From the opening note of Joe Chiappone's first solo of the night--George Benson's Breezin'--Hot Sweets was off and running and everyone was having a good time. The crowd was lighter than normal because of the holiday, but those who were there were dancing all night long.
The guys were hot all night--Todd East's vocals soared along with Chiappone's sweet guitar licks; Ralph Ortiz and Randy Richmond (on drums this week) kept the groove real smooth. Jimmy Richmond's plaintive and soulful vocals on There Ain't No Sunshine (When She's Gone) served to cap off what I think is the best rendition of that tune that I've ever heard. Not unlike the sound Charnett Moffett got out of his upright at last year's McCoy Tyner concert, Ralph Ortiz just about turned his electric bass into a percussion instrument. When these guys go into the recording studio, and I sure hope they do, this tune is a must for them to record.
For all of you who were at McCool's this past Friday, you got a night of first-class music by top-flight musicians. For those of you who weren't there, make sure you are next time!
yours in music,
Tracy
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Looking Forward to Friday!
This Friday, May 25, Hot Sweets--Jimmy Richmond (Geneva's favorite son), Ralph Ortiz (the funkiest), Joe Chiappone (smokin' guitar), Todd East (the incomparable) and Dave Cohen (keeping it real on the drums)--will be playing at McCool's Music Room in Geneva. This place is definitely worth the drive. Check out their link on my website. The folks who've built this place wanted to make it a class act, and they have been very successful in this endeavor. They bring in high-quality music acts, like Hot Sweets, every Friday and Saturday night. Make the drive; you won't be disappointed--especially this Friday night!
yours in music,
Tracy
yours in music,
Tracy
Monday, May 21, 2007
Phill Freeman and The Best
Went to a private party this weekend where the entertainment was Phill Freeman (who has the lowest voice I've ever heard this side of Barry White) and his accompanying band, The Best. And they were! Ron D'Angelo on horn--always great to hear, Jimmy Richmond on sax and some vocals (not enough), Joe Chiappone smokin' on guitar as always, Steve Curry keeping the groove nicely on the drums, Mark Cassara on sax and vocals--no one plays like him, and Casey Filiaci who was a "new find" for me, and I really enjoyed him.
There were people on the dance floor for just about every number, and Jimmy Richmond filled it with "the ladies" for his trademark tune, "Get Up." Even I danced to that! The band looked like they were having some fun, too, which is always a good thing.
yours in music,
Tracy
There were people on the dance floor for just about every number, and Jimmy Richmond filled it with "the ladies" for his trademark tune, "Get Up." Even I danced to that! The band looked like they were having some fun, too, which is always a good thing.
yours in music,
Tracy
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Some Thoughts on City Newspaper mail commentary
So, in the April 25th issue of City Newspaper (yes, I realize that it's May 16th, but I've been thinking about how to address this), there was a letter--well, more of an essay--in "the mail" regarding our upcoming Jazz Fest. Here is the title "Jazz? Or music for elderly suburbanites?" of the piece that got my blood in a bubble. How dare this young whippersnapper call me an elderly suburbanite!!! I thought I knew exactly how I was going to lambaste this Ian Downey of Field Street, Rochester, who is probably in his 20s which makes anyone over 40 "elderly." I take umbrage.
Anyway . . . I decided to read this article before jumping to conclusions and firing off a blog about disrespect to jazz, disrespect to the suburbs and disrespect to the elderly, uh, I mean "mature music consumers." Apparently this mail was in response to an article in the April 4th edition which he quoted as saying that the RIJF has "grown in both breadth and quality" to which he inquired, "City Paper, I understand that you want to foster and support what few outlets of culture seem to be growing in Rochester . . . support implies doing the work of criticizing our community's projects when they appear to be headed in the wrong direction."
So at this point, very early in the article, I was feeling righteously indignant. Then I read on. He wrote, very eloquently actually, about what the true essence of jazz was--that the genius of the music lay in its originality, spontaneity, creativity. He then contrasted that with his perception of this year's Jazz Fest lineup which he saw as "smoothed over cross-over music made palatable and safe for a mainstream audience, pushed very far in the direction of pop, away from jazz." Downey goes on to critique some of the upcoming Jazz Fest acts like King Solomon Burke, Dr. John, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rusted Root, Shooter Jennings and others as being as far from jazz as, well, Rochester is from NYC.
He has a valid point. I saw Sonya Kitchell last year. Her music wasn't jazz. It was teen angst in a different type of package than Alanis Morrisette's teen angst. But quite a few of us saw her in the Big Tent. Quite a few people paid for that show alone--I had a pass--and quite a few of us were paying $7 for glasses of wine, buying unspeakably expensive food, and sharing in a "scene" that Rochester only offers us once a year. So, here's where us "elderly suburbanites" come into play. We can afford a $7 glass of wine, or two, even. We can afford to buy a jazz pass for $100+ and tickets to see Jerry Lee Lewis (good God, kid, I'm with you there!) and King Solomon Burke et al. We "old folks with the bucks" are what supports this festival, and John Nugent and Mark Iacona know this and have to play to that.
