Rochester Jazz Festival lineup for Saturday, June 22: 3 shows to check out

Each day of the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival provides a bounty of choices for music lovers. Here are some options. For a full lineup and venue and time information go to rochesterjazz.com. Also, these choices are focused on the club venues.

Rochester Jazz Festival 2024 lineup: Recommendations for Saturday, June 22

Janet Evra

The festival never disappoints with the female jazz vocalists it finds from around the world. Of course, there are those like Norah Jones and Samara Joy (she's back again this year) who become household names, but each year brings surprises who may be unknown to many. Janet Evra, a vocalist and bassist, will be sampling her new album, "Meet Me In Paris," and its French-themed tunes. I don't know much French, but it is the perfect language for jazz renditions and Evra is the perfect purveyor of the music.

aRT Trio

I'm going out on a bit of a limb here, unaware of much of this trio's music I admit, but intrigued by what I've heard and read. Caveat: I like sampling the out-of-the-ordinary during the festival. (The unconventional Nordic shows that, pre-Covid, were a part of each festival weren't everyone's cup of tea, but many of my most memorable festival moments were at those shows.) Julian Thayer, the trio's bassist, is a Fulbright Fellow who researches music and psycho-acoustics, a scientific look at how we and our brains digest and interpret music. Science aside (though I'm also intrigued about that), this trio's work has been called, in one publication, more "a conversation than a composition." I'm ready to listen regardless.

More: 'I can't believe this is Rochester.' Jazz fest jam sessions bring out stars, thrills

The Brain Cloud

With a true Tin Pan Alley essence to the music, this group creates a sound that seems as if it should be pouring out from a crackling static-y Victrola radio from an earlier generation. The music is fun, bouncy and lively, but those joyful sounds are the creation of stellar musicianship. The exuberant vocals of Tamar Korn are the perfect fit for The Brain Cloud and its genre journeys that visit swing, bluegrass and blues. (The Brain Cloud returns Sunday, June 23.)

— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and ... Jazzfest. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester Jazz Fest lineup for Saturday, June 22: 3 shows not to miss