Rochester International Jazz Festival, Part One: Jazz Festival, or...?

It’s June and I’m stuck in Rochester, which can only mean one thing: it’s time for the seventh edition of the Rochester International Jazz Festival (and the third edition of my regular attendance)! This always brings up one important question: what the hell is this thing called jazz? I could stumble into more than a third of the shows here and be forgiven for asking where the Jazz Festival was, especially if I’m actually stumbling in. Just look at the list of headliners:

-Frank Sintara, Jr.’s “Sinatra Sings Sinatra”
-Dee Dee Bridgewater
-“Gillespiana: A Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie” directed by Jeff Tyzik
-Rochester “Jazz at the Philharmonic” (an “all-star” jam session)
-Boz Scaggs
-Al Green

I’m not surprised by the lineup, and I’m sure even the most hardcore jazz purist would be either. Let’s face the facts. First, most of the great jazz icons are dead, just like most of the great rock ‘n’ rollers will be in about a decade. Second, even the greatest living (and young) jazzers are not even close to being household names. Unfortunately, these dilemmas are solved with two simple solutions. Ol’ Blue Eyes and Diz are dead – but their offspring must be just as great, right? Boz Scaggs and Al Green are great –they’re household names (at least the Reverend) – and we might even be able to make a profit after all the money we’ve spent on the festival. (The ultimate solution would have been Alice Coltrane: she could be sold both as “John’s Widow” and the important artist that she was – it’s too be she passed last year.)

Every year of the Rochester International Jazz Festival sees more of this relying on pop performers to draw a crowd that wouldn’t otherwise be interested. This is a double edged sword: it will bring those other crowds in, but those purists the target (?) audience will be bemoaning the fact that their beloved Jazz Festival (and genre) are selling out. No matter how you look at it, that old critical attitude that pop is not as viable a true art form as jazz (or classical) still lingers to this day.

I respect the talent of the pop artists the RIJF bring in, even though they may not be personal favourites (but it was a hell of a treat to see Jerry Lee Lewis last summer!). It’s just sad that most of us can’t look beyond what’s popular to see that – hold on – wait for it – there’s better stuff out there! Yes! There is, believe it or don’t! I am grateful that the festival’s unofficial slogan is “It’s not who you know, it’s who you don’t know.” With that simple phrase, the RIJF is getting the mainstream audience to look a little deeper. It is a noble gesture – whether everyone will heed their words is something else to be seen entirely.

I'll soon be posting some reviews of the shows I've been seeing at the festival, which should help us answer our question. Maybe there's no such thing as jazz. Maybe there's no such thing as Rochester (no such luck). But if you’re in town anytime until the 21st, come check it out – I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll enjoy! I’m currently listening to a disc by Iro Haarla, whom I didn’t even know about until I saw her and her quintet play this evening. Damn, they were right!
http://www.rochesterjazz.com/