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).

Tuesday, November 4, 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.  
 

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.

 

At the end of October there was an official announcement from NEC via Ann Braithwaite that Dominique Eade has been inducted into the American Academy of Teachers of Singing.  Dominique for decades has been one of the most beloved singers in Boston.  Besides garnering a large following here and around the world, she also is a person of significant educational influence and accomplishment.  She is a vocalist, improviser, and composer who teaches in NEC’s Jazz Studies and Contemporary Musical Arts departments.  The Academy was founded in 1922 with the express purpose of contributing to the singing profession in an advisory capacity.  She said her induction into the Academy “gives me renewed confidence to pursue the many questions I have.” Those ongoing explorations include “best practices for preparing the voice for improvisation, understanding where technique ends and artistry begins, and how to train the voice in a less aesthetic-bound way.”  Of particular interest to her as an improviser is “what it takes to be prepared to spontaneously make any sound at any given moment.”  The American Academy of Teachers of Singers gives Eade a new laboratory in which to continue working, with colleagues, in service of the craft. “It’s really an honor to be recognized for the work that I’ve done and as someone whose perspective can add to the conversation,” she said.


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.   

 

11/13 – The John McNeil Tribute at 7:30 p.m. (MP) – As the announcement states, “A fantastic night of music in tribute to the great trumpeter, composer, and educator, John McNeil.”  And what better group could carry out the mission better than Allan Chase (saxes), Mark Tipton (trumpet), Mark Shilansky (piano), Joe Fitzgerald (bass), and Austin McMahon (drums)?  But wait!  There’s more!  There’s SPECIAL GUEST: Jerry Bergonzi (tenor sax).  How’s them apples?  It happens at the Lily Pad where Pandemic regulations apply ($15)...

 

11/16 – The Allan Chase Quintet at 6:20 p.m. (MP) – This fine lineup includes Allan Chase (alto & soprano saxophones), Yulia Musayelyan (flute), Sheryl Bailey (guitar), Fernando Huergo (electric bass), and Austin McMahon (drums).  The band will perform and improvise on the compositions of Ms. Bailey and the leader.  It should be another fine evening at the Lily Pad where Pandemic regulations apply ($15)...

 

 

 


 

 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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