Monday, January 29, 2007

Roses break through the frosty ground

Okay, maybe that's an overstatement. But after a couple of dead (and I do mean DEAD) months for jazz and improvised music in Boston, February is looking like the best month in recent memory. To wit, this Thursday Dave Douglas presents an evening of his music at New England Conservatory. Meanwhile, at the same time Jason Moran and Bandwagon make an appearance at the Regattabar. Dave will also be giving masterclasses at NEC on Tuesday and Wednesday at 1pm. I will hit tomorrow's workshop and report back. On Thursday, my plan is to catch as much of Dave as I can, then hit Bandwagon's second set.)

Oddly enough, February has been a good month in Boston for some reason. Offhand I can think of amazing February hits here by Myra Melford, McCoy Tyner, a Joe Lovano superband featuring Joey Baron, Billy Drews and Dave Douglas, Shirley Horn, and Freddie Hubbard. (Not in the same year, but still) I wouldn't think of it that way if I were a booker, so maybe it's better that I'm not...

Other highlights this February include Matt Wilson at Scullers, Nando Michelin trio featuring Rchie Barshay and old friend Sofia Kousovitsis at Ryles and Chris Potter's Underground and Danielo Perez' trio at the R-bar. Add the usual local hits at Wally's, Rutman's and the schools and there's a lot to hear. (Of course, between the school vacation and the lack of gigs, February is the month of the year when I'm most broke. Figures.) And in perhaps the best news of the month, the Lily Pad is on its way back to presenting music, and should be up and running by month's end. I am hoping to do a (belated) Behearer related hit there in March- stay tuned.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I lived in Somerville/Boston/Cambridge from 98 to 04 but never heard of the Lily Pad. Where is it?