How Rochester Jazz Fest Transforms The City Into A Jazz Mecca Every Year

Beginning this Friday, June 23, through July 1, Rochester, NY becomes the Mecca of jazz. Founded 21 years ago, the annual Rochester Jazz Fest has become a huge destination for both fans and elite artists.

This year’s stacked bill is proof of the respect the festival commands from musicians. Among the numerous acts appearing this year include Bonnie Raitt, Pat Metheny, Samara Joy, Keb’ Mo’, Trombone Shorty, Gabrielle Cavassa, Matthew Whitaker, Nellie McKay, Bruce Hornsby and too many more to mention,

How did Rochester become a jazz haven one week out of every year? “I started the festival in 2002 from Brooklyn. I’ll give you a little back story on how this event became what it was. I was producing tours in Europe and running the Stockholm Jazz Festival in Sweden. I’m not from Rochester originally, I’m from Eastern Canada,” co-producer/artistic director John Nugent says. “But I’m a jazz musician who moved to New York City to play. What we have here has really developed over the years to kind of a broad scope of all kinds of creative improvised music. As a musician, I don’t book anybody I wouldn’t want to play with is my motto. There’s a certain level of artistry that I expect.”

For the rest of the story, Rochester native Sage Bava and I spoke at length with co-producer/executive director Mark Iacona about this year’s festival, how the pair became so devoted to Rochester, some of their past favorite moments and more.

Steve Baltin: For you, have there been one or two success stories to come out of this that you’ve enjoyed most of the people who’ve come back?

Marc Iacona: It doesn’t happen without a team of people, right? John ‘s a professional musician, tour the world, but we’re both musicians. I’m in a business that’s here that afforded me to get involved in this thing and make sure that it stayed here after the first year. But we have a mutual respect for the music and musicians and the life of a musician. So we know what kind of a life it is and if we can have a platform for people to be exposed, not only to a community, but this does springboard their confidence level to be able to go off and play. So for me, it’s not one or two, it’s the amalgamation of these 20 years of seeing these conversations. Somebody will come back and say, “Man, thanks for that gig.” Or I played with so-and-so. And because of that gig here, I got to talk to somebody else.” We have these levels in my opinion of artistic presentation, so you have headliners. And the reason we do those headliners and some people will criticize us for programming. And say, “Why do you have Bonnie Raitt? Why do you have James Brown? Why do you have Earth Wind and Fire? Why do you have… ” Because we’re trying to bring the community together and the free stuff when we have Southern Rock or R&B, the reason we’re trying to do that is to bring the community down that says, “I don’t like jazz.” And the next thing, they walk into one of these venues after one of the free shows and pay their 30 bucks. Next thing you know, they’re like seeing somebody perform and go, “I had no clue that this is what the jazz festival’s about.” So there’s all these different experiences that I consider as successes, but the byproduct from many of the musicians are, this is either a platform to takeoff for them as being a side person in that band, or actually their band themselves.

Sage Bava: I wanted to ask about the connection with Scandinavia, because I grew up in Rochester and I know how different the city treats their musicians. How has it been working with governments that advocate for the arts?

Iacona: That comes from relationships. So John was involved very much in the Stockholm Jazz Festival as their artistic director for many years. So, because of connections and through government grants to get them here, we provided them to be able to play here and compensate them. We were one of the first people to really do that. And there are ones that get it and ones that don’t get it. And I think there are different parts of the world that just attract toward different genres of music. So if the money’s there, they’re going to find a way to help promote that. And they want it, in the right way, to be able to have that level of talent in their surrounding area. We had a friend that went to Dubai before COVID, he now lives in Iceland. Dominic, he worked with us in production. He and his wife made an investment for like a 10-year period because they had people that were interested in saying, “Bring the music here.” They had a dinner club that was set up.And they built a structure and everything, and for 10 years, they ran kind of a dinner club with entertainment in Dubai and there was money there because they wanted it to happen. Passion makes it happen, but the finances behind it, if you want to do it right, need to be there. And when you get down to that part, when you look for sponsorship, it’s a huge essential part of us being able to be proactive and get things done ahead of time and have flexibility and have options. But the people involved supporting you have to find relevance in it. And that’s why I really, when I bring sponsors on and talk to them, I’m not a hard sell. My thing is that “Here’s what we are, here’s what this does, this is what it provides for the community. Do you find value in it? And how are you going to activate? And how are you going to use this to achieve what you want to?” In our community, because we’re only about a million people, it’s not about market share. To me, it’s about community support and them wanting to attach themselves to something that’s perpetuating the culture, enhancing the culture, the quality of life for those nine days. For us, we like to be able to say it creates between eight and $10 million worth of economic impact in a positive way. For those sponsors, it’s more we want to be part of something that’s creating a vitality and also bring in a free element. And what’s the educational? What are you giving back? So we’ve started a scholarship that we’ve given over half a million dollars back to, we’ve started an endowment. We have education with workshops for kids of any ages. There’s ways that sponsors want to be involved, And this is for the artists as well, Jazz musicians like to be able to interact. The cool part is what happens here is not only at the jam session, there are people that play sets and they’ll say, “Oh, my friends over there. I’m gonna go over and Kilbourn and catch it. I’ve got a 45 minute wait before my next set. I’m gonna go catch somebody over here at Kilbourn.” And then they catch up and they see each other. Sometimes some people ask many people to sit in and pop up and play in the set. That’s a bonus for our club pass patrons when that happen. What happens here is really a flow of energy that in my opinion is centralized.

