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.

Rockport Music Presents Jazz Pianist David Benoit Performing A Charlie Brown Christmas on December 14

Innovative jazz pianist David Benoit and his trio are performing the music to A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts on Tuesday, December 14, 2010, at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets to the show are $25.00 to $46.00 and can be purchased online or by calling 978 546-7391.

A pioneer of the smooth jazz genre, Benoit has long been passionate about the music of Peanuts composer Vince Guaraldi and has made numerous recordings related to Peanuts.

For a complete schedule of concerts at the Shalin Liu Performance center, visit Rockport Music.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Jazz Vocalist Rajdulari Barnes Performing in Boston on December 9

Jazz singer Rajdulari Barnes is performing at the new Cafe Tatant jazz dinner club at the Roxbury Center for the Arts on Thursday, December 9, 2010.  She'll be performing with her group, the Rajdulari Jazz Project.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., dinner is served at 7:00 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $39 for meal and music per person, or $69 per couple.  Tickets for the show only, without dinner, are $19.

For more information, please call 617 849-6322.

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

Jazz singer Diane Richardson Kicks off new jazz supper club in Roxbury on December 2

Jazz Vocalist Diane Richardson

Roxbury Center for Arts at Hibernian Hall in Boston's Dudley Square is launching a new supper club - called Cafe Tatant - offering fine dining with jazz, rhythm-and-blues and soul music and dancing on Thursday evenings.

Cafe Tatant premiers on December 2, 2010 with Diane Richardson, a well-known jazz singer who is performing with trombonist Bill Lowe, keyboardist John Kordalewski, bassist Ron Mahdi and drummer Ralph Peterson.

George Huggins of Ethnica Gourmet Catering will provide the food as the grand ballroom is transformed into a relaxed listening lounge and supper club.

The nightclub opens its doors at 6:00 p.m.. Dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. The meal and music package is $39 for one and $69 for a couple.  Tickets for just the show are $19 and can be purchased online.

Upcoming shows at Cafe Tatant in December include:

Rajdulari Barnes and the Rajdulari Jazz Project on December 9

Cornell Coley and his Afro-Latin Ensemble Sugarfoot on December 16

Fulani Haynes and the Jazz Collaborative Holiday Show on December 23.

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

WGBH Hosts Tribute to Ray Smith on November 19

(Boston) - WGBH 89.7 FM is presenting a musical tribute to legendary radio host Ray Smith on Friday, November 19, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the station's studios in Brighton.

Radio host Ron Della Chiesa will serve as master of ceremonies, with music by the Paramount Jazz Band.

Admission to the tribute is $120 and includes a pair of tickets and membership in WGBH's Jazz Club. For more details, click here.

Smith, who died in February, 2010 at age 87, worked at WGBH for 38 years, producing over 1,900 programs. His show, Jazz Decades, started in 1958 at another station, is the longest running program in Boston radio history.

For more information on WGBH, visit WGBH.org.

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

Jazz Guitarist John McLaughlin & Fourth Dimension at Boston's House of Blues on November 16

Legendary jazz guitarist John McLaughlin is performing with the 4th Dimension at the House of Blues in Boston on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 7:00 p.m.). Tickets to the show are $29.50 to $39.50 and can be ordered online.

Opening the show for McLaughin is the Jimmy Herring Band.

Founder of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the 1960s, McLaughlin's lifelong musical and spiritual journey was influenced by John Coltrane. His famous version of Good-bye Port Pie Hat, by jazz bassist Charlie Mingus, remains part of McLaughlin's repertoire today.

For more jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourism information on Massachusetts, visit MassVacation.com.

Las Vegas Rat Pack Show comes to Hanover Theatre in Worcester on November 6

What happened in Vegas comes to Worcester, Massachusetts this weekend when The Rat Pack is Back opens at the historic Hanover Theater on Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets are $35, $45, and $55 and can be ordered online or by calling 877 571-7469.

The show recreates the nightclub scene of Las Vegas of the 1950s, when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Joey Bishop starred at the Sands Hotel, performing a free-wheeling cabaret of songs, jokes, stories, dance routines and quips that captured America's imagination.

The Rat Pack is Back features a big-band 12-piece orchestra and top notch vocalists who recreate the mood and sound of the 1950s.

For a full list of upcoming shows at the Hanover Theatre, click here.

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

Grace Kelly Quintet Performing at Shalin Liu Concert Hall in Rockport on November 5

Rockport Music is presenting alto saxophonist Grace Kelly and the Grace Kelly Quintet at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport on Friday, November 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets to the show are $25, $37, and $46 and can be ordered online or by calling the box office at 978 546-7391.

The 18 year old saxophonist, singer, composer and arranger performed throughout North America and Europe this past summer with her talented quintet. She has released five albums, including her most recent, Mood Changes.

Kelly was the youngest ever "Alto Saxophonist Rising Star" in the 57th annual Downbeat Critics Poll in 2009, an award she won again in 2010. The Massachusetts native is currently enrolled at the Berklee College of Music.

For a full list of upcoming concerts presented by Rockport Music, click here.

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For visitor information, go to MassVacation.com.

Jazz Pianist Aaron Goldberg playing at Berklee and Milton Academy in November

World renowned jazz pianist Aaron Goldberg is performing with his trio at the Cafe 939 at the Berklee College of Music at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 3 and Thursday, November 4, 2010. He'll be joined by his trio, bassist Rueben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, and will also jam with students from Berklee. Tickets are $10.

Then on Sunday, November 7, at 1:00 p.m., Goldberg performs at Milton Academy, Strauss Library, for a fundraiser in support of the academy's 2011 South Africa Tour. There Goldberg will be joined by bassist Bob Sinicrope and drummer Jon Hazilla. The concert is free but donations are requested.

A graduate of both Milton Academy and Berklee College of Music, Goldberg has spent the past 12 years touring the world and performing with Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redmond, Michael Brecker and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

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