Since January 2006 JazzBoston, Greater Boston’s only jazz- support organization, has been bringing together everyone in our city who cares about any type of jazz. This growing non-profit’s diverse programming ranges from helping Dorchester kids and seniors to explore this music to sponsoring the upcoming ten-day “week” to celebrate and share all kinds of jazz.
Starting tomorrow and running through May 2, Jazz Week ‘10: Made in Boston, Played in Boston will spotlight the special role the Hub jazz scene plays as an incubator and stage for some of the world’s most creative musicians. More than 230 events at over 80 venues, many of them inspired by this year’s theme, will offer a look to the music’s future and a nod to its past.
With more variety than ever, Jazz Week ‘10 will showcase everything from rare films, jazz dance, and children’s events to tributes to influential figures in the city’s rich cultural history. Now in its fourth year, Jazz Week ‘10 promises not only the biggest and best celebration yet but also more free events than ever before.
For example, tomorrow is “Free Friday,” featuring kickoff day concerts by New England Conservatory (NEC) student ensembles around the city and an evening performance at Jordan Hall by the NEC Jazz Orchestra and special guest Ran Blake. Jazz Week @ the Boston Public Library continues the motif with 7 days and nights of free seminars and performances for all ages at the Main Library in Copley Square.
Other highlights include jazz film screenings: five documentaries of jazz legends and great performances at the Regent Theatre in Arlington and the Boston preview of “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,” a Boston-made film about the relationship of music and love, starring and introduced in person by Hub trumpeter Jason Palmer.
Jazz Week 10’s programming out in Hub neighborhoods includes recently added dates at the Sugar Bowl (857 Dorchester Ave., 617-265-9000), which has been featuring jazz ensembles every Friday and occasional other nights. In addition to Jazzin’ the Generations, an intergenerational outreach aimed at seniors that debuted at the Grove Hall Branch, Dot has been the focus of JazzBoston’s highest priority educational program, Riffs & Raps community-based series for audiences from 2 years on up.
Find Your Jazz! (aka Riffs & Raps I) was an innovative after-school program aimed at connecting at-risk teenagers to the music that is their heritage and fostering life and work skills By employing multi-disciplines — spoken word and visual art as well as music, the program demonstrated the connections between jazz and the students’ “own” popular music as well as other modes of expression.
The pilot program was delivered to 15 young people at the Codman Square and Dudley branches in March and April 2008. The success of the pilot led to an invitation to bring the program to the Music Clubhouses at the Blue Hill and Dorchester Boys & Girls Clubs. During last October and November, 20 young people from the two clubs met with Arni Cheatham and Bill Lowe (performers selected by JazzBoston for their experience developing jazz curricula and their inspirational skills) for five weeks at the Dorchester BGC’s new Music Clubhouse, and closed the program with a public performance for family and friends.
Pauline Bilsky, Executive Director of Jazz Boston, reports that the staffs of these two Dot clubs believe Riffs & Raps fits well with their missions. “They see the value of the unique bond that develops between the children and the seasoned jazz teachers/musicians. With letters of support from the Music Directors of the two clubs, we have applied for funding to return to Dorchester with an extended program (seven weeks instead of five) in the fall of 2010 and the spring of 2011.”
See Daily JazzWeek ’10 updates at jazzboston.org.