Bava: What do you attribute your success to primarily?

Iacona: So, I think the reason this really works is we love the music. John’s history in touring. These people are here to play and the musicians feel that energy. And we know that there are only 60-minute sets. And sometimes what happens is our artists will go longer because they don’t want to stop playing. It’s not about getting paid for the gig. And by the way, we pay all our musicians before the gig starts or before the second set. They’re not used to that. I think we’re unique in that way because we care. And we also, we both love music and everybody knows that. So, I think the success has been a combination of what goes on behind the scenes leading up to the festival. Jean and Amanda help protect their brand, but at the same time, they help promote the brand and they also reach out, work with our sponsors and they work with the artists.

Baltin: Was there one moment for you early on in the festival where you saw the word start to spread, and how different musicians would speak to each other about it?

Iacona: Yeah, and it was coming from the people in line waiting to go into it. They said, “I hope I get invited back.” Some of them know who John and I are, but not all of them. So they’re getting the gig. And these are the individuals. Let’s just say we were the side people and we were playing. They’re the ones talking too, saying “I’d love to be able to play this festival ’cause of the way you’re treated.”

Baltin: Talk about the role Rochester plays in this festival.

Iacona: This is the community. They always say never forget where you come from. My father always said to me, because we came from nothing, “Remember the people that have helped you along the way.” Well this is the community that’s helped me along the way to be involved in something like this but also to perpetuate a business that started back in 1962. So I’m never going to give up on this town as long as I’m alive.

Baltin: Talk about the jam session because that is always such an integral part of any jazz festival.

Iacona: Mike Cottone, a really good trumpet player out in L.A. is going to head up our jam session. He’s toured with the Eagles, he’s been with everyone. They had the horn section. He’s the kind of guy that can have any one of the greats come in that are in their 70s and 80s and play. The only effect I had on him is I told him never put yourself above anybody. You’re talented but make sure you network and make sure that in the moment with somebody they realize you’re the only one with them and you care and you’re not looking over them to see who’s over there to get to. And never forget that you were struggling at one time. But in the jam sessions, he can run those jam sessions.

Baltin: The jam session, is that open to the public or no?

Iacona: Yeah, it’s free. It’s free, no cover charge.

Bava: Is there a moment for you that really stands out?

Iacona: Well, I knew we were here to stay, like you made it, I was on Gibbs Street ’cause it gets packed here and I just stopped and I just sat and leaned against the wall and I forgot who was playing. And I went, “Oh my God. I’m watching people that don’t even know each other. They’re dancing, they’re singing, they’re talking to each other. They’re just hanging out and it’s like almost they forgot about all the BS of the day,” type of thing. And now I do that, I force myself to do that where I’m going to just sit for like 10 minutes and not necessarily even listen to music. I’m just watching people. And that’s really the cool part about it. When people come up to you and say, “Look at, I went to this festival with my mom or my dad, for somebody who lost her last year, but we, this is the one thing that we did every single year.” When somebody comes up and says, “We got engaged at it.” So I get this email. And he said, “I met my girlfriend at the festival 10 years ago. I want to propose to her at the festival. I’d like to do it.” Can we do that all the time? No. But the serendipity of that, of how many people can say that I proposed to my wife at a jazz festival type of thing, right?

Baltin: Who’s the dream artist to play?

Iacona: This is my opinion, John will tell you something different. If we’re going to talk about the Club Pass Series, it’s like, who haven’t we had yet that is upcoming in the Club Pass Series? John has conversations with Quincy Jones’ Group and Quincy Jones has some artists that we’ve gotten that he’s liked to involve. This is the first time I could get Pat Metheny because he had been in Europe or Asia, I think, usually during the summer and he was just never available. We were talking about Keith Jarrett the other day, of course he’s had the stroke. So he has not been available. And some of the people that are dream people are people that are a little bit now not wanting to tour like the Van Morrisons of the world. Do we want them? We’d love to have them. They’ve never been in this community. So, that’s a great question. It’s a tough question too, ’cause it depends on what venue are we talking about? The Club Pass Series or over there. And Herbie Hancock, I just love.