Arlington Jazz Festival: 7th Annual w/headliner John Patitucci

The Arlington Jazz Festival, now in its 7th year, has scheduled a wide variety of musical events, presented over a 4-day stretch in several venues around town.

This year, the Festival shines the headliner spotlight on world renowned award-winning bass guitarist John Patitucci, who will be joined by his daughter Grei, an up and coming singer/songwriter, along with guitarist Jay Azzolina and drummer Nate Winn.

The Festival is also a celebration of the flourishing jazz scene throughout Greater Boston. An abundance of local talent will be on full display with performances by Peter Cicco, Kevin Harris, Steve Langone, Yulia Musayelyan, Jesse Williams, and more. Please refer to www.arlingtonjazz.org/artists.html for a list of all the artists involved.

The Festival, which receives organizing and production assistance from Arlington-based Morningside Music Studio, has this solid mission: to raise awareness and appreciation of jazz through the confluence of top performers, local rising ensembles, and student groups, while also fostering a sense of community and an appreciation that Arlington and surrounding towns are indeed a cultural destination.

Sleepy Arlington? Let’s just say that such rumors are greatly exaggerated.

Further basic information:

Festival events held Thurs.-Sun., April 26-April 29, in various venues around the town of Arlington. Admission depends on event: free to $20. Further information: www.arlingtonjazz.org, arlingtonjazzfestival@gmail.com, 1-339-707-5170.

Arlington Jazz Festival schedule in detail below:
For festival updates and final schedule, please refer to: www.arlingtonjazz.org/2018-lineup.html and www.facebook.com/Arlington-Jazz-Festival-1136997489665817/.

Festival headliner concert:
Sunday, April 29, 7:00-9:30 pm:
John Patitucci and Grei, with Jay Azzolina and Nate Winn, 8:00-9:30 pm;
with opening acts:
Arlington High School Jazz Band, led by Tino D'Agostino, 7:00-7:30 pm;
Kevin Harris and Steve Langone Duo, 7:30-8:00 pm.
Arlington Town Hall, 730 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington 02476.
General admission: $20, students/seniors $10, kids age 10 and under $5, kids on laps free.
Advance concert tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3358280.
[Advance ticket holders may also attend for free the John Patitucci Master Class, held earlier in the day.]

Other Festival events, listed chronologically:
Thursday, April 26, 8:00-11:00 pm:
Trish and the Eclectics, 8:00-8:30 pm;
Deviated Septet, 8:30-11:00 pm.
Common Ground, 319 Broadway, Arlington 02474.
No cover.

Friday, April 27, 7:00-9:00 pm:
Peter Cicco Group
Kickstand Cafe, 594 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington 02476.
No cover.

Friday, April 27, 10:00 pm-midnight:
Jesse Williams Group
Menotomy Grill, 25 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington 02474.
No cover.

Saturday, April 28, 8:00-11:00 pm:
Arlington Composers’ Collective (with Jonathan Fagan, Mike Caudill, Dan Fox & George Darrah), 8:00-9:00 pm;
Yulia Musayelyan Quartet, 9:00-10:00 pm;
followed by an Open Jam Session,10:00-11:00 pm.
Artlounge Arlington, 1346 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington 02476.
$10 cover.

Sunday April 29, 1:00-2:00 pm (rain or shine):
The A-Town Brass Band
Arlington Town Hall Garden, 730 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington 02476.
No cover.

Sunday April 29, 4:00-5:00 pm:
John Patitucci Master Class: open to musicians and all other music appreciators.
Arlington Town Hall Hearing Room, 730 Massachusetts Ave., 2nd floor, Arlington 02476.
$5 cover (or free with headliner concert advance ticket:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3358280).

Further background information on headliner John Patitucci, as well as additional information on the Arlington Jazz Festival:
John Patitucci has been at the forefront of the jazz world for the last 30 years and active in all styles of music. He is a three-time Grammy award winner, has been nominated over fourteen times and has played on many other Grammy award-winning recordings. Patitucci has performed and/or recorded with jazz giants such as Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker and countless others and is a long time member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet. He has been active as a composer has been commissioned to write for various chamber music groups. He has performed as a soloist with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Trondheim Symphony of Norway, the St. Louis Symphony and the London Symphony Orchestra. Patitucci is currently a Visiting Scholar at Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Institute and also hosts an interactive online bass school through Artist-Works (www.artistworks.com). In 2015 he released his 14th solo CD, entitled Brooklyn, with the John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet featuring Adam Rogers and Steve Cardenas on electric guitars and Brian Blade on drums. A documentary entitled Back in Brooklyn was filmed during the recording of Brooklyn. The John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet continues to tour, with 2017 performances at both the Panama Jazz Festival and Jazzfest Bonn. In addition to his own groups, Patitucci continues to tour with The Wayne Shorter Quartet and a new trio Children of the Light, featuring Danilo Perez on piano and Brian Blade on drums. Children of the Light, who released their debut CD in 2015, will be touring Europe in mid-April, returning a few days before Patitucci then joins his daughter singer/songwriter Grei as headliners for this year’s Arlington Jazz Festival.
www.johnpatitucci.com
www.facebook.com/OfficialGrei.

The nonprofit annual Arlington Jazz Festival (www.arlingtonjazz.org) is coordinated with assistance from Arlington-based Morningside Music Studio, under the direction of Dan Fox (www.danfox.com) an Arlington resident, who is a multi-instrumentalist and music educator. He established Morningside Music Studio 11 years ago in order to provide area students of all ages and musical abilities the opportunity to play in weekly ensembles and in recital concerts open to the public. In other words, offering wholehearted encouragement to “keep the groove in your life.” The Arlington Jazz Festival, also established by Fox, is supported in part by a grant from the Arlington Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
www.morningsidemusicstudio.com
www.facebook.com/Morningside-Music-Studio-168845019812800/

April is observed nationally as Jazz Appreciation Month, and since 2012, International Jazz Day has fallen on April 30th. Arlington Jazz Festival coincides with the celebration of Jazz Week in Boston and surrounding areas.
https://jazzboston.org/