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).

Sunday, March 29, 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.  

On February 20 PBS in Boston celebrated jazz with a special American Masters program: Sun Ra: Do the Impossible.  No, there is no mention of researcher/curator John Corbett.  And no, there is no acknowledgement of John Gilmore as a major influence on John Coltrane.  And there are other things that a Sun Ra fan may quibble about.  Nevertheless, this is a must-see television production for any serious Sun Ra fan.  The only notable problem with the production is the same one that is found in most PBS documentaries and historical productions during the last couple decades: invisible subtitles.  You know, the tiny white words that are impossible to read on a reasonably large home TV monitor, partially because of the minimalist font and perhaps even more frustrating because the white font disappears almost completely against anything but a solid black background.  And that  brings up a very simple solution that has been successful for many decades and goes back to some silent films: a solid black bar at the bottom of the screen upon which can be seen clear words in a clear white font.  Some productions such as the Boston Early Music Festival and the Boston Baroque streaming performances do just that, and quite effectively.  The following night I was surprised that the performance was repeated on PBS, following a documentary on Thelonious Monk.  In spite of the fact that Monk performed at the piano some convincing bits and pieces and complete versions of what might be thought of as Monk’s greatest hits with occasional standards from the first half of the 20th century, I stuck with it only because I could not believe how absurd the whole thing was.  I tuned in a few minutes after the program began.  So I did not catch the name of the interviewer.  He probably is famous, but he is French, and French jazz “experts” tend to be quite confused about the development of jazz and are proud of the confusion (e.g., France is the home to the certainty that jazz is an African music brought to the U.S. fully formed).  If you want to see convincing examples of what I’m talking about, hunt down the documentary to witness how confused the interviewer is (you can see Monk’s patient frustration as he sustains himself in amusement at the absurdity of the situation he is in).  It is obvious that the interviewer is convinced that he knows what is going on while being blatantly rude to a genius.  If you want to catch the Sun Ra documentary, it is available at https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/sun-ra-do-the-impossible-documentary/37455/ .

 

3/29 - The David Haas Group at 7 p.m. (PA) – Music director David Haas shows up with outstanding New England improvising musicians, including Kevin Frenette (gtr), Glenn Dickson (cl), Todd Brunel (bass clarinet & sax), Kit Demos (bass & synth), and Joe Musacchia (dr).  Free admission.  Pandemic regulations apply at the Lily Pad...

 

Henry David Thoreau was a brilliant philosopher, scientist, and intellectual who was way ahead of his time.  His political commentaries paved the way for Gandhi, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and just about anyone who came to realize that we are all brothers and sisters--and acted upon that premise.  Now finally there is a comprehensive documentary about his life and development as a sometimes hard-headed visionary.  PBS is presenting a three-part, three-hour documentary about Thoreau beginning at 9 P.M. on March 30.  The production features the narration of George Clooney and character voices of Jeff Goldblum, Meryl Streep, Tate Donovan, and Ted Danson.  Historical experts interviewed during the film include historians from around New England.  Musician Don Henley, who is the founder and chair of the Walden Woods Project, is co-executive producer of the production along with Ken Burns.  Thoreau is one of our own, and it is good to celebrate him.  Watching the documentary is a good way to do that.

  

4/4 – The Kassel-Zicarelli Group at 4:30 p.m. (MP/PA) – This fine ensemble consists of vocalist Melissa Kassel, Tom Zicarelli, Dino Govoni, Bruce Gertz, and Gary Fieldman.  Pandemic regulations apply. This ear-stretching and engaging quintet returns to the Lily Pad where pandemic regulations apply ($15)...

 

4/9 – GBH Jazz Nights featuring Ken Field and the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble Trio at 5:30 p.m. (MP/eclectic) – WGBH continues to expand its coverage of jazz in Boston with its Jazz Nights series at Boston’s main public library.  Again, the effort is produced by WGBH and Ken Field, president of Jazz Boston.  The musicians perform in front of a live audience in the WGBH studio in the library.  Ken brings his flute and alto saxophone with him and partners Blake Newman (bass) and Phil Neighbors (drums).  This smaller version of the ensemble will present music that evokes the world of New Orleans as well as some of the leader’s original compositions.  The event takes place at the WGBH studio in the Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston.   Tickets are free, but registration is encouraged. Seating is limited.   There is further info at 617-300-3300 and info@wgbh.org…

 

 

 



 

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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