June/July 2011
Members Connection I: Join JazzBoston, Receive Two Free Tickets to Newport Jazz Festival; Discounted Tickets Also Available
Members Connection II: Enter Drawing To Win Free Tickets to Clayton Brothers, Cyrus Chestnut, Rondi Charleston, Sierra Maestra, Eric Harland, Martha's Vineyard Jazz Festival, More
City and State Add Tributes to Jazz Heroes Award for Wally's Owners Elynor Walcott and Sons
Al Vega: A Boston Legend Celebrated on Stage...and in Words
Freebie Sampler
Write Us, Join Us, Please Pass This On...
Members Connection I: Join JazzBoston, Receive Two Free Tickets to Newport Jazz Festival; Discounted Tickets Also Available
The Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management has very generously contributed tickets to JazzBoston for this year's event at Rhode Island's historic Fort Adams State Park on Saturday, Aug. 6, and Sunday, Aug. 7, both days from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Join JazzBoston at the $100 Donor level, or renew at the Donor level, and we will send you a pair of General Admission tickets (value $138) to either festival day, Aug. 6 or 7, while supplies last. We'll also throw in a JazzBoston t-shirt or tote bag for your outing. In addition, all JazzBoston members receive an invitation to our annual Members Appreciation Party as well as discounts at participating clubs and other venues.

The Newport Jazz Festival is also offering a special $10 discount off the regular price of $69 for Adult Single Day General Admission. This discount is available online only until July 31, 2011, with the special promo code JAZZBOS. It is not valid on previously purchased tickets, at the gate, or after July 31, 2011. It is also not valid on reserved seats or tickets for the Friday night event. To see the full lineup and take advantage of this special offer, visit http://newportjazzfest.net.

This year's festival kicks off on Friday, Aug. 5, at 8 p.m. with singer/pianist Michael Feinstein and Wynton Marsalis.

Marsalis will also perform on Saturday along with Esperanza Spalding (photo left, above) & Friends; Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band; Al Di Meola World Sinfonia; Michel Camilo "Mano a Mano" with Giovanni Hidalgo and Charles Flores; Hiromi; Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue; Regina Carter's Reverse Thread; Mujeres De Agua by Javier Limon, featuring Buika, La Shica, and Sandra Carrassco; Steve Coleman and Five Elements; Joey DeFrancesco Trio; Grace Kelly with Special Guest Phil Woods; Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet; Mostly Other People Do the Killing and New Black Eagle Jazz Band.

Sunday's performers include Angelique Kidjo; James Farm with Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman, and Eric Harland; Mingus Big Band; Ravi Coltrane Quartet; Randy Weston's African Rhythms Trio; Charles Lloyd's Sangam with Zakir Hussain; Miguel Zenon Presents the Puerto Rican Songbook with Conductor/Arranger Guillermo Klein; John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble with Special Guest Uri Caine; Avishai Cohen's Triveni with Special Guest Anat Cohen; Apex: Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green; Brubeck Brothers; Berklee College of Music All Stars: Mario Castro Quintet plus return appearances by Esperanza Spalding, Trombone Shorty, and Hiromi leading different bands.

For more information go to www.newportjazzfest.net.


Members Connection II: Enter Drawing To Win Free Tickets to Clayton Brothers, Cyrus Chestnut, Rondi Charleston, Sierra Maestra, Eric Harland, Martha's Vineyard Jazz Festival, More

Billing Martha's Vineyard as "the official vacation destination of jazz," the First Annual Martha's Vineyard Jazz Festival is offering JazzBoston members a pair of free tickets to each of these three performances: Ben Wolfe and James Burton, Sunday, July 7, 7 - 10 p.m., Shephard Art Space; Michele Holland & Friends, Monday, Aug. 8, 6 - 8:30 p.m., Featherstone Center for the Arts; Warren Wolfe, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 9 p.m - 12:30 a.m., Deon's. See the festival website for the complete schedule of performances.

Scullers is offering JazzBoston members three pairs of tickets to each of these shows, all at 8 p.m.: Philip Hamilton, July 20; Rondi Charleston (photo left, above), July 27; the Clayton Brothers Quintet, Aug. 4; and Cyrus Chestnut, Aug. 12.

The Regattabar is offering JazzBoston members one pair of tickets to each of these shows, all at 7:30 p.m.: Plena Libre, July 8; Terry Bozzio's Out Trio, July 12; Grand Fatilla, July 15; Dwight and Nicole, July 16; Assaf Kehati Quartet, July 19; Yoko Miwa Trio, July 20; Sierra Maestra, July 21; David "Honeyboy" Edwards, July 22; Gregory Porter, July 23; Musaner Folk-Jazz Ensemble, July 29; Jean-Marie Corrois Quartet with Amol Khanapurkar, Aug. 2; Dominick Farinacci, Aug. 3; Lisa Hilton, Aug. 4; Scrapomatic, Aug. 5; Datevik Hovanesian, Aug. 6; Steven Feifke Septet featuring Brian Lynch, Aug. 9; Nick Grondin Group, Aug. 10; Eric Harland Quintet, Aug. 11; Club d'Elf and Otis Grove, Aug. 12; and Bernardo Monk Tango Quartet, Aug. 13.

If you're a JazzBoston member, write to newsletter@jazzboston.org now to enter the 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.

