jazz on the pond

Some posts require a little more work than others. Narrowing down what pictures to post out of a gazillion, researching the facts, writing it up, remembering it all. Last year I went on an awesome trip to Savannah GA with friends. I wanted to post all about it, but it was a lot of work, and time passed and I never posted.

B and I went to this awesome event on Saturday July 9th. Time is passing again and my post is again delayed but I don't want to not post about it simply out of laziness. I had such fun and it was an interesting and admirable event and I wanted to take time to do it justice. Justice aside....here is a bit of our experience.

Jay texted B one day that he had a friend who was attending this event. Jay thought it might be something that B and I would enjoy since it involves jazz in Rochester and B and I have attended the Rochester International Jazz Festival several times.

I was sitting on the patio when B came out and told me about the text. He asked if I would be interested in going because he knows that jazz is not really my favorite form of music. Not pure jazz anyway. I've found that there are many types of jazz I do appreciate since attending the jazz festivals. Nordic jazz is quite ethereal and unique for instance. Funny....I've read that jazz and metal are music genres appreciated by very intelligent people because they are so intricate and based on math. I guess I'm a dummy. So anyway he told me a little about it and I said I would be interested. So he went in to look at the website and find out about tickets prices etc.

He returned a few minutes later and said that tickets were $150 each so he guessed that ruled out going. I responded that we never go anywhere on vacation and you could easily spend $100 on a nice dinner and this included dinner and sounded like an experience on top of it.....and it was for a very good cause....something dear to his heart.



So this is what it is all about. Five years ago David Belasco, an entrepreneurship professor at USC Marshall School of Business and former resident of Rochester, NY, purchased a piece of property along Cranberry Pond, an inlet of Lake Ontario in Rochester. He built a lovely beach house on this property for himself and his four siblings to use. He hung a picture of his mother, Doris, in the entryway. She had loved music of all kinds especially jazz. To honor her and her love of music he thought it would be a dream to have a party at this property for family and friends and invite some of the best musicians in the US to play on his back porch. The first year this is exactly what happened. But then the siblings thought maybe they should turn this into a fundraiser for a cause. What better cause than the Eastman School of Music in Rochester? The second year they invited the public. This year, the fifth, they presented the school with $50,000 for scholarships for Eastman students.

We checked in at the front of the house and received our bands for our wrists. Only 400 tickets were sold as this was all they could accommodate on the lawn. We found out at this point that there had been $100 tickets available. Our extra $50 got us closer seats, an area to sit down while we we eating and unlimited champagne that was not available in the bars in the the other areas.



I quickly took advantage of the champagne. What can I say? I love the stuff. At this point we had an interesting chat with a woman and her college aged son who bought her a ticket for her birthday. He was working an internship with Constellation Brands premium wines, beers and spirits.



The stage and sound system were impressive.



I feel bad that I can't remember this kid's name. I believe he just finished his freshman year at the school and had already won some national award.



The first set of music was jazz musicians from the Eastman School. We had seats close to the stage...the first row behind those reserved for family and friends. Here's me enjoying the music On Cranberry Pond.



the audience behind us



I wanted to see inside this house so much. I could see that it was beautiful inside when I peeked in the windows. It was off limits to the general public.




one of several open bars set up around the house

All the wine and champagne was donated by Three Brothers Winery. All the beer and water and food was donated by Wegmans. The tents and chairs were also donated.



After the first set of music we broke for dinner. This is the food line.



My delish Wegmans dinner....Frenched chicken, pesto pasta with grape tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash, Spanish rice with black beans and green olives and Caesar salad.



The second set of music featured Everette Harp, a smooth jazz sounding saxophonist.



This is David Belasco on the right and what do you think?......maybe a son or nephew on the left.



After the second set of music, cake and cookies were served. The cake was decorated like the house on the pond. I think I got a little of the grass or seaweed on my piece. Then thank yous to all the musicians and businesses that had donated. David talked about how he wished they had Wegmans in California. How everyone he meets anywhere....if they were originally from the WNY area.....misses Wegmans. One of the musicians said he had written a song about it and performed Waiting, Waiting on Wegmans to Expand to the tune of Waiting, Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer. It drew much applause.



And then the last set of music. Philip Bailey....the lead singer for Earth Wind and Fire. He performed eight or ten of their hits accompanied by his very own son, Everette Harp and the Eastman students. They sounded exactly like Earth Wind and Fire. Philip seemed a little surprised and very impressed by the quality of the musicians. He remarked that he had the A Team playing with him. Some of my favorites they performed were September, Shining Star, The Twelveth of Never, After the Love Has Gone. Got to Get You Into My Life, Boogie Wonderland and Nature Boy.

After his performance the scholarship check was presented and fireworks filled the air. I left happy and fulfilled. I had had an experience and been a tiny part of making a difference.