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.
 

Pianist George Winston Performs at Natick Center for Arts on Saturday, March 26

New Age pianist and composer George Winston is performing at the Natick Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 26, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.   Tickets are $37-$42 and can be ordered online.

Winston's release of his album Autumn in 1980 began a movement toward clear, melodic music with strains of jazz, classical, and folk music. 

For a full schedule of events at Natick Center for the Arts, 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.

We Four Perform John Coltrane Tribute at UMass/Amherst on Saturday, M arch 26

We Four, an ensemble of jazz masters, performs a tribute to saxophonist John Coltrane at Bowker Auditorium on Saturday, March 26, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.

 Tickets to the event are $15-$25, and for college students and youth 17 and under, admission is $10.

We Four is comprised of four stellar jazz musicians: tenor sax player Javon Jackson, drummer Jimmy Cobb, pianist George Cables, and bassist Peter Washington.

The concert is sponsored by WFCR, 88.5 FM. 

For a full schedule of music events at UMass/Amherst's Bowker Auditorium, click here.

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

For tourism information visit MassVacation.com.

Blues Guitarist Paul Speidel Celebrates New CD Release at the Acton Jazz Club on March 25

In celebration of its new CD, Retro Rocket, the Paul Speidel Band is performing at the Acton Jazz Club in Acton, Massachusetts on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 9:00 p.m.

Tickets to the show are $12 at the door, or $10 online.

Speidel, a Chicago native reared on the blues, is an electrifying blues guitar player who plays a range of jazz, rock, blues and R&B.

For a full schedule of events at Action Jazz Club, click here. For directions to the club, click here.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Grammy Winners Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten Performing at Royale in Boston on Thursday, March 24

Legendary jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and fellow-Grammy Award winner Victor Wooten perform tonight, March 24, 2011, at Royale Night Club in Boston at 7:00 p.m..

Tickets to the show are $27 and can be ordered online.

Clarke won a Grammy at this year's Grammy Awards ceremony for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.  The Philadelphia native has revolutionized the bass guitar and continues to perform throughout the world.  

Wooten is a five-time Grammy Award winner who was deeply influenced by Clarke, and came to prominence during his time with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.  Clarke, Wooten and Marcus Miller have released a new album, Thunder, to great acclaim.

For a schedule of upcoming concerts at Royale, click here.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Adagio Big Band Performing at Mechanics Hall on Friday, March 25

The Adagio Big Band is performing at Mechanics Hall in Worcester on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.  The band performs an impressive variety of contemporary and classic jazz, from Cab Calloway and Frank Sinantra to Diane Krall and Brian Seztler.

Tickets are $22.50 and $32.50, and a dinner/show combination is $52.00.  Tickets are available online.  Dinner is served at 5:30 p.m. and reservations are required.

For a full schedule of concerts at Mechanics Hall, click here.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Samantha Farrell Returns to BOND Lounge at Boston Langham Hotel on Wednesday, March 23

Rising star Samantha Farrell has a return engagement at BOND Lounge at Boston Langham Hotel on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

The singer/songwriter, originally from Boston and now living in Los Angeles, has been described by Ben Evans of the Huffington Post as possessing "a liquor-honey voice, deft guitar work and slightly melancholic tones that meld to form an arching and elegant aural tapestry."

Samantha's show is part of the new BOND Jazz Experiment that features upcoming and established jazz artists on Wednesday nights.  A special menu is available.  For reservations, call 617 956-8765.

For a full schedule of artists coming to the BOND Restaurant and Lounge, click here.

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

For visitor information on Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com.

Guitar Master Al DiMeola Performs in Fall River on Tuesday, March 22

Jazz guitar virtuoso Al DiMeola performs with his band World Sinfonia at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Massachusetts on Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets to the show are $50 and $25 for children, and can be ordered online.

DiMeola is a pioneer in fusing jazz and world music, a prolific composer, and a seasoned performer whose career dates back to the 70s fusion band, Return to Forever.

For a schedule of upcoming events at Narrows Center for the Arts, click here.

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

For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com.

Roomful of Blues Performing in Ipswich on Friday, March 18

Legendary blues band Roomful of Blues is performing on Friday, March 18, 2011 at the Ipswich Performing Arts Center in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Tickets to the concert are $22 and $18 for students, and can be ordered online or at the door.

The concert is presented by the North Shore Jazz Project, and proceeds benefits the Ipswich High School music program.

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