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).

Monday, October 20, 2025

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.  
 

Trump just keeps contradicting himself--intentionally--so he can claim that he was right no matter what happens.  Also, when it comes to important issues, he claims that he has not made up his mind about what he will do, thinking this keeps his opponents off balance.  He does keep some opponents off balance, but mostly he demonstrates that (in spite of having endless information at his disposal) he is unable to make a useful decision.  For example, he claims that he has not decided whether he should support Putin or Zelensky.  Imagine that.  He has had several years observing Russia invade Ukraine and then destroy hospitals, homes, and schools in Ukraine, and Trump cannot decide whether or not that is a good idea.  No matter what his value system is, the fact that he claims he has not had enough time to decide suggests blatant incompetence.  Finally, Trump has proven to be his worst enemy.  He spends much of his time silencing people who disagree with him, and not just liberals.  He has surrounded himself with people kissing his butt and telling him that he always is right.  Inevitably this approach to managing the country means he cannot help make disastrous decisions because none of the MAGA people will dare tell him that the building is on fire.  Of course, he knows too little about history to learn that the war in Europe ended sooner than it could have because there was no one left to tell Hitler that the building was on fire.

 

 

The late Mike Renzi was born and died in Rhode Island, but he spent much of his professional life as a pianist, vocalist, arranger, composer, and musical director in Massachusetts and New York.  He retained strong roots in Rhode Island, including leading a group several nights a week at the Kings and Queens in North Providence from the early 1960s through early 1970s.  Guest artists included Coleman Hawkins, Ernestine Anderson, Ben Webster, Carol Sloane, and other notables.  When Mike Renzi died on September 29, 2021 in Newport, Rhode Islanders decided that the man’s life should continue to be celebrated.  The result was the establishment of The Mike Renzi Musicianship Award, a scholarship that would be awarded at the University of Rhode Island.  Such an ongoing award requires the establishment and continuing support of the fund.  Therefore, Jeff Stout, Paul Del Nero, and dozens of other fine musicians showed up to perform at a benefit concert at Sardella’s in Newport just two days after the fourth anniversary of Mike Renzi’s death.  People attending the concert bought donation tickets to be there.  Because so many Bostonians knew Mike Renzi’s music so well, some of you may want to contribute also.  Checks can be made payable to “URI Foundation and Alumni Engagement,” and please put “Renzi #GX04” in the memo line.  Mail the check to URI Foundation and Alumni Engagement, PO Box 1700, Kingston, RI 02881.  If you prefer using a credit or debit card, use this link: http://bit.ly/uri-renzi 

 

According to a recent The Times (UK) article, learning to play a musical instrument not only sharpens the mind but it may dull one’s sense of pain.  Referring to Danish research, the article claims that “years of struggling with tricky pieces may rewrite the brain.”  Lead author of the paper, Anna Zamorano of Aarhus University, claims the difference between musicians and non-musicians “may stem from musicians’ habit of pushing through discomfort to master a piece.”  In other words, all those wonderful musicians in the Boston area may be among the few people able to survive the Trump disaster.  And I stopped playing the alto sax in junior high school…

 

I went to the No Kings protest in Framingham 10-18 and the whole thing was quite moving.  I'm guessing at least 2,000 people showed up on the Framingham Common.  But that may be a weak estimation because a lot of people came for about a half hour, did their thing, and then left--while other people showed up (to take their places).  When I got into the crowd along Edgell Road and the people cheered and chanted "No Kings," and people in cars driving by honked and waved, it brought tears to my eyes.  A powerful show of hope and resistance.  In any event, here’s the URL for an online ABC News story about the rallies around the world: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nationwide-kings-rallies-set-protest-trump/story?id=126611770  I think it is an important document that may be marking the beginning of people taking action seriously.

 


10/26 - The David Haas Group: A Coalition of the Willing at 7:00 p.m. (PA) – David Haas, leader and pianist, is joined by some of the finest post-Ayler musicians in New England: Kevin Frenette (gtr), Glenn Dickson (cl), Todd Brunel (bcl, tenor sax), Kit Demos (b & synth), and Joe Musacchia (dr).  Free admission.  Pandemic regulations apply at the Lily Pad...

 

10/28 – The Bruce Gertz Quartet at 7:30 p.m. (MP) – The top-shelf bassist brings along with him Rick DiMuzio (tenor sax), Sheryl Bailey (Guitar), and Gary Fieldman (Drums).  It happens at the Lily Pad where Pandemic regulations apply ($15/students $10)…

 

 

 

11/9 – The birth of The Mandorla Collective at 5 p.m. (S/MP) – Mandorla Music’s Mark Redmond has announced, “Together with musical directors Rick McLaughlin and Jesse Taitt, we are thrilled to announce the launch of The Mandorla Collective. Each year, a select ensemble of top Boston-based musicians will celebrate the music of a figure central to Boston jazz history whose influence continues to reverberate.”  The Mandorla Collective’s debut performance will feature a celebration of the music of the late George Russell. The lineup includes Allan Chase (saxophones), Peter Kenagy (trumpet), Randy Pingrey (trombone), Amaury Cabral (guitar), Liz Sinn (piano), Rick McLaughlin (bass), and Brooke Sofferman (drums).  The gig takes place at Peabody Hall, Parish of All Saints, 209 Ashmont Street, Dorchester.  For more information including ticket prices look up mandorlamusic.net.   

 

 

 


 

 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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