Jazz Calendar

On Sunday afternoon 9/24, please join us for an afternoon of jazz and community! Your ticket purchase helps support Mandorla Music in our ongoing and evolving work bringing together creative musicians and engaged listeners.

Mandorla Music is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization with no paid staff. All of our work is done by volunteers including our founder Mark Redmond, the rest of our board members, and our event volunteers. We depend on ticket sales, donations and grants to do what we do.

In the coming year, our activities will include:

- Continued collaboration with community partners to present concerts featuring local and touring jazz musicians.

- The proud release of Mandorla Music Records 103, an exciting album of new music by a Boston jazz veteran. We looking forward to sharing more info in time!

- Curating and co-presenting the second annual David Chesnut Jazz Festival at the Eustis Estate.

In all of these efforts, we will center the grounding and uplifting experience of sharing live music together.

The Andy Voelker Quartet will play a set of music while attendees sip and nibble, and then we'll open up the rest of the afternoon for a hosted jam. Andy is one of our favorite players on the Boston scene, and he's a seasoned jam leader/raconteur. He's bringing a top shelf band for this occasion including Maxim Lubarsky on keys, Jef Charland on drums and Steve Langone on drums.

Jam participants are invited as our guests and aren't expected to purchase tickets.

Join Departure Arts for an immersive evening of musical exploration and cosmic vibes with We Are LoFI, presented by Departure Arts. Our sonic departure will take off from Roundhead Brewing Company based in Hyde Park, MA – serving up an unforgettable space to create along with seasonal pizzas and small-batch craft brews.

Be prepared to go on a mesmerizing journey together through earthly beats to celestial melodies that transport us beyond the stars with We Are LoFI, a genre-bending duo comprised of drummer Charles Haynes and keyboardist Mitch Henry, who artistically have been multi-Grammy-nominated, Golden Globe Award winners, and NAACP Image award-winning. This evening of artistic synergy will be fully immersive, conjuring a spectrum of sounds, captivating visuals, and several special guests leaving us both inspired and uplifted.

Don't miss out on this extraordinary experience where we delve into what life is truly made of. Secure your tickets now and be a part of this unique encounter that transcends boundaries and unites us all in the universal language of rhythm and melody.

Doors: 6:30 PM

Performance: 7:00 PM

Generous support provided by the Boston Cultural Council.

David Haas, piano

Kevin Frenette, guitar

Scott Getchell, trumpets

Todd Brunel, bass clarinet & sax

Glenn Dickson, clarinet

Kit Demos, bass & modular synthesizer

Joe Musacchia, drums

At age 25, Canadian vocalist and composer Caity Gyorgy has already won two Juno Awards (Canadian Grammy) and Grand Prize  in the jazz category of the 2021 John Lennon song writing competition. She’s a fabulous young performer with a warm voice who sings swing, bebop and scat. Everyone agrees she’s high on the list of young singers to watch.

She has recorded several albums of original and standard music. On July 9th, 2021 she released “Now Pronouncing”, an EP of original music arranged for large ensemble on Brooklyn based label La Reserve. This project won the JUNO for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the 2022 JUNO Awards. In 2023 she received the JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year for her debut full length LP "Featuring” .

The concert is co-sponsored with West Falmouth Library, a beautifully restored historic library in falmouth on cape cod.

“Elegant.” “An amazing range.” “Continually evolving.” These are just a few of the ways audiences describe Isabel Stover. She uses her richly textured vocals and mastery of phrasing thoughtfully and purposely as a way of delivering an authentic and heartfelt experience, fearlessly deconstructing musical compositions to their emotional core.

At its heart, singing is storytelling with structure. It makes sense, then, that Stover, a vocalist with both a Master’s degree in architecture and credits on a national radio storytelling show, would be skilled at choosing stories to tell and at setting them in the right arrangements.

A consummate professional, Stover is a skilled entertainer and arranger with an ear for unlocking the full potential of jazz and Brazilian standards and beyond. Her debut album, Her Own Sweet World, went to #1 on the charts in the first week of its release.

Stover’s passion for jazz was ignited after landing a spot in the Oakland Jazz Choir, a 30-voice vocal big band in the San Francisco Bay Area, and she began her studies at the California Jazz Conservatory. After moving East to Boston, she continued her education at the New England Conservatory and Berklee School of Music and developed her chops playing professionally amongst New England’s most talented musicians.

Stover delights in building new structures for songs. As a lover of architecture and history, she recalls one of her favorite performances — in the courtyard at Boston Public Library — where the incredible sonic experience created from the music enveloped in the surrounding buildings elevated their breathtaking beauty.

Her carefully crafted repertoire is a collaboration between Stover and her quartet of talented musicians, guitarist Steven Kirby, bassist Mark Poniatowski, pianist Mark Shilansky and drummer Mike Connors.

Walter Trout is the beating heart of the modern blues-rock scene, respected by the old guard, revered by the young guns, and adored by the fans who shake his hand after the show each night. After five decades in the game, Trout is a talismanic figure and part of the glue that bonds the blues community together, at a time when the wider world has never been so divided.

They say you can judge a man by the company he keeps. If that’s the case, then We’re All In This Together is further proof of Walter Trout’s position at the hub of the blues scene. This is the sound of an artist not just getting by with a little help from his friends, but positively thriving, on an album that is sure to light another rocket under his blooming late career. “I’m 66 years old,” considers Trout, “but I feel like I’m in the best years of my life right now. I feel better than I have in years physically. I have more energy. I have a whole different appreciation of being alive, of the world, of my family, of my career. I want life to be exciting and celebratory. I want to dig in. I want to grab life by the balls and not let go, y’know…?”

Arlington Center for the Arts is pleased to be presenting for its third year, the Great Northeast Jug Band Festival on Saturday, September 30, 2-6pm! New England’s ONLY Jug Band Festival will highlight traditions from the 1920’s and 30’s, and the modern evolution of this good-time music. This event is free and open to the public at the Arlington Craft Beer Garden at the Jason Russell House (7 Jason St Arlington, MA 02476). Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy performances by three of the region's best Jug Bands!

Event highlights include an hour-long Jug Band Jam lead by Arlington’s own SqueakEasy Jug Band and an Instrument Making activity, followed by the musical stylings of three of New England's finest jug bands, Amy Kucharik and Friends with Benefits, The Busted Jug Band, and Washboard Slim and the Blue Lights

Arlington Craft Beer Garden is presented by the Jason Russell House and Arlington Historical Society. Craft Beer & Wine By American Beverage and Food By Menotomy Grill & Tavern.

RAIN LOCATION (PERFORMANCE + JAM ONLY): Arlington Community Center in the Main Hall, 27 Maple St Arlington, MA.

Harmony on Green's second season launches Saturday, September 20th with Kemp Harris.

Kemp Harris is a composer, musician, author, actor, and teacher. Born in North Carolina, he taught himself piano and was writing songs at age 14. His album, entitled Edenton, looks back to his roots and features The Holmes Brothers. Kemp has shared the stage with Taj Mahal, Gil Scott-Heron, and Koko Taylor. He has written and performed original compositions for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and WGBH public television.

Adam Osgood is a harp player and spoken word artist who draws his influences from Blues tradition and Beat Poetry. He is comfortable in genres ranging from Folk to Funk and has been playing blues harp since he was 14 years old.

Kemp and Adam met on Star Island, NH in 1985 and have been making music together ever since. Their unique blend of piano, vocals and harmonica is a captivating mixture of seasoned blues, folk and roots influences. It never gets old with these two. They’ve been at it for 38 years and it keeps getting better and better.

Lydia Harrell will open, and is one of Boston’s musical treasures. Her sultry, soulful voice and evocative songwriting have garnered her the attention and respect of the nation’s finest musicians and venues. Jazz and soul is where her heart is; however, Harrell has shown an unbreakable ability to mold herself into any musical situation. Be it performing with the Boston Pops, serenading NBA fans with America’s national anthem, or lending her vocal talents to chart-topping deep house singles by British record label Reel People Music, Harrell’s dedication to extracting the pure essence of a song is unmatched.

“With their diverse repertoire spanning both genres and eras … it is music meant to move people and mountains.” – CBS News-Miami

Praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, The String Queens is a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine! The three women—Kendall Isadore (violin), Dawn Johnson (viola), and Élise Sharp (cello)—have a strong commitment to artistic integrity and music education. With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that take listeners on a rousing musical journey through time and a multitude of musical genres. Based in Washington, D.C., TSQ has been featured in performances at renowned concert halls and venues across America, including Carnegie Hall in New York City and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation’s capital. Notable appearances include a special performance dedicated to Vice President Kamala Harris at the “We Are One” Presidential Inauguration Concert in January 2021 and rendering a spotlight presentation of TSQ’s electrifying arrangement of Harry Styles’s hit song “Golden” for the world

featuring Gabrielle Cavassa
"where are we" tour

Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman makes his much-anticipated return to Rockport! Coming on the heels of where we are, his soon-to-be released Blue Note Records debut, Redman and his stellar band will delight the audience with his intoxicating balance of intellectual curiosity and soulful, melodic heart. The concert will feature a rising female jazz singer, Gabrielle Cavassa with songs representing a region of the U.S. – for example, Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia”, Count Basie’s “Going to Chicago” and John Coltrane’s “Alabama.”

