April 2010

Stage Set for Jazz Week '10, Apr. 23 to May 2; More Than 250 Events at 90+ Venues


"Jazz Week @ the Boston Public Library" Features Free Performances, Seminars for All Ages

Jazz Tap, Jazz in the Libraries and Galleries...and at Fenway Park!


Jazz Week '10 Hits the Airwaves on "Chronicle," WGBH 89.7
Chefs Jam for Jazz Week
Support Jazz Radio in Boston - Contribute During WGBH's April Radio Pledge Drive
Members Connection: Email Us to Enter a Drawing for Free Tix to Pat Metheny, Cyrus Chestnut, Magos Herrera, More
Thanks to Our Jazz Week Sponsors
Write Us, Join Us, Please Pass This On...

Stage Set for Jazz Week '10, Apr. 23 to May 2; More Than 250 Events at 90+ Venues


Celebrating Boston's place on the world stage by riffing on the theme "Made in Boston, Played in Boston," Jazz Week '10 kicks off on Apr. 23 with "Free Friday," featuring daytime concerts by NEC student ensembles in public spaces around the city and an evening concert at Jordan Hall with the NEC Jazz Orchestra and special guest Ran Blake.

And that's just the start. There's more variety on tap over this 10-day week than ever before, from rare films, jazz dance, and children's events to tributes to influential figures in the city's rich cultural history. Many of the events are free or low cost and produced specially for Jazz Week. Besides "Free Friday," these include:

  • Concert tributes to Boston jazz legends Charlie Banacos, featuring Bill Pierce, Bruce Gertz, George Garzone and others (May 1), and Lennie Sogoloff of Lennie's-on-the-Turnpike fame, featuring the Danny Harrington Quartet and special guests (May 2)
  • "Jazz On Film at the Regent," five not-to-be-missed documentaries of jazz greats and great performances at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, including films about Miles Davis (Apr. 29) and two video presentations consisting of rare concert and TV footage from the private collection of jazz historian Hal Miller, viewed for the first time in the Boston area. Included will be "Boston in Jazz: A Long and Lustrous Tradition." (Apr. 30)
  • "Jazz Week in East Boston," featuring more than a dozen special events at 80 Border Street Cultural Exchange Center and Zumix Sumner Street Firehouse, ranging from a New Orleans-style parade for children (Apr. 23) to a photo exhibit of jazz greats (Apr. 23-May 2).

For the full schedule of events, updated daily, see JazzBoston's special Jazz Week '10 calendar.


"Jazz Week @ the Boston Public Library" Features Free Performances, Seminars for All Ages

"Jazz Week @ the Boston Public Library," presented by JazzBoston, returns for the 4th year to the Central Library in Copley Square with seven days and nights of free seminars and performances for all ages. The programs include:

- "Riffs & Raps - Jazzin' the Generations" (Apr. 25), for seniors and their juniors, music to move mind and body performed by master teachers/performers Arni Cheatham (photo left) and Bill Lowe with guest John Funkhouser

- "Band in Boston: New Directions" (Apr. 26), with Russ Gershon (Either/Orchestra), Darrell Katz (Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra), John Kordalewski (Makanda Project), and Mark Harvey (Aardvark Jazz Orchestra)

- The exclusive U.S. preview of the Boston-made indie film festival hit "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" (Apr. 27), starring Boston-based trumpeter Jason Palmer, who will introduce the film

- "Band in Boston: Traditions & Continuities" (Apr. 28), with Amanda Carr, vocalist and founder of the American Big Band Preservation Society, former Herb Pomeroy band members Everett Longstreth and Dave Chapman, a special guest moderator from WGBH 89.7, and a performance by the Berklee Student Sextet

- "Ellington, Boston & Beyond" (Apr. 29), a celebration of the Duke on his 111th birthday, with composer and jazz historian Gunther Schuller and Boston jazz historian Richard Vacca

- "Riffs & Raps - Jazz for the Very Young" (April 30), an introduction to the sounds and fun of jazz with Cheatham and Lowe, for children 8 and under

- "A Tribute to Charlie Banacos" (May 1), featuring remembrances and performances by the teacher/pianist's former students, including Bill Pierce, George Garzone, Rebecca Cline, and others.

For more details about all these free events, go to JazzBoston's special Jazz Week '10 calendar.


Jazz Tap, Jazz in the Libraries and Galleries...and at Fenway Park!


Jazz Week '10 spreads the sounds and spirit of the music far and wide this year. Among the highlights:

- Jazz tap at the Institute for Contemporary Art (Apr. 30-May 2); Church of Our Savior, Brookline (Apr. 30); Wayland High School (April 30); and the Gallery at the Piano Factory (May 2)

- "Jazz @ Your Neighborhood Library," including concerts by Gifrants (Apr. 24), and the Makanda Project with Oliver Lake (May 1)

- "Jazz in the Galleries," live performances at art galleries and studios in Somerville, Lower Roxbury, Dorchester, and Brookline, including the Leonard/Raberg/Tronzo Trio at the GASP Gallery (May 1)

- "Jazz Week @ Fenway Park," where vocalist and New England Conservatory faculty member Dominique Eade (photo left) performs the national anthem before the Apr. 23 Sox-Orioles game, and an NEC student ensemble warms up the crowd under the center field bleachers.

For locations and more details on events at neighborhood libraries and galleries, see the special Jazz Week '10 calendar.


Jazz Week '10 Hits the Airwaves on "Chronicle," WGBH 89.7

Tune in to WGBH 89.7 on Monday, Apr. 19, at 9 p.m. to hear host Eric Jackson talk with Boston-based trumpeter and JazzBoston board member Jason Palmer and JazzBoston Executive Director Pauline Bilsky about the highlights of Jazz Week '10.

