2010 Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival Schedule
[ Additional Festival Week Events ]
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
Beantown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Kurt Rosenwinkel and OJM
Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 7:30 p.m.Berklee Performance Center136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
Kurt RosenwinkelA native of the great jazz city of Philadelphia, Kurt Rosenwinkel studied at Berklee and gained his first formative professional experiences in bands led by Gary Burton and Paul Motian. He soon became a major force on the New York scene, gaining a reputation as an innovative bandleader, composer, and improviser. He displayed a strong command of jazz tradition and a great love of standard tunes, but also a determination to articulate his own language and create on his own terms. Following his early albums, East Coast Love Affair and Intuit, came four highly regarded discs on the Verve label: The Enemies of Energy, The Next Step, Heartcore, and Deep Song. In particular, Heartcore, coproduced by Q-Tip (formerly of A Tribe Called Quest), revealed Rosenwinkel's life of sonic exploration beyond the jazz realm. The Remedy preserves that aesthetic newness in the context of a live acoustic quintet. As he progressed steadily as a leader and sideman with the likes of Joe Henderson, Brian Blade, Joshua Redman, and Danilo Perez, Rosenwinkel also garnered impressive professional and critical acclaim. He now is a tenured professor at the Jazz Institute of Berlin.
$25, $20 reserved seating
Thursday, September 16, 2010
David Friend Recital Hall
921 Boylston Street, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Nando Michelin Group Featuring Melissa Aldana and Rogerio Bocatto
Thursday, September 16, 2010, 7:30 p.m.David Friend Recital Hall921 Boylston Street
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
Nando MichelinThe Nando Michelin Group will bring the sweet sounds of South American–influenced jazz, playing pieces from its latest album, Reencontro, as well as some new, unreleased compositions. The group features Melissa Aldana on saxophone, Rogério Boccato on percussion, Fernando Huergo on bass, Nando Michelin on piano, and Tiago Michelin on drums. Space is limited and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Free
Friday, September 17, 2010
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
The Bad Plus
Friday, September 17, 2010, 7:30 p.m.Berklee Performance Center136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
The Bad PlusArguably one of the biggest breakout stories of jazz in the past decade, the Bad Plus (Reid Anderson, bass; Ethan Iverson, piano; and David King, drums) has connected with the jazz world and beyond with These Are the Vistas (2003), Give (2004), Suspicious Activity? (2005), and Prog (2007). All three members of the Bad Plus hail from the Midwest. The roots of the group date back to circa 1984 when King first heard Anderson sing in a junior high rock band. By 1989, Anderson and Iverson were playing free jazz at restaurants throughout America’s dairy land. While 1990 marks King, Anderson, and Iverson’s first musical encounter, the group’s eponymous debut album was released in 2001 on Fresh Sound, a Spanish independent label. A 2002 performance at New York’s Village Vanguard led to the signing with Columbia Records. Since its debut recording, the group has been touring relentlessly, playing to and establishing one of the most diverse and ecstatic cross-over audiences at jazz clubs, symphony halls, and rock venues in the U.S. and abroad. Performing both original compositions and a variety of covers, the Bad Plus brings a winningly disparate body of influences to the stage.
$30, $25 reserved seating
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Roxbury Heritage State Park/John Eliot Square
183 Roxbury Street
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Roxbury Action Program Inc.
Roxbury Day
Saturday, September 18, 2010, 12:00 p.m.Roxbury Heritage State Park/John Eliot Square183 Roxbury Street
Boston MA 02119 [Map]Celebrate Roxbury Day with outdoor and indoor activities on the grounds of the Dillaway Thomas House of the Roxbury Heritage State Park. The afternoon features jazz groups the Makanda Jazz Project, Gilbert White, and Jazz 208, as well as other local talent and vendors.
Free
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wally's Cafe
427 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Wally’s Stepchildren
Sunday, September 19, 2010, 9:00 p.m.Wally's Cafe427 Massachusetts Ave.
Boston MA 02118 [Map]
Wally's CafeWally's Stepchildren is a funk/fusion band that has had rotating musicians at Wally's for almost 15 years. Some past notable members of this night include drummers John Blackwell (Prince), Adam Deitch (Justin Timberlake), Nikki Glaspie (Beyoncé), and John Roberts (Janet Jackson); guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive); and keyboardist Rob Lewis (Puff Daddy).
Wally's Cafe was established on January 1, 1947 in Boston. The nightclub is located at the famed intersection of Massachusetts and Columbus avenues. The area was once home to many renowned jazz clubs during the 1940s and 1950s—places with names like the High Hat, Savoy Ballroom, Chicken Lane, the Wig Wam, Big M, and Wally's Paradise—that played a major role introducing jazz to the New England community. Wally's Café now features live music 365 days a year. Many of the musicians are professionals, but Wally's still maintains its tradition of providing students of academic institutions such as Berklee, the Boston Conservatory, and the New England Conservatory of Music with a stage to perfect their craft.
Free
Monday, September 20, 2010
Wally's Cafe
427 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Jose Ramos Special Blend Blues Band
Monday, September 20, 2010, 9:00 p.m.Wally's Cafe427 Massachusetts Ave.
