Find what is happening tonight, tomorrow, and this week across Boston, Cambridge, and nearby jazz rooms, with ticket status and neighborhood context first.
Jerry Bergonzi Quartet Monday, June 15, 2026 8:30 PM 10:00 PM 20:30 22:00 Google Calendar ICS $15 @ the door / $10 students / 8:30 start / 8pm doors / seated Jerry Bergonzi , Tenor Saxophone Luther Gray , Drums Special Guest , Trumpet Special Guest , Bass A fine, high-powered tenor saxophonist with a tone influenced by John Coltrane, a mastery of chord changes, and a strong musical imagination, Jerry Bergonzi has long had an underground following in the Boston area. He started on clarinet when he was eight, switching to alto at 12, and finally to tenor two years later. Bergonzi was inspired early on by Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, and Hank Mobley. He attended Lowell University and then after graduation played electric bass in local bands behind singers and strippers, saving up enough money to move to New York in 1972. After struggling in the Big Apple for seven years and gaining some recognition as a member of Two Generations of Brubeck and of the Dave Brubeck Quartet (with whom he appeared on several Concord albums during 1979-1981), Bergonzi moved back to Boston in 1981, where he developed a strong career both as a tenorman and as an educator. He has since led several groups (including two called Con Brio and Gonz) and recorded for the Plug, Not Fat, Red, and Blue Note labels. By Scott Yanow, AllMusic Continuing Every Monday at 8:30pm Lineup subject to change Posted in Jazz
Jim Repa and Friends - Jazz Nonet Thursday, June 18, 2026 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 19:15 21:30 The Lilypad 1353 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA, 02139 (map) Google Calendar ICS $15 cover / $10 for students and seniors / 7:30 start / seated The Jim Repa Nonet plays an eclectic mix of new jazz and Latin-jazz works composed or arranged by its members. Its repertoire runs from straight-ahead swingers and Latin influenced originals to new twists on familiar songs as well as unique compositions that defy categorization. The group features Jim Repa, Ed Harlow, and Kathy Olson on saxophones, clarinets and flutes; Mike Peipman and Phil Person on trumpet and flugelhorn; Bob Holfelder on trombone; Jonathan Fagan on piano; Greg Toro on bass; and Barry Lit on drums The nonet’s leader, Jim Repa , plays alto and soprano saxophone and flute in the ensemble, and he has written many of the pieces that the group performs. A multi-reed player, composer, and educator, he has also written arrangements for several professional and student ensembles in the US and internationally, He has performed in numerous venues around New England, the Midwest, and New York; as well as Paris, France; Cape Town, South Africa; and Ojai, California. His website is www.jimrepa.com Ed Harlow plays tenor saxophone and clarinet in the group. A saxophonist, composer and educator, he has toured the US, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, France and the Caribbean with groups such as The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Artie Shaw Orchestra and Volo Volo de Boston. Ed has fifteen publications with Advance Music and has released three CDs as a leader. Kathy Olson , who plays baritone sax and flute with the nonet, is a jazz saxophonist, teacher, and composer. She is a busy performer and an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music teaching theory classes in the Harmony Department. A co-leader of the Olson Pingrey Quartet, she also performs regularly with the Achilles Heal Saxophone Quartet, Pete Kenagy's Monkfish Jazz Orchestra, the Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, and the Balkan brass group Conical Cacophony. Mike Peipman plays trumpet with the nonet. Mike was born in Sydney, Australia, and moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. Combining skills as a lead trumpet player and jazz soloist, he has performed with the Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Woody Herman Orchestra, George Russell's Living Time Orchestra, numerous ballet orchestras in the US and Asia, and jazz ensembles around the world. Mike can also be heard on the soundtracks for several movies. Phil Person plays cornet and flugelhorn with the group. A Berklee faculty member since 2003, Phil spent twenty years as a member of the Artie Shaw Orchestra under the direction of Dick Johnson. Phil has performed with Al Grey, Dickie Wells, Tony Bennett, Kay Starr, Margaret Whiting, Lou Rawls and many others. Bob Holfelder , trombonist with the nonet, is a versatile performer and a gifted composer and arranger. He has played with The O’Jays, The Temptations and The Funk Brothers as well as brass bands, big bands, blues bands, wedding bands, rock bands, orchestras, etc. His musical arrangements are in circulation all over the world. Jonathan Fagan , who plays piano with the group, has been a prolific jazz