An Email from the RIJF.

I received an email today from the Rochester International Jazz Fest regarding their club passes going on sale soon and the price of those passes. I don't know what possessed me, but I wrote a return email about the price increase. (The Club Pass has risen another $6.00.) I never thought anyone would read my email, let alone respond. But respond they did. And quickly, too. Here it is:

"There is a $6 increase this year due to Increased number of artists (over 100 groups), increased number of venues (an additional 18 performance), increase in the cost of artist fees. In the end it's still a reduced overall cost per show. We would suggest you don't buy a pass of you go to less than 6 sets of music, just pay a single entry charge. It's a VALUE pass and perhaps the cheapest pass ticket in the world."

I don't know how to format this here, but the word "value" that you see in CAPS was not only in caps, but bold and underlined. I think the writer thought I was some kind of an idiot who didn't understand the definition of the word "value." That pissed me off.

So I responded.

"I've done the Club Pass for three years, and I understand the concept of VALUE; but it's only a value if you can get into at least five to seven shows (depending on the artist) that you want to see. And it's not a value if you stand in line for an hour+ and then don't get into a performance that you wanted to see. Then, having missed that one, you might have also missed another, second and/or third, choice. This was my experience, multiple times, last year. It was extremely frustrating. I will probably not buy a pass this year based on that. If there is a show I want to see, I'll just "pay as I go" and get there more than two hours early because two hours early was not enough at Max at Eastman Place. Not only did I wait, no one bothered to tell all of us waiting in that line that we didn't have a shot at getting in. If they had, we would have at least had a slim chance to find another show to see. I was two hours early for Eldar, and was not told the place was at SRO. By the time I went up to the volunteer table to ask what was going on, I was too late for a second choice at Kilbourn. That is not value.

It is also not a value if the sound system sucks (Harro East). That needs to be addressed.

This is a good festival. It is cost-prohibitive for many people. It has also become a "scene" more than a place to appreciate good music. And, sadly, the thousands of people in the streets for those nine days do not translate to lots of people at the other excellent music shows all over the city the rest of the year."

This time, there was no response.

I do believe that this is a good festival, but I also believe that it is cost-prohibitive to many people. And it is difficult for people who can't take the week off of work to get to the venues in time to be first in line to get in to see the shows that they want to.

I do also wonder why none of these thousands of people populate the little venues we have all over this city for jazz artists (and other excellent musical talent) over the course of the other 356 days of the year. Maybe these festival promoters should be promoting the available music throught our city all year long instead of just for the nine days of their own festival.

Okay, I think my rant is over.

yours in music,
tracy

Another One Bites the Dust.

Sadly, I report that I heard last night that McCool's is no longer a music room. It's a sports bar. They just couldn't make a go of it bringing excellent musicians into a beautiful venue in Geneva. If only they had put it in Rochester. Just maybe it could have lasted--at least longer than nine months.

So sad . . .

Listening . . . watching . . . thinking . . .

My favorite band played last night at a fundraiser at a beautiful winery on Seneca Lake, Ventosa. It's a nice place for an event, and it's not so very far away.

Anyway, I was in the far back corner of the room most of the night, and could barely see my favorite guitarist, but occasionally the dancers would part, and I could see his face while he played. He has the best "guitar face" ever.

I had a lot of time to sit and ponder music and it's affect on people. I wondered, as I watched the couples take to the dance floor for an old, slow R&B type tune, if they were remembering that tune from years ago, and who they were dancing with the first time they heard that song. When they played "Wonderful Tonight" I was brought instantly back to my college boyfriend's living room when he sang it to me (along with Clapton, of course) for the very first time. Listening to Joe as he played it and watching his face as he soloed was exponentially better. But just the same, music and memories are inseparable in my life, and I imagine that's the same for everyone. I can't hear a Rolling Stones tune without thinking about the fact that I sat in the cold and rain in Rich Stadium with about 100,000 other people back in 1981 for my very first concert--the Stones, with Journey and George Thoroghgood opening. If I remember correctly, Journey played in the rain, George brought out the sun, and by the time the Stones took the stage, my date had regained consciousness. It was a while before I went to another concert; and never with him again.

I remember that during my whole first pregnancy, I played Kenny G (taste evolves and matures, okay? I was 25) all the time in the car and at home. After Drew was born, if he was fussy, I'd put Kenny G on, and he quieted. It was familiar and soothing. That was cool. I remember that I used to sing certain songs to him every night when I was pregnant with my daughter, and after she was born and when she was fussy (which was all the time), I would sing those same songs, and it was calming to her.

