Jazz Festival Guide 2017

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CITY Newspaper's guide to Rochester's largest music festival. The 2017 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival runs Friday, June 23, through Saturday, July 1, in downtown Rochester. For concert reviews, photos, and the latest news from the Jazz Fest, check our website every day of the festival.

There are more than 320 shows at this year's Jazz Festival, so it can be a little overwhelming when deciding who to see. To help give you a taste of this year's offerings, CITY and JAZZ 90.1 put together a Spotify playlist of the 16 bands we're most excited about.

In This Guide...

Rochester International Jazz Festival

Festival Information

Tickets, Venues, Parking, and Additional Information

Jun 14, 2017

Xerox XRIJF 2017 Rochester Music Jazz Festival Tickets Club Passes
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Friday, June 23

More about the musicians performing Friday, June 23

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Friday, June 23

Full schedule for Friday, June 23

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Tierney Sutton

When Tierney Sutton was a junior in high school, she performed a disco song in her school's talent contest. Her dad was in the audience and, Sutton recalls, he had some advice for her: "You shouldn't sing that crap," he said.

By Ron Netsky Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Tierney Sutton Jazz Singer Standards The Sting Variations
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Saturday, June 24

More about the musicians performing Saturday, June 24

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Saturday, June 24

Full schedule for Saturday, June 24

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Barbra Lica

Toronto chanteuse Barbra Lica serves up vocal jazz that effortlessly shifts from seriously sensuous to quirky and Lauper-esque charming. Lica's delicate phrasing offers a promise as if she's unwrapping a sweet gift, slowly revealing the song to the audience.

By Frank De Blase Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Barbra Lica Jazz Singer Standards I'm Still Learning
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Sunday, June 25

More about the musicians performing Sunday, June 25

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Sunday, June 25

Full schedule for Sunday, June 25

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Monday, June 26

More about the musicians performing Monday, June 26

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Holophonor

Spoiler alert: there will be no holophonor on stage when the group of the same name performs at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Viewers of the television show "Futurama" may be disappointed, but lovers of progressive jazz will be just fine.

By Ron Netsky Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Holophonor Jazz Mike Cottone Diego Urbano
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Monday, June 26

Full schedule for Monday, June 26

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Miguel Zenon

Growing up in a working class family in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Miguel Zenón was studying classical saxophone at a performing arts high school when his world suddenly opened up. "My friends were passing around tapes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, and I became really interested in improvisation," Zenón says.

By Ron Netsky Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Miguel Zenón Jazz Saxophone Puerto Rican Jazz
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Tuesday, June 27

More about the musicians performing Tuesday, June 27

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Tuesday, June 27

Full schedule for Tuesday, June 27

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Postmodern Jukebox

Have you ever caught yourself in mid-dance gesticulation thinking something like "If only this music had a little swing to it?" The hoi polloi likes its pop, its accessibility, and its simple fun.

By Frank De Blase Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Postmodern Jukebox Scott Bradlee Re-imagined Covers
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Wednesday, June 28

More about the musicians performing Wednesday, June 28

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Wednesday, June 28

Full schedule for Wednesday, June 28

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Marcia Ball

Marcia Ball is a piano-playing neck-breaker from Orange, Texas, who tickles the ivories in a raucous barrelhouse style. Her voice has just enough of that roadhouse weariness to make her all the more enchanting and legit as her band summons the crowd with its boss back beat and shuffle.

By Frank De Blase Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Marcia Ball Blues Rock 'n' Roll
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Thursday, June 29

More about the musicians performing Thursday, June 29

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Thursday, June 29

Full schedule for Thursday, June 29

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Manuel Valera

Manuel Valera is a tough man to get a hold of. When I finally caught up with him by phone, he had just returned to his home in New York City on a red-eye flight from the West Coast.

By Ron Netsky Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Manuel Valera Jazz Pianist The Seasons Latin Jazz
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Friday, June 30

More about the musicians performing Friday, June 30

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Friday, June 30

Full schedule for Friday, June 30

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Binker and Moses

It seems to me that the jazz greats — the truly great ones, like Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, et al. — have elements to their sound that are there to confound for the listener's own betterment. And it seems the more you train your ear in the direction of these passages, the more you begin to understand.

By Frank De Blase Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Binker and Moses Sax and Drum Duo Jazz Rock 'N' Roll
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Musician Bios: Saturday, July 1

More about the musicians performing Saturday, July 1

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Schedule: Saturday, July 1

Full schedule for Saturday, July 1

Jun 14, 2017
Rochester International Jazz Festival

Featured Artist: Donny McCaslin

When Donny McCaslin went to parties as a teenager in the early 1980's, there was one record that was sure to be played: "Let's Dance" by David Bowie. "I especially liked 'Modern Love' and 'China Girl,'" says McCaslin of two of the album's most popular songs.

By Ron Netsky Jun 14, 2017

XRIJF 2017 Artist Feature Donny McCaslin Jazz Saxophone David Bowie Blackstar