Massachusetts Celebrates Jazz Month & International Jazz Day on April 30

Governor Charlie Baker has declared April 2017 to be Jazz Month in Massachusetts,  a tribute to the state's vibrant, year-round jazz scene.  Governor Baker called jazz "one of America's most treasured exports, connecting races, cultures and continents."

The proclamation coincides with "Jazz Week 2017," organized each year by JazzBoston, a non-profit organization that promotes jazz year round in greater Boston.

Another resource for jazz lovers is MassJazz.com at the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, a year round marketing effort to promote the state's jazz performance and education.  

Sunday, April 30 is International Jazz Day, which is organized by UNESCO each year to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the world. 

For information about visiting Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com.

Jazz Greats Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling Performs at Cary Hall in Lexington on April 28

Spectacle Management is presenting the Branford Marsalis Quartet with jazz vocalist Kurt Elling at Lexington’s Cary Memorial Hall at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 28.

Tickets are $79-$59 and are on sale now at caryhalllexington.com or by calling 617-531-1257.

Regarded as among the most creative and exciting musicians of this generation, Marsalis and Elling joined forces in 2016 to create Upward Spirit, an ambitious album that has been nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal album.

The top flight quartet consists of saxophonist Marsalis, pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner.

Here is a schedule of upcoming show presented by Spectacle Management, a full-service booking, marketing and promotion company with offices in Boston and Lexington.

For more jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com. 

Cuba Con Salsa Features Pedrito Martinez Group. at Boston's Cutler Majestic

WBUR is celebrating the rich heritage of Cuban music at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at the Emerson Cultler Majestic Theatre.  

Robin Young, co-host of Here & Now, and José Massó, host of ¡Con Salsa!, emcee the event.

The evening features multiple performances by the Grammy Award-nominated Pedrito Martinez Group. 

Ned Sublette, author of “Cuba and its Music” and award-winning Cuban singer Gema Corredera will discuss the origins of Cuban music and its influences. Corredera will also join Pedrito Martinez for the final number. 

The event will be recorded live and broadcast throughout the Greater Boston Area. 

For year round details on live jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.  

For visitor information, go to MassVacation.com. 

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard + E Collective Perform at UMass Amherst on April 8

Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard performs with his new quintet, The E-Collective, at the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, 2017. 

Tickets are $25-35, and $10 for local students from the five colleges.  To order, call the box office at 413 545-2511 or 800-999-UMAS.  

A native of New Orleans, Terence Blanchard is a multiple Grammy Award winning musician and composer who has recorded more than 30 albums.  His latest album is Breathless (Blue Note), recorded with the E-Collective. 

Here is a full lineup of upcoming concerts at the Fine Arts Center. 

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For visitor information, go to MassVacation.com. 

  

International Folk Music Festival at Berklee on March 29

Berklee College of Music presents its annual International Folk Music Festival at Berklee Performance Center at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the venue or online.

Berklee's abundant international student population is being showcased at the festival, with traditional folk music from China, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Iran, Bolivia, Serbia, India, and Puerto Rico. 

In addition to the music, expect a vibrant display of traditional dance and costumes, and instruments from students' homelands.

For year round details on live jazz and music in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com. 

For visitor information, go to MassVacation.com. 

Steve Schwartz - Thanks for the Music

In memory of Steve Schwartz, who passed away recently, here is a story below that ran in the 2012 issue of MassJazz Travel Guilde.

Steve Schwartz graced the airwaves at WGBH for nearly 27 years, enlightening listeners with his knowledge, passion and perceptiveness about jazz.

That’s why jazz lovers in Boston and around the nation were dismayed to learn that the station was eliminating his Friday night show, Jazz from Studio Four. And that Steve’s esteemed colleague, Eric Jackson, would have his nightly radio show reduced to weekends only.

Schwartz was gracious about the news, telling The Boston Globe, “It wasn’t a total surprise, but it is a loss. The station is losing a consistent format spread across the week. And the Boston jazz community is losing an important venue for musicians to promote their events.”

