you; there’s a whole lot of swing in there, too. It’s going to get sweaty up in this joint. (FD) bigsamsfunkynation.com Bill Dobbins Plays Ellington [ JAZZ ] Bill Dobbins has a well-earned reputation as a top-notch big band director. In Rochester he currently serves as director of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and the Eastman Studio Orchestra. In Europe jazz fans know him as the long-time conductor of the WDR Big Band (1994-2002) and occasional conductor of the famed Metropole Orchestra. But when his hands are not busy conducting large ensembles, they are gliding over a piano keyboard with equal measures of facility and
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dexterity. Dobbins, who has played with Clark Terry, Red Mitchell, Phil Woods, and Peter Erskine, is an expert on Duke Ellington, whose oeuvre he’ll be exploring at the XRIJF. (RN) esm.rochester.edu/faculty/dobbins_bill Clinton Curtis Band [ ROCK ] Clinton Curtis is all over the map, literally and musically. His parents owned the legendary dancehall Club Kokua on Negril Beach, where a young Clinton got to hang with reggae greats like Gregory Isaacs and Desmond Dekker. At 17 Curtis moved to the Big Apple to pursue acting before settling back on music. If it weren’t for his rock leanings, you might think he’s a jammer. Everything is in there, but it isn’t blended into an indiscernible puree. It still rocks. (FD) clintoncurtis.com Jack Allen Big Band [ BIG BAND ] Legendary band leader Jack Allen shuns the standard-issue podium, opting to sit in the continues on page 30 ROCHESTERCITYNEWSPAPER.COM 27