A Hot Time In The North Country

I have fewer opportunities to hear live jazz when I’m at my summer place in Potsdam, New York, a trade I’m willing to make to escape Lancaster’s heat and humidity. I’m not too far, though, from Ottawa, Montreal, and Burlington, Vermont, all of which have jazz festivals from early June going through about the first week in July. To be sure, the bulk of these festivals’ offerings are of a more modern genre than I like or that would be appropriate for this paper, but I nonetheless scan each event’s website for performers I would make a trip to see. Ottawa is 80 miles away, Montreal is a little over 100, and Burlington is 120 if using a Lake Champlain ferry, otherwise 140. Bria Skonberg I arrived in Potsdam too late for Burlington, but Ottawa and Montreal offered two artists who caught my attention. One was my old friend Bria Skonberg, who appeared with a quartet on June 21, the first day of Ottawa’s run. This time all her sidemen were new to me. Chris Pattishall was on piano; I had heard of him but never seen him. On bass was Devin Starks and a last-minute sub on drums was Greg Ritchie, who was local and also appearing with another band. They only met him two hours before the set. Bria’s regular drummer, Darrian Douglas, was stuck in New Orleans when his flight “experienced difficulties.” Bria herself was a bit under the weather, as I only learned when I spok