WGBH and Berklee Kick off national broadcast of Toast of the Nation with Lionel Loueke Trio

For the seventh consecutive year,  WGBH Radio - 89.7  kicks off the Toast of the Nation show hosted by National Public Radio on New Year's Eve, starting at 8:00 p.m. with the Lionel Loueke Trio at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston.

"This is a multi-venue, across time zones, celebration with jazz the featured music of the event," says Stephen Charbonneau, Assistant Program Director at WGBH.  The program features jazz bands coast to coast, and is broadcast around the world.

Loueke's performance is part of Boston's First Night Celebrations welcoming the New Year.  Kicking off the celebration at the Berklee Performance Center is virtuoso jazz pianist Takeshi Ohbayashi, who kicks off the festivities at 6:30 p.m.

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

New Year's Eve Jazz: Sculler's in Boston featuring Pieces of a Dream

Sculler's Jazz Club at the Doubletree Guest Suites-Boston is hosting a New Year's Eve celebration featuring Pieces of a Dream on Friday, December 31, 2010 at 8:00 p.m..

Formed in Philadelphia in 1976, Pieces of a Dream is a storied jazz ensemble known for its innovation and authentic jazz roots.  It takes its name from a Stanley Turrentine tune.

The Early Party Package to the show includes a four-course gourmet dinner in the Green Room (dinner reservations from 5:30-6:30 p.m.) followed by the performance by Pieces of a Dream.  Cost per couple is $309.00, and can be purchased online.

Tickets to the show, without the dinner package, are available to the 8:00 p.m. and the 11:00 p.m. shows. (The late night package is sold out.)

In addition, the Doubletree is offering a premium two-room suite and a New Year's Day breakfast buffet and overnight parking, for only $99.00.  For reservations and more information, call 617 562-4111.

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For tourism information, visit MassVacation.com.

Celtic's Shaq O'Neill Conducts Boston Holiday Pops

http://www.bso.org/bso/mediaPlayer_new/mediaPlayer.jsp?featureID=shaq2010&category=all&brand=all&keyword=none

Fulani Haynes Performs Jazz Holiday Show at Cafe Tatant in Boston on December 23

Boston Jazz vocalist Fulani Haynes is performing a special holiday show with the Jazz Collaborative at Cafe Tatant at the Roxbury Center for the Arts in Boston on Thursday, December 23, 2010. 

The newly-opened jazz dinner club is located in Dudley Square in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. and the music begins at 7:30 p.m. 

Tickets to the show are $19. The price for the show and the dinner is $39 per person, or $69 for a couple, and reservations can be made online.

A jazz singer for over thirty years, Fulani Haynes has performed with numerous jazz bands and theatre troupes throughout New England, and is praised for her musical portraits of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.

For more details on Cafe Tetant and upcoming shows in 2011, click here.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Aardvark Jazz Orchestra's 38th annual Christmas Concert at Boston's Emmanuel Church on December 18

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, directed by trumpeter Mark Harvey, performs its 38th annual Christmas Concert this Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. at the Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street in Boston's Back Bay.  Admission is $15 at the door.

The band's first concert  took place in 1973, and since then the orchestra has raised funds for various local charities and educational groups.  This year's recipient is the Boston Public Quartet music education program at the James A. Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan.

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

Either/Orchestra Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Concert at the Regent Theatre on December 16

The Either/Orchestra is celebrating 25 years of incredible jazz with a concert at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts on Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 general admission and $15 for students and can be ordered online.

The 25-member orchestra, founded by Russ Gershon in 1985, features an all-star line-up of musicians who have played with the orchestra over the past quarter century.

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

Two Jazz Shows at Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge on Friday, December 17

Jazz pianist and composer Kevin Harris and his trio - known as the Kevin Harris Project - perform at the Jazz Club of the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Friday, December 17, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.   Harris is a gifted composer whose influences range from Thelonius Monk and Keith Jarrett to Daniel Perez and Frederic Chopin.

Then  jazz vocalist Valerie Stephen takes the stage at 9:00 p.m. for a Tribute to Nina Simone.  Stephens captures the finesse and the fury of Simone, whose iconic music captured a tumultuous time in American life.

 Tickets to each show are $15, or $25 for both shows, and can be ordered online.  Also, discounts apply for seniors, students and members of the Center.

For more details on the Jazz Club, located at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center on 41 Second Street in East Cambridge, click here.

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.