Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Chick Corea will perform at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival in Rochester, New York, on June 28.
(Photo: Photo: Arne Rostad)Pianist Chick Corea, trumpeter Chris Botti, rock vocalist Grace Potter and r&b artist Erykah Badu are among the headliners for the 2016 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, which will take place June 24–July 2 in Rochester, New York.
Also in the lineup are trumpeter Nicholas Payton (June 27), vocalists Lizz Wright (June 27) and Catherine Russell (June 24), pianist Eldar (June 26), drummer/vocalist Jamison Ross (June 30), guitarist John Abercrombie with organist Gary Versace and drummer Adam Nussbaum (June 26), guitarist Russell Malone (June 29) and saxophonist Joe Lovano with guitarist John Scofield (June 24).
The 2016 edition, which celebrates festival’s 15th anniversary, will present more than 1,500 additional artists in over 300 shows shows at 19 venues, including 99 free shows and events.
Corea, Botti, Potter and Badu will all perform at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, with sets beginning at 8 p.m. Singer-songwriter Potter will perform on opening night, June 24, followed by Grammy winner and “First Lady of Neo Soul” Erykah Badu, who will perform on June 25.
On June 28, Corea will perform with his Trilogy trio (bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade) plus special guest Joey Alexander. Corea topped the Jazz Artist category in the 2015 DownBeat Readers Poll, and his three-disc set Trilogy (Stretch/Concord) was voted Jazz Album of the Year in the poll.
Alexander, the gifted 12-year-old pianist, will be joined by his trio. This will be his second appearance at the festival.
Botti—a four-time XRIJF headliner—will return to XRIJF to perform on June 30.
Also appearing at Kodak Hall will be bandleader/vocalist/pianist Bruce Hornsby, who will perform with his band, The Noisemakers, on June 29. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Gregg Allman, of the Allman Brothers Band, will perform on July 1.
As one of the world’s leading international music festivals, Rochester will once again feature a stylistically and culturally diverse roster of artists. This year’s lineup includes musicians from 14 countries, including Canada (trumpeter Bria Skonberg, June 28), Japan (trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, July 2), Norway (pianist Tord Gustavsen, July 1), England (the trio Mammal Hands, June 29), Israel (bassist Avishai Cohen, June 29), France (pianist Jacky Terrasson, June 30), Cuba (pianist Elio Villafranca, June 27) and Russia (saxophonist Igor Butman, June 28).
Additionally, hundreds of young music students from 24 regional schools (elementary, high school and colleges) and from programs at the Eastman School of Music will perform at the festival.
Jazz brunches and other events will be offered at The Strathallan on East Avenue throughout the event.
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
Feb 17, 2026 11:05 AM
They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp
Feb 19, 2026 10:39 AM
Jazz camps have exploded around the globe as a summertime tradition for working on your chops and making new friends.…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