Boston MA 02118 [Map]
Jose RamosEqually at home playing jazz, jump blues, classic r&b, swing, or funk, Jose Ramos and his No Way Jose! Band keep audiences hot, thirsty, and on the dance floor all night.
Wally's Cafe was established on January 1, 1947 in Boston. The nightclub is located at the famed intersection of Massachusetts and Columbus avenues. The area was once home to many renowned jazz clubs during the 1940s and 1950s—places with names like the High Hat, Savoy Ballroom, Chicken Lane, the Wig Wam, Big M, and Wally's Paradise—that played a major role introducing jazz to the New England community. Wally's Café now features live music 365 days a year. Many of the musicians are professionals, but Wally's still maintains its tradition of providing students of academic institutions such as Berklee, the Boston Conservatory, and the New England Conservatory of Music with a stage to perfect their craft.
Free
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Cafe 939
939 Boylston Street, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
The Christoph Huber & Nikolas Anadolis Quartet and the Italo Cunha Group
Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 8:00 p.m.Cafe 939939 Boylston Street
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
Jazz Revelation RecordsChristoph Huber was born 1988 in Aarau, Switzerland. With his father being a professional pianist, composer, and arranger, he grew up in a very musical environment. After starting out with a recorder and Swiss melodeon, he began taking lessons on drums at 8 and tenor saxophone at 9 years of age. His first saxophone teacher was the Polish saxophonist and clarinetist Witek Kornacki. Huber had his first public appearances as an improviser at the age of 11. From 2004 to 2009 he studied with former Berklee faculty member Fritz Renold. During this period he started to focus on tenor saxophone as his principle instrument and the intention to pursue a career as a professional musician became clear. From 2005 to 2009 he regularly participated in the annual festival Jazzaar Concerts in Aarau, where he had the opportunity to perform with and learn from artists such as Christian Jacob, Buster Williams, Victor Lewis, Adam Nussbaum, Barry Lee Hall Jr., Tommy Smith, Donny McCaslin, Tierney Sutton, Mark Gross, Tia Fuller, the Whitney Houston Rhythm Section, Steve Reid, Tom Garling, Gildas Boclé, and many more. In addition to his practice as a performer, Huber is also developing his skills as a composer and arranger for different musical formations and instrumentations. He's currently attending Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship. His saxophone teacher is Ed Tomassi.
Italo Cunha—a 17-year-old jazz guitarist, composer, arranger, student, and teacher from Brasilia, Brazil—attends Berklee on a scholarship. He started playing piano at age 4, guitar at 9, and was performing professionally by 12. Cunha was chosen by the Escola de Musica de Brasilia to play for Brazil's Minister of Education as part of Young Artist Revelation. He received a contemporary musical education degree from the Toque de Classe Institute in 2007—becoming the youngest recipient ever. Relating his song to the album title, Cunha says, "I think Birds of a Feather means friendship. My song reflects that. 'Stories' is about good times and memories with my friends, that's how I got the inspiration. Friendship is one of the most valuable things we have in life."
Jazz Revelation Records is a student-run, artist-driven record label created to present the top jazz composers and performers from the Berklee College of Music. Gathered from all over the globe, JRR artists speak the traditional language of jazz in a new way. Their youth, their passion, and their commitment are the launching pad for a sound that gets inside your head, your heart, and yes, you'll tap your feet and maybe hum along after a while.
$10.00
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Al Dente/ How to Hunt a Lehmann
Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 8:15 p.m.Berklee Performance Center136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
Spajazzy, Lehman, HuntFormed in 1998, Spajazzy blends the Italian melodic background of leaders Sergio Bellotti and Tino D'Agostino with the atmosphere and energy of electric jazz. This concert will showcase original compositions from the new album Al Dente, coproduced by Berklee faculty member/master keyboard player Steve Hunt. The group also features Bill Vint on saxophone.
Pianist Steve Hunt joins his colleague and drummer Bertram Lehmann in a program of eclectic jazz and acoustic fusion drawing on original compositions by both faculty members, as well as music of Herbie Hancock, Eddie Harris, and Turkish masters. Guests include Amir Milstein on flute and Annette Philip on vocals.
$10 general admission
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Scullers Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Elan Trotman
Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 8:00 p.m.Scullers Jazz Club400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 02134 [Map]
Elan TrotmanAlthough during the day Berklee alumnus/music teacher Elan Trotman is found cultivating the minds of children to love music, at night he is a well-known member of the Boston, Providence, and New England music scenes.
Trotman has performed, recorded, and toured with an elite group of artists—among them are Grammy Award–winning r&b vocalists, Roberta Flack and Brian McKnight, Grammy-nominated saxophonist Kirk Whalum. He serves as the musical director, saxophonist/keyboardist, and longtime member of baseball pitcher Bronson Arroyo's band. He has also won awards for Best New Act (1998) at Barbados Nation Awards and Best Jazz Artist (2008) New England Urban Music Awards.
