August 2009

"What's Your Jazz?" TV Series Inspires Gathering of Boston's Jazz Community

Get Ready for a Busy Fall...Save These Dates

Members Connection: Free Tix to Scullers, Regattabar Shows

Freebie Sampler
Volunteer To Table for JazzBoston and Catch Shows Free!
Write Us, Join Us, Please Pass This On...

"What's Your Jazz?" TV Series Inspires Gathering of Boston's Jazz Community

"What's Your Jazz?," a new TV series celebrating Boston's rich jazz culture and the neighborhoods it springs from that's set to launch on Sept. 4 on Boston Neighborhood Network's BNNLive, served as inspiration for an extraordinary gathering of the city's jazz community earlier this month. Over 100 musicians and others whose lives are closely connected to the music were assembled by JazzBoston on Aug. 8 at Wally's Cafe for a first-ever video portrait to introduce the new TV series.

Videographer Roger Tully captured the event in video and still images. A variety of those images are accessible on the "What's Your Jazz?" page of the JazzBoston site along with information about the TV series and an alphabetized list of everyone who attended. And be sure to check out JazzBoston's Facebook page which includes snapshots from the video session and the party that followed.

You can view the 35-second video clip Tully produced to open the new "What's Your Jazz?" TV show when the series makes its debut next Friday at 4 p.m. on Comcast Channel 9 and RCN Channel 15. The show repeats on Sunday at noon. Pianist and band leader Frank Wilkins will host, and vocalists Dominique Eade, Wannetta Jackson, and Semenya McCord will be the first guest artists. Walter Beasley will introduce "Nuts & Bolts," one of the show's regularly recurring segments, and Fred Taylor will introduce the other, "A Boston Jazz History Minute." Look for future co-hosts Jason Palmer and Jeff Turton, and Boston-based artists representing all generations and every part of the city's diverse jazz scene.

Watch the Events Calendar on the JazzBoston site for details about the lineup of future shows.

JazzBoston would like to thank Elynor Walcott and her family and all the others who contributed their time and services to make the event at Wally's possible - Tully Productions, SoulFire BBQ, the WeJazzUp band, and our own board members and volunteers. JazzBoston is an all-volunteer organization; we operate on a skeletal budget with no paid staff. Friends like these make everything we do possible.

Get Ready for a Busy Fall...Save These Dates

Sept. 18-26: The biggest Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival yet will stretch to nine days and showcase more than 20 bands at various clubs and venues around town. The free, six-block-long outdoor extravaganza along Columbus Ave. on Saturday, Sept. 26, will include, among others, Donald Harrison, Joe Louis Walker, Jane Bunnett, and the Defenders of Groove with Melvin Sparks, Ernie Andrews, and Plas Johnson. JazzBoston will be in the middle of the action with a repeat of its popular "Meet Boston's Musicians" program and an interactive media installation where you can see and be part of its multimedia "What's Your Jazz?" campaign to spread the word that jazz is for everyone.

Sept. 26-27: The John Coltrane Memorial Concert is a weekend affair this year themed "The Believer," with the Saturday show at Northeastern University's Blackman Theatre featuring the John Coltrane Memorial Ensemble, and the Sunday afternoon event at Hibernian Hall featuring Stan Strickland, Laszlo Gardony, Yoron Israel, John Lockwood, and others.

Oct. 18-24: New England Conservatory celebrates the 40th anniversary of its jazz studies program with seven nights of concerts, workshops, and free community events called "Hot and Cool: 40 Years of Jazz at NEC." Highlights include two shows at Jordan Hall: the NEC "Jazz Summit" on Oct. 23 showcasing faculty members and alumni Fred Hersch, Gunther Sculler, Ran Blake, Don Byron, Rachel Price, and others, and the Wayne Shorter Quartet and the NEC Philharmonia on Oct. 24.
Members Connection: Free Tix to Scullers, Regattabar Shows

Scullers Jazz Club and the Regattabar are offering JazzBoston members free tickets to several upcoming shows. Scullers is offering five pairs of free tickets to vocalist Tierney Sutton this Friday, Aug. 28, and young guitarist Julian Lage, Sept. 17, both for the 10 p.m. shows. The Regattabar is offering one pair of free tickets to young pianist Eldar and his trio, Sept. 9, and the high octane swing of Kendrick Oliver's New Life Jazz Ensemble, Sept. 12. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. . If you are a JazzBoston member, write to newsletter@jazzboston.org now to claim these tickets.

Restaurant Laura resumes its combination of tasty Cape Verdean cuisine and excellent jazz on Sept. 3 with its "Thursday Night Jazz To Dine By" series featuring pianist John Kordalewski and vocalist Diane Richardson (photo above, left). JazzBoston members receive a 10% dinner discount.

JazzBoston members also receive discounts at the Regattabar, Scullers, The Beehive, Ryles, The Redline Restaurant, the Jazz Club at the Multicultural Arts Center, the Vernissage Restaurant's "Jazz Thursdays at Vernissage," and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's Thursday evening jazz series, "Jazz at the Gardner." For discounts at all these venues, just show your JazzBoston card at the door, or when calling for reservations, give your name and member number.

Freebie Sampler

Concerts in the Courtyard, the Boston Public Library's free summer series, wraps up on Friday, Aug. 28, with the fifth performance presented in partnership with JazzBoston - a unique collaboration of poet Robert Pinsky accompanied by saxophonist Andrew Urbina (photo left) and drummer Rakalam Bob Moses. The concert at the Main Library in Copley Square runs from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and will be introduced by the Library's President, Amy Ryan.

Berklee College of Music's summer series concludes with two free noon outdoor shows in Kendall Square at 300 Athenaeum St., Cambridge: saxophonist Hailey Niswanger on Thursday, Sept. 3, and the Berklee Monterey Quintet featuring guitarist Roy Guzman on Thursday, Sept. 10.

And on Saturday, Sept. 19, the Makanda Project performs at Roxbury Heritage Park from 2 to 3:30 p.m. as part of Roxbury Day.

There are also numerous free or no cover performances, including jam sessions, taking place most nights of the week in area venues. Check the JazzBoston events calendar for listings.

Volunteer To Table for JazzBoston and Catch Shows Free!
JazzBoston is looking for volunteers to staff tables at jazz events in various venues - and catch the music for free at the show you attend! You can help us support and grow the city's jazz scene by gathering addresses for this e-newsletter, signing up new members, and occasionally selling JazzBoston merchandise. We also need volunteers to help staff the JazzBoston booth at the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 26. And if tabling isn't your cup of tea, JazzBoston always need assistance with programs and development activities. Write to dcarlson@jazzboston.org.
Write Us, Join Us, Please Pass This On...

Please tell us what you think of this e-newsletter and what kinds of information you'd like to see included in future issues. Email us at newsletter@jazzboston.org. If you'd like to know more about JazzBoston and consider becoming a member, go to www.jazzboston.org. And pass this e-newsletter along to all the jazz fans and music lovers you know!

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