The Concert: The music’s inspiration comes from we hope familiar and definitely significant Free Jazz history: the Giants pianist Cecil Taylor and saxophonist Ornette Coleman!

While Martin expresses his own individuality that we know you will like, what we actually expect, there’s hardly is an avant (Jazz) musician who isn’t influenced by both Cecil and Ornette, regardless of their instrument.

So tonight, no covers, but expect twists and turns in the music that broadens the musician’s and your perspective for some new history.  And to add to the musical freedoms, you can expect a special guest to liven up even further the journey!

This Music (TM) Series is a Boston musician’s initiative to recognize the creativity of many who haven’t been given the stage as leaders, often younger than the Jazz scene veterans; those with acknowledgement who can create a new project and musical ideas; and the unsung “gems” who aren’t in the public’ eye and deserve to be. The emphasis is on the freer forms, the adventurous (to help find a “home”).

Martin Gohary
“My work explores the deep feelings we have that cannot be translated into words.
Finding beauty and comfort with the unknown.”. Martin G

About the Band
Featuring Mike Flanagan and Tim RayThis All-Star quartet will feature unique arrangements of American standards, jazz standards, Bossa Nova and a few musical surprises.

Marshall Wood and Donna Byrne have been performing in New England and beyond since 1982. Each of them has established themselves internationally as superb musicians and performers. Tim Ray has had a storied career as both a great jazz pianist/composer and accompanist. Alto saxophonist Mike Flanagan is both a super talent and responsible for restoring jazz in clubs on the outer Cape.

HONK! Festival 2023 has just revealed their participating bands roster for this year's 18th annual gathering of activist street musicians. Current count is at 33 bands, with this year's participants hailing from all across the United States. With memberships as big as 30 players, many of this year's festival participants will travel some distance (for example, from Georgia, Texas, California, Washington, Colorado) to join in this annual uproariously jubilant purposeful gathering held during Indigenous Peoples Day weekend.

What is HONK! exactly, one might ask? HONK! is a very unique musical movement that first began right here in Somerville back in 2006. Out of those humble beginnings, HONK! has become a recognizable worldwide phenomenon that warrants its own wiki. HONK! is now short-hand for what is fully expressed at honkfest.org/about/, for example:
"At full power, these bands create an irresistible spectacle of creative movement and sonic self-expression directed at making the world a better place. This is the movement we call HONK! striving in a HONK!-like manner to help make the world a better place."

Or perhaps HONK! can also be explained by the cantastoria** entitled "What Is HONK?" that was first revealed at the very first HONK! Festival back in 2006. **This theatrical story-telling performance has been performed at each local HONK! Festival ever since. The link provided is of the 2012 version, which was captured at the opening ceremonies for HONK! 2012, with musical participation by HONK!'s founding and host band, the Good Trouble Brass Band (formerly known as the Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band): youtu.be/qLepBbZBx3w?si=m7El9Le9Vy459LwD.

What HONK! is NOT is all that impatient racket that erupts when stuck in Boston's incessant traffic jams. HONK! is NOT about get out of my way!

The full press release can be found at: https://honkfest.org/wp-content/images/HONKPR_onLetterhead_2023.pdf

While Brazil has enjoyed its share of huge international pop music festivals, the country, without question, is most remembered as the source of Bossa Nova, the smooth, sensuous distillation of the samba, wrought by the composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim with his international mega-hit, "The Girl from Ipanema."

The song became the catalyst for a whole new movement of Brazilian-inspired music. In the United States, the music was closely associated with jazz, especially after Stan Getz recorded this song with Brazilian Astrud Gilberto. It would be accurate to suggest that Jobim, with his wonderfully catchy and romantic music, helped turn the cultural spotlight on Brazil during the 1950s and 1960s when the bossa nova "craze" first took hold, only to go on to become established as a permanent part of the American musical landscape. It has inspired and influenced several generations of performers, ranging from Frank Sinatra to Sting, and beyond. Sinatra, in fact, was once quoted to the effect that "working with my good friend, Jobim, was an absolute joy. We were raised in different countries, but we share the same deep love and respect for great talent . . . musicians, lyricists, composers and fellow singers."

