Boston Jazz Scene

[bigtiny]

Now, now! Let's not be too depressed about the jazz scene in Boston. Since the first of the year I've gotten to see the following, among others:
Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran; Wayne Shorter, Danilo Perez; Lee Konitz, Dan Tepfer; Buster Williams Quartet w. Steve Wilson, Patrice Rushen, Cindy Blackman; Steve Kuhn; Fred Hersch in duet w. Jason Moran; Kenny Werner w. Randy Brecker, David Sanchez, SCott Colley, Antonio Sanchez; Roy Hyanes w. Jaleel Shaw; Eddie Palmieri w.Brain Lynch; Rachel Price, Warren Wolf; Karrin Allyson; Jeremy Pelt; The Cookers: Weiss, Harper, Hart, McBee, Cables; Rufus Reid w. JD Allen, Bobby Watson, Michael Rodriguiz.
BeanTown Jazz Festival next weekend w. Louis Hayes Cannonball Tribute Band, James Farm, Gary Burton Quartet, etc.
I've got no complaints!

Yeah Steve, I guess I'm thinking more about the LOCAL jazz scene. The names dribble in and out at Scullers and Regattabar (when they decide open and book something), but there are very few clubs in town these days that offer consistent quality jazz. I remember when I came to town in 1980 there was:

Ryles, 1369, Pooh's Pub, Tinkers, Lulu Whites, MIchael's Pub, Wally's (still here), Sandy's Jazz revival in Beverly, several hotels with piano or guitar based small groups featuring Ran Santisi, Al Vega, et al. Plus interesting stuff (though rarely 'jazz') at Paradise, the Channel, etc. As the scene cranked up in the 80s and 90s we also ended up with Regattabar (which USED to book great bands, mostly out of towners but also some local talent), their summer outdoors serious (I saw Stan Getz and a bunch of others on this for free!), Water Music (who still do great concerts in town), the REAL Boston Globe jazz festival which used to be a great week of music featuring headliners and local talent. Todays' scene doesn't pale by comparison...it's almost non-existent by comparison......

bigtiny

[Jiveman]

Hey we are out here playing! You have to look harder The Beehive, The Lilypad, The Outpost, Acton Jazz Cafe have lots of good music being presented. I play every Wednesday night with Jerry Bergonzi's quartet@Acton Jazz Cafe and soon every Monday night with Bergonzi's Quartet opening for The Fringe. I'm at The Beehive tonight playing trio w/ John Lockwood & Nat Mugavero. Monday playing at Arsenal Arts in Watertown w/ Bruce Gertz and Gonz... I know its not the good ole days, but we are putting the music in the air, audience or not.

[Uli]

Good to see you keepin busy, jive!

[bigtiny]

Hey we are out here playing! You have to look harder The Beehive, The Lilypad, The Outpost, Acton Jazz Cafe have lots of good music being presented. I play every Wednesday night with Jerry Bergonzi's quartet@Acton Jazz Cafe and soon every Monday night with Bergonzi's Quartet opening for The Fringe. I'm at The Beehive tonight playing trio w/ John Lockwood & Nat Mugavero. Monday playing at Arsenal Arts in Watertown w/ Bruce Gertz and Gonz... I know its not the good ole days, but we are putting the music in the air, audience or not.

Yeah I know....it's not the musicians that frustrate me......I need to get out to the Beehive and the AJC......might even bring my horn....watch out!!! =:-)

bigtiny

[Jiveman]

Thanks Uli! Yeah bigtiny, I am playing Acton Jazz Cafe this Sunday(tomorrow);playing 7:30-8:30 with a quintet, then it turns into a jam until 10:30---come on out!

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Thanks Uli! Yeah bigtiny, I am playing Acton Jazz Cafe this Sunday(tomorrow);playing 7:30-8:30 with a quintet, then it turns into a jam until 10:30---come on out!

Might be tough to get a good crowd with the Patriots game at 4:15. Don't be surprised if it starts out thin. It's too bad that the Acton Jazz Cafe is so far away from NH. I can get into Boston quicker than I can get to Acton.

[tribalfusion]

Hi all,

So is there a complete list of Boston jazz venues and also jam sessions somewhere?

Thanks!

[chuckyd4]

Thought I'd try and revive this thread. Moved to Boston in June, and haven't really been out to see much in the way of jazz. My Mom lives in Rockport, so we went up to see Christian McBride, Ahmad Jamal and Bill Charlap over the course of the summer/fall (at the Shalin Liu center, which is a beautiful place to hear some music).

Anyway, I've been having trouble finding a reliable listing for jazz shows around Boston, so thought I'd post in here.

Anyone going to see Dave Douglas/Joe Lovano at Scullers tomorrow night? I'm planning on going. What's the policy there? Best to buy tickets in advance? How much in advance of show time do I need to show up? Is that price for one set or more?

[stevebop]

A great clearing house site for the Boston area jazz scene is:

http://www.jazzboston.org/

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I'm going to the Lovano/Douglas show tonight. I still don't know who's playing with them but it should be good.

Kevin

[stevebop]

Kevin,
I'm going on Wednesday night. I know Lawrence Fields is on piano. Tell me what you think. I think he's very good. He went to school in Boston...

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Kevin,
I'm going on Wednesday night. I know Lawrence Fields is on piano. Tell me what you think. I think he's very good. He went to school in Boston...

It was quite the band. Yes, Lawrence Fields was in the piano chair with James Genus and Joey Baron rounding out the rhythm section. Why on earth wouldn't Scullers list this? Joey Baron is an incredible drummer. He was great last night with the only negative being he was bit too loud for my ears.

Overall, the night was OK to very good. They were playing new music and I think it showed on a few of the tunes where they didn't seem to connect, especially near the beginning. By the end, they were cooking and I left wishing they started out the night more like they ended it.

As I understand it, this band is going into a studio soon or just came out of one and they are calling the band and/or the CD "Sound Prints".

Kevin


Edit: "Sound Prints" not "Soundstreams"

[stevebop]

Thanks Kevin! Maybe by tonight they'll have it more together. I'll try and update you tomorrow morning,

[Jimmy Cantiello]

It was quite the band. Yes, Lawrence Fields was in the piano chair with James Genus and Joey Baron rounding out the rhythm section. Why on earth wouldn't Scullers list this? Joey Baron is an incredible drummer. He was great last night with the only negative being he was bit too loud for my ears.

I copied and pasted this from Scullers website:

Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas Quintet, Sound Prints; an all-star ensemble including up and coming pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist James Genus, and drummer Joey Barron.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I copied and pasted this from Scullers website:

Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas Quintet, Sound Prints; an all-star ensemble including up and coming pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist James Genus, and drummer Joey Barron.

Maybe they read our complaints here. That was not there before. I truly hope that they continue to list the *band* and not stop at the headliner. I can't tell you how many shows I've seen where the backing band was far better than the headliner and in most of those cases, I went there *because* of that backing band.

I always try catch any band that comes into town with certain players in the band. For instance, I never miss one of Renee Rosnes's swings into town. I don't care who she's playing with. I have never left a show with her in the piano chair feeling any less that happy that I saw a great show.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I copied and pasted this from Scullers website:

Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas Quintet, Sound Prints; an all-star ensemble including up and coming pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist James Genus, and drummer Joey Barron.

Jimmy - check the Tues Jan. 24th listing for Ralph Peterson. Great description of who's playing:
"Master drummer, respected composer-bandleader and talent scout extraordinaire Ralph Peterson has carried on in the tradition of his mentor and idol Art Blakey, who was renowned for his hard-driving approach to the kit and his uncanny knack for discovering new talent".

Helpful, huh? I have no idea if I want to go to this show. Sure, I've seen Ralph many times and he's usually been great. But what if he's bringing in a band of players I don't usually like? Would it worth $25 for it? I guess I'll have to decide. Having typed this, I'll probably find out that he's added Renee to the piano chair.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Well, Kevin, Scullers doen't list the personnel that will be with Ralph Peterson but I clicked on the link to his website that they provided and found some more information. On that particular date he will be joined by Sean Jones, Tia Fuller, Walter Smith III and the Curtis Brothers. Unfortunately, even Peterson's website does not say what instrument each person is playing so if you're not familiar with them you won't know who might be playing the kazoo, etc.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Well, Kevin, Scullers doen't list the personnel that will be with Ralph Peterson but I clicked on the link to his website that they provided and found some more information. On that particular date he will be joined by Sean Jones, Tia Fuller, Walter Smith III and the Curtis Brothers. Unfortunately, even Peterson's website does not say what instrument each person is playing so if you're not familiar with them you won't know who might be playing the kazoo, etc.

Jazz kazoo sounds pretty cool.

I think I've seen Walter Smith III... maybe even Tia Fuller. Both sax players. Sounds pretty good to me. Truth be told, I was probably going no matter who was playing but it is nice to know. Ralph plays some hard driven hard bop and that's right up my alley. Given the weather in January, I won't buy tickets until the week of the show (I've been stuck paying for gigs I couldn't make several times).

Now, if you could tell me who's playing with Adam Rogers on Feb. 1st, I would like to know. His website stopped listing his gigs in October.

[Ron Thorne]

... even Peterson's website does not say what instrument each person is playing so if you're not familiar with them you won't know who might be playing the kazoo, etc.

I won't be at Sculler's any time soon, but I've been "perfecting" my kazoo skills over the past 2½ years or so. It's been fun, and good therapy for me since being diagnosed with lung disease. In fact, I am the band director for the kazoo band at Providence Alaska Medical Center. I'm no Rahsaan, but I'm havin' fun.

[Valerie]

I won't be at Sculler's any time soon, but I've been "perfecting" my kazoo skills over the past 2½ years or so. It's been fun, and good therapy for me since being diagnosed with lung disease. In fact, I am the band director for the kazoo band at Providence Alaska Medical Center. I'm no Rahsaan, but I'm havin' fun.

thanks for reminding me of this! so cool!

[chuckyd4]

I enjoyed the 8 o'clock set last night. There were some real moments of fire, and quite a few beautiful balladic stretches. It did seem that there were a couple of tunes where they were reining things in, sticking pretty closely to the composed material - I couldn't tell if Lovano and Douglas were just being respectful of each other, trying to feel each other out and not step on each others' toes, or if it was an approach they're trying to develop.

In any case, when they loosened up, it was absolutely fantastic. I already knew Baron and Genus were tremendous players, but hadn't seen either one play in a long time and they didn't disappoint. I thought Fields' playing was very mature for his (apparently young) age. He has a nice harmonic sensibility, and seems close to finding something like an individual voice. Must have been intimidating to be on stage with those other four guys, and I thought he handled himself nicely.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Why they book so many great bands into Boston during the winter months is beyond me but there are some great ones coming up. I usually wait until the extended weather report shows "all clear" before I book so today I bought tickets to this Thursday night's (1/24) show at Scullers called "Baritone Madness". How can I miss a show with 3 (!!) baritone saxes in the front line. The bari players are Gary Smulyan, Greg Abate & Allan Chase. They have a local rhythm section that's no slouch either with Tim Ray, John Lockwood & Mark Walker. I wonder if they took the name of their band from this LP?
2678047.jpg

Next month, Scullers has quite a few very good looking dates like Branford Marsalis, The Diva Jazz Orchestra, the 3 Cohens, Fred Hirsch & many others. The Regattabar is bringing McCoy Tyner & Mike Stern's all star band into town and quite a few good looking shows.

I hope to see a few of you Thursday.

Later,
Kevin

[makpjazz57]

Kevin,

Wasn't that "Baritone Madness" evening smokin' - not just the musicianship, which was outstanding, but the great arrangements. Same can be said of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra - some very, very talented, very young musicians in the band not just playing well, but wow...some of the charts were off the wall fantastic. One of the saxophonists did an arrangement of "Pennies From Heaven" that was swinging and really interesting and not predictable.

We've got Christian McBride coming back to the club - first weekend in May, the Brian Blade Fellowship in late March and I'm excited that drummer Steve Smith will be back in early April. Lots more good stuff; just not remembering at the moment! Oh, and Fred Hersch this coming Thursday evening!

[Gentle Giant]

Charles Lloyd New Quartet
Charles Lloyd, tenor saxophone
Jason Moran, piano
Reuben Rogers, bass
Eric Harland, drums

Thursday, March 21, Sanders Theatre