A black marker is streaked across the page in long, fluid lines, flushing out the lid of a grand piano. Lighter brown, sideways strokes depict a bass, one that a man in a suit and glasses looks to be hugging. A black blotch marks the bass drum, next to smaller drums that seem to be suspended in air.

John Nugent is finally putting his mouth where his money is. Throughout the first nine Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival years, there have been many fleeting sightings of Nugent with his native instrument, the tenor saxophone.

We do not know if Paul Dodd was awarded any perfect attendance certificates while in elementary school. Knowing Dodd, the answer is: probably not. But we have the evidence of his perfect attendance at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Photographs he's taken, documenting every year of the event, now celebrating its 10th anniversary.

The fast ferry was on the drawing board, Eastman Kodak Co. was the city's biggest employer and the Rochester MusicFest was still a big deal when jazz trumpeter Chris Botti took the stage at the Eastman Theatre in 2002. The Rochester International Jazz Festival was just two nights old.

Multitasking. We all do it, to varying degrees of success. Cooking while watching television. Listening to music while driving. Emailing while holding a conversation. Kate Davis is an expert multitasker. However, her multitasking extends far beyond the day-to-day tasks — it's her art. She's a singer, who also happens to play the upright, acoustic bass.

Rochester and upstate New York have a bunch of native sons and daughters playing at this year's Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival If jazz guitar is the theme of this year's jazz festival, saxophonists could be the subtheme. Hooray!

6:30 pm, Cedar Walton Trio · Xerox Auditorium at Xerox Plaza ...