smokerblog

In Full Swing

After the first weekend, I can personally declare the Rochester Jazz Fest a success. I've attended at least a portion of 11 shows over the past 5 days (already justifying my purchase of the multi-venue Club Pass) with 4 more days of music left.

This year's festival is benefitting from the addition of an outdoor stage that is free and open to the public. They've closed off Gibbs St. and turned it into Rochester's equivalent of Bourbon St. That is, the street's smaller, the food not so spicy, the weather colder (except for last night), but the live music is just as good.

I've been mildly disappointed by a only couple of shows, the rest have been mostly mind-blowing. Inevitably, the best performances come out at Bob Sneider's late night jam sessions, where the players have the chance to get out from behind their bandleaders and just play.