Live Jazz and Blues in Boston and Throughout Massachusetts on Friday, April 6

Kenny Garrett

Looking for live jazz and blues on Friday, April 6, 2012 in greater Boston and throughout Massachusetts?  Check out these performances taking place in jazz clubs, hotels and concert venues, compiled by MassJazz.com. 

Boston

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Scullers Jazz Club
1140 Soldiers Field Road
Allston, Boston  

Marc Ribot
Special Guests: Mostly Other People Do the Killing
Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Avenue
South Boston

August Wilson’s

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Huntington Theatre Company

Boston University Theatre

264 Huntington Avenue
Boston

Adric Rosen
Battery Wharf Lounge
Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel
3 Battery Street
Downtown Boston

Lenny Stallworth & Friends

Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen

604 Columbus Ave

South End, Boston

Laure-Muniz Latin Jazz Band

Beehive Club

541 Tremont Street

South End, Boston

Cambridge

Kenny Garrett

Regattabar Jazz Club

Charles Hotel

One Bennett Street

Harvard Square, Cambridge

Sal DeFusco Project

Ryles Jazz Club

212 Hampshire Street

Inman Square, Cambridge

Brian Friedland Sextet, Daniel Rosenthal Quintet

The Lily Pad

1353 Hampshire Street

Inman Square, Cambridge

Central Mass/Metro West

Eight to the Bar
Amazing Things Arts Center
160 Hollis Street
Framingham

Shane Wood Jazz Trio

Nick’s Bar & Restaurant

124 Milbury Street

Worcester

Western Mass

John Pizzarelli
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
225 South Street

Williamstown

Interplay Jazz Band
Blue Rock Restaurant & Bar
10 Bridge Street
Shelburne Falls

Henri Smith & Workingman's Band
Colonial Inn Restaurant
Village Forge Tavern 
48 Monument Square
Concord

North of Boston/Merrimack Valley

Morgan Scott Trio

The Java Room Café

14 Littleton Road

Chelmsford

Rising Scarlett

The Back Page

6 Kearney Square

Lowell

Dana Fuchs
Bull Run Restaurant
Route 2A
Shirley

Cape Cod

Bart Weisman Jazz Group
Grand Cru at Cape Codder Resort
1225 Iyannough Road
Hyannis, Cape Cod

For year round details on jazz concerts, night clubs, radio stations, campus events, weekend brunches and jazz activities throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For tourist information visit MassVacation.com 

Medfield High School Jazz Band Holds 'Dollars for Duke Fundraiser' on April 7

Medfield HS Jazz Ensemble  (Photo by Jeremie Smith)

The Medfield High School Jazz Band has been invited to perform at the 17th annual Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival taking place May 4-6, 2012 at Lincoln Center in New York City.

To help underwrite the $12,000 needed for the trip, the Medfield Music Association is holding a Dollars-for-Duke fundraiser, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, 2012.

The 'Jazz Around Town' fundraiser features live jazz performances in venues around Medfield, with band members collecting cash and check donations with top hats during and after each performance.  Supporters can also send Dollars for Duke donations of any amount to the Medfield Music Association, P.O. Box 115, Medfield, MA 02052.

The Medfield band is one of only 15 high school bands selected from across the United States and Canada, and the only New England band invited to the prestigious competition, which is judged by Wynton Marsalis and a panel of musical educators and performers. 

For more information about jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Jazz Vocalist Sunny Wilkinson Performs at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on April 3

Jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson is performing at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.  She is joined by local saxophone star Grace Kelly.  Tickets to the show are $20 and can be purchased online or at the door. 

Wilkinson has performed with some of the world's best jazz performers, including the Count Basie Band, Clark Terry, Mark Murphy and others.  She has also performed on the popular TV show, Saved by the Bell and was a Solid Gold Singer.    Kelly is an acclaimed young saxophonist who has also branched out as a vocalist, composer, lyricist and arranger. 

For a schedule of upcoming concerts at Scullers Jazz Club, located at the Doubletree Suites by Hilton Hotel at 400 Soldiers Field Road in Boston's Allston neighborhood, click here.

For year round details on jazz concerts, night clubs, radio stations, campus events, weekend brunches and jazz activities throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com
  

For tourist information visit MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com.

Smithsonian Launches Jazz Appreciation Month throughout April

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History marks the 11th annual Jazz Appreciation Month in April with a month long celebration of jazz featuring performances, talks, tours and family-oriented events in venues around Washington, D.C.

This year's JAM poster features Frank Sinatra, created by renowned artist LeRoy Neiman.  To see a PDF of the poster, click here.

You can find year round details on jazz concerts, school programs, night clubs, radio programs and jazz organizations in Massachusetts by visiting MassJazz.com.  For details about Boston's vibrant jazz community, visit JazzBoston.org.

For tourist information visit MassVacation.com.

Jazz Singer Gian Faraone Performs at BOND Lounge at Langham Boston Hotel on April 4

Jazz singer Gian Faraone is performing at BOND Lounge at Boston's Langham Hotel on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Raised in an Italian household in Venezuela, Faraone is forging a unique new sound influenced from a range of artists, from Pavarotti to Sinatra.

The show is part of the BOND Jazz Experiment, which runs from  each Wednesday evening and highlights emerging artists and accomplished performers covering the jazz spectrum, including classic jazz from the American Songbook, rhythm and blues and funk.  For reservations call 617 956-8765.

For year round jazz in concert halls, clubs, hotel lounges and college campuses throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

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

NEC Jazz Ensembles Perform at Pierce Hall on Monday, April 2

Two student jazz ensembles from the New England Conservatory, coached by double bassist Cecil McBee, perform at Pierce Hall on Monday, April 2, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.  The concerts are free and open to the public. 

Pierce Hall is located in the St. Botolph Building at 241 St. Botolph Street.

For a calendar of upcoming concerts at the New England Conservatory this spring, click here.

For year round details on jazz concerts, night clubs, radio stations, campus events, weekend brunches and jazz activities throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com
  

For tourist information visit MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom playing at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston through April 8

Huntington Theatre Company is presenting August Wilson's award-winning play, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Boston University Theatre, from March 9 through April 8, 2012.

The play is part of Wilson's Century Cycle, and was Wilson's first Broadway hit.  In the play, legendary 1920s blues singer Ma Rainey and her musicians gather in a run-down Chicago studio to record new sides of old favorites when generational and racial tensions suddenly explode. 

Find ticket information here.

See a full schedule of plays at Huntington Theatre, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2012 as one of the region's most acclaimed theatre companies.  See more details about Huntington Theatre.

For year round details on jazz concerts, night clubs, campus events and other jazz activities in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For visitor information go to MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com.