Next up at Fenway Park: Pee Wee Russell, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles

Fenway Park, which celebrates its 100th anniversary today as America's beloved baseball field, hosted the first annual Boston Jazz Festival on August 21-23, 1959. 

The festival was organized by Boston's famous music impresario George Wein, an avid Red Sox fan and founder of the Newport Jazz Festival.  Sheraton Hotel sponsored the event.

The line-up at the time, and in retrospect, was an all-star cast of some of the world's greatest jazz musicians, including legends Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Oscar Peterson, Pee Wee Russell, Roy Eldridge, Thelonius Monk, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, and the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Vocalists Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and Mark Murphy performed, and so did Ray Charles, who represented "a link between the old blues that was heard on the streets and in the churches of the South and the present clamor of the latest teen-age idol," wrote Fr. Norman O'Connor, jazz columnist for The Boston Globe and chaplain at Boston University. O'Connor, also an MC at the festival,  was known as the jazz priest.

Japanese pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, who graduated from Berklee that year, played with her trio, and local favorite Herb Pomeroy from Gloucester performed with his Big Band.

According to Globe reports, the festival averaged 5,000-7,000 people each night over the three-day event.

Wein, in his book, Myself Among Others: A Life in Music, writes that Red Sox players used to frequent his jazz club, Storyville in Kenmore Square, after the games,  to hear stars like pianist Erroll Gardner and others.  

"One of Gardner's most loyal listeners was Ted Williams, the Splendid Splinter of the Boston Red Sox – and my boyhood idol.  Years later, after Williams had retired and moved out of the city, he claimed that the thing he missed most about Boston was seeing Garner at Storyville.”

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

For information about visiting Massachusetts and Boston, go to MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com. 

.

Glenn Miller Orchestra Performing at Rogers Center for the Arts in N. Andover on Friday, April 20

The world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, led by trombonist Larry O'Brien, is performing at the Rogers Center for the Arts at Merrimack College in N. Andover on Friday, April 20, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. 

Tickets to the show are $30 for advance purchase ($25 in advance for students and seniors);  or $35 at the door. Purchase by calling 978 837-5355 between box office hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Orchestra plays the original hits of the great bandleader Glenn Miller, and tours around the world, giving up to 300 concerts each year.

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

To find out about visiting Massachusetts or the Merrimack Valley region, go to MassVacation.com or MerrimackValley.org. 

NEC Presents Music of Jazz Visionary Bob Moses at Jordan Hall in Boston on Thursday, April 19

The NEC Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Ken Schaphorst will perform the music of composer, drummer, and percussionist Rakalam Bob Moses at Jordan Hall in Boston on Thursday, April 19, 2012, starting at 8:00 p.m.  The concert is free and open to the public.

An NEC faculty member since 1983, Moses is a composer, drummer, poet, dancer and vision whose music reflects his lifelong quest for spirituality and mastery in a multitude of art forms.

The concert will feature Moses himself, along with fellow faculty member Jerry Leake and alumnus Tupac Mantilla '07 M.M. on percussion. Also joining in are vocalist Nedelka Prescod and fiddler Eden MacAdam-Somer, who has launched the NEC Continuing Education program in Contemporary Improvisation, in which Moses also teaches. 

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

For information about visiting Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com. 

Michael Musillami Trio Performing at Johnny D's in Davis Square on Wednesday, April 18

The Michael Musillami Trio is performing at Johnny D's Uptown Restaurant & Club in Davis Square, Somerville on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. 

For information about seating and dinner reservations, click here.

The band includes Musillami on guitar, George Sculler on drums and Joe Fonda on bass.

For more details on jazz activities in Massachusetts any time of the year, visit MassJazz.com.

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

Northampton Jazz Workshop Takes Place on Tuesday, April 17

 

The Green Street Trio is performing at The Loft at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.   The gig is part of the Northampton Jazz Workshop which takes place every Tuesday at the Clarion.

The line-up for April 17 includes pianist Paul Arslanian, bassist George Kaye, reeds player Carl Clements and drummer Bob Weiner.

Find year round jazz concerts, night clubs, festivals, radio stations and campus events throughout Massachusetts by visiting MassJazz.com.

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

Jazz Vocalist Kate McGarry Performs at Scullers Jazz Club on Tuesday, April 17

Jazz singer Kate McGarry is celebrating the release of her new CD, Girl Talk, at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.  Tickets to the show are $20 and can be purchased online or at the door.

She is joined by her band members from the CD: Keith Ganz on guitar, Gary Versace on keyboards and Clarence Penn on drums. 

On her new album, McGarry pays tribute to the great jazz performers who inspired her throughout her career, including Betty Carter, Anita O'Day, Carmen McCrae, Sheila Jordan and Shirley Horn.

Originally from Hyannis, Cape Cod, McGarry grew up in a musical household and studied jazz at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, studying with Archie Shepp before embarking on a dynamic career.

For a schedule of upcoming events at Scullers, click here.

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

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







 

HarlemWorks Performing at Cultural Center of Cape Cod on Monday, April 16

Jazz musician, composer and producer Gary Foote is bringing his show HarlemWorks to Massachusetts for a performance at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth on Monday, April 16, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets to the show are $18 ($15 for members) and can be reserved by calling 508 394 7100 or at the door.

Foote is a longtime collaborator with Smokey Robinson, Blood, Sweat and Tears and many other great bands.  He is joined by stellar vocalist Jenny Douglas and other HarlemWorks musicians. Checkout this video of HarlemWorks.

The Cultural Center of Cape Cod is located at 307 Main Street in South Yarmouth.  For directions click here.

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

For visitor information go to MassVacation.com and CapeCodChamber.org.