Trombone Shorty brings Jazz Fest to a rousing close

At Max of Eastman Place, Sasha Dobson took the stage for the final evening of the 23rd edition of the Rochester International Jazz Festival. The venue is situated directly between the titular restaurant’s seating areas, making it the perfect place for both dinner and a show—a bit of advice as you plan your 2027 Jazz Fest agenda. 

Dobson entered in a fashionable jumpsuit reminiscent of Rosie the Riveter and encouraged the crowd to take photographs as they pleased, contradicting the festival guidelines. The band followed quickly onto the stage: Sasha’s brother Smith Dobson on drums, Rob Jost on bass guitar, and Charlie Burnham on violin. In her brief introduction, Dobson announced her soon-to-be-released record, which she played for a section of her set. 

Whether it was an emulation of Dobson’s upcoming album or a select stylization for the night, the act leaned heavily into a smoky Americana sound. If anything, it sounded closer to a lighter rock act than a jazz act, which was a nice change of pace, given Dobson’s multi-genre discography. Dobson’s voice was chiffon-like, with quick dips into her deeper and more resonant register. The band followed suit with twangy bass and softly brushed snare—a sound almost reminiscent of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Californication.”

Overarchingly, the set was gentle, with Dobson’s croon and wispy instrumentals shifting the afternoon venue to a hazy late-night jazz bar. Her lyricism was tastefully environmental—a touch of the breeze, the smell of sweet air—and was similarly emotionally stirring.

While the Dobson siblings kept a steady pace on vocals and drums, Burnham’s violin served as a well-needed pickup in the waves of the set. His technique landed on anything except for traditional, swirling a mix of dainty fingerpicking and wah-pedal-washed chords. The instrumentation built to an oceanic feeling at points under Burnham’s command. For a seasoned performer like Dobson, the foray into a more contemporary and experimental sound was well-suited and leaves plenty of anticipation for her upcoming work.

Meanwhile, at the Jazz Street Stage, DK Harrell put on a showstopping performance. Turning up in a sophisticated gray suit and tie, Harrell more than held his own as the night’s sole ambassador for the blues in a festival known for its jazz performers. Harrell’s songs are an undeniably modern iteration of blues tradition. Being a young man in a genre often dominated by old-timers, his lyrics on songs like “Vibe With Me” offer a fresh take on a genre partly known for its narrow subject matter, with the same raunch vital to the blues sound.

With a wood-finished guitar plated in gold, Harrell led his band in an all-out musical assault on the audience. Harrell’s guitar squealed, his voice rang, and he courted the crowd with hilarious stories and a quick wit on the mic. As he sang, he danced around, gyrating his hips and even hitting a smooth moonwalk, which the crowd returned with a roar. Howling to the backbeat of his backline, he put on a real showstopper for Jazz Street.

Harrell’s band didn’t let him get all the attention. One swinging blues after another, they were putting it all out there and serenading us with their decadent blues. 

Cinnamon Jones took first bat at the Wegmans Stage at Parcel 5 for the evening, joined by instrumentalists playing on everything but the kitchen sink: trumpet, saxophone, guitar, drum set, auxiliary percussion, bass, and keys. She performed for a sizable yet primarily seated crowd (the food-truck dinner rush at Parcel 5 cannot be overstated), which proved slightly at odds with her high-energy ambitions. 

Jones ushered in her set with a declaration to party, a spoken and musical refrain throughout her hour and 15 minutes on stage. The set sported a selection of vamped-up renditions of funk and country pieces, including Keb’ Mo’s “Put a Woman in Charge” (accompanied by an unfortunately less-than-successful sing-along), Samuel Francis Smith’s “America”, and a tastefully transitioned “Sweet Child of Mine” (Guns N’ Roses). 

Alongside Jones’ sugary sweet vocals and rich tone, the band followed suit with a triumphant hullabaloo. Each artist took ample time to strut their stuff with daisy-chained solos, forming a colorful array of trumpet whoops, resonant hand-drum patterns, and crunchy rock riffs on guitar. 

The latter half of the set had two primary requests from Jones: to continue partying and to get up and dance. It took a little bit of convincing, but eventually she had Parcel 5 swinging and shaking along. It’s for this reason that her status as an opener was a bit unfortunate; individually, Jones had the gusto and grooves to move Parcel 5 like Moses and the Dead Sea. But, when you’re camping out for Trombone Shorty, the final act, you’ve gotta save a bit of energy.  

That said, the close of her act was nothing less than a jamboree. Audience members were pulled up to the stage to bust a move, the musicians tooted and hooted with unstoppable joviality, and Jones herself sang it to the highs like nothing else in the world mattered. 

Between acts, the Prime Time Brass marching band even took to the crowds as a surprise “halftime show.” If you’ve never seen a marching band funnel through a security entrance mid-tune, I’ll tell you—it’s quite the comedic act. Donning bright red baseball jerseys and spanning across a wide range of ages, the group played through a few big band and rock classics (including Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”) before snaking out of Parcel 5 for the night.

At the Wegmans Stage at Parcel 5, Trombone Shorty was the final headliner. The acclaimed multi-instrumentalist made his debut with the festival in 2010 and has since become a festival staple. All of Rochester seemed to come out for Shorty. The crowd was packed, with no one wanting to miss what he had in store this year, and he didn’t disappoint.

His set was a pure 90-minute bacchanal of Latin jams, thunderous trumpets, and more. Shorty’s energy was infectious, and the crowd enthusiastically swayed to and fro like an ocean, heeding his every command. Shorty made sure to close out the festival with a real party. Galavanting around, he covered every square inch of the stage. That still wasn’t enough space for Shorty, who took his trombone into the audience to blast out some solos at close range. 

Not only did Shorty show his total control over the trombone, but he also played a fierce drum solo, threw in some rocketing trumpet, and sang. He worked as his own hype man too, calling out to the mass of concertgoers regularly to make sure the party kept its riveting energy. If he wanted, Shorty could probably pull off a solo set and be just as astonishing. But lucky for us, he graced us with a stage full of all-star musicians. 

The band’s guitarist was the most impressive. His choppy rhythm stabs on top of the bass fueled the crowd’s dancing to the very end. When he soloed, he brought forth slithering flurries of Latin guitar and wailing high. Again, he was only seconded by Shorty himself, who brought the audience to a complete standstill with a note he held on a trumpet for over three minutes. When it finally ceased, the crowd erupted with amazement. 

When Shorty and the band finished up, the crowd gave them one last screech of adoration, to let him know he better come back soon. Afterward, an exodus occurred as fans found their way to their cars, trying to beat the traffic. But the music lingered.

For the Beacon’s Jazz Fest coverage, click here.

Alex Holly is a Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s second cohort. Brodie Martin, a recent graduate of Nazareth University, is a member of the Oasis Project’s third cohort.

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