Amanda Carr & Kenny Hadley Big Band Jazz Brunch

The New England Center for the Performing Arts is presenting Amanda Carr and the Kenny Hadley Big Band jazz brunch at Mechanics Hall in Worchester on Sunday, November 15 at noon.

The event is being hosted by WBZ radio personality Jordan Rich.

The event includes a culinary feast promptly at noon followed by a big ban program. Joining Ms. Carr and the band is a chorus of singers from the Franklin Performing Arts Company.

Tickets to the brunch/concert are available by contacting Mechanics Hall at 508 752-0888 or visiting mechanicshall.org.

Reserved premium seating is $55 and general seating is $45.

The concert is supported by WICN, 90.5 FM, Worchester's Jazz and Folk Station.

For more details on jazz in Massachusetts, visit massjazz.com/.

Northeastern University Reflects on Legacy of John and Alice Coltrane on November 13

Northeastern University presents a discussion entitled The Coltranes and Humanism: Spirituality, Music and Sound, on Friday, November 13. It takes place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute, 40 Leon Street on campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The events starts with a roundtable discussion that includes master musician/scholar Yusef Lateef, joined by Professor Tammy Kernodle, and Northeastern professors Emmett Price and Leonard Brown. They’ll address the humanist legacy of the Coltranes, including the significance of John Coltrane’s iconic status.

According to the press release, the round-table is followed by a discussion with audience members about "the relationship between music and Black America’s struggle for freedom and equality; how the Coltranes’ music has helped shape global expressions of spirituality and politics; and how we can rethink humanism and the humanities from the perspective of music."

This event is co-sponsored by the Northeastern University Humanities Center, the John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute, and the Departments of African American Studies, Religion & Philosophy, Women's Studies, Sociology & Anthropology, and Music.

Convenient T stops are on the Green (Northeastern) and Orange (Ruggles) Lines. For more information, call 617-373-8700.

For information about Northeastern’s program on John Coltrane, visit jcmc.neu.edu/john_coltrane.php

For more details on jazz in Massachusetts year round, visit massjazz.com

Fred Ho at Harvard, November 4

Fred Ho, a one-of-a-kind revolutionary Chinese American baritone saxophonist, composer, writer, producer, political activist and leader of several music ensembles, is in concert with the Harvard Jazz Band on November 4 at Lowell Hall, 17 Kirkland Street, in Cambridge.

“Fred Ho's style is a genre unto itself, a pioneering fusion of free-jazz and traditional Chinese music that manages to combine truculence and delicacy with such natural ease that it sounds positively organic,” wrote Larry Birnbaum in Down Beat Magazine.

The concert is open to the general public. Tickets are $10.00, and for students and seniors, $8.00.

For more details, visit harvard.edu/

For details on jazz in Massachusetts, visit massjazz.com/

5th annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival in Western Massachusetts runs October 7-17

The 5th annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival gets underway this week with 18 jazz performances throughout the city, including performances by jazz guitar virtuoso Frank Vignola, and international jazz legend, pianist Dave Brubeck (see picture).

For more details, visit berkshiresjazz.org

Wednesday, October 7

Royal Hartigan Group

Berkshire Athenaeum

One Wendall Ave,

413 499-9480, 7:00 p.m.

Friday, October 9

Eagles Stage Band
Pittsfield City Hall Steps
Rain Location: City Council Chambers, Noon

Dave Winchester-Piano
Joe's Lunchbox
137 North St.,

413-997-4500, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

We B 3 Organ Trio
The Lantern Restaurant
445 North St.,

413-448-2717, 9:00 p.m.-Midnight

Dave Brown Trio., Mission Bar & Tapas
438 North St. 8:00-11:00 p.m

Ted Murray Quartet
Patrick's Pub
Park Square, 413-499-1994, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Allen Livermore Trio
Pittsfield Brew Works
34 Depot St., 413-997-3506, 8:00 – 11:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 10

Ted Murray Quartet
Patrick's Pub
Park Square, 413-499-1994, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Fran Curley Trio
Pittsfield Brew Works
34 Depot St., 413-997-3506, 8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.

We B 3 Organ Trio
The Lantern Restaurant
445 North St., 413-448-2717, 9:00 p.m.-Midnight

Thursday, October 15

Dan Broad with Allen Livermore
& Students from Berkshire Community College (BCC)
Intermodal Transportation Center
Columbus Avenue @ North St., 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Andy Kelly's Dixieland Ambassadors
Crowne Plaza
Park Square, 413 499-2000, 5:00 -8:00 p.m.