Some of my favorite childhood memories involve taking walks in the woods with my dad when he used to sing Scarlet Ribbons to me. I loved that song. I can still hear his voice singing it; though he hasn't sung it, probably, since Caroline was little. I loved going to my uncle's house when he would bring down his guitar and their whole family would sing. Those were the best times. He used to get out his banjo and sing a song I haven't thought of in forever--"My Ding-a-Ling"--and it would annoy the heck out of my grandmother. Totally tame, even thirty-five years ago, but grandma would get all in a fuss. My uncle used to take his guitar to the Rochester Psych Center and perform for the patients. They thought he was Johnny Cash. I've sung there three times with my gospel choir. They love us. One guy, Daniel, thought I was someone else, too, but I won't go into that here! It's fun to see the patients get into the music and have their spirits lifted. I'm sure that's why my uncle did it for so many years.

Music is an integral part of our psyches. We sing, we play, we listen--when we're happy, when we're sad, when we just need that boost. Music is always there for us if we want it. How lucky are we?

yours in music,
Tracy

And so . . . Pandora.

My daughter introduced me to Pandora, and now I'm enjoying the ability to create my own "radio station" dedicated exclusively to a particular artist's style. On my Chuck Loeb station, I get him and others with a like style; for instance, Larry Carlton. On my Tower of Power station, I get them, EW&F, Marvin Gaye, etc.

I'm probably the last person on earth to hear about Pandora, which is part of the Music Genome Project, but this is how it works. You put in the name of an artist you like, and the first song that plays is that artist's. Then you have the opportunity to click a thumbs up or down (do you like it, or don't you) on the image, and the same goes on for each artist who plays after that. Your fave will play every few songs, but in between you might find someone of a similar style whom you've never heard of and really like. You tailor your playlist accordingly. The account goes wherever you go with a computer, so I have my Pandora at home as well as at work. It's fun.

And at least it's something for me to write about.

yours in cybermusic,
Tracy

As delightful as I'd expected it to be . . .

Last night I listened to four exemplary musicians make beautiful music and have a blast. Saxophonist Bill Tiberio was joined by Joe Chiappone on guitar, Geoff Smith on bass and Dave Cohen on drums for an evening of jazz standards and some funkier, edgy tunes as well. From Mercy, Mercy, Mercy to My Romance to Misty to Take the A Train to When I Fall in Love to Kenny Garrett's Sing A Song of Song and The Chicken (definitely not to be confused with The Chicken Dance) by Jaco Pastorius--this group was on the money. Each tune was better than the one before. These guys should definitely play together again . . . and soon. When they do, I'll be there and hopefully you will, too.

yours in music,
Tracy

Has it really been over a month?

I could have sworn that I'd posted something in late September, but I guess not. Sorry. Still trying to figure out if there's any point in keeping this blog going. Maybe I need to tweak the direction a bit and get more disciplined about writing. But if I don't go out to see/hear any music, then there's nothing for me to write.

However, I did go out last night. Who would have thought that a place with a name like "Stucko's" which looks like a garage and is attached to a business named "Squidd's Live Bait" would have excellent jazz music? Well, I would, because I knew that Joe Chiappone, Greg Wachala and Dave Arenius were playing there last night. A trio comprised of two guitars (Joe and Greg) and an upright bass (Dave) doing jazz standards--extremely well--and having fun at the same time. They played for two hours with a short break, and the time just flew by. These guys, besides being technical experts at their instruments, have a ton of soul and make a very sweet sound together. I'll be sure to let you know when they are playing together again. I hope it's soon. I do let Greg at Jazz@Rochester know, and he includes them in his comprehensive list of what's happening in Rochester's jazz world every week.

Tonight, I am lucky enough to see my two favorite musicians performing together--Joe Chiappone and Bill Tiberio. They will be playing with Dave Cohen and Geoff Smith at RIT's Fireside Lounge in the Student Alumni Union building. This is part of RIT's Bricktown Weekend event, therefore, I don't know if it's open to the general public or if it's just for RIT students, parents, alumni, etc. But it's been a dream of mine to see Joe and Bill play together; I'm very excited. I'll let you all know how wonderful it was afterward.

As an aside, I think the age of email and texting has totally corrupted my sense of grammatical correctness, proper syntax and usage. I used to be, as my son called me, "The Grammar Police," and quite confident in my language skills, but now I second guess myself all the time. So, if you find any errors, be sure to let me know!

yours in music,
Tracy