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I went to high school in Canandaigua, NY, a bedroom community for the larger city of Rochester. Today’s paper featured an article on The Jazz Session, which you can read here in PDF format:

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BOA Editions, one of the brightest spots in Rochester’s cultural life, is moving to new digs. This is from this morning’s Democrat & Chronicle newspaper:

BOA Editions moving to North Goodman Street

Local publishing company BOA Editions will be moving to the Neighborhood of the Arts.

It is moving from 260 East Ave. to the Anderson Alley building, 250 N. Goodman St. The new address will be effective April 30.

Poet and editor Peter Conners from BOA Editions was a guest on The Jason Crane Show last year. You can check out that episode for an interview with Peter and poetry from a number of great poets.

A group of music bloggers have come together to raise money for a good cause. You can win cool prizes and do a good deed all at the same time. To find out more, visit bloggersforacure.com or click the image below:

I haven’t written anything yet about the death of my favorite writer, Kurt Vonnegut. He’s such a foundation stone in my life, my humor (such as it is), and my appreciation of the world around me. I’ll add to these thoughts soon, but for now let me say:

So it goes.

Show #6: MISHA PIATOGORSKY. Jason Crane interviews pianist Misha Piatigorsky. Misha fled with his family from Russia during the height of the Cold War and ended up in New Jersey. A classically trained pianist, he discovered jazz and fell in love with the music, ending up at Rutgers studying with Kenny Barron. He won the 2004 Thelonious Monk Composers Competition. He’s also the pianist and musical director for singing legend Mark Murphy. Misha’s new trio with bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Ari Hoenig is a fusion of hip-hop grooves with his non-traditional jazz compositions. Their new record is Uncommon Circumstance (MISHAMUSIC, 2007). :Listen to the show.

Show #7: WAYNE ESCOFFERY. Jason Crane interviews saxophonist Wayne Escoffery about his life and his new album, Veneration (Savant, 2007). Escoffery was born in London and moved to New Haven, Connecticut as a child. He sang in a boys choir and then got introduced to the saxophone. Choosing the latter, Escoffery moved into the orbit of legendary saxophonist Jackie McLean, eventually attending McLean’s Artist Collective and his jazz program at the Hartt School of Music. In addition to his own band, Escoffery currently performs with the Mingus Big Band, Tom Harrell, Ben Riley’s Monk Legacy Septet and in a band with his wife, singer Carolyn Leonhart. Listen to the show.

Show #8: DAVID TORN. Jason Crane interviews David Torn, a man of many talents. He’s a film composer whose music you’ve heard in Friday Night Lights, Believe In Me, and The Order. He’s also contributed tones and textures to films like this year’s Best Picture winner, The Departed, and the 2000 hit Traffic. Before his film days, he was known for daring musical collaborations on albums such as Cloud About Mercury (ECM, 1987). And he’s worked as a guitarist and/or producer for everyone from David Bowie and David Sylvian to John Legend and Tori Amos. David Torn has returned to ECM after two decades for prezens (ECM, 2007), an adventurous record that features Tim Berne, Craig Taborn and Tom Rainey. Listen to the show.

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Ornette Coleman won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar, 2006). In a rare move, the Pulitzer committee chose someone who wasn’t nominated.

NPR has the story and audio selections from the album.