The Inbetweens
Dottie's Coffee Lounge
444 North St., 413 443-1793, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Industrial Jazz Group
Downtown, Mobile Sound Stage

5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Frank Vignola Master Class
Berkshire Music School
30 Wendell Ave., 413 442-1411, 7:15 p.m.

Friday, October 16

Frank Vignola in Concert

Top of the Crown Lounge

Crowne Plaza Hotel

Park Square, 413 499-2000, 7: 30 p.m.

Saturday, October 17

Dave Brubeck Quartet & Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble

Colonial Theatre

111 South Street. 413 997-4444, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 18

Jazz Jam

Lichtenstein Center for the Arts

18 Renne Ave, 413 499-9348, 3:00 p.m.

Trumpet Player Leroy Jones Plays Special Concert in Marblehead, October 10

New Orleans jazz trumpeter Leroy Jones returns with his Quintet to Marblehead, Massachusetts for a concert on Saturday, October 10, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Unitarian-Universalist Church, 28 Mugford Street in the historical town of Marblehead, on Boston's North Shore.

The special concert concludes the 25th season of the Marblehead Summer Jazz Series, where Jones has been a long-time favorite, having played to sold-out audiences in 1996 and 2002.

Gene Arnould, producer of the series, said that "Leroy's performance would be the icing on the 25th Season Cake."

Joining Leroy on the bandstand is Paul Longstreth on piano, Mitchell Player on bass, and Jerry Anderson on drums. Craig Klein, the trombone player who appeared with Jones at his earlier performances is touring with his own trombone band so the Trombone Chair will be filled by Leroy’s wife, Katja Toivola, a native a Finland.

“We’re delighted,” said Arnould. “Leroy has been telling me for years what a great player she is and now we get to hear her for ourselves. It couldn’t be better!”

Tickets for the Leroy Jones performance are $25 in advance and $27 at the door. Preferred Seating tickets are available at $35 and Reserved (Benefactor) Seating is available for $48. Tickets may be purchased in Marblehead at Arnould Gallery, 111 Washington Street, or the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore, 107 Pleasant Street.

They may be purchased on line at marbleheadjazz.org/. Tickets and information can also be had by calling the Summer Jazz Hot Line, 781-631-1528.

For more details on jazz in Massachusetts throughout the year, visit massjazz.com.

Cape Cod's JazzFest Falmouth 2009 Features O'Farrill, Martino and other jazz stars on October 2-3

Arturo O'Farrill

Arturo O’Farrill, Pat Martino, Dominique Eade and other jazz stars highlight JazzFest Falmouth 2009, which runs Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3, in Falmouth on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The popular festival, in its second year, has quickly emerged as a high caliber celebration of jazz that showcases nationally renowned musicians alongside the area’s top jazz artists.

Among the performers scheduled on Friday evening: vocalist Candida Rose, the Pat Ryan Group, Cape Cod Conservatory Big Band, Livio Freitas, Progression 28, Two Cool, the Russ Wilcox Band, Mwalin, and Stage Door Canteen.

On Saturday, the schedule includes the Falmouth High School Band and CJOY(Conservatory Jazz Orchestra for Youth), Quintology, Jonathan Batiste, the Greg Hopkins Big Band with vocalist Dominique Eade, Pt Martino, and the Arturo O’Farrill Sextet.

Special guests hosts at the festival include Eric Jackson, host of “Jazz with Eric in the Evening” on WGBH, Naomi Arenber, host of Folk on WGBH, and Falmouth’s own Billy Brackett.

Tented Lawn Seating is $25 in advance and $35 the day of the event. Preferred seating and sponsor tickets also are available.

Detailed festival and ticket information is available at www.JazzFestFalmouth.org.

JazzFest Falmouth is presented by ArtsFalmouth, an alliance of artists, cultural organizations, businesses and individuals who believe in the importance of art for the vitality and future of the Falmouth and the Upper Cape. A non-profit volunteer organization, ArtsFalmouth is open to all art and cultural organizations and individual artists in the area.

For year round information on jazz in Massachusetts, visit http://www.massjazz.com/.

Junior Mance & Randy Weston Honor Thelonius Monk in Massachusetts

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For a full list of jazz in Massachusetts, visit massjazz.com