Jazz Vocalist Shelley Neill Performing at Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center on Friday, April 1

Premier jazz vocalist Shelley Neill and her masterful band of musicians from Berklee College of Music are performing on Friday, April 1, 2011 at the Jazz Club at Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge Massachusetts, starting at 8:00 p.m..

Tickets to the show are $15-$20 and can be ordered online.  The doors open at 7:00 p.m. and dinner, snacks, winer and beer are available for purchase.

Neill will be performing songs from her album, Irish Eyes, Gypsy Soul, and will be accompanied by  Laszlo Gardony on piano, Ron Mahdi on bass and Yoron Israel on drums

For a schedule of upcoming activities at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, click here.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Toots Thielemans and Kenny Warner at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on Thursday, March 31

Jazz harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans and pianist Kenny Warner are wrapping up a two-day set at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets to the show are $35, or $73 dinner and show, and can be ordered online.

Born in Brussells, Belgium, Thielemans has been a consummate jazz star for six decades, performing with Charlie Parker and others. He received a 2009 Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and was christened a Baron by the King of Belgium.

Kenny Warner is a world-renowned pianist from Brooklyn NY who reaches the emotional and spiritual planes of jazz.

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

For year round jazz concerts, night clubs, campus events, brunches and festivals throughout Massachusetts visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Jazz Violinist Ada Pasternak Performing at BOND Lounge in Boston on Wednesday, March 30

Violinist Ada Pasternak is performing on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at BOND Lounge at the Langham Boston Hotel from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. 

Born in Moscow, Russia, Pasternak moved to the United States and studied with her aunt, Aysa Meshberg in New York.  She received a Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where she studied performance. 

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.

Vote for Boston's Best Jazz Act in Boston Phoenix/WFNX 23rd annual Music Poll

Bostonians can to vote on the city's best jazz act in the 23rd annual Best Music Poll sponsored by the weekly newspaper Boston Phoenix and WFNX radio station.

Among the nominations for Jazz:

Either/Orchestra
Florencia Gonzalez
Grace Kelly
Yoko Miwa
Natraj
Jason Palmer

There is also room for a write-in nomination on the ballot.  Voting ends on May 12, 2011 and the winner will be announced in June.

For year round jazz concerts, night clubs, campus events, brunches and festivals throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Smithsonian Institute's Jazz Appreciation Month Highlights Women Musicians

The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC is celebrating its 10th annual Jazz Appreciation Month in April 2011.  The annual celebration pays tribute to jazz both as an historic and living art form, and encourages educators, jazz societies, musicians and the general public throughout the country to take part.

The 2011 JAM celebration honors the legacy of women jazz performers  "who helped transform race, gender and social relations in the U.S. in the quest to build a more just and equitable nation."  This year's JAM poster depicts the legendary jazz artist Mary Lou Williams.  The poster was designed by Keith Henry Brown.

Also, the National Museum of American History has developed a blog tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor (1921-2010), one of the premier jazz pianists, educators and elder statesman of the jazz world. 

For a schedule of events participating in Jazz Appreciation Month in Washington DC, click here.


For year round jazz concerts, night clubs, campus events, brunches, educational programs and festivals in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Jazz Stamp issued by US Post Office in New Orleans on March 26, 2011

The United States Postal Service has issued a Jazz commemorative stamp (44 cents) as a tribute to jazz, America's musical gift to the world, and to the musicians who play it. The stamp was officially released in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, on Saturday, March 26, 2011.

According to the USPS Press Release, Art Director Howard  Paine designed the stamp to showcase the work of Paul Rogers, an artist from Pasadena, CA.  Rogers was inspired by the cover art from vintage jazz record albums.

Thurgood Marshall, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Postal Services Board of Governors, said, "With this evocative jazz stamp, we celebrate the music and the musicians who play it in studios, clubs and concert halls and on festival stages....Jazz is a pastime that brings people together, regardless of race, ethnicity or background."

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Singer Michelle Cruz Performing at Cafe Tatant in Roxbury on Thursday, March 31

Popular jazz vocalist Michelle Cruz from Providence is performing at Cafe Tatant at the Roxbury Center for the Arts at Hibernian Hall in Boston on Thursday evening, March 31, 2011.  

She'll be performing songs from her new debut album, The Recovery.

Cafe Tatant is a dinner club setting with upscale cuisine prepared by George Huggins of Ethnica Gourmet.  Doors open for drinks at 6:30 p.m., dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for the dinner and show are $28, or for two guests, $54.  Tickets to just the show are $12.   To order online, click here.

For a list of upcoming performances at Roxbury Center for the Arts, click here.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.