Superstar Seu Jorge is known throughout the globe as an ebullient and funky--'dance your heart out' performer, appearing with large ensembles with electric guitars and percussionists of many persuasions and on big stages such as at The Montreux Jazz Festival and Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.

This show in Boston on October 6, promises to be of a much more intimate nature, where audience members will get to see him in an up-close and much more personal setting.

The idea for this show and the tour started almost by accident at a birthday party! Daniel Jobim, who is Antoniou Carlos Jobim's grandson, was waiting in front of the house where it was to take place, when suddenly Seu Jorge arrived in a taxi. The two musicians had a surprise reunion! A few days later, Daniel received a message: 'Comendador wants to talk to you!'

"Seu Jorge invited me to do a video call. I accepted right away! We are very good friends and I was very happy," explains Daniel about the beginning of the project.

"I was also very happy to begin the tour in Porto Alegre. Porto Alegre is the Jobin capital," he laughs. "Tom's family came from São Gabriel and also Santa Maria. We have many relatives in Porto Alegre," says Daniel.

In the Jobim repertoire, Tom sings about love and of Rio de Janeiro especially in his collaborations with Vinicius de Moraes and many others in songs. "Corcovado," "Garota de Ipanema," "Luíza," "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar," "Ligia" and "A Felicidade" are among his numerous hits.

As for the tunes chosen for the show, Daniel quickly says: "The selection of songs was something quite easy, according to each one's heart, we chose the songs that Seu Jorge likes to sing. It is very good, because the show flows very naturally and this will be reflected on stage. These are songs that we like and are familiar to us."

For Seu Jorge, interpreting Tom's songs is filled with warm feelings: "Singing this repertoire is an incredible gift for me and at the same time it's an enormous challenge! Love is back. Tom Jobim lives on," declares the musician.

Celebrating the re-opening of the Regattabar, Sun Music presents Jacques Schwarz-Bart Quartet with Stephanie McKay performing songs from his latest album release, The Harlem Suite. The Harlem Suite recounts Jacques’ childhood dream of coming to NY from his little island of Guadeloupe to become a jazz musician. The compositions reflect the musical wisdom Jacques inherited from playing with some of the greatest musicians of our time: Roy Hargrove’s beautiful sound and impeccable phrasing, D’Angelo’s visionary grooves and unique intensity, Meshell Ndegeocello’s sense of mystery and poetry.

The tunes and arrangements celebrate each step of his perilous, but rewarding 20-year journey, spent in this iconic part of New York. Many of the songs are inspired by the harsh human reality reflected in the disenfranchised lives of Black people in urban environments, while paying tribute to Harlem’s history as the birthplace of several musical revolutions.

Christiane Karam’s unique vocal style stems from her love for different musical traditions. She is the leader of the acclaimed Pletenitsa Balkan Choir and has had the privilege of sharing the stage with the likes of Hüsnü Senlendirici, Javier Limón, the Assad Brothers, Binka Dobreva, and Vadim Neselovskyi, among others. She has performed at venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, SummerStage, Celebrate Brooklyn!, Symphony Space, and the Koprivshtitsa Folklore Festival, among others. She has also been featured on PBS and VH1.

In addition to performing, Karam is an award-winning songwriter and composer. She's a staunch activist for cultural understanding, tolerance, and nonviolent conflict resolution. Currently on the faculty of Berklee College of Music, where she teaches in the Voice, Ensemble, and Songwriting departments, she is the founder and leader of the annual Berklee Middle Eastern Festival and actively continues her work to bring awareness and positive social change through music and the arts. Karam also performs and teaches around the world.

One of the most successful instrumentalists working today, guitarist Ottmar Liebert (along with his band Luna Negra) has created a niche for himself, creating a sound that borrows from flamenco, new age, jazz, rock and Pan-Latin music.

Shamarr Allen is the definition of New Orleans! Hailing from the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Allen has influences in jazz, hip-hop, rock, funk rhythms, blues and country. He is the lead vocalist and trumpeter of his band “Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs.” In addition to performing with his band, Allen has collaborated with many renowned artists around the world such as Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, Galatic, Harrick Connick Jr, and Lenny Kravitz, to name a few. He is a sought after artist for festivals and venues around the world. In addition to displaying his skills on the front-line as a lead performer, Allen is also a music composer, writer, and producer. With a scintillating and unique sound, look, and exemplary talents, Shamarr Allen transcends musical boundaries. He is the True Orleans experience!

14th Annual…Blues After Hours

Honoring the legacy of Mai Cramer
Boston born "Monster" Mike Welch returns to a familiar stage with..."...direct, full-throttle, hard blues" in the Blues Event-of-the-Year...