pianist, composer, and educator, currently a faculty member at the Winchester Community Music School, Concord Academy, and Brandeis University. Jonathan performs as a theater pianist, pop accompanist, and soloist, and he composes for and leads a group called "The Ally Project," which lies at the intersection of Jazz and social justice-related poetry. Jonathan also founded the Medford Jazz Festival in 2020 and released his first solo recording in 2021. Greg Toro , bass player with the nonet, was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of ten, he joined a neighborhood steel band that played calypso and church music on weekends, and later took up guitar and piano, but found his true calling as a bass player when he was sixteen years old. Greg studied electric and upright bass and jazz composition at Berklee College of Music. He has gone on to travel the world with jazz and rock groups, and continues to perform nightly in a wide variety of styles. Barry Lit , on drums, is a 40-year veteran of the Boston music scene. A regular at the Marketplace Café in the early 2000’s with legends Ray Green and Baron Browne, Barry studied percussion with Alan Dawson and Bob Gullotti, and later in the University of North Texas jazz program with Ed Soph and Quincy Davis. Barry’s a done-it-all drummer with experience as a band leader (The Touch, 15 years), in musical theater, on cruise ships, in clubs, concerts and studios, playing everything from rock to bebop. www.jimrepa.com Posted in Jazz , Latin Jazz
Charlie Kohlhase's Expolorers Club Sunday, June 21, 2026 6:00 PM 7:45 PM 18:00 19:45 The Lilypad 1353 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA, 02139 (map) Google Calendar ICS $15 admission / 6pm doors / 6:30pm start /seated Music by Kohlhase, Billy Frazier, Roswell Rudd and John Tchicai. Charlie Kohlhase: alto, tenor & baritone saxophones Seth Meicht: tenor & soprano saxophones Brian Price: clarinet & bass clarinet Bill Lowe: bass trombone Aslan Islamov: tuba Tony Leva: bass Curt Newton: drums Posted in Jazz
Jerry Bergonzi Quartet Monday, June 22, 2026 8:30 PM 10:00 PM 20:30 22:00 Google Calendar ICS $15 @ the door / $10 students / 8:30 start / 8pm doors / seated Jerry Bergonzi , Tenor Saxophone Luther Gray , Drums Special Guest , Trumpet Special Guest , Bass A fine, high-powered tenor saxophonist with a tone influenced by John Coltrane, a mastery of chord changes, and a strong musical imagination, Jerry Bergonzi has long had an underground following in the Boston area. He started on clarinet when he was eight, switching to alto at 12, and finally to tenor two years later. Bergonzi was inspired early on by Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, and Hank Mobley. He attended Lowell University and then after graduation played electric bass in local bands behind singers and strippers, saving up enough money to move to New York in 1972. After struggling in the Big Apple for seven years and gaining some recognition as a member of Two Generations of Brubeck and of the Dave Brubeck Quartet (with whom he appeared on several Concord albums during 1979-1981), Bergonzi moved back to Boston in 1981, where he developed a strong career both as a tenorman and as an educator. He has since led several groups (including two called Con Brio and Gonz) and recorded for the Plug, Not Fat, Red, and Blue Note labels. By Scott Yanow, AllMusic Continuing Every Monday at 8:30pm Lineup subject to change Posted in Jazz
Jerry Bergonzi Quartet Monday, June 29, 2026 8:30 PM 10:00 PM 20:30 22:00 Google Calendar ICS $15 @ the door / $10 students / 8:30 start / 8pm doors / seated Jerry Bergonzi , Tenor Saxophone Luther Gray , Drums Special Guest , Trumpet Special Guest , Bass A fine, high-powered tenor saxophonist with a tone influenced by John Coltrane, a mastery of chord changes, and a strong musical imagination, Jerry Bergonzi has long had an underground following in the Boston area. He started on clarinet when he was eight, switching to alto at 12, and finally to tenor two years later. Bergonzi was inspired early on by Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, and Hank Mobley. He attended Lowell University and then after graduation played electric bass in local bands behind singers and strippers, saving up enough money to move to New York in 1972. After struggling in the Big Apple for seven years and gaining some recognition as a member of Two Generations of Brubeck and of the Dave Brubeck Quartet (with whom he appeared on several Concord albums during 1979-1981), Bergonzi moved back to Boston in 1981, where he developed a strong career both as a tenorman and as an educator. He has since led several groups (including two called Con Brio and Gonz) and recorded for the Plug, Not Fat, Red, and Blue Note labels. By Scott Yanow, AllMusic Continuing Every Monday at 8:30pm Lineup subject to change Posted in Jazz
Jerry Bergonzi Quartet Monday, July 6, 2026 8:30 PM 10:00 PM 20:30 22:00 Google Calendar ICS $15 @ the door / $10 students / 8:30 start / 8pm doors / seated Jerry Bergonzi , Tenor Saxophone Luther Gray , Drums Special Guest , Trumpet Special Guest , Bass A fine, high-powered tenor saxophonist with a tone influenced by John Coltrane, a mastery of chord changes, and a strong musical imagination, Jerry Bergonzi has long had an underground following in the Boston area. He started on clarinet when he was eight, switching to alto at 12, and finally to tenor two years later. Bergonzi was inspired early on by Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, and Hank Mobley. He attended Lowell University and then after graduation played electric bass in local bands behind singers and strippers, saving up enough money to move to New York in 1972. After struggling in the Big Apple for seven years and gaining some recognition as a member of Two Generations of Brubeck and of the Dave Brubeck Quartet (with whom he appeared on several Concord albums during 1979-1981), Bergonzi moved back to Boston in 1981, where he developed a strong career both as a tenorman and as an educator. He has since led several groups (including two called Con Brio and Gonz) and recorded for the Plug, Not Fat, Red, and Blue Note labels. By Scott Yanow, AllMusic Continuing Every Monday at 8:30pm Lineup subject to change Posted in Jazz
Bevan Manson Trio ft. Allan Chase Tuesday, July 7, 2026 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 19:00 21:30 The Lilypad 1353 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA, 02139 (map) Google Calendar ICS $20 at the door / $15 advance / 7pm doors / 7:30 start / seated Buy Tickets 35 years after the release of their underground hit "Rhythm Chowder", pianist/composer Bevan Manson, drummer Matt Wilson and bassist Bob Nieske reunite to play their unique, unpredictable and deeply felt renditions of jazz standards and originals. Saxophonist Allan Chase joins as special guest on a night that marks a full circle moment in Boston jazz history. Here’s a link to their recording “Rhythm Chowder” Bevan Manson has received composing commissions from Sierra Chamber Music, Pacific Philharmonic Foundation, the San Francisco Symphony, clarinetist Gary Gray, the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra and LACO violist Victoria Miskolczy amongst others. Recently an arranger for Manhattan Transfer vocalist Cheryl Bentyne’s Sondheim album, Mr. Manson has also arranged music for Village Vanguard Orchestra saxophonist Gary Smulyan and L.A. vocalist Cathy Segal Garcia. Currently a free-lance composer/arranger and jazz pianist in L.A. and points west, he has been a faculty member at New England Conservatory, Director of UC Jazz at UC Berkeley and jazz faculty at Ventura College. He has also worked in the L.A. film and TV industries. Bevan’s classical works have been recorded on Albany Records; he has a recent jazz release of his on Meistero Music ’The Jazz Cave’. Other recordings have been released on Iris Records and Challenge (Netherlands). Matt Wilson has released thirteen albums as a leader, appeared on morethan 400 others as a sideman and has played with an impressive array of some of the most legendary names in jazz, including Wynton Marsalis, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, John Scofield, Joanne Brackeen and Herbie Hancock, just to name a few. Wilson was named 2018 Musician of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and his album, Honey And Salt (Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg), won the JJA’s Album of the Year Award. That recording and his previous, Beginning of a Memory, accomplished the rare feat of an artist receiving consecutive 5-star (masterpiece) reviews from DownBeatmagazine. Wilson’s commitment to jazz goes far beyond his estimable skills as a drummer and bandleader. Also a renowned educator, he is on a tireless mission to foster a lively and deep connection between music and people, whether they be playing or listening to it. To that end, he is extremely passionate about bringing jazz to new audiences and inspiring students to be as individualistic and imaginative as possible. Bob Nieske was the bassist with the Jimmy Giuffre 4 from 1979-1992 and appears on Jimmy’s three Soul Note recordings. Bob has also recorded with Alan Dawson, Dave Grisman, Stephane Grappelli, George Russell and the Living Time Orchestra, Bevan Manson, Jay Geils, Duke Robillard, The Either Orchestra and Herb Pomeroy and in addition has performed in concert with Charlie Byrd, Eartha Kitt, Attila Zoller, Ronnie Earl, Tiger Okoshi, Dakota Stayton, John Blake, Jackie and Roy, Richie Cole, and Larry Coryell. Bob has numerous recordings of his own groups from the Bob Nieske 4 to the Nieske 10 as well as the Bob Nieske 3 with the Lydian String Quartet. His compositions have been performed around the world and appear on recordings by his own groups, The Either Orchestra, Matt Wilson and Jimmy Giuffre 4. He’s on the faculty of New England Conservatory and Brandeis University. Posted in Jazz