$20
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Walkin' Up Hip Street / What's Yours Is Mine
Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 8:15 p.m.Berklee Performance Center136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
Ayn InsertoIn the first half of the show, the ABCs of Jazz Orchestra will highlight the jazz/funk-fusion music of the mid-'70s through the early '80s. The big band ensemble features the arrangements of Berklee faculty member Brian Lewis and is comprised of some of Berklee's finest faculty, students, and graduates.
In the second half, the Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra presents What's Yours Is Mine, featuring a new aspect of the group: arrangements by Inserto of the band members' original compositions. There will also be new original music by Inserto herself. This 17-member big band has been performing in the Boston area for the last eight years, and will feature faculty members Allan Chase and Eric Byers.
Inserto is a groundbreaking composer who is emerging as one of the preeminent voices of her generation. She holds an M.M. in jazz composition from the New England Conservatory. She won the 2007 IAJE/ASCAP Emerging Composer Commission honoring Frank Foster, the 2003/04 and 2005/06 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards, the Concord Pavilion Associates Marian McPartland Award, and more. Her music has been performed at the IAJE Conference, Montreux Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, and 2009 Fano Jazz Festival in Fano, Italy, among others. She has received numerous commissions. Inserto lives in Boston, is an assistant professor at Berklee, and teaches privately in Massachusetts. Her second album, Muse, was released in February 2009 and features George Garzone.
$10 general admission
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Regattabar at the Charles Hotel
1 Bennett Street, Cambridge
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Robert Glasper
Thursday, September 23, 2010, 7:30 p.m.Regattabar at the Charles Hotel1 Bennett Street
Cambridge MA 02138 [Map]
Robert GlasperOne artist, two distinct but interwoven concepts: This is the captivating logic behind Double-Booked, pianist Robert Glasper's third album for Blue Note, following up Canvas (2005) and In My Element (2007).
An artist who "unfailingly gets the feeling right" (New York Magazine), Glasper has made waves throughout the music world as leader of both the acoustic Robert Glasper Trio and the electric, hip-hop-oriented Robert Glasper Experiment. With Double-Booked, the 32-year-old Houston native puts his enviable versatility front and center, emphasizing these different hemispheres of his musical brain at the same time. The first six tracks on Double-Booked feature Glasper in trio setting with longtime bassist Vicente Archer as well as drummer Chris Dave, who plays in Glasper's Experiment band but recently joined the trio as well.
Hailed by listeners and critics, Glasper has also garnered the respect of the toughest audience of all: musicians from across the jazz spectrum. In a May 2008 Blindfold Test for Down Beat magazine, a fellow pianist instantly identified Glasper and praised him as "a fantastic musician," pinpointing characteristics of his unique style: "a harmonic maze, but also an insistent rhythm, certain turns and filigrees and ornaments, some of them sort of gospelish."
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Robert Glasper
Thursday, September 23, 2010, 10:00 p.m.Regattabar at the Charles Hotel1 Bennett Street
Cambridge MA 02138 [Map]
Robert GlasperOne artist, two distinct but interwoven concepts: This is the captivating logic behind Double-Booked, pianist Robert Glasper's third album for Blue Note, following up Canvas (2005) and In My Element (2007).
An artist who "unfailingly gets the feeling right" (New York Magazine), Glasper has made waves throughout the music world as leader of both the acoustic Robert Glasper Trio and the electric, hip-hop-oriented Robert Glasper Experiment. With Double-Booked, the 32-year-old Houston native puts his enviable versatility front and center, emphasizing these different hemispheres of his musical brain at the same time. Career-wise, this creates a constant balancing act, and on occasion literally being double-booked, appearing with the trio and the Experiment on the same night. Such is the storyline that emerges on Double-Booked, with conflicting voicemail messages from Terence Blanchard and Roots drummer Ahmir Questlove Thompson, each pulling for a different Glasper band.
"Most people, if they have different bands, they do separate albums," says Glasper. "But I felt I'd be making more of a statement if I put it all on one joint." The result, in essence, is a snapshot of Glasper's life. "This is what I'm dealing with," he continues. "It's not like I play jazz but I also play hip-hop now and then. I'm in it, for real, both sides of the spectrum. That's my life. A lot of people go in stages-they might focus on trio for a long time, then they change or whatever. My thing is both, all the time." The first six tracks on Double-Booked feature Glasper in trio setting with longtime bassist Vicente Archer as well as drummer Chris Dave, who plays in Glasper's Experiment band but recently came on board the trio as well.
Hailed by listeners and critics, Glasper has also garnered the respect of the toughest audience of all: musicians from across the jazz spectrum. In a May 2008 Blindfold Test for Down Beat magazine, a fellow pianist instantly identified Glasper and praised him as "a fantastic musician," pinpointing characteristics of his unique style: "a harmonic maze, but also an insistent rhythm, certain turns and filigrees and ornaments, some of them sort of gospelish."
Scullers Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road, Cambridge
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Danilo Pérez Trio and Guests
Thursday, September 23, 2010, 8:00 p.m.Scullers Jazz Club400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 02134 [Map]
Danilo PérezThe extraordinary Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Pérez is among the most influential and dynamic musicians of our time. In just over a decade, his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz (covering the music of the Americas, folkloric, and world music) has attracted critical acclaim and loyal audiences. The New York Times describes Danilo Pérez as "one of the best things that happened to jazz around the turn of the millennium." August 31 marks the release of his new CD, Providencia.
