Photos by Jamie Mohr
For the 22nd time, downtown Rochester was transformed into Jazz City USA, New Orleans North, New York City’s little sister, and the Roaring Twenties’ Paris reborn. The Rochester International Jazz Festival, held from June 20-28, drew hundreds of thousands fans from across the country and beyond, with the promise of nine more nights of more eclectic music emerging from every street corner across a few city blocks.
Four outdoor stages provided ample free music nightly, drawing big dance-ready crowds. Additionally, people with club passes dangling around their necks scurried about, piecing together their own personalized schedule from a matrix of ten different venues with early and late sets at each. At the center of it all stood the majestic Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater which showcased five different separately ticketed headliner shows, from the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Thundercat and The Wood Brothers…