On Friday, Apr. 23, at 7:30 p.m. Ch. 5's "Chronicle" is scheduled to air a segment on Jazz Week '10 and Boston's lively jazz scene. Watch for interviews with Jackson, vibes master Gary Burton, impresario and JazzBoston board member Fred Taylor, and others.


Chefs Jam for Jazz Week

Good food and jazz go together! From April 23 to May 2, JazzBoston once again partners with the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau and its member restaurants to promote great listening and dining experiences at affordable prices.

You'll find specially priced lunches and dinners as some of Greater Boston's most popular chefs create jazz-inspired dishes just for this week. Two-course lunches are $16, two-course dinners are $22, and three-course dinners are $34. Participating restaurants include:

  • Avenue One at the Hyatt Regency, Boston
  • Bistro 5, Medford
  • Caliterra Restaurant, Boston
  • The Chart House, Boston
  • The Fireplace, Brookline
  • House of Blues, Boston
  • Tryst Restaurant, Arlington
  • The Wine Cellar, Boston
  • Zebra's Bistro and Wine Bar, Medfield

Visit the "Chefs Jam for Jazz Week" page on the JazzBoston website for details.


Support Jazz Radio in Boston - Contribute During WGBH's April Radio Pledge Drive

You've told us how much you enjoy WGBH's jazz programming and how concerned you are about its future. You can make a difference right now by calling in your contribution during the station's Radio Pledge Drive, which runs through Apr. 24. You can call in during any program at any time. Just be sure to state clearly that your pledge is for jazz programming. If you call in during a news program, for example, and you don't mention jazz, your donation will be credited to that program even if you intended to support jazz. And when you send your check, be sure to note in your letter and on the check itself that you are donating to support jazz programming. Remember, during April or any other time, it is critical to earmark your donation for jazz programming. You may also want to mention how much you enjoy our two incomparable local hosts, Eric Jackson and Steve Schwartz. Let's make sure jazz programming stays alive and well at WGBH 89.7!


Members Connection: Email Us to Enter a Drawing for Free Tix to Pat Metheny, Cyrus Chestnut, Magos Herrera, More

Live Nation is offering JazzBoston members a pair of tickets to hear award-winning guitarist Pat Metheny (photo left) perform music from his new "Orchestrion" CD on May 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre.

Scullers is offering JazzBoston members five pairs of tickets to each of these shows: Magos Herrera, Apr. 29, 8 p.m.; Jazz Urban, part of the Berklee Artist Series, May 4, 8 p.m.; Another Realm, May 6, 8 p.m.; Cyrus Chestnut, May 7, 10 p.m.; the Kevin Harris Project, May 12, 8 p.m.

Berklee College of Music's student-run JRR label is offering JazzBoston members two pairs of tickets to the seventh annual Jazz Revelation Records CD Release Concert on Apr. 22 at 8:15 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center, celebrating the release of the label's new album, "Birds of a Feather."

If you're a JazzBoston member, write to newsletter@jazzboston.org now to enter a drawing to win free tickets to any of the events listed above, and please note which shows and dates you're interested in. You must be a JazzBoston member to be eligible to win.

Absolutely Live Entertainment is offering JazzBoston members a 10% discount on tickets to hear legendary tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins in a very special 80th birthday concert at Symphony Hall on Sunday, April 18, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50, $40, and $30. The discount is available by phone at (888)266-1200 or at the Symphony Hall box office. To receive the discount, just mention "jazzboston.org" or say you are calling about the JazzBoston discount.

If you are a JazzBoston member and are currently in a band or just starting a band, you can take advantage of a one-third discount ($20 instead of $30) to attend the April 20 seminar on "The Business of Music: Band Agreements" offered by the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts division of the Arts and Business Council. Write to Sheri Mason (sheri@artsandbusinesscouncil.org) for the JazzBoston discount code before registering online.

JazzBoston members also receive discounts at the Regattabar, Scullers, The Beehive, Ryles, the Regent Theatre, the Amazing Things Art Center, Chianti Tuscan Restaurant & Jazz Lounge, The Redline, The Stork Club, 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.

Click here to become a JazzBoston member now. Annual memberships begin as low as $20.


Thanks to Our Jazz Week Sponsors

We are very proud of our distinguished roster of Jazz Week '10 sponsors, beginning with New England Conservatory, Jazz Week's Primary Sponsor once again this year. NEC's participation in Jazz Week '10 caps the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the school's Jazz Studies Program during the 2009 - 2010 academic year. Other Jazz Week Sponsors include Scullers Jazz Club, Lead Sponsor for the fourth consecutive year, and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Live Nation, Berklee College of Music, and John Hancock, all Major Sponsors. The Phoenix Media/Communications Group is the official print media sponsor of Jazz Week '10, WGBH 89.7 is the official radio sponsor, and JazzTimes is the official jazz magazine of Jazz Week.

We also want to thank these Friends of Jazz for their generous support of Jazz Week '10: Boston Center for Community and Justice; Boston Musicians Association; Pat Braxton; Dayla Arabella Communications & Event Consulting; Toddi Norum and Go the Distance! Sports, Fundraising and Event Management; Oscar Malcolm and Sandra Stratford; Shelley Neill and The Jazz Club at the Multicultural Arts Center; Jeff Turton and JT Media: Audio and Event Services for New England; and Stephen Hartin and Video Security Experts.


Write Us, Join Us, Please Pass This On...
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