Pérez's abundant talents and joyous enthusiasm make his concerts both memorable and inspiring. Whether leading his own ensembles or touring with renowned jazz masters (Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy), Pérez is making a decidedly fresh imprint on contemporary music, guided, as always, by his love for jazz.
He has led his own groups since the early '90s, and as bandleader has earned three Grammy nominations for his ebullient and innovative recordings. Pérez serves as the ambassador of goodwill for Unicef, cultural ambassador of Panama, president and founder of the Panama Jazz Festival, and a faculty member at Berklee College of Music.
$25 -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Danilo Pérez Trio and Guests
Thursday, September 23, 2010, 10:00 p.m.Scullers Jazz Club400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 02134 [Map]
Danilo PerezThe extraordinary Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Pérez is among the most influential and dynamic musicians of our time. In just over a decade, his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz (covering the music of the Americas, folkloric, and world music) has attracted critical acclaim and loyal audiences. The New York Times describes Danilo Pérez as "one of the best things that happened to jazz around the turn of the millennium." August 31 marks the release of his new CD, Providencia.
Pérez's abundant talents and joyous enthusiasm make his concerts both memorable and inspiring. Whether leading his own ensembles or touring with renowned jazz masters (Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy), Pérez is making a decidedly fresh imprint on contemporary music, guided, as always, by his love for jazz.
He has led his own groups since the early '90s, and as bandleader has earned three Grammy nominations for his ebullient and innovative recordings. Pérez serves as the ambassador of goodwill for Unicef, cultural ambassador of Panama, president and founder of the Panama Jazz Festival, and a faculty member at Berklee.
$25
Friday, September 24, 2010
Scullers Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Danilo Pérez Trio and Guests
Friday, September 24, 2010, 8:00 p.m.Scullers Jazz Club400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 02134 [Map]
Danilo PerezThe extraordinary Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Pérez is among the most influential and dynamic musicians of our time. In just over a decade, his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz (covering the music of the Americas, folkloric, and world music) has attracted critical acclaim and loyal audiences. The New York Times describes Danilo Pérez as "one of the best things that happened to jazz around the turn of the millennium." August 31 marks the release of his new CD, Providencia.
Pérez's abundant talents and joyous enthusiasm make his concerts both memorable and inspiring. Whether leading his own ensembles or touring with renowned jazz masters (Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy), Pérez is making a decidedly fresh imprint on contemporary music, guided, as always, by his love for jazz.
He has led his own groups since the early '90s, and as bandleader has earned three Grammy nominations for his ebullient and innovative recordings. Pérez serves as the ambassador of goodwill for Unicef, cultural ambassador of Panama, president and founder of the Panama Jazz Festival, and a faculty member at Berklee.
$25 -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Danilo Pérez Trio and Guests
Friday, September 24, 2010, 10:00 p.m.Scullers Jazz Club400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 02134 [Map]
Danilo PerezThe extraordinary Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Pérez is among the most influential and dynamic musicians of our time. In just over a decade, his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz (covering the music of the Americas, folkloric, and world music) has attracted critical acclaim and loyal audiences. The New York Times describes Danilo Pérez as "one of the best things that happened to jazz around the turn of the millennium." August 31 marks the release of his new CD, Providencia.
Pérez's abundant talents and joyous enthusiasm make his concerts both memorable and inspiring. Whether leading his own ensembles or touring with renowned jazz masters (Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy), Pérez is making a decidedly fresh imprint on contemporary music, guided, as always, by his love for jazz.
He has led his own groups since the early '90s, and as bandleader has earned three Grammy nominations for his ebullient and innovative recordings. Pérez serves as the ambassador of goodwill for Unicef, cultural ambassador of Panama, president and founder of the Panama Jazz Festival, and a faculty member at Berklee.
$25
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival
An Evening with Paula Cole
Friday, September 24, 2010, 8:00 p.m.Berklee Performance Center136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
Paula ColeBorn the daughter of musicians in Rockport, Massachusetts, Paula Cole grew up singing for fun: American songbooks, traditional folk songs, Christmas carols, and a cappella harmonies. While finding kindred spirits in records, she became a fixture in her school musicals, which catapulted her toward a scholarship for Berklee, where she studied jazz singing and improvisation.
While a senior at Berklee, she was offered a deal with a jazz label but declined. In 1993, Peter Gabriel asked her to join his Secret World Tour, after Cole's Imago debut, Harbinger. Throughout 1994–1996, Cole toured America extensively, building a foundation of support that then embraced her 1997 album, This Fire. It became a breakthrough smash, yielding the hits "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?" and "I Don't Want to Wait" (which was used as the theme song to the hit WB show Dawson's Creek), and the 1997 Grammy for Best New Artist. In 1999, she released her third album, the spiritual and soul-influenced Amen. After a seven-year musical hiatus, she returned in 2007 with a powerful album produced by Bobby Colomby, aptly titled Courage, after her daily mantra. On Tuesday, September 21, Cole will be celebrating the release of her much-anticipated new album, Ithaca.
