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
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment