Welcome to Boston Jazz Scene

Welcome to the Boston Jazz Scene web site--the place to find out what happened, what is happening, and what is coming in jazz and other improvised music in Boston and surrounding communities. The most recent post is listed below this information. Words listed below the Topics heading to the right refer to information you can find here about jazz and other improvised music, the arts in general, food, and travel in and near Boston.

If you click on the Scheduled Jazz Highlights topic, you will see a selection of upcoming jazz gigs that we think are particularly noteworthy.

If you click on one of the History - Jazz Journal topics, you will see a selection of journal entries covering performances and relevant events that have taken place in Boston since the 1970s.

If you click on the History - Major Contributors topic, you will see a list of Bostonian musicians who have made significant contributions to the development and evolution of jazz in Boston and elsewhere.

If you click on the Images - Musicians topic, you will see a selection of photos of current and former Boston area jazz musicians and significant visiting jazz musicians. If photos of musicians are displayed on this page and you click on Older Posts at the bottom of this page, you will see earlier image pages eventually going back to page 1.

If you click on the Images - Venues topic, you will see a selection of photos of current and former Boston area jazz venue locations.

If you click on the History - Jazz Timeline topic, you will see a brief list of significant events in the development and evolution of jazz in Boston beginning with the first groundwork in colonial America.

If you click on the Essays on Music topic, you will see essays about the development of jazz and other music since the late nineteenth century and particularly the evolving context in which the music has been and continues to be created.

If you click on one of the Travel options, you will see a variety of information that may be of interest to people visiting Boston (or even some people who live here).

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Upcoming performance highlights

Among the more attractive performances scheduled in the near future in the Boston area are the ones listed below.  With the exception of some gigs that feature Magazine Cover (MC) groups (which can range in quality from very good to terrible), the gigs listed below are ones that I wish I could attend.  And—if time and circumstances permit—I will be there.  
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For now some locations indoors are open for music performances.  Distancing and mask restrictions apply.  If people exhibit safe behaviors, such gigs may not be shut down.  Let's hope things improve soon.  
 

The AP online has wonderful coverage of the protests in Maine about the ICE vigilantes.  It includes photos of brave people protesting the slaughter of innocent people, and specifically Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero.  I found this photo particularly powerful:

Blood is seen on the pavement near the scene of a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Monday, July 13, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

 

The URL for the article is: https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/maine-protests-after-ice-fatally-shoots-motorist-photos-309b1b1303f44cdfbdec224ef840a403?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

 

8/2  – The Kassel-Zicarelli Group at 6:30 p.m. (MP/PA) – This fine ensemble consists of vocalist Melissa Kassel, Tom Zicarelli, Bill Jones, Bruce Gertz, and Gary Fieldman.  Pandemic regulations apply. This ear-stretching and engaging quintet returns to the Lily Pad where pandemic regulations apply ($15)...

 

The August issue of Downbeat is somewhat deceptive, but not intentionally.  I saw the cover, saw that it is the 74th Annual Critics Poll, winced a bit, and luckily saw a reference to Sonny Rollins at the top of the cover.  Yes, the poll was mostly its usually depressing lack of appreciation for the fine musicians across the Atlantic and Pacific and in the post-Ayler crowd.  I must interject that not all is lost in that regard.  For example, Mats Gustafsson took baritone sax honors, Kris Davis repeated her win as a pianist, Hamid Drake received the number one percussion spot, Jeb Bishop, George Lewis, Steve Swell, and others showed up in the trombone list, and it was a pleasant surprise to see Ab Baars and Louis Sclavis bumping into each other with their clarinets.  On the other hand, I would be much happier if I could convince myself that the amazing Mat Maneri is among the top five “violinists” merely because he’s active on the New York City scene.  The drummer category always is a puzzle because the list is so much stronger aesthetically/artistically than any of the other categories; the bottom fifteen drummers are qualitatively above the top fifteen musicians in any of the other categories.  Changing the subject a little bit, it was certainly too little and too late, but Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard were inducted into the post-mortem Hall of Fame.  The magazine almost made up for the goof by including a fine Aaron Cohen commentary about the man who was a pillar of the music in Boston for years.  But the primary reason for checking out the publication is its coverage of the Colossus.  The “First Take” commentary by Frank Alkyer (p. 8) offers an interesting explanation on deciding to move the “Sonny Rollins issue” to August instead of July (and all the problems inherent in making the decision).  Then he talks about Rollins.   A good start.  Moving to the last page (p. 82), there is a time capsule of a Blindfold Test from 1957.  The timing is perfect as Leonard Feather plays waltz jazz recordings for Sonny, and the saxophonist is full of confidence and vinegar (how’s that for avoiding an expletive?).  He praises and also takes no prisoners.  The centerpiece of the Rollins issue is “Sonny Stories” (pp. 24-26), a compilation by Frank Alkyer of memories of the giant by musicians, writers, and friends.  There are some (too few) photos of the man in a variety of contexts.  Enjoy

