Jazz Week 2018 Celebrates Live Jazz in Greater Boston, April 20-30, 2018

Jazz Week 2018, the celebration of live jazz in greater Boston organized by JazzBoston, kicks off on Friday, April 20, and runs through Monday, April 30. 

JazzBoston describes Jazz Week as "a collaboration of Greater Boston’s jazz musicians, venues, presenters, and publicists to celebrate the music and the dynamic and diverse year-round jazz scene that makes Boston one of the world’s great jazz cities. 

More than 100 venues participate, with new ones signing on each year, such as the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), which is participating in Jazz Week for the first time. 

This year, legendary radio host Eric Jackson of WGBH is being honored and celebrated with a series of events in his honor on the 40th anniversary of his show, Eric in the Evening. 

Jazz Week ties into the national observance of April as Jazz Appreciation Month celebrated by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.  Since 2012, International Jazz Day is celebrated worldwide on April 30. 

Makanda Project with Chico Freeman Performing Free Concert in Dudley Square on April 14

 The Makanda Project featuring Chico Freeman performs at the Bruce C. Bolling Center in Dudley Square, Roxbury at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2018.  Also performing is the Boston Citywide String Orchestra.

The concert is free and open to the public. 

The Makanda Project is an ensemble dedicated to performing the previously unrecorded compositions of Makanda Ken McIntyre.  The group is based in Boston, Massachusetts, (Makanda’s hometown) and was formed in 2005.  Since then The Makanda Project has been giving regular free concerts in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood and also performing outside of Boston – sharing what they believe is something unique and special about Makanda’s music, and adding their own individual and collective voices to his compositions.  

Find more live jazz concerts in April throughout Massachusetts.  

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

To visit Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com. 

Portuguese Singer Ana Moura in Concert at Berklee Performance Center on Friday, April 6

Internationally recognized Fado singer Ana Moura is in concert at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston's Back Bay at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 6, 2018.

Tickets are available online or at the venue. The concert is presented by World Music/CRASHarts.

Fado is a distinct song tradition that originated in the neighborhoods and cafes of Lisbon, Portugal.

Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts at the Berklee Performance Center.

Find year round jazz in Massachusetts at MassJazz.com.

Berklee Celebrates Shakespeare's Influence on Jazz, Literature and Culture

Berklee Global Jazz Institute Summit presents Love Supreme, celebrating the impact of William Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, Geri Allen, Kahlil Gibran, Gabriela Mistral, John Coltrane, and Martin Luther King Jr. on today’s global jazz era.

The concert will feature Danilo Pérez, BGJI founder and artistic director; Terri Lyne Carrington, Zildjian chair in performance; Joe Lovano, Gary Burton chair in jazz performance; and other special guests as well as BGJI ensembles.

The Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) is a performance program designed to foster creativity and musicianship through various musical disciplines, with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez as its artistic director.

Find year round details on jazz in Massachusetts at MassJazz.com. 

Jazz Trumpeter & Composer Terence Blanchard Student Ensembles at Berklee Performance Center on February 27

Renowned trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, is hosting a concert with Berklee student ensembles at the Berklee Performance Center at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the venue.

 Blanchard is a visiting scholar at Berklee's Jazz Composition Department.

Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts at the Berklee Performance Center.

Find year round jazz in Massachusetts at MassJazz.com.

For visitor information, go to MassVacation.com. 

Jazz Vocalist Jane Monheit Performs Two Shows at Scullers on Friday, February 23

Acclaimed jazz vocalist Jane Monheit is performing two shows at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on Friday, Feburary 23, 2018 at 8  and 10 p.m..

Tickets are available to purchase online or at the venue.  

Blessed with “a voice of phenomenal beauty,” according to Stephen Holden, New York Times, Monheit has established herself as one of today’s best and most important vocalist-musicians.

On her most recent recording, TheSongbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald,  Monheit pays tribute to Ella while sharing a definitive portrait of herself, guided by her producer, arranger and trumpeter Nicolas Payton. 

Ever since winning first runner up in the 1998 Thelonius Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition, Monheit's career has continued to grow and go in new directions.  Known as a contemporary specialist with the Great American Songbook, 

Find details on year round jazz in Massachusetts at MassJazz.com.

For visitor information, go to MassVacation.com. 

Carla Bruni in Concert at Berklee Performance Center on February 15

Italian-born Carla Bruni is giving at concert  at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston's Back Bay at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 15, 2018.  

Bruni is touring in support of her fifth album, French Touch, a collection of adaptations of well-known songs by Depeche Mode, AC/DC, Willie Nelson, the Clash and others.

Purchase tickets online or at the venue. 

Find a schedule of upcoming concerts at Berklee Performance Center. 

For more information on the jazz scene in Massachusetts, read the current issue of MassJazz Guide or visit MassJazz.com.

For visitor information go to MassVacation.com.