ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The 2024 CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival continues long into the night all nine days of the fest, with jam sessions at Astor on Main inside the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

News10NBC was live at the Hyatt Regency, where the first of nine nightly jam sessions was underway. If you haven’t been to a jam session there, you haven’t fully experienced all of what the Jazz Festival has to offer.”

Trumpeter Mike Cottone took the stage about half an hour into the session. He will host the jam sessions on Fridays and Saturdays. Cottone holds degrees from the Juilliard School and Eastman School of Music and has performed with the likes of Don Henley, Dylan Chambers, and Gwen Stefani.

He’s just one part of the magic that will take place here each night of the Jazz Festival. What makes these jams sessions the place to be: You never know who is going to take the stage each night.

It’s why festivalgoers like Quint Rhodes drove in from Buffalo again this year to catch the jam sessions and enjoy time with his family. “I love jazz music. It’s my favorite. I love it!” he said. “I love it all, I’m here to see Taj Mahal. And after that I’m just going to just walk up and down the street. My son doesn’t live too far from here. Him and his wife are going to meet me here later.”

Along with the music, there is no charge to swing by the Hyatt Regency and check out these jam sessions each night at 10:30 through next Saturday.

Cottone will be back on stage Saturday, and the Bob Sneider Trio will host Monday through Thursday.

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