Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
Nick Iacona (left) and John Nugent, producers of the Rochester International Jazz Festival
(Photo: Courtesy of RIJF)The Rochester International Jazz Festival announced that it is postponing its next festival until 2022. In a letter to the press and fans, Mark Iacona and John Nugent, the event’s producers, outlined ongoing pandemic issues that made a July 2021 festival impossible to pull off.
“After intensive efforts to deliver a festival this year, and despite holding onto hope that a socially distanced festival could take place this year at a more spacious location, it will not be viable from either a business or health safety perspective due to necessary [New York] State health guidelines and capacity restrictions,” they said in the letter. “We will be back in 2022 and are committed to making every effort to move forward in downtown Rochester and also explore expanding the festival with programming at Rochester Institute of Technology.”
Traditionally held in June, Iacona and Nugent had rescheduled the festival to the end of July in hopes of a more positive outlook for holding live events in New York. But state guidelines would require capacity restrictions that made producing the festival economically unfeasible, according to the letter.
“We fully realize that the loss of live music has created a huge void in our lives and it has been career-ending for many musicians,” Iacona and Nugent said. “We will bring RIJF back next year with the high level of superior artistry our patrons have come to expect, and in an environment that will be inspiring and uplifting.”
Founded in 2002, the fest has been a staple of summer in upstate New York, drawing more than 200,000 attendees for more than 300 shows in 2019. For more information about the festival, see rochesterjazz.com. DB
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…