Berklee Takes Over BeanTown Jazz Festival

  I   Berklee College of Music has assumed production of Boston’s annual BeanTown Jazz Festival, which will be held this year from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

“While I’m relatively new to the city, I know about Boston’s unique and extremely rich jazz legacy,” said Berklee Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Lawrence Simpson. “We will honor that legacy, and reflect that future, in the choices we make with the festival.”

Jazz critic Willard Jenkins will serve as artistic director for the festival, which will feature McCoy Tyner, Kenny Garrett, Carmen Lundy, Christian McBride, Lionel Loueke and Jimmy Cobb.

For more information on the BeanTown Jazz Festival go to berklee.edu.



  • DB26_Joshua_Redman_Courtesy_Joshua_Redman.jpg

    A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.

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    “It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”

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    Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.

  • 5_Elling_Russell_Cohen_Courtesy_Signature_Cruise_Experiences.jpg

    Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.

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