Saturday, October 14th - 7:30pm

Another adventurous journey into improvisation with special guests pushing the envelope of Jazz, and actually more clearly, merges seamlessly, the Free with New Music.                               

Contact: Alex @ Creative Music Series, alexlemski@gmail.com, 617/800-7255

https://www.creativemusicseries.com/

Trumpeter Nick Di Maria established himself early on as a performer, bandleader, and composer, and since 2006 has carved out his lot as one of the most sought after musicians and organizers. Di Maria is a protege of trumpeter Dr. Eddie Henderson who came to prominence during the 1970’s as a member of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band. Coming up and hitting the scene in 2006, Di Maria also learned how to self produce concerts and recordings which led to him founding the New Haven Jazz Underground, a grassroots community based organization dedicated to preserving and sustaining jazz in New Haven, CT. Since the inception of the organization, Di Maria has become a mainstay of the Connecticut Jazz Scene. Di Maria frequently performs with various projects he leads which showcase a broad array of different styles of jazz and improvisational music. His bands and music have been described as “moody, playful and often times….danceable. In a word “groovy.”

Aside from leading his own bands, Di Maria has worked with such notable musicians as trumpeters Jeremy Pelt & Nate Wooley guitarists Peter Bernstein, Ed Cherry & Tony Davis; pianists Brian Charette, & Kevin Hays; bassists, Joe Morris, Matt Dwonszyk & Alex Trembley; drummers Curtis Nowosad & Mike Clark; saxophonists Abe Burton, Andrew Beals Stacey Dillard & Jon Blanck

Here are videos of my group Concussion which featured special guests Wooley and Morris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFTskROcdVE&list=PLxiimiUW0zVBk90WwHfzW7ZwKfmGAwh3V&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7GFs9ZaXOM&list=PLxiimiUW0zVBk90WwHfzW7ZwKfmGAwh3V&index=4

Dan O’Brien

Dan O’Brien is a multi-woodwind improviser, teacher and composer-conductor based in the Hartford, CT area. He has performed and recorded with many significant jazz and free music artists, including Joe Morris, Nate Wooley, Marc Edwards, Sam Newsome, DoYeon Kim, Brad Barrett, Pandelis Karayorgis, Nate McBride, Elinor Speirs, Ben Stapp, Stephen Haynes and Eric Rosenthal. He founded the Phonoemulsion Records label in 2021, which has released 11 albums of free and creative music by musicians from NYC, CT and MA, and is the leader and conductor of Dan O’Brien’s Standards of Dysfunction, a free music large ensemble whose first album will be released in 2024.
Global Jazz, Creative Music and Band Teacher
Owner
Phonoemulsion Records

Previously:

Stafford Public Schools

Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts

Now:

EAST HARTFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Brandon Terzakis is a young, Boston-based improviser. A former student of acclaimed jazz guitarist, Joe Morris, Brandon works with prepared guitar and electronics to create mesmerizingly hazy, near static pieces

Brandon first became interested in playing the drums at the age of 10. A few years later he began studying privately and playing in bands with friends. At this point he also began to play drums. Jazz appealed to him relatively early on in high school, so he auditioned for the jazz ensemble and from there knew he wanted to be involved with that realm of music in some form. After graduating high school, he began studying with Tony Lombardozzi and Avant Jazz guru, Joe Morris, whom had a great influence on his pursuit with free improvisation. Brandon currently performs in several bands based in Boston and New Haven and has toured extensively, both domestically and internationally.

Aidan O'Connell, bass

“Discovering the great concepts of Free Improvising has widened the pallet of my playing forever. In the past couple years I have been very inspired by the music of Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, Barry Guy and other Free musicians. Getting to play at The Lilypad with my brand new band of Kelly Bray on Trumpet and Brandon Terzakis on Drums is very exciting!” - Aidan O'Connell

NEC, Hartt School of Music

https://aidanoconnell.bandcamp.com/album/getting-pulled-up

https://aidanoconnell.bandcamp.com/album/getting-pulled-up

Grant Beale is a Boston based composer and improvisor.

For the past decade, Sullivan Fortner has been stretching deep-rooted talents as a pianist, composer and band leader. The GRAMMY Award-winning artist out of New Orleans received international praise as both key player and producer for his collaborative work on The Window, alongside Cecile McLorin Salvant. Join us for a performance by one the most creative and talent pianists on the scene today.

This concert is co-sponsored with Highfield Hall and Gardens