Meanwhile, jazz leaders were quick to praise Schwartz and reflect on his contributions.

“Steve’s shows were the most intelligent, well-crafted jazz presentations on radio,” said impresario Fred Taylor, music director at Scullers Jazz Club. “He brought a wealth of knowledge to each record he played.”

“Jazz from Studio Four has been one of my favorite radio shows over the years,” says jazz publicist Sue Auclair. “Steve has very fine musical taste and a gentle radio voice—he picks the really special pieces of music and showcases artists in a really unique way.”

“People like Eric and Steve love and know the music. To a listener like myself, it’s almost like having a History of Jazz class on the radio,” wrote pianist Danilo Perez, head of Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute.

Schwartz was “born and raised in Boston…and discovered jazz on the radio as a teenager living in southern California,” he writes on his WGBH profile, adding, “There’s always new music to discover and old music to rediscover.”

Before coming to GBH, Steve volunteered on Harvard’s WHRB and earned high praise for his jazz show, wrote Globe reporter Ernie Santosuosso.

In addition to being a stellar on-air radio host, Steve is also a talented producer.

“Steve produced many great live recordings from Scullers and other locations that went national on NPR through WBGO in New Jersey under the title Jazz Set,” says Taylor. “And he produced some wonderful live music from the WGBH studio featuring the talents of musicians living and working here in our community.”

“I really loved the recordings he did as well—many for Jazz Set,” says Auclair. “Especially memorable is his recording of the late Shirley Horn at a concert she gave at Sanders Theatre. It was the only time I’d seen Shirley away from the piano and a completely different experience watching her sing directly to the audience! At the end, everyone gave her a standing ovation . . . in tears!”

Along with Jackson, Steve has been ubiquitous on the local jazz scene, introducing acts at Berklee’s BeanTown Festival while supporting local initiatives like JazzBoston.

“Two of JazzBoston’s strongest supporters - Tom Everett, founder of Harvard’s jazz studies program, and jazz journalist and Boston native Nat Hentoff – came to us because of Steve,” says JazzBoston founder Pauline Bilsky.

Optimists hope that WGBH will reconsider its programming and restore jazz to its former presence. In the meantime, Steve remains the class act that had so many listeners tuning in every Friday night.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to be on the radio playing music and producing live broadcasts for all these years,” he writes on Facebook. “Please continue to support the local Boston jazz scene. Go out to the clubs. Buy CDs and downloads. Continue to tune in to Eric Jackson. Jazz in Boston needs to survive. You can make it happen!”

Chris Botti, Darcy James Argue, Mavis Staples & Eliane Elias Performing Jazz + Blues in Massachusetts this Week

Chris Botti Performs in Lexington on March 24

MassJazz has some great suggestions for hearing live jazz and blues in Massachusetts this week, in greater Boston, Plymouth, Lexington, Cape Cod and other parts of the Commonwealth.

Wednesday, March 22
Celebrity Series of Boston presents
Stave Sessions w/ Melissa Aldana Trio
Berklee College of Music
160 Massachusetts Avenue
tickets.celebrityseries.org

Jazz and Blues Open Jam Session
Spire Center for the Performing Arts
25 ½ Court Street, Plymouth
spirecenter.org

Thursday, March 23
Celebrity Series of Boston presents
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
Berklee College of Music
160 Massachusetts Avenue

Fred Hersch Trio
Scullers Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road
Allston, Boston
scullersjazz.com

Friday, March 24
Mavis Staples
Cabot Theatre
286 Cabot Street, Beverly
thecabot.org

Christ Botti
Cary Memorial Hall
1605 Mass Avenue, Lexington
spectacleshows.com

Saturday, March 25
Eliane Elias
Berklee Performance Center
136 Mass Avenue
Back Bay, Boston
berklee.edu

Sunday, March 26
Cape Conservatory CJazz
Cape Cod Museum of Art
60 Hope Lane
Dennis, Cape Cod
ccmoa.org

Find year round details on live jazz in Massachusetts at MassJazz.com.

For details about visiting Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com.