JazzBoston members receive discounts at Scullers, the Regattabar, Ryles, The Regent Theatre, the Amazing Things Art Center, Chianti Tuscan Restaurant & Jazz Lounge, Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen, Redline, the Jazz Club at the Multicultural Arts Center, World Music/CRASHarts, Bella Luna Restaurant & Milky Way Lounge, the Vernissage Restaurant's "Jazz Thursdays at Vernissage," and Boston Pops jazz concerts at Symphony Hall. 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.

The Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston offers JazzBoston members a 20% discount on a wide range of seminars, workshops, and webinars geared to artists and arts organizations. To get information about a particular program or register online, email Sheri Mason, Director of Legal Services, and give her your membership number.

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

City and State Add Tributes to Jazz Heroes Award for Wally's Owners Elynor Walcott and Sons

Wally's Cafe was packed on a Saturday afternoon earlier this month when jazz lovers and civic leaders gathered to celebrate with the club's owners, Elynor Walcott and her sons Paul, Frank, and Lloyd Poindexter, who were named "Jazz Heroes" by the Jazz Journalists' Association in recognition of their decades of support for young Boston area musicians. JazzBoston nominated the family for the award and organized the satellite party, one of nine similar celebrations around the U.S. that ran simultaneously with the JJA's Awards Gala in New York City. The happy crowd ranged in age from 19 (Grace Kelly) to 90 (Al Vega), and the tributes kept coming.

WGBH jazz radio hosts Eric Jackson and Steve Schwartz presented the Jazz Heroes trophy to the family on behalf of the JJA, followed by Ron Bell, Governor Deval Patrick's Senior Advisor for Community Affairs, who presented a Governor's Citation to each family member. Next came State Representatives Gloria Fox and Byron Rushing with a Resolution from the House, then Councilor Tito Jackson with a Resolution from the City Council. Councilor-at-Large Felix Arroyo arrived after the picture, above, was taken. (Front, left to right: Eric Jackson, Rep. Byron Rushing, Rep. Gloria Fox. JazzBoston ED Pauline Bilsky, Elynor Walcott, Lloyd Poindexter, Urban League of Eastern Mass. CEO Darnell Williams. Back, left to right: Councilor Tito Jackson, Steve Schwartz, Ron Bell, Paul Poindexter, Frank Poindexter.)

Thanks go to trumpeter Jason Palmer, an alumnus of what is widely known as "The Wally's School of Music," for hosting a jazz jam with his ensemble "The Pubic Option."

To see photos of the Jazz Heroes party, click here.

Al Vega: A Boston Legend Celebrated on Stage...and in Words

Over the course of an amazing musical career that has spanned nearly eight decades, Al Vega has built a name for himself as a local legend, which is why the title of a new biography by Leonard Brown - "Boston's Jazz Legend: The Al Vega Story" (book cover left) - is perfectly fitting. It's also fitting that Vega will celebrate his 90th birthday with a concert bash at Scullers on June 30, and that author Brown, saxophonist and Associate Professor of African American Studies and Music at Northeastern University, will be on hand to mark the release of this limited edition book.

The book chronicles Vega's life in his own words, enhanced by insightful commentary from family members and more than a few of the many singers the pianist has accompanied over the years. It's an entertaining read, topped only by hearing the legend himself live.

If you're not going to be at Vega's sold-out birthday celebration at Scullers, you can get a copy of the book by sending a check or money order for $18.00 ($15 for the book, $3 postage) to Vega Book Order, c/o Leonard Brown, 8 Kara Ann Drive, Framingham, MA 01701. Please include your name and complete address, including zip code, for mailing the book, and allow 2 - 3 weeks for delivery.

Freebie Sampler
Joe's Jazz and Blues Festival winds up its third year in high style this Saturday with a free outdoor finale concert at Powderhouse Park in Somerville from noon to 7 p.m. The sounds zoom from Latin to blues to jazz and back, with performers to include the Anderson/Hanson/Levy Trio, John Funkhouser Trio, Toni Lynn Washington, The Spontaneous Architects, Florencia Gonzalez Candombe Project, and Frank Morey and His Band. Check out the full schedule, including several indoor club dates.

Berkee's "Summer in the City" series goes into high gear over the next several months, with free performances of myriad styles of music happening all around Boston. Among the jazz highlights: vocalist Julia Easterlin, June 25 at 4 p.m., the Italo Cunha Trio, June 26 at 1 p.m., Spectacle island; saxophonist Jesse Scheinin's ensemble, July 10 at 1 p.m., Spectacle Island; the Zac Zinger Group, July 11 at 6 p.m., Charles Hotel Courtyard; Ray Gonzalez, July 14 at 7 p.m., O'Day Park; Mark Hadley Trio, July 18 at 6 p.m., Charles Hotel Courtyard; Sons of Daughters, July 21 at 12 noon, Kendall Square; Cinco Son, July 21 at 7 p.m., O'Day Park; the Jazz Tellers, July 24 at 1 p.m., Spectacle Island; multi-instrumentalist Nick Susi, July 26 at 12 noon, Prudential Center; and Ritmo Masacote, July 30 at 7 p.m., City Hall Plaza. Click here for full schedule.

For a full listing of summer jazz events in the Greater Boston area that's updated regularly, check the JazzBoston events calendar. And to find out what's going on throughout Massachusetts on the jazz front, go to the MassJazz website.
Write Us, Join Us, Please Pass This On...

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