreisberg Trio Featuring Eric Harland and Rick Rosato. This trio kept us entranced with yet more straight Jazz. This time with a guitar lead. they also ran over their allotted hour and we did not complain. With no immediate plan except dinner, Carol suggested we head for the apartment to avoid yet another night of street food. We were in the apartement for about 45 minutes before we headed back out to the Hyatt for Bobby Rush. Bobby is an 88 year old Black blues player with guitar, harmonica and story telling songs. After a few minutes on stage with his guitar and a brief biography starting in the Deep South in the 30’s he picked up a harmonica and and a portable microphone and came down into the audience where he told stories mixed with harmonica and singing backed by a guitar from the stage. Much of his story telling was blue as well as blues. We were enthralled and really enjoyed this performance, which also ran over. 

We stopped by the Jam Session for a while, ,but didn’t stay around long enough for any of the performers to take the stage. They seldom appear before midnight. 

I am not posting a plan for tonight as we don’t have one yet and we are headed out to the Public Market for breakfast and shopping. Maybe I’ll amend this later when I do have a plan.

Ignore my posted Plan for last night. Carol and I revised the plan almost as soon as I hit Publish. Then we actually followed the revised plan to the end!

We started at with Itamar Borochov Quartet at the Wilder Room. We hadn’t been there yet this year. It is moderate sized room on the 2nd floor of the former Rochester Club (so former that most  people are not even aware of it). They acknowledge that their AC has only two positions, OFF and Arctic. It was a warm day so Arctic it was. We didn’t think we were too early, arriving at a bit after 5 for a 5:30 door opening only to find we were first in line! Borochov is from Jaffa, Israel and grew up with the music of the area. This carries over into his compositions, but does not dominate. We enjoyed the set immensely and were grateful to warm up on our way to the Temple where Tuck and Patti were performing. It is just the two and they have been married for 37 years and playing together for even longer. The lyrics were playful and her scat was delightful. His guitar playing is superb and I could have listened a lot longer but we needed to get some food before heading to Theater at Innovation Square for Lioness. This is an all female sextet. Three saxophones, Alto, Tenor and Baritone plus guitar, drums and bass. They were enjoyable and the music, composed by members of the group, was good. They were not quite as tight as expected, but this group has not been playing together for very long.

We decided to go to Montage for Big Lazy, BIG MISTAKE! They may have been fine but the sound levels were at 12. Carol took her hearing aids out and I muted mine. It didn’t help. I never opened the sound meter on my phone, but it must have been pushing 110 DB – normal performance in most halls runs around 80 at the high end. We left.

The logical stop was Max for John Baily Sextet where we found seats down front and several friends at adjoining tables. What a relief. Solid Jazz played at reasonable sound levels to wrap the last 30 minutes of the day. With 5 concerts for the night we headed right home without stopping at the Jam at Hyatt. It was almost midnight when we opened the door to the apartment.

Tonight’s plan is not well researched but we will start with it. We will open with Mike Ledonne Trio at Max at 6:15. Then we will move on to John Locke Group at the Temple Theater at 7:00. We show Jonathan Kreisberg  Trio at Glory House (not likely unless Ledonne is not interesting). Dinner and then Bobby Rush at Hyatt at 9:45. We are avoiding the steel drum group at Montage, combining steel drums with a sound man who likes it LOUD in that room is just too much. 

OMG only one more night after this.