Pittsfield CityJazz Festival
The Pittsfield CityJazz Festival has presented mainstream and traditional jazz in Downtown Pittsfield since 2005.
The festival spans 10 days and 2 weekends each April — Jazz Appreciation Month.
Jazz About Town
Jazz About Town (“the jazz crawl”) features local musicians in restaurants across the city in advance of the festival’s weekend headline concerts. Dozens of venues have featured all genres of instrumental and vocal jazz, all at no cover.
Restaurant owners report increased and longer visits by patrons on the nights when they have participated. Let us know if you’d like your restaurant to participate!
Past Highlights
Over the years, the festival presented such headline talent as:
NEA Jazz Masters Dave Brubeck, Dr. Billy Taylor, and Phil Woods. Dave Brubeck’s 2009 appearance was his final performance in Berkshire County.
Up-and-coming artists such as Brandon Goldberg, Veronica Swift, and Grace Kelly (her first appearance was at the age of 14)
Individual standouts such as Randy Brecker, T.S. Monk, Claire Daly, Stephanie Nakasian, Hod O’Brian, Winard Harper, Karrin Allyson, and Barbara Dennerlein
The New England Jazz Ensemble released a live recording of their appearance at the first Pittsfield CityJazz Festival in 2005.
Sponsors
Are these 2024 sponsors? Are there separate general sponsors?
In an effort to keep prices at an accessible level, the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival has successfully partnered with several local, regional, and national organizations to underwrite various components.
Starting with Legacy Banks in 2005, sponsors have included Greylock Federal Credit Union, TD Bank, North Coast Brewing Co., Time Warner Cable, MTV/Nickelodeon, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Feigenbaum Foundation, Berkshire Bank, the Pittsfield and Massachusetts Cultural Councils, and The Mill Town Foundation. Local merchants have provided thousands of dollars in in-kind services such as ReadWebCo, The Berkshire Eagle, and Wood Brothers Music.