Home of the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival

The lineup for the 7th annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival includes something for everyone: a returning jazz master, the fastest-rising star in the field, a piano prodigy, and the annual “jazz crawl,” known more formally as Jazz About Town. The fortnight of festivities takes place from Oct. 7-20, 2011 in and around Pittsfield, “the downtown of the Berkshires” in western Massachusetts.

The festival opens on Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 7-9, with the annual jazz crawl. Restaurants, coffee houses, bars and lounges will be presenting regionally-based jazz musicians in casual settings around the city. As many as a dozen venues are expected to participate. (Download PDF rackcard).

Highlights include:

• The inauguration of the festival’s Piano Prodigy Series, with Alma Macbride, who won the Mary Lou Williams centennial competition at Lincoln Center at the age of 14. She appears in a free concert at the Berkshire Music School, 30 Wendell Ave., on Wednesday, Oct. 12. NOTE: this is a new venue for this concert.
• The remarkable pianist Armen Donelian appears at the festival for the first time on Oct. 14. Renowned for both his original compositions and interpretations of jazz and classical works, Donelian’s trio includes bassist Dave Clark and drummer George Schuller.
• Grace Kelly returns to Pittsfield, concluding a year-long tour on Oct. 15, with NEA Jazz Master Phil Woods. The two appeared on stage at the festival in 2006, when Woods gave then 14-year-old Kelly his legendary leather cap, giving rise to the name of their new CD “Man with the Hat.”
• Grace and Phil welcome their friend, drummer Gregory Caputo, who will appear with them as a special guest artist.
• The festival concludes on Oct. 20 with jazz-themed Third Thursday block party.

Most events are free. Tickets are now on sale at The Colonial Theatre box office.

We invite you to peruse our site, watch some of the videos of last year’s event, make a donation, and sign up for our newsletter.

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2010 Pittsfield CityJazz Festival recap

The sixth annual Pittsfield CityJAZZ Festival took place Oct. 8-21, 2010 in venues around the city. Headline performers included baritone saxophone virtuoso Claire Daly, vibraphone up-and-comer Joe Baione, a return to Pittsfield of the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra, the Brazilian Jazz Trio, and the Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble.

The festival kicked off with our annual “jazz crawl” on Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 8-10. Known more formally as “Jazz About Town,” this aspect features regionally-based performers appearing in restaurants and clubs around the city.

The Brazilian Jazz Trio, comprising the remarkable Warren Byrd (piano), Jason Schwarts (bass) and leader Tom Parker (drums) appeared at the Berkshire Athenaeum on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

Most of the events were free. The two ticketed events, both on the headline weekend, included:

• The Berkshires debut of Joe Baione, a Delaware-based vibraphone player and his quintet.
• A guest appearance of baritone saxophone virtuoso Claire Daly, who was featured as a soloist with two big bands on the program: The Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble and the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra (AJRO). Directed by Clem DeRosa, who is a member of the Jazz Hall of Fame, AJRO introduced a new program, called “The Great American Jazz Book.” A takeoff on the familiar vocalizations that comprise an oeuvre called “the great American songbook,” AJRO’s material is primarily instrumental, and focuses on the great big-band hits of the mid-20th century.
• Besides a set of familiar big-band selections spotlighting Daly and other soloists, AJRO performed jointly with the Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble, in a finale that brought all the musicians on stage at once.

The festival concluded with various jazz-oriented performers on Oct. 21, part of Pittsfield’s “Third Thursday” block party.

Jazz in Berkshire county schools

Once again, the festival collaborated with the schools of Berkshire County with free performances and discussions by the Pittsfield Sister City Jazz Ambassadors.