Schedule of Events

April 4, 2024

7:30PM - Singers' Showcase at Arlington Center for the Arts, 20 Academy St.

Featuring sets by three great Boston area vocalists:
Kathleen Kolman
Yoko Kowata
and rising star Mikayla Shirley

With house band:
Alexei Tsiganov - keyboard
Dan Fox - bass
Steve Langone - drums

Cost: ADVANCE TICKETS (recommended) - limited availability at door $15 general admission; $10 seniors & students

April 5, 2024

7:00PM - AHS Jazz Band & the Boston/Havana Connection at Arlington High School Auditorium, 869 Massachusetts Ave.

7:00PM - Arlington High School Jazz Band

8:15PM - The Boston/Havana Connection
Led by Dan Fox, The Boston/Havana Connection will present a descarga (a Latin jazz jam session) featuring Cuban musicians from the band Espirales as well as Boston area jazz musicians and some Cuban musicians currently living in Boston.

The Boston Havana Connection is:
Dan Fox - trombone
Mark Greel - trumpet
Anabel Gil Diaz - flute
Hilary Noble - sax and congas
Estefanía Núñez Villamandos - keyboard

Featuring members of Espirales:
Tania Haase - violin & vocals
Olivia Rodríguez - bass
Alejandro Aguiar - percussion
Jesús Estrada - percussion
Rodrigo García - keyboard

Cost: Free of charge, donations accepted

9:30PM - Lydia Harrell at Menotomy Grill, 25 Massachusetts Ave.

Lydia "The LovelySinger" Harrell is one of Boston's finest musical treasures. Her sultry, soulful voice and evocative songwriting have garnered her the attention and respect of the nation's finest musicians and venues. Be it performing with the Boston Pops, serenading NBA fans with America's National Anthem, or lending her vocal talents to a chart-topping deep house singles by British record label, Reel People Music, Lydia's dedication to extracting the pure essence of song goes virtually unmatched.

Cost: No cover charge

April 6, 2024

11:30AM - Morningside Music Studio Ensembles at Arlington Center for the Arts, 20 Academy St.
Cost: No cover charge

2:00PM - Guy & Billy at Arlington Center for the Arts, 20 Academy St.

Frequent guests of the Prairie Home Companion show, NPR's All Things Considered, and numerous film and television soundtracks, Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick's music has wed together two perfectly suited musical personalities. Novick's ever-inventive and soulful clarinet playing provides the ideal complement to Guy's innovative finger-style guitar wizardry. Their music sounds fresh and original, yet is also deeply rooted in the rich legacy of classic jazz.

Cost: ADVANCE TICKETS (recommended) - limited availability at door $20 general admission; $10 students & seniors

3:30PM - Rafael Barata Trio at Arlington Center for the Arts, 20 Academy St.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rafael Barata is a self-taught drummer based in NY. He started playing at the age of five and has played and recorded with many impressive artists such as Kenny Barron, João Donato, and Eliane Elias, who he worked on the GRAMMY award-winning album Made in Brazil with. Rafael tours all around the world with several projects including the Eliane Elias Quartet, Cello Samba Trio, and lately, with the multi-awarded artist Dianne Reeves.

Featuring:
Rafael Barata - drums
Dave Zinno - bass
Liz Sinn - piano

Cost: ADVANCE TICKETS (recommended) - limited availability at door $20 general admission; $10 students & seniors

1:00PM - Vertigo Trio at The Mill Café, 14 Mill St.

The Vertigo Trio is:
Tim Blackman - piano
Doug Toland - drums
Ethan Focht - bass
This Arlington-based group originally formed when three software engineers came together based on their love of the Bill Evans Trio. Since then there have been some changes, but the group still focuses on group improvisation over songs of the Great American Songbook and other jazz standards. Additionally, Vertigo is fascinated by the relationship of film and music, and frequently plays music that originated in the golden era of Hollywood from 1931 to 1959.

Cost: No cover charge, donations accepted

2:30PM - District 5 Jazz Band at The Mill Café, 14 Mill St.

Hailing from Boston's District 5, this jazz sextet thrives on playing live music and bringing fun and celebration to all who hear them play. Their repertoire tends to land in the great jazz era of hard bop, with a heady dose of funk and some friendly blues—material from such great composers as The Crusaders, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Roy Hargrove, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Jobim, and many others.

Cost: No cover charge, donations accepted

7:30PM - Direct from Cuba: Espirales at Calvary Church, 300 Massachusetts Ave.

Performing for the very first time in the US, right here in Arlington, Espirales performs a blend of Cuban, jazz, world, and chamber music. Tania Haase, Olivia Rodríguez, Alejandro Aguiar, Jesús Estrada and Rodrigo García have led or contributed nationally and internationally to projects across all these styles, performing at Cuba's International Jazz Plaza Festival and the Habana Clásica concert music festival. They are also teachers who have designed a development program on Cuban music and culture. The group is led by pianist Rodrigo Garcia. Although his career is still in its early stages, his achievements include the award for best composition at the Stanford Jazz Workshop 2016; first place in the international Vivo competition (2018) at Carnegie Hall in New York; and special prize in the international Grand Prize Virtuoso Amsterdam (2019), together with his wife and Espirales violinist Tania Haase; and the Grand Prize at the Rocky Mountain Music Competition (2021).

Cost: ADVANCE TICKETS - also available at door $20 general admission; $10 students & seniors

9:00PM - Tonight's Hang at Donut Villa, 319 Broadway

Featuring Mark Pfaff & the Morningside All-Stars

Join us for the late night hang where bassist Mark Pfaff will present classic jazz with friends including:
Debbie Lane - vocals
Peter Orne - trumpet
Tim McLaughlin - sax
Gavin Benke - sax
Jeff Hopwood - keys
Rob Schneider - guitar
Mike Chamness - drums

Cost: No cover charge

April 7, 2024

7:00PM - Christian McBride at Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St.

Christian McBride - bass
Nicole Glover - sax
Ely Perlman - guitar
Mike King - piano
Savannah Harris - drums
Eight-time Grammy-winning jazz bassist Christian McBride fuses the fire and fury of a virtuoso with the depth and grounding of a seasoned journeyman. Powered by relentless energy and a boundless love of swing, McBride's career is now blazing into its third decade and he is one of the most requested, most recorded, and most respected figures in music.

Date: April 4-7, 2024

Location: Various Venues in Arlington, MA 02474

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