J. R. Carroll
Music with African roots warms the January chill, percussionists raise the roof, vocalist/pianist/songwriter Patricia Barber makes a welcome return, and a sextet of touring all-stars from the Monterey Jazz Festival swings through town.
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With major clubs closing their doors for private parties, December can be a little thin for mainstream jazz. But if you like to walk on the wild side, this is your month.
Read MoreRichard Vacca’s The Boston Jazz Chronicles will be a foundational document that other researchers will turn to again and again as they delve into more specific niches of Boston jazz history and unearth as yet unknown artifacts of this era and its neglected body of music.
Read MoreFrom honors for Boston jazz heroes to many flavors of the “Spanish tinge”, it’s an eventful month, especially for NEC’s 40-year-old Contemporary Improvisation department and the annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert as it turns 35.
Read More[Update: Tonight’s performance at Scullers by Mozik and special guest Rebecca Parris is still on. Rumor has it that the set will include Herbie Hancock’s “The Eye of the Hurricane”.] All treats, no tricks —it’s a great month for jazz in New England. The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra turns forty, and so does NEC’s Contemporary Improvisation department. Meanwhile, a raft of musicians make deep dives into electronica.
Read MoreUpdated Sept. 19. Performances tonight and tomorrow evening by the Fred Hersch Trio and the Jeremy Pelt Quintet at Scullers have been cancelled due to a power outage at the DoubleTree hotel. Also, a late addition to the schedule: poet Robert Pinsky and pianist Laurence Hobgood at Club Oberon; plus, a reminder that Brazilian guitarist Rogerio Souza is at Ryles tonight. (For details, see below.) As autumn approaches, Berklee celebrates Ray Charles, NEC kicks off 40th anniversary festivities for its Contemporary Improvisation department, and New England jazz boasts a series of spectacular duo performances, Brazilian music in a variety of flavors, release events for new CDs, and some all-star quintets.
Read MoreFrom the Berkshires to Cape Cod, and with a major stop in Beantown, Massachusetts is the place to be for the autumn jazz festival season.
Read MoreBy J. R. Carroll Even on the Labor Day Weekend, September 2012 gets off to strong start with a Billy Strayhorn tribute in Hyde Park and some special visitors from Brazil. Saturday, September 1, at 2 p.m. at the Martini Shell on Truman Parkway, the third annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival offers a triple bill…
Read MoreA rare visit from trumpeter and composing improviser/improvising composer Arthur Brooks, a farewell evening of Ecuadorian fusion by ÑAWI, and trumpeter Brian Lynch’s “Unsung Heroes” project are the high points in a surprisingly full second half of August.
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