That's not to say I don't agree with some of your points. Last year, in addition to Sonya Kitchell, I saw Kenny Garrett. I think you might agree that he's real jazz. I think he is. I saw some other acts that were true jazz. But here's the thing. If you narrow the scope of this festival to real, true jazz, you are not going to get 100,000 people pouring into the city streets of Rochester nine days straight. Last year, I went to see one of my favorite local jazz bands at the Big Tent. There was quite a good sized crowd. One week after the jazz fest ended, this same band was playing at Cucina Pazzo, a new restaurant in the city right around the corner from where 80,000 people were the week before. The restaurant was pushing a 5:00 - 9:00 Jazz Happy Hour. Sadly, there was only a handful of us. Where were all those hip jazz cats with their backwards RIJF hats that night? Probably home in the 'burbs sipping from a $25 bottle of wine and wishing they were back at the Jazz Fest "scene" of the week before.
So, my young friend, Ian, my point is that while you have some very valid issues with the quality of the acts coming to our Jazz Fest, this "scene" is a business, and that business has to make money to continue. So, my advice is to do just what you did--listen to the artists's clips and try to get to the (relatively) few true jazz acts that will be here. Then, soak up the vibrancy of the Rochester city streets for those nine nights because you won't see that again until next Jazz Fest.
yours in music,
Tracy
Anyway . . . I decided to read this article before jumping to conclusions and firing off a blog about disrespect to jazz, disrespect to the suburbs and disrespect to the elderly, uh, I mean "mature music consumers." Apparently this mail was in response to an article in the April 4th edition which he quoted as saying that the RIJF has "grown in both breadth and quality" to which he inquired, "City Paper, I understand that you want to foster and support what few outlets of culture seem to be growing in Rochester . . . support implies doing the work of criticizing our community's projects when they appear to be headed in the wrong direction."
So at this point, very early in the article, I was feeling righteously indignant. Then I read on. He wrote, very eloquently actually, about what the true essence of jazz was--that the genius of the music lay in its originality, spontaneity, creativity. He then contrasted that with his perception of this year's Jazz Fest lineup which he saw as "smoothed over cross-over music made palatable and safe for a mainstream audience, pushed very far in the direction of pop, away from jazz." Downey goes on to critique some of the upcoming Jazz Fest acts like King Solomon Burke, Dr. John, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rusted Root, Shooter Jennings and others as being as far from jazz as, well, Rochester is from NYC.
He has a valid point. I saw Sonya Kitchell last year. Her music wasn't jazz. It was teen angst in a different type of package than Alanis Morrisette's teen angst. But quite a few of us saw her in the Big Tent. Quite a few people paid for that show alone--I had a pass--and quite a few of us were paying $7 for glasses of wine, buying unspeakably expensive food, and sharing in a "scene" that Rochester only offers us once a year. So, here's where us "elderly suburbanites" come into play. We can afford a $7 glass of wine, or two, even. We can afford to buy a jazz pass for $100+ and tickets to see Jerry Lee Lewis (good God, kid, I'm with you there!) and King Solomon Burke et al. We "old folks with the bucks" are what supports this festival, and John Nugent and Mark Iacona know this and have to play to that.
That's not to say I don't agree with some of your points. Last year, in addition to Sonya Kitchell, I saw Kenny Garrett. I think you might agree that he's real jazz. I think he is. I saw some other acts that were true jazz. But here's the thing. If you narrow the scope of this festival to real, true jazz, you are not going to get 100,000 people pouring into the city streets of Rochester nine days straight. Last year, I went to see one of my favorite local jazz bands at the Big Tent. There was quite a good sized crowd. One week after the jazz fest ended, this same band was playing at Cucina Pazzo, a new restaurant in the city right around the corner from where 80,000 people were the week before. The restaurant was pushing a 5:00 - 9:00 Jazz Happy Hour. Sadly, there was only a handful of us. Where were all those hip jazz cats with their backwards RIJF hats that night? Probably home in the 'burbs sipping from a $25 bottle of wine and wishing they were back at the Jazz Fest "scene" of the week before.
So, my young friend, Ian, my point is that while you have some very valid issues with the quality of the acts coming to our Jazz Fest, this "scene" is a business, and that business has to make money to continue. So, my advice is to do just what you did--listen to the artists's clips and try to get to the (relatively) few true jazz acts that will be here. Then, soak up the vibrancy of the Rochester city streets for those nine nights because you won't see that again until next Jazz Fest.
yours in music,
Tracy
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Under the Weather This Weekend.
I'll be back as soon as I'm normal again. Well, as normal as I ever get. Did see Frontline on Friday night. They rocked the house. Joe Chiappone's solo on James Taylor's Steamroller was amazing. The band was really on fire that night!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Tell Me Why . . .
