“Headline weekend” for the Berkshires Gateway Jazz Weekend kicks off with the Frank Vignola Trio (7:30pm, Lee Congregational Church). Frank is one of the most extraordinary (and popular) guitarists performing before the public today. His virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Donald Fagen, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Emmanuel, the Boston Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Frank to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List”. The New York Times deemed him “one of the brightest stars of the guitar”.
It’s great to welcome him back to the Berkshires, where he has performed at two Pittsfield CityJazz Festivals, to great critical and popular acclaim. His trio includes co-guitarist Vinny Raniolo and bassist Elias Bailey.
Closing-out the headline performances at this year’s Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend will be the Jeff Holmes Big Band, featuring the amazing vocalist Dawning Holmes. [Click here for tickets, or read on]
Pianist, composer, arranger and trumpeter Jeff Holmes is a nationally published composer/arranger, and a multiple recipient of National Endowment For The Arts Jazz Composition Grants. He has written music for renowned jazz musicians including John Abercrombie, Max Roach, Sheila Jordan, Yusef Lateef, Rufus Reid, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
In addition to the band’s impressive library of big-band standards and originals, this evening’s repertoire will include a tribute to Leonard Bernstein, whose 100th birthday is being celebrated this year by musical organizations across the globe. Bernstein’s music touched all genres, from classical to pop, opera to jazz, and Hollywood.
The band features the outstanding vocalist Dawning Holmes, who was first heard in Lee during the 2017 tribute to Buddy Rich. In addition to her work with Jeff’s big band, Dawning has sung in jazz clubs from New York City to London, has guested with both Paul Winter and the UMASS Studio Orchestra/Jazz Ensemble I, and opened for Bob Newhart at the Foxwoods Casino Theatre. She performs pieces made popular by Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Sam Cooke, Amy Winehouse, and is currently working on a project of her own original music and lyrics.
Concert time is 7:30pm, at the Lee Meeting House (Lee Congregational Church). Tickets [click here] are $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the event.
Optional Italian buffet, as only Brenda’s can do it!
Matt DeChamplain is “the man” when it comes to stride piano. He approaches his instrument in a fresh and interesting way, reworking familiar standards and interpreting his own compositions. Not just a repertory player, Matt is a creative interpreter of the genre, as shown on his CD “Stride – Bop.”
Matt’s music is rooted in a profound love for the early jazz masters. What makes him unique is his application of early jazz piano devices created by Ragtime, Blues and Stride musicians. He pursues a musicianship that fuses traditional elements with modern jazz concepts. In this program, Matt illustrates how various stride players influenced generations of jazz giants.
So, after Pittsfield’s monthly “First Friday Artswalk,” stride over to 41 Wendell Ave. for this special event. An optional Italian buffet will be available from Brenda’s Catering, starting at 6:30pm. Regular seating will be available at 7pm. Cash bar.
A popular participant in Pittsfield’s jazz scene, Matt DeChamplain is an educator and performer, but rarely gets the chance to mix the two professions. A growing interest in jazz in the Berkshires, encouraged by his two previous appearances in a different (vocal) setting, gives him the opportunity to stretch out.
Advance price for tickets is $42 all-inclusive, including the dinner, tax, and tip, or $25 for the concert only. Available online (click here), don’t miss out!
Ted Rosenthal and his trio perform jazz interpretations of ‘Rhapsody In Blue’ and 9 other familiar compositions of George Gershwin
Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianists of his generation, actively touring worldwide with his trio, as a soloist, and in various configurations. Winner of the 1988 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, he has performed with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and James Moody.
His interpretation of George Gershwin compositions was captured on the CD “Rhapsody in Gershwin,” which provides the foundation for our “10, by George” concert. In reviewing this album, Kevin Whitehead of NPR said, “Rosenthal gets Gershwin’s sensibility (with) a classical pianist’s reverence for the material and a jazz musician’s way of running off of it.” As for the band, Whitehead adds, “these players really make the Rhapsody their own and make it modern again.” It’s no wonder that this CD reached #1 in jazz album sales at iTunes and Amazon.
A virtuoso interpreter and presenter of jazz and crossover music, Ted has 15 CDs to his name. His trio includes Martin Wind, bass, and Tim Horner, drums.
