Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues, ragtime, European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation.
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition "Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented the genre.
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. His combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit made him a leading popularizer of the new music called bebop. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, scat singing, bent horn, pouched cheeks, and light-hearted personality have made him an enduring icon.
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in colonial-era British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. The school's admission policies and demographics have been controversial.
"The Saint Louis Blues" is a popular American song composed by W. C. Handy in the blues style and published in September 1914. It was one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song and remains a fundamental part of jazz musicians' repertoire. Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby, Bessie Smith, Eartha Kitt, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, Peanuts Hucko, Art Tatum, and the Boston Pops Orchestra are among the artists who have recorded it. The song has been called "the jazzman's Hamlet". Composer William Grant Still arranged a version of the song in 1916 while working with Handy.
The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hired George Wein to organize the first festival and bring jazz to Rhode Island.
Latin rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featuring Spanish or Portuguese vocals. This has led to controversy about the scope of the terminology.
WMBR is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's student-run college radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and broadcasting on 88.1 FM. It is all-volunteer and funded by listener donations and MIT funds. Both students and community members can apply for positions, and like many college radio stations, WMBR offers diverse programming that includes a broad range of musical genres as well as talk shows.
Club Passim is an American folk music club in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was opened by Joyce Kalina and Paula Kelley in 1958, when it was known as Club 47, and changed its name to simply Passim in 1969. It adopted the present name in 1994; a combination of the earlier two names. In 1994 the venue also became a non-profit.
Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.
Day Square is a section of the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The square consists of the area surrounding the intersection of Bennington Street and Chelsea Street. It is one of the neighborhood's larger and more active business districts with a number of stores, services, and restaurants.
The Middle East is an entertainment complex consisting of five adjacent dining and live music venues in the Central Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its three dedicated concert spaces, Upstairs, Downstairs, and Sonia, sit alongside ZuZu and The Corner, two restaurants that also host live music. Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment was described in 2007 as "the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring bands" by the Boston Phoenix.
The Cotati Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cotati, California, United States, since 1981. It typically takes place mid-June. Since 2006, admission has been free.
Baker's Keyboard Lounge is a jazz club located at 20510 Livernois Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was founded in May 1933 and is the oldest continuously operated jazz club in Detroit.
Harpers Ferry was a live music venue and bar in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was in the high traffic central student section of Boston, equidistant from both Boston College and Boston University. Hosting national touring acts and regional acts, Harpers Ferry became known as "Boston's Best Live Music". The development of the "Allston Rock City" music scene centered on Harpers Ferry as a primary venue. Harpers Ferry closed down unexpectedly on October 31, 2010. The location is now home to the Brighton Music Hall.
The Lizard Lounge is a nightclub situated in between Harvard Square and Porter Square on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is below the restaurant Cambridge Common. It may be a small basement bar, but it is known for the musicians it hosts. The owners also own Cambridge Common and Toad – another live music venue. They carry a large selection of beers, including many local ones such as those made at Cambridge Brewing Company.
The Entertainment District is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the Metro Center district surrounding historic Stearns Square. Stearns Square is bordered by Worthington Street to the north and Bridge Street to the south; however, the Entertainment District extends for several city blocks north, south, east and west of Stearns Square. For over 100 years, this area of Springfield, surrounding Stearns Square and Springfield Union Station have been home to the city's most prominent clubs, restaurants, bars, music venues, movies houses, and coffee houses. Currently, there are over 75 restaurants, nightclubs, and bars in Springfield's Entertainment District, making it the largest entertainment district between New York City and Montreal, Canada. The Entertainment District is a primary reason why Springfield was recently ranked among America's Top Ten Best Cities for Singles by Yahoo and Sperling's Best Places.
Olga Román is a Spanish Latin jazz and pop singer.
Southland was a ballroom/cafe on Warrenton Street in Boston, in the United States, in what is now the Charles Playhouse. Originally a church, converted into a club, is best known for featuring prominent jazz artists of the 1930s and 1940s such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Jimmie Lunceford, and many others. Southland was connected to the radio and it became a notable venue for broadcasting jazz over the radio in the 1940s. On 19 February 1940, Count Basie and his Orchestra opened a four-week engagement at Southland which was broadcast on 20 February. Southland's entertainment also featured dancers such as Rubberlegs Williams, who also sang with Basie on numerous occasions.
T.T. the Bear's Place was a live music venue in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts that operated from 1973 until July 25, 2015.