Tell me why people go to venues with live music playing when all they want to do is yak and cackle the night away? Go to Starbucks for heaven's sake.
I went to The Little Theatre Cafe (a very nice venue) to see The White Hots--this week's incarnation included Ted Mosher on bass, Paul Gaspar on trumpet and piano, Bill Blind on drums, Tom Hanney on harmonica, Steve Greene (in his Birkies) on guitar and the ever lovely Tina Albright on vocals. A wonderfully talented group of musicians well worth seeing even if slightly muddied by the presence of the "Coffee-Klatch Six" in the back and my talking table-mate (didn't know her, but her mouth never stopped). I managed to restrain myself from standing up and screaming, "WILL YOU BE QUIET!" when Tina sang my request--The White Hots' version of Folsom Prison Blues. The White Hots are jazz jewels, and you should not miss them. Look on their website (to which I have a link for your convenience) to see their gig schedule. There are several opportunities to see them; they are not to be missed.
This weekend, Frontline is at the Village Rock Cafe in East Rochester at 10:00pm. Check them out!
yours in music,
Tracy
I went to The Little Theatre Cafe (a very nice venue) to see The White Hots--this week's incarnation included Ted Mosher on bass, Paul Gaspar on trumpet and piano, Bill Blind on drums, Tom Hanney on harmonica, Steve Greene (in his Birkies) on guitar and the ever lovely Tina Albright on vocals. A wonderfully talented group of musicians well worth seeing even if slightly muddied by the presence of the "Coffee-Klatch Six" in the back and my talking table-mate (didn't know her, but her mouth never stopped). I managed to restrain myself from standing up and screaming, "WILL YOU BE QUIET!" when Tina sang my request--The White Hots' version of Folsom Prison Blues. The White Hots are jazz jewels, and you should not miss them. Look on their website (to which I have a link for your convenience) to see their gig schedule. There are several opportunities to see them; they are not to be missed.
This weekend, Frontline is at the Village Rock Cafe in East Rochester at 10:00pm. Check them out!
yours in music,
Tracy
Some NYC Tidbits
If ever Cyrus Chestnut comes to Rochester (hint for the Jazz Fest organizers), I will be first to buy tickets. We saw him accompanying Cassandra Wilson at the BlueNote while we were in NYC last weekend. It was the 11:30 show, and it was sold out. Cyrus and his piano were practically in my lap; that's how tight they crammed us in. He used our table for a place to put his coffee. When he started to play, I was blown away. Cassandra Wilson was dynamic and personable, and I did enjoy her singing, but it would be his CD that I would buy after hearing that show, not hers.
We walked into a restaurant in Greenwich Village in which the downstairs back room was the place for jazz. There was a wonderful trio playing there on Friday night; there was another wonderful trio playing at the restaurant we went to on Sunday for a "jazz brunch." This is what we need here. Why can't we have places like this, albeit on a smaller scale, here in Rochester? We have the available talent--they are all over just dying for places to play. Why can't this town sustain a jazz club? The Clarissa Room, the Pythod Room, Milestones MUSIC Room, the Montage Grille--all of which showcased quality players, and some nights the band outnumbered the listeners. What's wrong with our city? Why don't we appreciate what we have here?
Enough rant. Suffice it to say that New York was amazing. I could have stayed longer, and I can't wait to go back.
yours in music,
Tracy
We walked into a restaurant in Greenwich Village in which the downstairs back room was the place for jazz. There was a wonderful trio playing there on Friday night; there was another wonderful trio playing at the restaurant we went to on Sunday for a "jazz brunch." This is what we need here. Why can't we have places like this, albeit on a smaller scale, here in Rochester? We have the available talent--they are all over just dying for places to play. Why can't this town sustain a jazz club? The Clarissa Room, the Pythod Room, Milestones MUSIC Room, the Montage Grille--all of which showcased quality players, and some nights the band outnumbered the listeners. What's wrong with our city? Why don't we appreciate what we have here?
Enough rant. Suffice it to say that New York was amazing. I could have stayed longer, and I can't wait to go back.
yours in music,
Tracy
Monday, May 7, 2007
Pardon my absence.
I was away this past weekend "in the City" and saw some great music and ate way too much good food. I'll fill you in after I've recovered later today!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Some Caveats
In this blog, it is my intention to add links to music clubs, musician's web sites, and other sites that I think are applicable. This is not written in blood. Sadly, music clubs fold (this happens far too often in our fair city), musicians get sick and cancel gigs, bands break up and sometimes links just don't work. These links provided by me are a convenience for you. They are posted in good faith. Because I love you so much. Please do not attempt to hold me responsible for bad information that is due to circumstances beyond my control. I will do my best to post accurate information and helpful links. Feel free to let me know (nicely, please) if I'm in error. I will try to amend any inaccurate information.
That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.
good night and good listening,
Tracy
That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.
good night and good listening,
Tracy
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