Jazz Guitar Master John Abercrombie Performs at Johnny D's Uptown club in Somerville on Friday, April 15

Master guitarist John Abercrombie is performing at Johnny D's Uptown club in Davis Square, Somerville, on Friday, April 15, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $22-$25 and can be ordered online.  Dinner/concert tickets are also available.

Born in New York and raised in Connecticut, Ambercrombie attended the Berklee College of Music and began playing in local Boston clubs like the Jazz Workshop and Paul's Mall, two clubs started by jazz impresario Fred Taylor. 

After graduating from Berklee he became a popular session musician in New York, where he played with Gato Barbieri on his classic album, Under Fire, and then joined up with drummer Billy Cobham and the Brecker Brothers for an illustrious career as one of his generation's finest guitarists.

For a full schedule of upcoming events at Johnny D's, click here.

For year round details on jazz nightclubs, concerts, campus events, brunches and festivals throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com or BostonUSA.com.

Impresario Fred Taylor talks about his life in jazz with WGBH host Steve Schwartz on Friday, April 15

Boston's legendary jazz promoter, Fred Taylor, is going to be on the radio with jazz host Steve Schwartz this Friday, April 15, from 8:00 p.m. to Midnight on WGBH 89.7 FM.

To listen to the show via Live Stream, click here. 

In June 2010, Taylor received a Heroes Award from the Jazz Journalists Association for his lifelong work in promoting jazz and other musical genres. 

To read a profile of Fred Taylor in the 2010 MassJazz Travel Guide, click here.

The co-founder and owner of the legendary Jazz Workshop and Paul's Mall, Taylor is also the creator of the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, where he was artistic director from 2001 to 2007.  Fred is currently entertainment director of Sculler's Jazz Club in Boston.
 
For year round details on jazz nightclubs, concerts, campus events, brunches and festivals throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com or BostonUSA.com.

Jazz Drummer Yoron Israel and High Standards Perform at Tatant Cafe in Roxbury on Thursday, April 14

Jazz drummer Yoron Israel and his quartet, High Standards, appear at Cafe Tatant at the Roxbury Center for the Arts in Boston on Thursday, April 14, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The veteran musician - who is assistant chairman of the percussion department at Berklee College of Music - has performed with jazz giants like Kenny Burrell, Ahmad Jamal, Pharoah Sanders and Abbey Lincoln, and has recorded on over 100 albums.

His band includes Lance Byrant on sax, Laszlo Gardony on keyboards and Ron Mahdi on acoustic bass.

The performance at Cafe Tatant is part of a weekly jazz dinner series.  The doors open at 6:30 for cocktails; dinner is served at 7:00 p.m., and the music begins at 7:30 p.m.   Cost of dinner is and show is $28 per person of $54 for a couple; and cost of the performance alone is $12.  Tickets can be ordered online.

For year round details on jazz nightclubs, concerts, campus events, brunches and festivals throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com or BostonUSA.com.

In the Mood Revue - featuring big band jazz of the 1940s - coming to Lowell Auditorium on Friday, April 15

In the Mood, a musical revue of the 1940s, is coming to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium this Friday, April 15, 2011, at 7:30 p.m., featuring the music of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and other big band leaders of that era.

Tickets are $39.50 and can be ordered online or by calling 978 454-2299.

In the Mood is touring nationally, and includes a 13 piece orchestra, six singers and a host of dancers to recapture the magic of the 1940s big band era.

For a complete list of concerts coming up at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, click here.

For year round details on jazz nightclubs, concerts, campus events, brunches and festivals throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Argentinian Singer Silvina Moreno performing at BOND Lounge in Boston on Wednesday, April 13

Argentinian singer Silvina Moreno is performing at BOND Restaurant | Lounge at the Langham Hotel in Boston this evening, Wednesday, April 13, 2011, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Moreno moved from Buenos Aires to Boston in 2008 to attend the Berklee College of Music, and since then has performed with jazz legends like Bobby McFerrin and Jorge Drexler. She has appeared at the Salem Jazz & Soul Festival and other venues in the region. 

Located at the Langham Boston Hotel,  the BOND Restaurant & Lounge is open seven days a week, offering gourmet sandwiches for lunch, afternoon tea, and global cuisine for dinner, plus an extensive wine list and distinctive cocktails. A special jazz menu is available on Wednesdays

For year round details on jazz nightclubs, concerts, campus events, brunches and festivals throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com or BostonUSA.com.

Astronaut Cady Coleman and Ian Anderson - a Flute Duet Out of this World

American astronaut Catherine "Cady" Coleman and Scottish flutist Ian Anderson from the band Jethro Tull played the first-ever flute duet between Earth and space.

The duet played the tune Bourree in E minor by Johann Sebastian Bach.  It was in honor of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin, who became the first man to enter outer space fifty years ago today, on April 12, 1961.  On that day, President Kennedy congratulated Russian Premier Khrushchev by telegram, and it marked the race between the USA and Russia to put a man on the moon.

A video of today's duet by Coleman and Anderson was posted on the NASA web site:

Saxophonist Daniel Bennett - Performing Live on WICN and at Liberty Hotel on Wednesday, April 13

Innovative jazz saxophonist Daniel Bennett is giving an interview and performance on WICN 90.5 FM Public Radio on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. 

In the evening Bennett and his group perform an acoustic jazz set at the Liberty Bar in Boston's Liberty Hotel, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

A graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, Bennett's music was described by the Boston Globe as "a mix of jazz, folk and trance."

For a complete list of musical programming at WICN, click here.

For year round details on jazz concerts, nightclubs, campus events, Sunday Brunches, festivals and more, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.