$36, $26 reserved seating
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Free Outdoor Festival
Corner of Massachusetts and Columbus Avenues, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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The Columbus Avenue AME Zion Church
Beans, Rice, and Cornbread Jazz and Blues Breakfast New Orleans Style!
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 9:00 a.m.The Columbus Avenue AME Zion Church600 Columbus Ave ( & Northampton St)
Boston MA 02118-1057 [Map]Before you head to the Berklee BeanTown free outdoor festival at noon, join us for the kickoff at the Beans, Rice, and Cornbread Jazz and Blues Breakfast. Proceeds benefit the South End Technology Center at Tent City's Recording Studio for Emerging Artists. There will be live music by local artists and food prepared by the Columbus Avenue AME Zion Church. For more information, see beantownjazz.org.
$15 -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Mendoza Vibe
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 12:00 p.m.BeanTown StageColumbus Ave.
Boston MA 02215 [Map]
Victor MendozaConsidered by critics around the world to be one of today's finest Latin jazz artists, Mexican-born vibraphonist and composer Victor Mendoza's career includes performances with his own group and as guest soloist around the globe. Presentations include guest appearances with the World Festival Orchestra under the direction of Paquito D'Rivera, the Milan Svoboda Orchestra in Prague, sold-out shows at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and in Tel Aviv, and soloist performance with the Carlos Chávez Symphony Orchestra in Mexico City. Previous recordings and performances with his own group, as well as with artists such as Paquito D'Rivera, Danilo Pérez, Michel Camilo, Claudio Roditi, Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, and Antonio Sánchez, have earned him the respect of critics and jazz fans around the globe. This Is Why, one of Victor's previous recordings, led Latin Beat Magazine to name him one of the Outstanding Latin Jazz Artists of the Year. Black Bean Blues is Mendoza's most recent recording and was named one of the best Latin jazz recordings of the year by Modern Drummer Magazine and led Jazziz Magazine to dub him "the genre's leading vibraphone practitioner" and "one of today's most resourceful composers." As a professor at Berklee, Mendoza has earned an international reputation as a jazz educator, regularly conducting master classes at major music schools and universities around the world. Mendoza's educational DVD, Latin Jazz Grooves, which focuses on Afro-Cuban performance and improvisation rhythmic concepts, is being released by Berklee Press/Hal Leonard this fall.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Berklee City Music All-Stars
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 12:00 p.m.Target Stage681 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Berklee City Music All-StarsThe Berklee City Music All-Stars Ensemble is composed of the best and brightest City Music students, all of whom have attended Berklee's Five-Week Summer Performance Program on full-tuition scholarships. The ensemble performs multiple genres of contemporary music, including jazz, pop, hip-hop, and rhythm and blues.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Berklee Global Jazz Institute Ensemble
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 12:00 p.m.Berklee Stage732 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Berklee Global Jazz Institute EnsembleThe Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) is a performance program designed to foster creativity and musicianship through various musical disciplines, with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez as its artistic director.
The BGJI provides a comprehensive contemporary music environment where students are given opportunities to explore their creativity to the highest level possible, advance the power of music as a tool for the betterment of society, and connect musical creative thinking with the natural environment. Though launched less than a year ago, BGJI musicians have already played at a host of major festivals around North America, including the Newport Jazz Festival and the Beaches International Jazz Festival (Toronto).
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
WeJazzUp
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 1:00 p.m.Berklee Stage732 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Frank WilkinsPianist, composer, producer, band leader, and educator Frank Wilkins is known throughout the United States for his soulful, swinging, sensitive approach to music. An alumnus of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Berklee College of Music, Wilson has instructed at Berklee, Tufts University, Northeastern University, and the New England Institute of Art. Among his many accomplishments, Wilkins is the recipient of the Hank Jones Jazz Masters Award while attending Berklee and the Composition Grant from the Massachusetts Council of the Arts. For more then two decades Wilkins has been working with programs such as A Journey into Jazz and Eats and Beats, bringing the music and history to students in grades K-12. Renowned local, national, and international performances include Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kevin Eubanks, Jon Faddis, Najee, Rebecca Parris, and Mike Stern. Wilkins has opened for Ray Charles, Bill Cosby, Al Green, Gladys Knight, and Wynton Marsalis, among others. Performances have covered all of the major New England jazz/r&b clubs, as well as the Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, and many celebrated performances throughout West Africa, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, and Mexico.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Spontaneous Composition with Rhiannon, Alex Acuna, Abe Laboriel Sr. and Jetro DaSilva
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 1:05 p.m.BeanTown StageColumbus Ave.
