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Rochester International Jazz Festival Wraps up Seventh Edition with Nine Magnificent Days of Music!

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The Rochester International Jazz Festival's (RIJF) 7th edition delivered another spectacular lineup of music, and set another attendance record drawing more than 125,000 music lovers to downtown Rochester's Jazz Street to hear some of the finest musicians from all over the world to perform.

“What was happening here for nine days was pure magic," said John Nugent, Producer and Artistic Director. “I looked around and saw how happy people were, how much they loved the music and how happy the musicians were to play here... it was exhilarating!"

“From the standing ovations when artists come on stage to standing ovations when they finished playing, there is nothing more inspiring or stimulating to an artist. It fuels their creativity. RIJF fans are truly special and never cease to amaze me. Their appreciation, knowledge and openness brought out the best in people's performances."

“The draw of the music and loyalty of fans certainly overpowered the daily showers and thunderstorms," said Marc Iacona, Producer and Executive Director. “For us to see an increase in attendance under challenging weather conditions is truly amazing. Every show went on. Every artist appeared. And out of almost 250 shows, we had only two or three delays and as soon as the rain stopped we were back on track."

Last year's Festival tallied an attendance record of 121,000. This year, the Festival presented almost 250 concerts in 15 venues including 59 free concerts on three outdoor stages.

Club attendance was up this year over last year in all venues. And with the addition of a new venue, Christ Church, two “Made in UK" concerts were the seed for what could be a broader United Kingdom series next year. Those concerts were supported in part by the Arts Council of England, which sent representatives to Rochester to experience the Festival first-hand.

“First and foremost we focus on the musical integrity of the event because when that works everything else falls in to place," noted Iacona. “But John and I put our hearts and souls into this event because we want to make it a success for Rochester. This is a vehicle that showcases this city's cultural, business and tourism assets. We can't do it alone and we appreciate the support we get from the Mayor Bob Duffy and the City of Rochester, Senator Alesi, County Executive Maggie Brooks, our new Presenting sponsor M&T Bank and all of great sponsors for making a commitment to us so we can create an event that is a signature event for Rochester."

The Festival's trademark eclectic musical menu was matched by its ever-present international diversity that transported fans from downtown Rochester to the streets of Europe, Scandinavia, and South America and beyond. Grateful words of thanks from artists poured forth from the stages in German, Swedish, Hungarian, French, Russian, Finnish accents and more.

Activity at the Jam Sessions at the Rochester Plaza Hotel was as brisk as ever with packed houses nightly and increased participation from musicians including the traditional nightly appearance of Festival Producer and master sax player, John Nugent. Bob Sneider and his Trio welcomed dozens of musicians to the stage from students to this year's festival phenom Jake Shimabikuro.

The Festival's100-plus volunteers, many of whom have been donating their time to the festival for several years, kept things running smoothly manning doors, transporting artists, and selling food, beverages and merchandise.

The Festival once again dedicated special attention to its mission to build the next generation of musicians and music fans. Eighteen high school jazz bands were featured during all nine days of the Festival. The Festival's first-ever Jam Session for Kids was held and Nugent and Iacona presented their annual Jazz Scholarships to three Eastman School of Music (ESM) students to help them pursue their music education. The RIJF/ESM Scholarship was established in 2002.

As for plans for next year, “If we decide to continue to grow we will do so in a very measured fashion," said Nugent. “Demand has kept pace with new offerings. We know people like the ability to move easily from one venue to another and experience the ambiance of discussing the music with friends and taking in many concerts in an evening so we want to preserve that aspect of the festival. Growth is not our primary objective."

“We also want to continue to provide free concerts so that the music is accessible to all and we want to keep prices for ticketed events at a reasonable level. Artistically we want to continue to present a broad spectrum of jazz - which we define as all kinds of creative improvised music - so that we continue to appeal to a diverse audience."

Planning for 2009's festival has already begun. Next year's Festival will be June 12-20, 2009. The Club Pass will go on sale in November and the full artist lineup will be announced in April.

Be sure to visit rochesterjazz.com for complete photo coverage of this year's event.

Thank You Festival Sponsors City of Rochester, M&T Bank, Senator Jim Alesi, Democrat and Chronicle, Eastman School of Music, Rochester Plaza Hotel, Toyota, Mondavi, Constellation Brands, The Community Foundation, Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, Presentation Source, Monroe County, 13WHAM TV, Lake Beverage, Harris Interactive, Mercury Print Productions, Visit Rochester, AdMar, Jet Blue, DownBeat Magazine, House of Guitars, Max of Eastman Place, and SUNY Brockport.

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