Last night was another fun night at the 2005 Rochester International Jazz Festival. I volunteered at Kilbourn Hall, part of the Eastman School of Music. Kora player Mamadou Diabate and balafon player Balla Kouyate performed two sets of enchanting music. You may know Mamadou from his work with Ben Allison — he appeared on the album Peace Pipe with Ben in 2002.
My highly skilled job at the show was to count the people with a little clicker as they walked in. Just to make me even more superfluous (zing!), there was an Eastman student standing two feet away doing the exact same job. Huzzah!
Later in the evening, I saw Chick Corea with his new band, Touchstone. If I only see Chick once in my life, I’m glad it was last night. This band hearkens back to Chick’s albums like My Spanish Heart, Touchstone, and Friends, some of my favorite Chick recordings. The band was phenomenal.
Many good friends were in attendance throughout the night, too, which was great. It’s so much fun to see all these folks again, renewing some old connections and catching up with good people.
Tonight, I’m working at Kilbourn Hall again for two sets by the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. I also plan to take in a new movie about Miles Davis’s 1970 performance at the Isle of Wight festival. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it.
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