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Rochester Tourism

Jazz Festival rocks in Rochester

By Lorraine Wright
Friday, May 19, 2006

Jazz Fans will be pleased to know that the Rochester Festival is back with a bang. Canada Free Press was able to meet up with John Nugent, Jazz Artist and Artistic Director of the festival, where we discussed the well anticipated Jazz Festival.

Musician and Producer, John Nugent began his musical journey at a fairly young age. With his family being firmly involved with classical music, he was able to establish his love for music. His first encounter with the saxophone was at the age of ten. He recalls stepping into his first band class, where there were two saxophones left. When getting his hands on it he automatically fell in love with the sound and feel of it. His talent grew and he learned how to play all four members of the saxophone family and became an astounding Jazz artist in Canada. Also in 2000, John Nugent became the founder of the Rochester Jazz Festival.

With this year's upcoming Jazz Festival in Rochester, there are many tasks to be done before the festival begins. Choosing the musicians that are going to play is one of the major tasks that John Nugent has to do. He describes it as starting off with a blank canvas, much as an artist would, and mixing a variety of musicians to get different styles of jazz that will appeal to a larger, diverse audience.

With the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, John also created a theme for the festival that promoted a New Orlean's culture and commemorates the Katrina victims. Indeed, many New Orlean's musicians, such as Woody Allen and the New Orleans Jazz Band, will be performing in the festival along side other jazz artists such as: Jams Brown, Phil Woods, Wayne Shorter Quartet, Etta James and many more. There will also be many booths set up with New Orleans cuisine so that the audience can enjoy a taste of New Orleans.

The festivities will begin on June 9th and will continue until June 17th. There will be hundreds of talented jazz musicians performing, and many great booths to see. Take part in the festivities and get a feel of Rochester.

Lorraine Wright is a co-op student from North Albion Collegiate Institute.