The streets are filled with people from the ages of five to 95. The air smells of funnel cake and fried chicken. There's music coming from three different stages, each located a block apart. Some people are deep in a trance, while others simply bounce their heads to the music.
Yes, you're going to have to leave Davis Square for this one.
Starting Thursday night, the BeanTown Jazz Festival returns triumphantly to Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. Darryl Settles, the owner of Bob's Southern Bistro, a landmark bar and jazz club in the South End, started the festival in 2000. After many successful runs, it blossomed even more last year as the Berklee School of Music took over the reigns of the operation, opening the doors to a new collegiate audience.
Settles started the festival as a sort of "jazz-based block party," but the event has exploded in recent years, becoming increasingly corporate - to the dismay of some but to the joy of many others. This year's festival is sponsored not only by Berklee, but other large names such as Target, Sovereign Bank and Borders. The assistance of these large companies has helped the event grow from a few hundred people to 50,000 last year. For that exposure (and funding), a few Target banners hanging from tent ceilings seems a small price to pay.
The opening concert, which will be held Friday, Sept. 28 at Boston Symphony Hall, was produced by George Wein, the founder and producer of the Newport Jazz Festival. The Newport Jazz Festival is one of the largest, if not the largest, jazz festival in the US, largely thanks to Wein's production.
This year's festival is also remarkable due to its unprecedented artist lineup.
"This is such an amazing lineup ... almost unheard-of in Boston" said Allen Bush, head of Media Relations at Berklee. "There will be as many jazz luminaries as there will ever be in Boston, so we're very lucky to have this. George Wein himself describes it as the 'jazz concert of the century,' and that means a lot, coming from him."
Before getting too far ahead, let's start at the beginning. Tonight, some of the performers to star in the show Friday will perform at The Beehive in the South End as a Pre-Festival Warm-Up at 9 p.m. Although you're not guaranteed to see your favorites live in person, the ability to watch stars in the echelon of Roy Haynes and Herbie Hancock rehearse and jam is certainly something any jazz fan shouldn't miss. The set at The Beehive is 21+, but juniors and seniors can still attend this informal penultimate performance. There is a cover charge of $10.
The most star-studded part of the weekend occurs tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m., when Haynes, Hancock, Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis and many others take the stage at Symphony Hall. Tickets for the Friday night show start at $40 and go up to $100, which really is a small price to pay for so much jazz stardom collected in one place.
This particular part of the weekend is entitled "A Celebration of Jazz and Joyce: A Concert to Establish the Joyce Alexander Wein Scholarship Fund." The concert is in memory of Wein's wife, who succumbed to cancer in August, and will begin the endowment of the Joyce Wein Scholarship fund at Berklee. The lineup has a personal element as well, as Bush noted that "many of the big names at the concert are there because of favors George Wein called in; he's good friends with nearly all of the biggest names out there."
For those not as well-versed in the legends of jazz, Haynes is one of the most worshipped jazz and R&B drummers of the age. He has played with artists of the past and the future, including (get ready for an impressive list): Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Pat Metheny and Thelonious Monk, to name a few. Most recently, Haynes has been recording and touring with the Roy Haynes Trio.
Hancock, another star of the jazz world, will play at the Symphony Hall concert. If the name sounds vaguely familiar, go to take a listen to Hancock's 1964 hit "Cantaloupe Island" or the catchy chorus of 1973's "Watermelon Man" One of these songs should definitely be ingrained into every person's music subconscious.
Most of the tradition of the BeanTown Jazz Festival is based in the block-party-style fete held on Columbus Ave between Massachusetts Avenue and Burke Street on Saturday. For college students, this portion of the festivities is most alluring, since entry is free. Beginning at noon, multiple bands and artists will play throughout the day on three stages, located at different points on Columbus Avenue.
Nearby, the Target Family Park offers fun activities for folks of all ages ranging from balloons to face painting to an instrument petting zoo. Throughout the day, the Borders Festival Store (located near all of the vendors and the Target Family Park) will have artists signing CDs and chatting with fans. Also, CDs from all of the artists and merchandise from all kinds of Boston vendors and musicians will be available.
Jazz aside, the BeanTown Festival offers a beautiful afternoon in Boston - and looking at the forecast, it is going to be a gorgeous day. Why not kill some time trying food from the multitude of vendors positioned in rows as far as the eye can see? From top-notch French restaurants to typical carnival food fare, you're guaranteed to find something to fill you up. And if you want some fame to go with your food, the smorgasboard will be headlined by a cooking demonstration from Ted Allen, the food and wine connoisseur from Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
Not to be outdone by edibles, there is also a killer lineup scheduled for Saturday, beginning with Entrain, a terrific jazz/rock/blues group originally from nearby Martha's Vineyard. To sum up their sound, a quote from front-man Tom Major is all you need: "We want to create music that makes people feel good ... At the same time if we can help to make peace and love cool again ... great! There's enough negativity in the world, let's spread a little joy around and watch how infectious it can be."
Also appearing on the Sovereign Stage is Conrad Herwig, who will be doing an entire set of Miles Davis tunes rearranged in Latin-jazz style. For any jazz fan, hearing the classics of Miles Davis in any form is a great experience, but an entire set of Miles songs? Well, that's just damn close to orgasmic. Herwig and his band start their set at 1:35 p.m.
Another show that shouldn't be missed is the Charles Tolliver Big Band. Although it may not seem that out of the ordinary to see a Big Band play, in today's day and age, a live Big Band show is a fairly difficult thing to come by. Not to mention, watching one is a much more lively and energetic experience than one would initially think. Charles Tolliver's Big Band goes onstage at the Target stage at 4:45 p.m.
If by the end of the day, one's craving for jazz music still isn't completely quenched (and you're over 21), Scullers Jazz Club has one last act, Monty Alexander, saved for Saturday night. Scullers Jazz Club is the "#1 Live Music Venue" in Boston as well as the "Best First Date Spot," according to Boston Magazine. How better to impress your new crush than by showing them you have some "cul-chah?"
If you have a busy weekend planned, get ready to make some time for the BeanTown Jazz Festival, if not, take some initiative, get out of bed before 11 a.m., and head into Boston for one of the best free festivals of the year. To get to the fest, take the T to the Symphony stop on the green line.
