Rochester Int’l Jazz Fest to Present 1,750 Artists from 16 Countries

By DownBeat I May. 7, 2024

Laufey is among the ticket headliners scheduled to perform at this year’s Rochester International Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Rochester International Jazz Festival)

The 21st edition of the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival will take place June 21–29 at 20 indoor and outdoor venues, all within walking distance in downtown Rochester, New York’s east-end cultural district. More than 1,750 artists from 16 countries will play in 326 concerts, including 100-plus free shows.

Highlights include five ticketed headliner shows at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, as well as five nights of free headliner shows, four nights on the Wegmans Stage at Parcel 5 and one night on the City of Rochester Stage. The festival’s signature Club Pass Series will feature 216 shows at 12 diverse venues. A record 51 shows will be presented on the City of Rochester Jazz Street Stage presented by The Community Foundation, and 16 free concerts will be presented at the Wegmans Pavilion on East and Chestnut. Jazz Starts at the Library, a series of five free noontime concerts, returns to the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County.

Ticketed headliners include Taj Mahal, Lee Ritenour Band, Laufey, John Oates and Samara Joy. The festival’s free headliners series will feature Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Sheila E. and E-Train, Los Lonely Boys, Cimafunk and Rejuvenation 50! Celebrating The Meters, A New Orleans Mardi Gras Party.

Producer’s picks for the festival include Christie Dashiell Quartet, Stanley Jordan, Benny Benack III Quartet, Groover Quartet, The Brain Cloud, Jared Schonig, “Two Takes,” Michael Mayo, Ekep Nkwelle, Luca Ciarla solOrkestra, The Levin Brothers, One For All, Hazmat Modine, Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra and Canadian Jazz Collective.

Five free Jazz Workshops sponsored by Wegmans will be led by visiting artists at Eastman School of Music for music students of all ages.

Young jazz musicians will be well represented, with 24 student jazz bands from the Rochester region and Maryland performing in free shows on Jazz Street and students playing in several jazz ensembles with Eastman Community Music School. Two Rochester International Jazz Festival/Eastman School of Music Scholarship concerts will feature this year’s and past years’ scholarship recipients on the Jazz Street Stage on June 24.

Jam Sessions will close out each night at the Hyatt Regency Rochester starting at 10:30 p.m. Jams will be led by trumpeter Mike Cottone on Fridays and Saturdays and guitarist Bob Sneider on Sunday through Thursday.

The RIJF Official App, with the full schedule, artist bios, map, music clips, news and the ability to create a personal schedule of shows, is sponsored by Harris Beach PLLC and is available for download on iPhones and Android devices.

Tickets for headliner shows and Club Passes are available by clicking HERE, or by calling (585) 454-2060. DB