A wine bar, featuring the products of Berkshires’ own Balderdash Winery, will be available starting at 6:30pm.
This concert is part of downtown Pittsfield’s annual “10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival,” when arts organizations present a variety of concerts, plays, and other performances with a “10” theme.
Our annual jazz crawl, part of the 2017 Pittsfield CityJAZZ Festival. Sub-optimal audio in some instances, but a good sense of the variety of local artists being presented.
Shown here: Andy Kelly Gypsy Jazz (at J. Allen’s). Banulis and Miller jazz duo (Panchos). John Kozinski guitar duo (Patrick’s). Mary Ann Palermo and First Take (The Rainbow). Sarah Clay (Mission).
Did you miss this year’s Jazz Prodigy concert during the Pittsfield CityJAZZ Festival? Just in case you did, or want to revisit it, here’s a sample, a unique treatment of “Stella By Starlight,” featuring Caelan Cardello. A product of Jazz House Kids, the renowned after-school music program in Newark, New Jersey, Caelan’s trio performed their maiden gig on Oct. 11, at the Berkshire Athenaeum. Watch him!
Berkshires Jazz continues our summer of centennial tributes on Aug. 12, when the Ted Rosenthal Quintet performs a 100th birthday salute to the iconic pianist Thelonious Monk. TD Bank is sponsoring the concert, at the Lee Meeting House (Congregational Church), starting at 7:30pm.
Equally renowned as a pianist and composer, Thelonious Monk was known for his unique improvisational style. He made countless contributions to the standard jazz repertoire. Even now, 35 years after his passing, he still has a strong and loyal worldwide following.
Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianists of his generation. He has toured worldwide as a soloist and in various configurations. He has performed with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and James Moody. Ted has 15 CDs to his name, including “Images of Monk”, which provides the musical foundation for the concert.
In his debut performance for Berkshires Jazz, Ted appears with Mike Rodriguez (trumpet); Joel Frahm (saxophone); Martin Wind (bass); and Jimmy Macbride (drums).
Additional support is being provided by North Coast Brewing Co., a supporter of jazz events nationwide.
The Lee Meeting House (Lee Congregational Church), 25 Park Place in Lee, Mass., is a stunning, historic venue, both acoustically and visually. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the event. Click here for our online box office.
If you ask 10 jazz fans to name the greatest big-band drummer of all time, chances are that 8 or 9 of the responses will be “Buddy Rich.” An icon of speed, precision, and taste, Rich still has a worldwide following, 30+ years after his passing. Berkshires Jazz is celebrating his 100th birthday year with a concert on July 22, featuring the big band of drummer Gregory Caputo.
Caputo has always served as a great ambassador for classic swing and big band jazz. His credits include stints with Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Nelson Riddle, Benny Goodman, Sheila Jordan, Sammy Davis Jr., and countless world class jazz artists. Local fans remember his appearance in Lee with NEA Jazz Master Phil Woods, which turned out to be Woods’ final appearance in the Berkshires.
His big band is a who’s-who of jazz musicians. Called the “keeper of the big band flame” by Jazz Times magazine, Greg’s repertoire is always presented with great precision and spirit. Classic Drummer magazine describes Greg as “a master drummer who speaks volumes in refined sensibilities and superb technique.” An inductee into the National Jazz Archives, he is also on the faculty of UMass’ highly-regarded Jazz In July program.
Fasten your seat belts for a great evening of some of the finest big-band material you’ve ever heard.
The concert is on Saturday, July 22, 7pm, at the Lee Meeting House (Lee Congregational Church), 25 Park Place in the Berkshire Gateway town of Lee, Mass. A stunning venue, both acoustically and visually, a great place to hear a big band. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the event. Click here for online box office.
A centennial birthday tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and the reunion of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band with legendary blues guitarist Duke Robillard highlight the sixth annual Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend, June 15-18 in downtown Lee.
The four-day festival also includes a Fine Art show, al fresco food vendors with daytime jazz, and a wine and beer tasting under a tent in Church Park. The weekend activities are bracketed by a documentary movie screening on Thursday, June 15 and a Father’s Day jazz brunch.
A collaboration of Berkshires Jazz, Inc. and Berkshire Gateway Preservation, Inc., the affair takes place in the western Massachusetts town of Lee, the “Gateway to the Berkshires.” The principal performing venue is the Lee Meeting House (a.k.a. Lee Congregational Church), 25 Park Place.
The headline concerts kick off on Friday, June 16, when the Vermont Jazz Center Big Band and Wanda Houston celebrate the 100th birthday of the first lady of song. Performing and breathing new life into the same musical arrangements used by Ella Fitzgerald, the concert features acclaimed vocalist Wanda Houston singing Ella’s renowned parts. She will be backed by the Vermont Jazz Center Big Band. The repertoire will be a tour-de-force of the great American songbook.
Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century…and perhaps the first jazz artist to become a household name. One of today’s outstanding interpreters of vocal jazz and blues, Wanda Houston has loved –and sung along with– Fitzgerald’s music since she was a young girl. Like Fitzgerald, she is a great singer as well as a superb storyteller; she colors the spaces between her songs with fascinating stories of her youth and the trials and tribulations of life on the road.
The Vermont Jazz Center Big Band is a professional community band that comes together under the auspices of the VJC to rehearse and take on projects. The 16-piece band is directed by trumpeter Rob Freeberg and features many top-flight ensemble players and soloists.
Tickets (click here) are $25 in advance ($30 on the day of the event, if available), and at several locations in the Berkshires, including the Lee Chamber Visitor Center and Wood Brothers Music in Pittsfield.
Traditional Jazz At Its Best
On Saturday, June 17, one of the longest-standing, best-known and highly-respected traditional jazz groups, The New Black Eagle Jazz Band returns to the Berkshires after a three-year hiatus. The band has dozens of audio recordings and DVDs to its name, including one that garnered a Grammy nomination. Of their prowess and creativity, the late N.Y. Time critic John S. Wilson wrote that the band is “So far ahead of other traditional bands…there is scarcely any basis for comparison.”
In 2009, the Black Eagles teamed-up with famed guitarist Duke Robillard for a recording called “Nothing But the Blues.” After many years, they are reunited exclusively for the Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend.
Duke Robillard had his first band in high school, and he was fascinated from the beginning by the ways in which jazz, swing, and the blues were linked. In 1967, he formed Roomful of Blues, and the band was tight enough and tough enough to accompany two of its heroes, Big Joe Turner and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson on recordings and in live appearances. The Grammy-nominated guitarist won The Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C. Handy Awards) for “Best Blues Guitarist” four times.
Tickets (click here) are $25 in advance ($30 on the day of the event, if available), and at several locations in the Berkshires, including the Lee Chamber Visitor Center and Wood Brothers Music in Pittsfield.
The event is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, as well as sponsorships from Big Y, Adams Community Bank, Onyx Specialty Papers, Consolati Insurance, Inc. and Aldam Press.
A special, one-time concert of jazz interpretations of Portuguese music themes, Mary Ann McSweeney’s “Urban Fado Project” made its Berkshires debut on May 13, at the Whitney Center for the Arts, 42 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield. Tickets are available here.
Her quartet includes Jason Ennis on guitar, Todd Reynolds on violin, Conor Meehan on drums, and McSweeney on bass, and augmented by special guests.
Fado originated in Portugal in the 1800s. Of Portuguese heritage herself, McSweeney says “the beautiful melodies of Fado resonated for me immediately. The sadness, the sigh of the voice, the story of fate told by the singer inspired me to compose music that is Fado.” McSweeney wrote much of the new music at home in Brooklyn, and so she named the repertoire the “Urban Fado Project.”
Known for her jazz prowess as both a leader and ensemble member, McSweeney brings new grooves and new chord structures to the Fado form. “I want to bring a new voice and vibe to this music and share the cultural diversity it has to offer.” Her instrument, the string bass, brings a melodic and low supportive voice to the music. “I like to keep the form of the traditional Fado song, but I have also expanded it to leave room for improvisation. Musicians can layer their voice onto the form of the piece.”
The intimate setting of the Whitney Center for the Arts lends itself well to this music, presented in a cabaret setting.