The Rochester International Jazz Festival has announced the lineup for the inaugural RIJF Innovation Jazz Series at The Theater at Innovation Square in Rochester. The series will run from October to May with monthly performances featuring internationally recognized jazz artists.
The series will begin on October 15 with the New York Voices Farewell Tour. have set the standard for jazz vocal ensembles for nearly four decades. The quartet, comprised of soprano Kim Nazarian, alto Lauren Kinhan, baritone Peter Eldridge and tenor, saxophonist and music director Darmon Meader, was founded at Ithaca College in the mid-1980s. Dubbed “The Four and Only” by Paquito D’Riveria, the group blends four distinct soloists into a unified sound with sophisticated arrangements and vocal precision.
Another quartet comes to The Theater on November 5. Formed in 2000 after a long-running Tuesday night residency at the Smoke Jazz Club in Manhattan, Mike LeDonne’s Groover Quartet has evolved into what critics have called a jazz “dream team.” The band features front man and keyboardist Mike LeDonne, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth.
CONNECTED with bassist Richie Goods and vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu opens the 2027 concerts on January 14. The two met in 2019 during a European tour and, shortly after, Goods produced Lu’s debut album, The Path. During Covid lockdown, Goods and Lu discussed the Black Lives Matter movement and hate crimes against Asians. They wanted to create a project that would unify people and evoke imagery of love and peace. That’s when CONNECTIONS was formed.
Grammy-winning guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli leads the John Pizzarelli Trio, the next performers in the series on February 11. The Trio will perform music by Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim and the Beatles. Pizzarelli has performed on shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan, talk shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Regis Philbin and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He got his start as a radio personality in 1984 and currently co-hosts Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli alongside his wife, Jessica Molaskey.
Canadian-born singer, trumpeter and songwriter Bria Skonberg will perform at The Theater on March 18. The Juno Award-winner has produced three albums, What It Means (2024) followed by two albums in 2026 — BRASS, a trumpet-focused album and vocal-forward album INDIGO. She has sung the music of Aretha Franklin alongside Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, played with U2 at the Apollo Theater, was a featured guest with Jon Batiste, performed at The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour and more.
The Sergio Mendes Band will be performing the iconic sounds of the late Sergio Mendes on April 8, in celebration of the Brazilian musicians’ life and 60 years since the world debut of Mendes’ group, Brasil ‘66. The revitalized ensemble will be led by Gracinha Leporace and feature Katie Hampton on vocals, Leo Costa on drums, percussionist Gibi dos Santos, Kleber Jorge on guitar and vocals, bassist Andre de Santanna, Scott Mayo on keys, saxophone, flute and vocals and pianist Jamieson Trotter. The band aims to continue Mendes’ lifelong mission: to share the Brazilian music with audiences worldwide.
Three-time Grammy winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. and his band, Generation Y, will round out the series on May 6. Owen’s eighth album, A New Beat, with his Generation Y band topped the JazzWeek charts for eight weeks and spawned a Nirvana cover with over 5 million views. Owens is a jack of all trades. He has dabbled as an educator, author, producer and made his Broadway debut in “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical” at Studio 54.
Tickets for individual shows are starting at $47.63 with a full series pass going for $182.43.
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