In memoriam: Eric Jackson 1950-2022
JazzBoston Jazz Jams return in June!
Report: South Bay Jazz Festival at Suffolk County House of Correction (May 5th)
Boston Jazz History Project
Ticket giveaway for JazzBoston members!
New Biography of early Johnny Hodges collaborator, drummer Chick Webb
2023 Mission Hill Arts Festival kickoff: An Exuberant Jazz Experience with Bill Pierce
Peace: The Concert for Eric Jackson
(Photo credit Jean Hangarter)
GBH hosted a moving concert on International Jazz Day, Sunday April 30th in celebration of the life of our friend, noted jazz radio host, and JazzBoston Board member Eric Jackson (1950-2022). The full concert is online and viewable at https://www.youtube.com/live/3S0V5vA1gb0?feature=share.
JazzBoston Jazz Jams Return
(Poster design Cj Kelley)
Our free, open-to-the-public jazz jam sessions return to Zuzu in Central Square, Cambridge, for 1st & 3rd Sundays in May & June. Bring your instrument, come to play, come to hang, come to listen, come to have dinner and drinks! The house band will play a set at 7 pm, and the open jam will follow. Leaders are: May 7 Noah Preminger; May 21 Calvin Limuel; June 4 Noah Preminger; June 18 Brett Walberg.
On Saturday October 7th from 2-4pm, Celebrity Series will bring back Jazz Along the Charles, in which 25 Boston-area jazz ensembles, scattered along the banks of the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, will simultaneously, but independently, perform a single Boston-inspired set list. The curated set lists will include songs inspired by Boston or with a Greater Boston connection that have been created, composed, or popularized by women.
There is a $350 stipend/musician, and ensembles can be comprised of from 1-5 musicians. Applications accepted thru June 2, so apply now! And spread the word!!
Shop JazzBoston Merch!!
There is now a quick and easy way to buy official JazzBoston hats & t-shirts, and to support JazzBoston at the same time!! Thanks to volunteer Nate Aronow and JazzBoston Advisory Council Chair Cj Kelley, we now have an official online store hosted by the fine folks at Bonfire. Browse and shop at
https://www.bonfire.com/store/shop-jazz-boston!
JazzBoston membership is now free, and open to all members of the Boston-area jazz community, including musicians, audiences, venues/presenters, and jazz media!
In an effort to encourage everyone to participate and eliminate any financial barriers, there is no charge to become a JazzBoston member. Whether you are already a subscriber or were a past member, if you’d like to continue your support of, and advocacy for, the Boston area jazz community, we strongly encourage you to sign up again for free JazzBoston membership.
https://mailchi.mp/jazzboston.org/membership-sign-up-form
Donations are still accepted in order to assist with ongoing JazzBoston expenses. You can donate at:
https://jazzboston.org/get-involved/donate/
JazzBoston Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations to JazzBoston Inc. are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
Boston Jazz History Blog:
Alan Dawson: Boston’s House Drummer
Boston jazz historian Richard Vacca’s Boston Jazz Chronicles is an amazing and valuable resource. We encourage jazz musicians and fans to check it out.
Vacca’s beautifully maintained and researched blog includes regular features about noted people & places that helped shape the Boston-area jazz scene. The current entry is about drummer Alan Dawson, whose contributions were so influential in Boston and far beyond. Read about him here.
Music Museum of New England:
Serge Chaloff
Child prodigy Serge Chaloff was born in Boston on November 24, 1923. He became “the most expressive and openly emotive baritone saxophonist jazz has ever witnessed,” according to critic Brian Davis in his liner notes for Chaloff’s classic LP Boston Blow-Up! Read a fascinating short biography of Serge Chaloff by D.S. Monahan in this entry on the website of the Music Museum of New England.
Our programs have been funded in part by generous grants from:
