Massachusetts: State of Jazz

Massachusetts:Massachusetts - TheThe StateState ofof JazzJazz George Wein Esperanza Spalding Willie Colon When Fenway Park celebrated its The Boston Jazz Festival moved centennial in April, I found myself to Pleasure Island Amusement Park Welcome digging into the news archives to in Wakefield in 1960, and then it The Massachusetts Office see what else happened at the ended abruptly. Wein continued of Travel & Tourism is proud famous ballpark over the past his illustrious career in jazz, as to support MassJazz. This century. evidenced by this year’s Newport Sure enough, Fenway was home Festival and by his countless other guide provides you with to the first Boston Jazz Festival, good works over half a century. endless ways to enjoy on August 21-23, 1959. It was It got me thinking about the Massachusetts’ rich jazz organized by jazz impresario and ebb and flow of jazz. Even great heritage and the festivals, Newton native George Wein, who festivals come and go, due to events, restaurants and five years earlier had launched the various factors: shifting public venues – large and small Newport Jazz Festival. tastes, economic conditions, – that offer opportunities to Wein, a talented jazz pianist, sponsorship availability, and booked an amazing line-up at the fortitude of musicians and experience this great music. Fenway: Duke Ellington, Dizzy promoters in any given year. Enjoy this guide, and Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Pee Wee There is an upswing in jazz Massachusetts jazz! Russell, Thelonious Monk, Dave festivals in Massachusetts, with Brubeck & Paul Desmond, and the four new festivals in 2012 and Betsy Wall Modern Jazz Quartet. Vocalists four in 2011 (see page six). And why not? Look at the talent pool Executive Director Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Mark Murphy and Ray Charles of jazz musicians coming out of Massachusetts Office of performed too. universities from Boston to Amherst Travel & Tourism My favorite local headline had who are performing, composing and 10 Park Plaza, Suite 4510 to be “Festival Fans Dig Duke energizing the local scene. Boston, MA 02116 through Dusk and Dew,” in The And look at the festival 617 973-8500 Boston Globe. Noted jazz writer Fr. entrepreneurs – many of them MassVacation.com Norman O’Connor reported that jazz musicians - willing to put “Some 23,000 people attended the in countless hours and endure festival,” prompting the jazz priest financial risk to further the art form to speculate, “Possibly, Boston can and enhance cultural tourism in take its place alongside Newport Massachusetts. Perhaps one of and (New York’s) Randall Island.” them will be the next George Wein. 4 Festivals aside, upswings in jazz have been going on for some time. For example, women have long held central roles as jazz vocalists and pianists, but in recent years they’ve taken their rightful place as supreme instrumentalists too. Artists like bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington provide a harbinger of things to come. Indeed, Women in Jazz is the theme of this year’s Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival in September. And Latin jazz is increasing its presence and influence in Massachusetts – and around the world – thanks to artists like Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, who graces our front cover and who is performing in Rockport and Boston in the coming months, and Nuyorican bandleader Willie Colon, who performs at City Hall Plaza this summer. In contrast, it appears there is a downswing in the vitality of jazz radio in Massachusetts and indeed across the United States. As budgets. Like all art, jazz needs we were getting ready to go to print, gifted curators to present the For now, the summer is upon us, and we learned that jazz programming music in ways both informative and we are optimistic about the at WGBH 89.7 – which for three entertaining. state of jazz in Massachusetts. Our decades had one of the nation’s best We don’t know the outcome, but 4th annual MassJazz Travel Guide jazz programming – is being scaled we are hopeful that the ebb and offers great opportunities to find jazz back and replaced by news shows. flow of jazz will somehow rectify the across the state. We hope you like That is concerning, since radio impasse between the radio station what you hear. educates the listening audience and the faithful jazz audience of while supporting so many musicians greater Boston. - Michael P. Quinlin and venues operating on small 5.

Load more