Boston MA 02215 [Map]
RhiannonA vibrant, gifted singer, performance artist, composer, and master teacher, Rhiannon has been bringing her unique and potent blend of jazz, world music, improvisation, and storytelling to audiences for more than three decades. From her stellar collaborations with the all-women's jazz ensemble Alive! to a cappella ensemble SoVoSó to Bobby McFerrin and Voicestra to her groundbreaking solo and ensemble performances, Rhiannon enthralls and inspires her audiences. In addition to her ongoing solo performing and recording career, and her current ensemble projects, Rhiannon enjoys a longtime musical collaboration with vocal improvisation master Bobby McFerrin. Since 1986 she has been a member of his 12-voice orchestra, Voicestra. In 1997 Rhiannon recorded Circlesongs with McFerrin, and has been a featured soloist on annual U.S. and European Voicestra tours. She currently performs completely improvised concerts with two brilliant instrumental trios—one on each coast of the U.S.—as well as with WeBe3, a unique and compelling a cappella ensemble with fellow Voicestra members Joey Blake and David Worm. They released their first CD in May 2008, WeBe3 Live and Improvised: World Tour 2007. In the fall of 2008 Rhiannon joined the faculty of Berklee College of Music as an associate professor of voice.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Andy Milne and Dapp Theory
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 1:15 p.m.Target Stage681 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Dapp TheoryToronto native Andy Milne draws inspiration from various forms of music, politics, philosophy, comedy, and science fiction. A recipient of the New Works commission and the French-America Jazz Exchange grants from Chamber Music America in 2006, and voted Rising Star Keyboardist by Down Beat magazine in 2004, Milne is one of the most important and respected voices in jazz today. His group Dapp Theory blends funk, hip-hop, and jazz with seamless precision. Their current release, Layers of Chance, features fresh compositions by Milne that blend various instrumental textures, infectious grooves, lush harmonies, and poignant lyrics. Milne has played with Joe Lovano, Archie Shepp, Ranee Lee, Cassandra Wilson, and Greg Osby. In addition to his multiple projects, Milne tours and records with trumpeter Ralph Alessi, teaches at the School for Improvisational Music, and is an adjunct professor at New York University, the New School University, and the Banff Centre.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
The Greg Osby 6 Featuring Mark Turner
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 2:15 p.m.Berklee Stage732 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Greg OsbySaxophonist, composer, producer, and educator Greg Osby has made an indelible mark on contemporary jazz as a leader of his own ensembles and as a guest artist with other acclaimed jazz groups for the past 20 years, including Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Jack DeJohnette, Andrew Hill, Muhal Richard Abrams, Jim Hall, and Jaki Byard. Osby has earned numerous awards and critical acclaim for his recorded works and passionate live performances. Osby signed his first recording deal with JMT (Jazz Music Today), recording four CDs for that label before signing with Blue Note Records in 1990 and recording fifteen recordings as a leader. In 2008, Osby launched his own label, Inner Circle Music, which serves as a platform for many of today's brightest artists. On 9 Levels, his latest recording on Inner Circle Music, Osby presents his wares in a sextet format and is joined by special guests Nir Felder, guitar; Adam Birnbaum, piano; Joseph Lepore, bass; Hamir Atwal, drums; and a welcome newcomer to the international jazz scene, vocalist Sara Serpa.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Julian Lage Trio
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 2:15 p.m.BeanTown StageColumbus Ave.
Boston MA 02215 [Map]
Julian LageWhen Julian Lage emerged on the music scene 13 years ago, the young San Francisco Bay Area musician was not only deemed a guitar-playing prodigy, but he was also offered record deals on numerous occasions. Playing a unique style that melded blues, classical, folk, and jazz influences, Lage decided to wait for the right moment to document his own music. He chose instead to become a sideman with established instrumentalists like Gary Burton and to collaborate with contemporaries such as pianist Taylor Eigsti. Along the way, Lage received recognition from musical luminaries, including Herbie Hancock and Béla Fleck, and patiently waited until he was ready to go into a studio with a band of like-minded players to realize his own musical vision. Now the time has come. At the age of 21, the Boston-based Lage releases his debut album, Sounding Point on EmArcy Records, an imprint of Universal Records. The music ranges from composed works and impromptu improvisations in duo and trio settings to solo excursions and a finale capped by a masterful rendering of Miles Davis's "All Blues." Lage also delivers impressively original covers of Elliott Smith 's "Alameda" and Neal Hefti's "Lil' Darlin'."
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Gabrielle Goodman
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 2:45 p.m.Target Stage681 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Gabrielle GoodmanA vocal artist, composer, and educator, Gabrielle Goodman has toured the world providing backing vocals for such legendary artists as Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Freddie Jackson, and Bryan Ferry. She has also recorded two critically acclaimed CDs on the JMT/Verve Polygram label. The CDs, entitled Travelin' Light and Until We Love, feature a line-up including Christian McBride, Terri Lyne Carrington, Gary Bartz, Gary Thomas, and Kevin Eubanks, to name a few. The Peabody Conservatory graduate has been featured with the Boston Pops, the Syracuse Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Tokyo-based Yamayuri Symphony Orchestra. As a composer, Goodman cowrote the ASCAP Award-winning R&B hit "You Can Make the Story Right," which appears on Chaka Khan's Grammy Award-winning CD The Woman I Am. She has also written for Roberta Flack and several of the compositions on her own Verve CDs. She sings pop, funk, jazz, and gospel music with amazing delivery and has worked with some of the best in the business. Goodman is currently an associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
The Boogaloo Swamis
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 3:30 p.m.BeanTown StageColumbus Ave.
