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| BeanTown Jazz Festival Berklee is giving one of the city's best music events some new energy as the college assumes production of Boston's annual BeanTown Jazz Festival. Last year, more than 40, 000 music lovers attended this civic celebration, held on three outdoor stages in Boston's South End. This year's festival, the sixth annual, will be held September 29 through October 1, 2006, again with lead sponsorship by Sovereign Bank. Darryl Settles, who founded the festival and has produced it from its outset, will continue in his role as founder and corporate ambassador, working with businesses, the city, and community groups that have been, or will be, involved in the festival. "Passing the BeanTown baton to Berklee, under Larry Simpson's leadership, and knowing they will take the festival to another level, is a dream result, " said Settles. "I cherish the opportunity to remain involved as the festival grows and evolves." New this year, a Sunday Gospel Brunch, set for the Colonnade Hotel, will be added to the festival, expanding it to three days. The high-energy, gospel-inflected big band Kendrick Oliver's New Life Orchestra, which had its genesis at Berklee, will entertain. Berklee assumes production of the festival, under the leadership of Berklee Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Lawrence Simpson. Simpson came to Berklee last fall from Cleveland, where he was President of Cuyahoga Community College's Metropolitan Campus, and was also responsible for the production of the internationally recognized Tri-C Jazz Festival-Cleveland. "While I'm relatively new to the city, I know about Boston's unique and extremely rich jazz legacy, " said Simpson. "The legendary nightclubs along the Mass Ave corridor in jazz's post-war heyday, the artistic vision of a long line of great Boston jazz impresarios, and the contributions made to the evolving future of jazz by Boston musicians, music colleges, and conservatories, are all part of it. We will honor that legacy, and reflect that future, in the choices we make with the festival." Artistic Director for the BeanTown Jazz Festival is Willard Jenkins, an acclaimed jazz festival presenter and journalist, who is working closely with Simpson and Settles. Event production will be directed by Berklee Associate Vice President for Special Programs, Rob Rose, whose team oversees the production of hundreds of Berklee Performance Center student and faculty concerts each year. Rose and his team produced Berklee's hugely successful 60th Anniversary Concert at the Wang Theater in January, under the leadership of Phil Ramone. Free outdoor festivals, vital to the cityscape and life of major urban centers, are made possible through the civic consciousness and business acumen of corporations with strong ties to the community. Chief among these for BeanTown is lead sponsor Sovereign Bank and its CEO, Joe Campanelli. "BeanTown is a remarkable example of what can happen when you have a dedicated community leader like Darryl Settles, with great ideas and an enormous amount of drive, " said Campanelli. "We've been happy to support an event that brings so many people together outdoors, from every part of the city, to enjoy great music." BeanTown begins, as it did for the first time last year, with a Friday night opening concert in the Berklee Performance Center. The 2006 festival will begin with a performance by legendary pianist McCoy Tyner, leading an all star-group in "The Story of Impulse, " a retrospective of some of the definitive works of that seminal label, and of jazz itself. The group is expected to include trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonist Donald Harrison, and trombonist Steve Turre, among others. Saturday's outdoor festival, which runs from noon to 7:00 pm, at the corner of Columbus and Massachusetts Avenues, will fill three stages. The Sovereign Stage is the festival's main stage, and here alto saxophone giant Kenny Garrett, and critics' favorite, vocalist Carmen Lundy will each perform with their quartets. They'll be followed by the Christian McBride Situation, featuring Oliver Lake, Patrice Rushen, and turntablist DJ Logic. In a BeanTown first, Marsalis Music, the Cambridge-based record label begun by saxophonist and composer Branford Marsalis, a Berklee alumnus, will have a stage dedicated to its acts. Expected to appear on the Marsalis Music Stage are drummer and Miles Davis alumnus Jimmy Cobb, guitarist and vocalist Doug Wamble, and rarely heard, master drummer Michael Carvin. The Global Stage will showcase artists with personal or stylistic ties to other shores. Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke, who has worked with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Terence Blanchard, since leaving Berklee in 1992, will bring his Gilfema trio. Dynamic Cuban pianist Omar Sosa will present his quartet, and the Unwrapped All-Stars will give forth with their unique brand of jazz/hip-hop fusion. Popular Boston-based bands, including some affiliated with Berklee-based jazz Revelation Records, will also perform throughout the day. The -Family Area, sponsored again this year by Target, will feature amusements, clowns, face painting, and a host of other activities to keep the children engaged and entertained in a contained environment. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |