International Jazz Day is Celebrated Around the World on Monday, April 30

Jazz lovers around the world are celebrating Monday, April 30, 2012 as International Jazz Day, an initiative launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The ceremonies kicked off on Friday, April 27 at the UNESCO House in  Paris, France, with jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, who is UNESCO's Good Will Ambassador for jazz around the world. The Berklee Global Jazz Institute performed.

On Monday, April 30, 2012, a Sunrise Concert in New Orleans features Hancock, Terrence Blanchard, Ellis Marsalis, Dianne Reeves and others.  To view the video, click here.

In New York City, there is an afternoon panel discussion at the United Nations from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., entitled Unlearning Intolerance.  Among the panelists are Alexandra Yabrov, manager of Sculler's Jazz Club, jazz saxophonist Grace Kelly and Con Salso radio host and producer Jose Masso.

On Monday evening there's a sunset concert at the United Nations Assembly Hall, featuring Tony Bennett, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Danielo Perez, Esperanza Spalding and others.  To view the live web cast, starting at 7:30 p.m., click here.

For a list of jazz events around the world on International Jazz Day, click here.

International Jazz Day is an outgrowth of Jazz Appreciation Month organized each April by the Smithsonian Institute. 

In greater Boston, check out Jazz Week International, organized by JazzBoston.org.  It runs from April 27 through May 6, 2012.

For year round details on jazz throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information visit MassVacation.com.

Jazz Week in Greater Boston Goes through May 6, 2012

Read our MassFinds Blog about Jazz Week on Mass Office of Travel & Tourism.

Lowell Jazz Day Camp Hosts an Open House on Sunday, April 29

The Lowell Jazz Day Camp program is holding an open house for prospective students on Sunday, April 29, 2012 from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at The Space, the region's premier recording studio and rehearsal space, located at 150 Western Avenue in Lowell.

The two-week, intensive jazz camp runs this year from July 16-27, 2012, and is headed by Stanley Swann III, well-known jazz drummer and director of the program.  The outstanding faculty lineup includes  Frank Wilkins, piano; Semenya McCord, vocals; Mark Michaels, guitar; Thomas Hebb, bass guitar; Artie Barbato, trumpet, and Paul Combs, saxophone.

For more information, or to RSVP to the open house, call 978 459-4755.

Find year round details on jazz throughout Massachusetts by visiting MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, go to MassVacation.com or MerrimackValleyCVB.org.

Live Jazz in Greater Boston and Across Massachusetts on Saturday, April 28

Japanese Pianist Keiko Matsui

Looking for live jazz on Saturday, April 28, 2012 in greater Boston or throughout Massachusetts?  Check out these performances taking place in jazz clubs, hotels and concert venues, compiled by MassJazz.com.

Also, the 6th annual Jazz Week, organized by JazzBoston, is underway in dozens of venues throughout the area.  For a full schedule of Jazz Week activities, click here. 

Boston/Cambridge

Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman
Berklee PerformanceCenter
136 Mass Ave
Back Bay, Boston

Keiko Matsui

Scullers Jazz Club

Doubletree Suites Hilton Hotel

400 Soldiers Field Road

Allston, Boston

Dancing with bOp! / BC Jazz Band

Boston College Arts Festival

O’Neill Library Plaza

Chestnut Hill

Peter Smith Trio
Battery Wharf Lounge
Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel
3 Battery Street
Downtown Boston

Steve Soares Trio

Top of the Hub

Prudential Tower

800 Boylston Street

Back Bay, Boston

Spring Swing Sunday Jazz Band
Harvard Jazz Band

Science Center

One Oxford Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge

Atlas Soul

Regattabar Jazz Club

Charles Hotel

One Bennett Street

Harvard Square, Cambridge

MetroWest & Central Mass 
The Sergio Mendes Project
Acton Jazz Café
452 Great Road
Acton

North of Boston

Toni Lynn Washington

Back Page

15 Kearney Square
Lowell

Boston Horns Reloaded

Chianti Jazz Lounge

285 Cabot Street

Beverly

A Tribute to Duke Ellington

Monadnock Chorus
Peterborough Town House

One Grove Street
Peterborough, NH

South of Boston & Cape Cod

Amanda Carr & Plymouth Philharmonic
Memorial Hall
11 North Street
Plymouth

Bart Weisman Trio

Ring Brothers Market

485 Rt. 134

South Dennis, Cape Cod

Western Mass

George Schuller Trio

Castle StreetCafe
10 Castle St
Great Barrington

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 or BostonUSA.com.

Governor Deval Patrick Issues Jazz Month Proclamation in Massachusetts

Governor Deval Patrick declared April 2012 to be Jazz Month in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The proclamation, issued to coincide with the Smithsonian Institute's Jazz Appreciation Month across the nation,  praises the legacy of jazz  as an American art form and the contributions of Massachusetts jazz performers like Chick Corea from Chelsea, Roy Haynes from Roxbury, Phil Woods from Springfield and many others.

And the proclamation points to the 6th annual Jazz Week in greater Boston sponsored each year by JazzBoston, which takes place April 27 through May 6, 2012.

For year round details on jazz concerts, nightclubs, campus events, Sunday brunches, radio stations and jazz festivals throughout Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

For tourist information, contact the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism at MassVacation.com.

Saxophonist Steve Coleman and Five Elements Perform at UMASS/Amherst on Thursday, April 26

Alto sax player, composer and philosopher Steve Coleman and his band, Five Elements, perform in concert at the Bezanson Recital Hall on the University of Massachusetts at Amherst campus  at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students and can be purchased online or at the door. 

Born in Chicago in 1956, Colman is an influential figure in jazz circles, especially in the New York City area, where he has made his home since 1978.

The concert is part of the Magic Triangle Series, produced by WMUA-91.1FM and the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts

For a schedule of upcoming concerts at UMass/Amherst, click here.

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

Tourists can find information by visiting MassVacation.com.

Jazz Pianist Fred Hersch Presents Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass at Jordan Hall on April 26

Dominique Eade

Fred Hersch, noted pianist and composer at the New England Conservatory, is giving a free concert on his musical suit for the poem, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at Jordan Hall in Boston.

The concert is free and open to the public.

With Hersch on piano, the concert showcases vocalists Dominique Eade and Tommy Boyton, along with Andrew Halchak on alto saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet; Wyatt Palmer, tenor saxophone; Jake Baldwin, trumpet; Tim Shneier, trombone; Valerie Thompson, cello; Ehud Ettun, bass, and Connor Baker, drums.

For details on jazz throughout the year in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.

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