Boston MA 02215 [Map]
The Boogaloo SwamisThe Boogaloo Swamis combine their rhythmic Cajun and zydeco music with Rockabilly, Tex Mex, blues, and original tunes for a hot musical gumbo. Four-time winners of Boston Music Awards' Outstanding World Music Act, the Boogaloo Swamis, true to their roots, create a party wherever they perform.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Nona Hendryx
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 3:30 p.m.Target Stage681 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Nona HendryxFrom her beginnings with Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles (the sweethearts of the Apollo Theater); to LaBelle (a trio with Patti LaBelle and Sarah Dash); followed by a stunning solo career; and then an induction into the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1999, Nona Hendryx has always been on the cutting edge of music. Her songs are edgy, provocative, political, and full of double entendres and empowering messages that enabled the trio to break the traditional girl-group mold. Their stage show was the forerunner of the epic productions we expect today, and they were the only contemporary black group to take their Wear Something Silver show to New York's prestigious Metropolitan Opera House and to major theaters and opera houses across the world. Labelle racked up three gold albums and a No. 1 worldwide hit with "Lady Marmalade (Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir?)." Recently, Hendryx toured festivals in Europe with the Daughters of Soul (Sandra St. Victor, Indira Khan, Lisa Simone, Lalah Hathaway, and Joyce Kennedy), toured in the U.S with Cyndi Lauper on the True Colors tour, and reunited with Patti Labelle and Sarah Dash for a 2008-2009 tour.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Grace Kelly
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 3:30 p.m.Berklee Stage732 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Grace KellyWhen it comes to Grace Kelly—saxophonist, vocalist, composer, lyricist, arranger—people seem to be divided into two groups: those who marvel at her proficiency, creativity and ever-accelerating growth, and those who have yet to encounter the 18-year-old wunderkind. She has performed with high-profile artists such as Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr., and appeared on NPR's Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. Kelly has won the Outstanding Jazz Act honors at the annual Boston Music Awards and local ABC affiliate WCVB-TV named her one of five Bostonians to Watch in 2009. The 2009 57th Down Beat Critics Poll added her to its list of Alto Saxophone Rising Stars, the youngest ever to be named so.
To this astonishing list of kudos and credits, Kelly now adds Mood Changes, the fifth release on her PAZZ label. The album mixes six standards with four Kelly originals and features her working quintet (Jason Palmer, trumpet; Doug Johnson, piano; John Lockwood, basses; Jordan Perlson or Terri Lyne Carrington, drums), with guest appearances by guitarist Adam Rogers on two tracks and trombonist Hal Crook on one.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Jon Batiste Band
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 4:45 p.m.Berklee Stage732 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
Jon BatisteJonathan Batiste is part of a culturally significant lineage of New Orleans musical families known worldwide. At the age of 8, he was already featured singing with his family in Japan. He later performed with them on percussion, and by 12 had found his destiny: the piano. Since then he has performed, recorded, and toured over 30 countries with artists such as Harry Connick Jr., Abbey Lincoln, Jimmy Buffett, Lenny Kravitz, Ellis Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, and currently with Cassandra Wilson and Roy Hargrove. He debuted at Carnegie Hall when he was 18 years old and has performed at major music festivals worldwide. He has three CD releases under his own name, the first when he was 17 and still studying at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) High School in New Orleans. He is also a graduate of the Juillard School in New York.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
The Wild Magnolias
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 4:45 p.m.Target Stage681 Columbus Ave.
Boston MA 02120 [Map]
The Wild MagnoliasA group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local "Indian masking" traditions, and performing New Orleans Mardi Gras music extends at least back into the 1950s. The group's lead member was called the Big Chief, and at least three Big Chiefs are known to have headed the band for short stints prior to 1964: Leon, Flap, and Joe Lee Davis. In 1964, Bo Dollis became Big Chief of the group, having previously participated in other Mardi Gras tribes, such as the White Eagles and the Golden Arrows. Dollis's name is virtually synonymous with the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indian tribe. He has been a legend almost from the beginning, because he could improvise well and sing with a voice as sweet as Sam Cooke, but rough and streetwise, with an edge that comes from barroom jam sessions and leading hundreds of second-lining dancers through the streets at Carnival time. Dollis and Monk Boudreaux, chief of the Golden Eagles, have recorded James "Sugar Boy" Crawford's 1954 r&b hit "Jackomo, Jackomo" and the classic Mardi Gras song "Handa Wanda." The Wild Magnolias and the Golden Eagles have taken Bo Dollis and Monk Boudreaux from the ghettos and brought them to places like Carnegie Hall in New York; the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.; London; Nice; and Berlin. Wherever they go, listeners will hear an authentic music to which New Orleans owes so much.
Free -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Al Kooper and the Funky Faculty
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 5:00 p.m.BeanTown StageColumbus Ave.
