Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival Celebrates 10th anniversary, September 15-25, 2010

Terence Blanchard

The 10th annual Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival kicks off this Wednesday, September 15 and runs to Saturday, September 25, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. The annual festival is hosted by the Berklee College of Music, the world's foremost jazz university.

This year's festival pays tribute to the music and culture of New Orleans, and features artists from the Crescent City like Terence Blanchard, Jon Baptiste and the Wild Magnolias.

For a full schedule of activities, click here.

Over 30 performances are spread out at some of the area's finest concert venues and jazz clubs, including the Berklee Performance Center, Scullers Jazz Club, Regattabar, Wally's Cafe, Berklee's Cafe 939 and David Friend Recital Hall.

The festival culminates on Saturday, September 25 with an all-day, free outdoor stages along Columbus Avenue in Boston's South End. For directions, click here.

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

Tribute to George Gershwin at ArsenalArts on September 11

A new musical series called The American Songbook: The Jazz View, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 11 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown Massachusetts. Songwriter George Gershwin is the featured artist.

Musicians include Saxophonist Larry Monroe, vocalist Donna McElroy, pianist Russell Hoffmann, trumpet player Jeff Stout, bassist John Repucci and drummer John Ramsey.

Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 for Arsenal members, and $15 for students and seniors and can be purchased online.

Other songwriters in the series include Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. For more details on The American Songbook, click here.

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

John Pizzarelli Celebrates Duke Ellington at Scullers on September 10-11

Singer/guitarist John Pizzarelli is performing a special show honoring one of the great masters of jazz this weekend, September 10 and 11, at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston.

Rockin' In Rythm: A Tribute to Duke Ellington is the name of the show, and also the new CD that Pizzarelli has just released. The concert will feature Pizzarelli's unique interpretations of such classic songs as Satin Doll, East St. Louis Toodle-oo, Perdido and other songs from the Ellington songbook.

Tickets are $35 and can be ordered online. Showtime is 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. each night.

For a full schedule of jazz at Scullers, click here.

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

Tanglewood Jazz Festival: Pod Casts of Performing Artists

Enjoy podcasts of this weekend's performers at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, including Laurence Hobgood, Donal Fox and Maya Beiser, by clicking here.

For a full schedule of performances of this year's Tanglewood Jazz Festival, click here.

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

For tourism information, visit MassVacation.com.

Tanglewood Jazz Festival Features Kurt Elling, John Pizzarelli, Bob James on September 4-5

This year's Tanglewood Jazz Festival in Lenox Massachusetts features jazz vocalist of the year Kurt Elling, guitar master John Pizzarelli, pianist Bob James and many more great jazz artists.

The concerts take place on September 4-5 over Labor Day Weekend at Seiji Ozawa Hall on the hallowed grounds of Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a popular venue for a wide variety internationally renowned classical, jazz and popular music.

Tickets range from $18 to $77 and can be ordered online.

For a full schedule of the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, click here.

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Blues Legend John Lee Hooker Jr. Plays at the Iron Horse in Northampton on August 24

John Lee Hooker Jr, Detroit's legendary bluesman, is performing at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Tuesday, August 24 at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are $12.50 in advance and can be purchased online, or $15 at the door.

As a child in the 1970s, Hooker learned the blues from Delta blues masters, including his father John Lee Hooker and blues harp legend Jimmy Reed.

His 2004 album, Blues with A Vengence received a Grammy nominiation and marked his transition as a formidable bluesman with his own unique voice and experience to sing the blues.

For a complete line-up of shows at the Iron Horse, click here.

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

Salem Jazz & Soul Festival this weekend, August 21-22

The fourth annual Salem Jazz & Soul Festival is taking place this Saturday and Sunday, August 21-22, at Salem Willows in the City of Salem.

This year's line-up includes the Grace Kelly Quintet, the Northshore Gospel Ambassadors, the Sam Kinninger Band and many other great acts.

Salem Trolley is providing service to the Salem Willows from the Salem train station, the Salem ferry and the Bentley School.

In addition to continuous music, the festival also features arts & crafts, music education classes, a children's tent and family activities.

For a full schedule of events, click here.

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

James Montgomery Blues Band Playing in Lowell on Saturday, August 21

Blues harp master James Montgomery and his Blues Band, along with the Uptown Horns, perform at the Lowell Summer Music Series this Saturday, August 21, at 7:30 p.m.

Considered one of the premier blues harmonica players over the last 30 years, Montgomery learned to play the blues first-hand from James Cotton, John Lee Hooker and Jurnior Wells. He's toured with Aerosmith, the Allman Brothers, Patti LaBelle and many others.

The concert takes place outdoors at Boarding House Park, 40 French Street, in downtown Lowell. Tickets are $18 and can be ordered online, or $25 at the gate the night of the concert.

For a complete list of concerts of the Lowell Summer Music Series through the rest of the summer, click here.

For year round jazz and blues concerts events in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

Tony Bennett performing in Cohasset and Hyannis on August 14-15

Jazz legend Tony Bennett is performing two shows in Massachusetts this weekend: at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset on Saturday, August 14, and at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis on Sunday, August 14. Both shows start at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are available online at the Music Circus and the Melody Tent or can be purchased at the gate the night of the concert.

A fifteen-time Grammy Award winner, Bennett's voice has helped define the American songbook since the late 1940s, when he began working with Pearl Bailey, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra. In recent years he has recorded with a host of great singers, including Stevie Wonder, k.d. lang, James Taylor, Michael Buble and others.

Bennett is also a renaissance man whose reputation as a serious painter has grown over the years. He painted the image for the official poster of the 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and regularly donates his artwork to a variety of worthwhile causes.

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

For tourism information in Massachusetts, visit MassVacation.com.

Jazz Singer Patti Austin Performs at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, August 13-14

Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Patti Austin is performing at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on the weekend of August 13-14, 2010. Performances are at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. each night. Tickets are $40 and can be ordered online.

With 17 solo albums and countless collaborations with singing stars like Paul Simon, Robert Flack and Diana Ross, Austin has enjoyed a sterling career as a singer, songwriter, and interpreter of the American songbook. She also created her own one-woman show and was co-creator of several other musical showcases.

For a full schedule of upcoming concerts at Scullers, click here.

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

For tourism information on visiting Massachusetts, visit MassVacation.com.