Boston's Festival Betances 2010 celebrates Latino Arts and Culture, July 16-18

The annual Festival Betances at Villa Victoria in Boston's South End starts today and runs through Sunday, July 18, 2010. The festival includes exciting music and dance performances, delicious food and activities for all ages.

This year's music features Puerto Rican salsa stars Paquito Acosta and Michael Stuart, plus the US premier of Venezuelan harp virtuoso Leonard Jacome. Other performers include Sociedad Latina, Sierra Brothers, Lengua de Mi Barrio and more. For a full schedule click here.

Villa Victoria Center for the Arts
85 W. Newton Street. Boston, MA 02118
(617) 927-1722 www.VillaVictoriaArts.org

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

Paulie's New Orleans Jazz and Blues Fest kicks off in Worchester on Friday, July 16

The sounds and tastes of New Orleans and Louisiana are coming to Worcester, Massachusetts this weekend at the third annual Paulie's Jazz & Blues Festival on Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17 at the Chandler Street Fairgrounds.

Featured musicians this year include Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers, Henri Smith and his New Orleans Friends and Flavours, the Hurricane Horns and Anders Osborne among others.

The festival is dedicated this year to the people of Louisana who are fighting the oil spill in the Gulf, and to the great musicians of New Orleans. The festival includes Cajun inspired cuisine and other southern foods.

Proceeds benefit the National Autism Association.

For more information visit the festival website.

For year round jazz and blues activities in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

For information on visiting Massachusetts from out of state, go to MassVacation.com

Massachusetts issues summer Jazz Guide

(Boston) - Massachusetts has released its second annual MassJazz Travel Guide, a round-up of jazz festivals, concerts and musical events taking place across the Bay State from July through October 2010. The 32-page magazine is available free to visitors and residents at tourism kiosks, in hotels and nightclubs, and on college campuses.

Some of the biggest names in jazz and blues are performing in Massachusetts this summer, including Herbie Hancock, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Ahmad Jamal, B.B. King, Esperanza Spalding, Paula Cole, Chris Botti, Kurt Elling and more.

The Guide includes a welcome greeting from Governor Deval Patrick, as well as stories on Boston jazz promoter Fred Taylor and the 25th annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert at Northeastern University.



“Jazz is part of our state’s cultural richness and vitality,” says Betsy Wall, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, a partner in the MassJazz initiative. “We invite visitors from near and far to experience Massachusetts Jazz in one of America’s cultural capitals.”

This summer, several local festivals are celebrating New Orleans – the birthplace of jazz – to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this August, says Michael P. Quinlin, founder of MassJazz.

Paulie’s New Orleans Jazz & Blues Festival in Worchester (July 16-17), Provincetown Jazz Festival (August 13-14) and the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival (September 15-25) are featuring New Orleans jazz masters like Charles Neville, Paul Sanchez and Terence Blanchard.

In addition to festivals and concerts, MassJazz Travel Guide lists dozens of nightclubs, hotel lounges, restaurants and coffee-houses where jazz is played nightly, two dozen colleges where jazz is taught, and dozens of radio programs, including local and syndicated shows. The Guide lists the best places to have a weekend jazz brunch, hotels with live jazz, and various jazz organizations, promoters and bloggers throughout Massachusetts.

MassJazz provides up-to-date information about jazz activities year round at its web sites, MassJazz.com and Massjazz.blogspot.com. For further information, contact MassJazz at 617 696 9880 or massjazz@comcast.net

Copies of the MassJazz Travel Guide are available free at visitor information centers on Boston Common, the Prudential Center, Berklee College of Music, Cape Cod Visitors Center, and at various jazz festivals, jazz clubs and concert venues throughout Massachusetts.

About MOTT:
Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) is the state agency dedicated to promoting Massachusetts as a leisure-travel destination. MOTT serves as a leader in the tourism industry, helping to generate state and local tax revenues, create jobs and support the growth of travel-related businesses. Tourism is an integral part of the state’s economy, generating over $887.2 million in state and local taxes and $14.2 billion in travel related expenditures. The industry supports 125,800 in-state jobs. For more information visit www.massvacation.com.

About MassJazz:
MassJazz is a concerted, statewide effort initiated in 2009 to promote a full range of live jazz performances, community events, educational courses and related cultural activities to the convention and visitors industry. Working with MOTT and other state convention and visitor agencies, MassJazz is branding Massachusetts as a jazz destination for domestic and international visitors. For more information visit www.massjazz.com.

New Orleans is the theme at 10th annual Berklee BeanTown Jazz Fest in Boston, September 15-25

New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, is the theme of this year's Berklee BeanTown Jazz Fest, taking place in Boston from September 15-25, 2010.

Jazz greats such as Terence Blanchard, Jonathan Batiste, and the Wild Magnolias, will bring the Big Easy to Boston, in part to commemorate the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans.

They'll play alongside jazz musicians from around the world, including Paula Cole, Kurt Rosenwinkel, the Bad Plus, Nona Hendryx, Danilo Perez, Mendoza Vibe and others.

Participating jazz venues include Scullers Jazz Club, the Regattabar and Wally's, as well as the Berklee Performance Center, 939 Cafe, and David Friend Recital Hall at Berklee.

On Saturday, September 25, the festivities culminate in an all-day, open air, free festival in Boston's historic South End.

For a full schedule of concerts at this year's Berklee Beantown Jazz Fest, click here.

For year round jazz in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com

Jose James and Jef Neve at Regattabar in Cambridge on June 16

Jazz vocalist Jose James and Belgian pianist Jef Neve are performing at the Regattabar Jazz Club at Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, Cambridge, on Wednesday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online or by calling 617 395-7757.

The show celebrates the release of their new CD, For All We Know, issued by Impulse! Records.

James, born and raised in Minneapolis, is the son of a jazz saxophonist from Panama. James studied at the New School in New York City before moving to London, where he is based.

Neve is one of Europe's rising jazz stars. He debuted his first piano concerto with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra in 2009, and has released five best-selling albums.

Regattabar Jazz
Charles Hotel
One Bennett Street
Harvard Square
Cambridge
617 661-5099

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

Swing Dancing at the Armenian Church in Watertown, June 12

Bombay Jim and the Swinging Sapphires - one of America's hottest swing bands - perform from 9:00 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, June 12 at the St. James Armenian Church in Watertown.

Admission is $15, which includes a free one-hour dance lesson that includes beginning swing dance, two-step and ends with one intermediate swing dance move.

The event is organized by the Boston Swing Dance Network.

St. James Armenian Church

465 Mt. Auburn Street

Watertown MA

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

Kelli O'Hara Sings Cole Porter at Boston Symphony Hall on June 9-11

Broadway star Kelli O'Hara is appearing with the Boston Pops at Boston Symphony Hall for a three-night engagement to perform some of the greatest hits of Broadway from the music of Cole Porter, on June 9, 10, 11, 2010.

Considered one of Broadway's leading ladies, O'Hara will perform classics such as "Night and Day," "Love for Sale," and selections from the Tony Award-winning musical, Kiss Me Kate.

The Boston Pops is celebrating its 125 season as one of the world's leading musical organization, and has a full schedule of performances leading up to the Fourth of July.

For year round jazz and blues events in Massachusetts, visit MassJazz.com.