Boston MA 02215 [Map]
Al KooperIn 1958, Al Kooper began his professional career as guitarist in the Royal Teens ("Short Shorts"). He metamorphosized into a Tin Pan Alley songwriter with cuts by Gary Lewis, Gene Pitney, Keely Smith, Carmen McRae, Pat Boone, Freddie Cannon, Lulu, Lorraine Ellison, and Donny Hathaway and later was sampled by the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Pharcyde, and Alchemist.
In the mid-'60s, Kooper was a member of the Blues Project and then founded Blood, Sweat & Tears, remaining only for their debut album. He then slipped his producer hat on and began with the top-ten album Super Session in 1968, featuring Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. He is well known for his organ playing on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." His playing skills have graced the works of the Rolling Stones; George Harrison; the Who; Jimi Hendrix; Peter, Paul & Mary; Tom Petty; Joe Cocker; B.B. King; Taj Mahal, Alice Cooper, and scores more.
Major moments include playing piano, organ, and French horn for the Rolling Stones on "You Can't Always Get What You Want"; keyboards on George Harrison's No. 1 hit "All Those Years Ago"; and keys on The Who Sell Out and on Electric Ladyland for Jimi Hendrix. As a producer he is best known for discovering Lynyrd Skynyrd and producing their first three albums, including "Sweet Home Alabama," "Free Bird," "Gimme Three Steps," and "Saturday Night Special." His other producing clients included the Tubes, Nils Lofgren, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the Staple Singers, Lorraine Ellison, Bob Dylan, Joe Ely, Thelonious Monster, and Green on Red. His autobiography, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, is considered by many to be a rock 'n' roll must-read. He scored Hal Ashby's first film, The Landlord; John Waters' film, Cry Baby; Michael Mann's TV series, Crime Story; and Peter Riegert's recent directorial debut King of the Corner. His live show accompanied by his band of Berklee professors, the Funky Faculty, has been acclaimed all over the world. In 2006, he received the Milestone Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2007 the AES awarded him the Les Paul Award, and in 2008 he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame. At 65, he shows no signs of retirement, with a new album, White Chocolate; more live concerts; and the brisk sale of his book.
Free -
The Why / Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 8:00 p.m.Cafe 939939 Boylston Street
Boston MA 02115 [Map]
Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys are a musical alchemy descending into the rabbit hole of performance art. With their toys and voices they create a death-folk, steamcrunk, organic-industrial experience.
The award-winning film The Why features music by Walter Sickert. The Why draws from the evil tones of early Polanski with inspired dialogue and linearity, while shocking the viewer with gritty vignettes of Hooper-like violence. Although the film is more arthouse than horror, viewers are still caught in a metaphysical mélange absent of love, absent of hate, and absent of reason.
$10
Scullers Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston
BeanTown Jazz Festival
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Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Terence Blanchard
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 8:00 p.m.Scullers Jazz Club400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 02134 [Map]
Terence BlanchardHurricane Katrina informs Crescent City native son Terence Blanchard's impassioned song cycle A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), a 13-track emotional tour de force of anger, rage, compassion, melancholy, and beauty. A Tale of God's Will features Blanchard's quintet-pianist Aaron Parks, saxophonist Brice Winston, bassist Derrick Hodge, drummer Kendrick Scott—as well as a 40-member string orchestra—and is his third album for Blue Note Records. (His second album for them, Flow, was nominated for two Grammys in 2006.) An important jumpstart for A Tale of God's Will was director Spike Lee's decision to document the aftermath of Katrina on film, in what turned out to be the four-hour HBO documentary When The Levees Broke. Lee, who has enlisted Blanchard on numerous occasions to score films such as Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X, The 25th Hour, and Inside Man, tapped him once again for his documentary. Four of the movie's tracks—"Levees," "Wading Through," "The Water," and "Funeral Dirge"—formed a nucleus of material for A Tale of God's Will. "Requiem tells the story," Blanchard says, "that needs to heard so that people will continue to talk about what happened after Katrina."
$28 -
Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
Terence Blanchard
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 10:00 p.m.Scullers Jazz Club400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 02134 [Map]
Terence BlanchardHurricane Katrina informs Crescent City native son Terence Blanchard's impassioned song cycle A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), a 13-track emotional tour de force of anger, rage, compassion, melancholy, and beauty. A Tale of God's Will features Blanchard's quintet-pianist Aaron Parks, saxophonist Brice Winston, bassist Derrick Hodge, drummer Kendrick Scott-as well as a 40-member string orchestra-and is his third album for Blue Note Records. (His second album for them, Flow, was nominated for two Grammys in 2006.) An important jumpstart for A Tale of God's Willwas director Spike Lee's decision to document the aftermath of Katrina on film, in what turned out to be the four-hour HBO documentary When The Levees Broke. Lee, who has enlisted Blanchard on numerous occasions to score films such as Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X, The 25th Hour, and Inside Man, tapped him once again for his documentary. Four of the movie's tracks-"Levees," "Wading Through," "The Water," and "Funeral Dirge"-formed a nucleus of material for A Tale of God's Will. "Requiem tells the story," Blanchard says, "that needs to heard so that people will continue to talk about what happened after Katrina."
$28
