Announcement: Pittsfield CityJazz Festival schedule

The sixth annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival is scheduled for October 8 – 21, 2010, in venues around the city. Headline performers include baritone saxophone virtuoso Claire Daly; up-and-coming vibraphone player Joe Baione; a return of the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra, the Brazilian Jazz Trio, and the Berkshires Youth Jazz Ensemble.

The Eagles Stage Band, the jazz unit of Pittsfield’s Eagles concert band, will kick off the nearly two-week event with a noon concert on City Hall steps (weather permitting) on Friday, Oct. 8. The Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 8-10 will feature “Jazz About Town,” when regionally-based performers appear in restaurants and clubs around the city.

The Brazilian Jazz Trio, comprising the remarkable Warren Byrd on piano, Jason Schwarts on bass, and Tom Parker on drums, will perform in a CD-release concert at the Berkshire Athenaeum on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The free concert starts at 7pm.

Most of the events are free. The two ticketed events, both on the headline weekend, include:

Oct. 15: the Berkshires debut of Joe Baione, a Delaware-based vibraphone player and his quintet. The concert (7:30pm, Crowne Plaza Hotel) will be preceded by an optional New Orleans-style sit-down dinner with such delicacies such as shrimp etouffe’, jambalaya, and cajun catfish.

Oct. 16: a guest appearance of baritone saxophone virtuoso Claire Daly, who will be featured as a soloist with two big bands on the program: The Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble and the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra (AJRO); Colonial Theatre, 8pm.

AJRO returns to Pittsfield by popular demand, after a 2009 appearance on Independence Day weekend. Besides a set of familiar big-band selections spotlighting Daly and other soloists, AJRO will perform jointly with the Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble, directed by Ron Lively, in a finale that will bring all the musicians on stage at once.

AJRO is directed by Clem DeRosa, a member of the Jazz Hall of Fame, a big-band drummer and pioneer in jazz education. During his military career, DeRosa served with one of Glenn Miller’s Air Corps Bands, and later fronted one of Miller’s “ghost bands,” and the Benny Goodman band, on tours.

The festival concludes with various jazz-oriented performers on Oct. 21, part of Pittsfield’s “Third Thursday” block party.

Once again, the festival will be collaborating with the schools of Berkshire County with free performances and discussions by the Pittsfield Sister City Jazz Ambassadors.