The 7th annual BeanTown Jazz Festival will run from Thursday, Sept. 27 to Saturday Sept. 29, and feature more than 30 acts at various free and ticketed events. The highlight of the festival will be a Friday night all-star benefit concert at Symphony Hall, directed by Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein to create a scholarship in memory of his wife Joyce. Entitled “A Celebration of Jazz and Joyce,” the concert will feature Roy Haynes, Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano (pictured), Regina Carter, Geri Allen, Kenny Werner, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin, Jon Faddis, Lizz Wright, Jimmy Cobb and Ray Drummond. Tickets go on sale August 15 and can be purchased in person at the Symphony Hall box office or at their Web site.
Last year’s BeanTown drew crowds of nearly 50,000 people, and it will again be produced by the Berklee College of Music. The festival opens Thursday night with a free show at the Beehive and comes to a close with a Saturday night concert at Scullers Jazz Club, for which tickets cost $25. Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. there will be free outdoor events at three stages along a six-block stretch of Columbus Avenue, with performances by the Mike Stern Band, Bobby Hutcherson, the Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra, the Charles Tolliver Big Band, Claudia Acuña and more. The outdoor events will include food and drink vendors as well as kid-friendly activities. See the festival’s official Web site for more information about events and performers.
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