 

8/5 – Demos / Hobbs / Mela / Platz at 8 p.m. (MP/PA) – This extraordinary quartet of musicians who push boundaries includes Kit Demos (bass and electronics), Jim Hobbs (alto sax), Francisco Mela (percussion), and Jeff Platz (guitar).  As they used to say in the days when bebop was shaking things up, “Be there or be square.”  It happens at the Lily Pad where pandemic regulations apply ($10)...

 


Every Monday – Monday night at the Lily Pad returns with Jerry Bergonzi, Phil Grenadier, guest bassist, and Luther Gray.  Then The Fringe Duo, John Lockwood and George continuing the fire no doubt inspired by the memory of Bob Gullotti.  It begins around 8:30 pm and continues forever ($15 per group; $10 students)…




Ongoing – Non-Event online Music – Performances at various times plus an archive of music (PA) – Non-Event is offering music via online audio files and video files plus real-time performances.  The emphasis is on new music, some of which is improvised music.  For example, Matt Samolis (who unfortunately for us moved from Boston to central Massachusetts) is presenting his bowed cymbal meditation recorded on May 1, 2020.  Keep in mind, money helps support these events.  The URL is: http://www.nonevent.org/
 


If you would like to read Science News’ fine coverage of the pandemic and its implications (including dozens of articles so far), go to the site’s page of coronavirus feature articles.  On that page also is information about how to receive that publication's coronavirus update newsletter twice each week.   Science News will try to answer your questions at feedback@sciencenews.org. …


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Key codes: The abbreviation in parentheses following the name of the event or band/musician performing indicates roughly the type of music that you can expect if you go to the gig.
MC= Magazine Covers.  These musicians/bands are popular with jazz fans and therefore often find their photos on the covers of jazz magazines.  This type of band may or may not be any good qualitatively.  However, many fans like to know “what’s hot.”
MP=Mainstream/Post-Bop.  This is the music that most people think of today when they think of jazz.  It runs the gamut from Parkeresque bebop and Websterish ballads to the post-bop work of people such as Bergonzi and Lovano.
PA=Post-Ayler.  This is Anthony Braxton’s term for all the adventure that came out of Ayler, Ornette, Cecil and others (including Mr. Braxton, of course).  In some ways it is the most diverse jazz and jazz-rooted music being performed today, including everything from near zero dB whispers (e.g., undr, John Tilbury) to eardrum demolishing walls of sound (Keith Rowe, a ton of stuff from Japan) to performances built on combinations of composed and improvised material (Liberation Orchestra, Charlie Kohlhase’s ensembles) to completely improvised offerings (Evan Parker, Laurence Cook).
S=Swing.  It don’t mean a thing…  Maybe “nothing” means “anything” if you are a fan of swing.  Sadly, fine swing music seems to be approaching extinction, at least in the Boston area clubs.  The reasons are obvious and elusive.  The great names of Swing (such as Lunceford and Barnet) have passed on and taken almost all of their band mates with them.  In addition, in spite of the fact that some of the finest music of the swing era was produced by the combos of Goodman and Basie (among others), people continue to think of swing in terms of large (and therefore economically untenable) ensembles.  You can find it happening in some dance halls, but mostly at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.  For years such names as Whitney, Winniker, and Hershman have held the fort in the Boston area.  But you’ve got to keep your eyes peeled. 
T=Two-beat/Trad.  Some of the finest contemporary two-beat jazz anywhere has been nurtured and grown in Eastern Massachusetts since the 1970s.  Everyone knows about the New Black Eagles, and a host of other musicians are held in equally high esteem around here.  Some of the better-known are Jimmy Mazzy, Stan McDonald, Jeff Hughes, and Guy Van Duser.  Unfortunately for city dwellers, two-beat jazz (and, to a lesser extent, the blues) has moved to the suburbs.  But the best of it is worth the drive.  
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