The RIJF Club Pass is THE Hottest Ticket in American Jazz! Your 9 Day Club Pass may be used as many times as you wish to attend club pass series shows from June 21-29, 2024! ALL 2024 CLUB PASSES ARE SHAREABLE AND TRANSFERABLE. Share the cost of a pass with a friend! Only 1 person may use a Club Pass to enter Club Pass venues. Arrive early and queue in line. Doors open 30 minutes prior to every club pass show. Access any of over 216 sets of music June 21-29, 2024 at official Club Pass series venues on a first-come first-served seating basis. www.rochesterjazz.com

The RIJF Club Pass is THE Hottest Ticket in American Jazz! Your 3 Day Club Pass may be used as many times as you wish on any 3 days you choose to attend shows from June 21-29, 2024. ALL 2024 CLUB PASSES ARE SHAREABLE AND TRANSFERABLE. Share the cost of a pass with a friend! Only 1 person may use a Club Pass to enter Club Pass venues. Arrive early and queue in line. Doors open 30 minutes prior to every club pass show. Access any of 216 sets of music June 21-29, 2024 at official Club Pass series venues on a first-come first-served seating basis. www.rochesterjazz.com

“The blues is bigger than most people think,” Taj Mahal says. “You could hear Mozart play the blues. It might be more like a lament. It might be more melancholy. But I’m going to tell you: the blues is in there.”Taj is a towering musical figure—a legend who transcended the blues not by leaving them behind, but by revealing their magnificent scope to the world. Quantifying this significance is impossible, but people try anyway. A 2017 Grammy win forTajMo, Taj’s collaboration with Keb’ Mo’, brought his Grammy tally to three wins and 14 nominations, and underscored his undiminished relevance more than 50 years after his solo debut. Blues Hall of Fame membership, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association, and other honors punctuate his résumé.

Growing up in L.A. in the 60’s, Grammy award winning guitarist Lee Ritenour received a rich cross section of exposure to jazz, rock and Brazilian music. From one of his first sessions at 16 with the Mamas and Papas to accompanying Lena Horne and Tony Bennett at 18, his forty year eclectic and storied career is highlighted by a Grammy Award win for his 1986 collaboration with Dave Grusin, Harlequin; 17 Grammy nominations; numerous #1 spots in guitar polls and the prestigious “Alumnus of the Year” award from USC. He has recorded over 40 albums, with 35 chart songs, notably the Top 15 hit “Is It You,” which has become a contemporary jazz radio classic. Joining Lee on his debut performance at RIJF are jazz legends and horn section masters Randy Brecker, Trumpet and BilL Evans, Saxophones

Laufey (pronounced lay-vay) is a Los Angeles-based singer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose transportative jazz songs about young love and self-discovery are filled with wonder and wanderlust. Raised between Reykjavík and Washington D.C. with annual visits to Beijing, the Icelandic Chinese artist grew up playing cello and piano, inspired by her violinist mother, and became hooked on the jazz standards of Ella Fitzgerald after digging through her father’s records. The 23-year-old musician merges these influences in her dreamy tunes, swiftly attracting a Gen-Z audience online after releasing her debut 2020 single “Street by Street” written while she was attending the Berklee College of Music.

The song reached the top of the Icelandic radio charts and caught the eyes of contemporaries like Billie Eilish, Willow Smith, V of BTS, and dodie, who collaborated with Laufey on “Love to Keep Me Warm.” Laufey’s ascent has also included winning Best New Artist in Jazz and Blues at the 2021 Icelandic Music Awards, hosting her own show on BBC Radio 3/BBC Sounds “Happy Harmonies,, and opening the year making her live TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Much like how Chet Baker’s vocal style is often compared to his understated trumpet voicing, Laufey’s rich alto resembles the deep, woody tones of the cello that she played from an early age. She only began writing her own songs in her early 20s, translating her love for Gershwin and Ravel into contemporary jazz that breaks down the barriers between pop and “high-brow” genres, connecting listeners across generations. With the coming release of her new album and set appearances at Newport Jazz Festival and Montreal Jazz Festival later this year, Laufey’s rise shows no signs of stopping.

RIJF is proud to present the incomparable John Oates – An Evening of Songs and Stories!

John is one half of the best-selling duo of all time, Hall & Oates, as well as an accomplished solo artist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The American Songwriters Hall of Fame, recipient of the prestigious BMI Icon Award as well as numerous American Music, MTV awards, and multiple Grammy nominations. Since forming his creative partnership with Daryl Hall in the early 1970s, they have gone on to record 21 albums, which have sold over 80 million units, making them the most successful duo in rock history. They have scored 10 number one records, over 20 Top 40 hits, and have toured the world for decades. Their involvement in the original “Live Aid” concert and the groundbreaking “We Are The World” charity recording have further established them as legendary artists, who have personally and through their music, stood the test of time.

Since embarking on a solo career in 1999, John has recorded seven solo albums: Phunk Shui, 100 Miles of Life, Mississippi Mile, The Bluesville Sessions, Good Road To Follow, Arkansas and most recently Live from Nashville with the Good Road Band. In addition, his 2017 autobiography “Change of Season” released by St. Martin’s press became an Amazon best seller.

This year John and his wife Aimee have partnered with the streaming broadcast service NugsTV and co-producer Drive Entertainment Group to create a virtual celebration of stories and songs called “OATES SONG FEST 7908“. Inspired by a live series of shows that they created in 2010 at the historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, CO.

With her Grammy Award-Winning Verve Records debut, Linger Awhile, 23-year-old Bronx native Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable label. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Anita Baker and Regina King, appearances on the TODAY Show, The Tonight Show w/Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show w/Stephen Colbert, CBS Mornings, MSNBC, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Drew Barrymore, etc., in addition to millions of likes on TikTok — cementing herstatus as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz singing star. In February 2023, Samara Joy took home two GRAMMYs – Best Jazz Vocal Album and the auspicious Best New Artist award. RIJF is extremely proud to present Samara Joy in her inaugural Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre performance!