February Pre-Festival Shows

The Mike Stern Quartet with Bob Franceschini, Richard Bona & Dave Weckl
3 FEB TUE 8 & 10pm: $16; 4 FEB WED 8 & 10pm: $18
One of the top guitarists in jazz over the past two decades, Mr. Stern returns to the R to celebrate his new Sunnyside CD, These Times, joined by saxist Franceschini, bassist Bona and drummer Weckl.

The Bruce Katz Band
5 FEB THU 8:30pm: $12
Called "one of Boston's musical treasures" by The Boston Phoenix, Mr. Katz's returns to the R on piano and Hammond B3 organ with his band featuring Mike Williams (g), Rod Carey (b) and Ralph Rosen (dm).

February Festival Shows:

The Michel Camilo Trio with Charles Flores & Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez
6 FEB FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $20; 7 FEB SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $22
8 FEB SUN 3 & 7pm: $20* (*Children under 12: $12)
Patrons of the 3pm show seated in Henrietta's Table after 1:30pm receive a $10 per person discount on brunch. Pianist/composer Camilo combines Latin fire, jazz sophistication and a superb piano technique. In 2002 his Telarc CD, Triangulo, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. He returns to the R with bassist Flores and drummer Hernandez to celebrate the release of his new Telarc CD, Live at The Blue Note, which is also up for a Grammy this year.

WATER MUSIC/MAINSTAGE CONCERT AT THE BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER:
Cassandra Wilson
7 FEB SAT 8pm: $35.50/$29.50 o All seats reserved
Grammy-winning vocalist/songwriter Wilson, whose voice was acclaimed by the The New York Times as "nothing like it in American music," and who was named by Time Magazine as "America's Best Singer," returns to Boston to celebrate her new Blue Note CD, Glamoured.

The Hilary Noble / Rebecca Cline Enclave
10 FEB TUE 8:30pm: $12
Saxophonist / percussionist Noble has teamed up with pianist Rebecca Cline to explore the fusion of Latin rhythms and jazz harmonies.

The Mili Bermejo Trio with Bruce Barth & Dan Greenspan
11 FEB WED 8:30pm: $14
Vocalist Bermejo joins with pianist Barth and bassist Greenspan to preview their forthcoming CD.

The Javon Jackson Quartet with Sam Yahel, Rodney Jones & Lenny White
12 FEB THU 8 & 10pm: $14
Tenor saxman Jackson returns with an all-star band, including organist (and Joshua Redman Elastic Bandmember) Yahel, guitarist Jones and drummer White to celebrate his new Palmetto CD, Easy Does It.

A Valentine from Irma Thomas
13 FEB FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $28; 14 FEB SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $30
15 FEB SUN 3 & 7pm: $26* (*Children under 12: $12)
Patrons of the 3pm show seated in Henrietta's Table after 1:30pm receive a $10 per person discount on brunch. Currently reigning as the Soul Queen of New Orleans, vocalist Thomas returns with her septet to deliver her unflagging high spirits and powerhouse vocals to the R. As Billboard saw it, "Thomas' entire career has been about using her dazzling voice to take great songs to her heart and make them special." Her latest Rounder CD is If You Want It, Come and Get It.

The Robin Kenyatta Quartet
17 FEB TUE 8:30pm: $12
Saxophonist Robin Kenyatta grew up in New York City, played with Sonny Stitt and Roswell Rudd and moved to Boston after spending two decades in Europe. Welcomed as "a nice addition to the Local jazz scene" by The Boston Globe at his first area show last year, he makes his R debut with Rusty Scott (p), Ron Mahdi (b) and Yoron Israel (dm).

The Dave Douglas New Quintet with Chris Potter, Uri Caine James Genus & Clarence Penn
18 FEB WED 8:30pm: $18: 19 FEB THU 8 & 10pm: $18
As a composer, improviser, and trumpeter, Douglas is committed to developing music which finds itself outside the traditional language of jazz and persistently challenges genre boundaries. He has repeatedly been named trumpeter, composer, and jazz artist of the year by the New York Jazz Awards, Down Beat, Jazz Times, Jazziz and others. In 2003 his CD, The Infinite, was nominated for a Grammy. He returns to the R with Potter (sax), Caine (p), Genus (b) and Penn (dm) to celebrate the release of his new Bluebird Jazz/BMG CD, Strange Liberation.

The José de Santos Val RamosoJosé Ramos Flamenco Trio
20 FEB FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $14
The trio, with singer (and Valencia native) de Santos and guitarist brothers Valeriano and José Ramos, was called "one of the hidden treasures of the Flamenco world in America" by Flamenco Connection and returns to the R for another enchanted evening. Their latest CD is Por Mi Camino, on Piram.

Los Hombres Calientes with Irvin Mayfield and Bill Summers
21 FEB SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $20
22 FEB SUN 3 & 7pm: $18* (*Children under 12: $12 )
Patrons of the 3pm show seated in Henrietta's Table after 1:30pm receive a $10 per person discount on brunch. Perhaps the hottest, most inventive musical group that New Orleans has produced in many years, Los Hombres Calientes is led by Herbie Hancock Headhunters' veteran percussionist Bill Summers and young trumpet phenom Irvin Mayfield. Together with their octet they produce an intrinsically New Orleans gumbo laced with the music traditions of many cultures, and they return to the R to celebrate their latest Basin Street CD, Vodou Dance, Vol. 4.

Dead Cat Bounce
24 FEB TUE 8:30pm: $12
The winner of two Boston Phoenix Music Polls and one Boston Music Award, DCB has been described as "strident, joyful, lush and strutting" by The Washington Post and "one of Boston's most original jazz units" by The Boston Globe. With a second prestigious grant (Doris Duke/Chamber Music America) now under its belt, the six-piece ensemble, led by saxist Matt Steckler with saxists Jason Hunter, Charlie Kohlhase and Felipe Salles, returns to the R to celebrate the release of its new CD, Home Speaks to the Wandering on Innova.

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra
25 FEB WED 8:30pm: $12
Now celebrating its 31st season, Aardvark has been hailed by The Boston Globe as "very hip and very creative" and praised by The Boston Phoenix as "one of the most adventurous and accomplished bands in town." The band, which in the opinion of JazzTimes, "suggests the best and the brashest of Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, George Russell and even Frank Zappa," returns to the R for another evening of uproarious and eclectic music.

The Dominque Eade Quartet with Bill Pierce, Mick Goodrick and John Lockwood
26 FEB THU 8:30pm: $12
Vocalist Eade, who was named Outstanding Jazz Vocalist in the 1999 Boston Music Awards and a Top Ten Female Vocalist in the 1999 DownBeat Critics' Poll, continues to impress. Ed Hazell wrote in The Boston Phoenix that "her vocal control and imagination are peerless,'' and Steve Greenlee in The Boston Globe added that "Eade can improvise like few singers today." She returns to the Regattabar with her "chamber group" featuring saxist Pierce, guitarist Goodrick and bassist Lockwood.

The Charles Mingus Big Band with Kenny Rampton, Jeremy Pelt Frank Lacy, Clark Gayton Seamus Blake, Wayne Escoffery Abraham Burton, Kenny Drew Vicente Archer, Donald Edwards & others
27 FEB FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $24; 28 FEB SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $26
The band was formed in 1991 to perpetuate the work of legendary bassist Charles Mingus. Organized by Mr. Mingus' widow, Sue Mingus and using arrangements by him, his alumni and others, the 16-member band performs every Thursday in The Time Cafe at The Fez in New York City and draws on a rich pool of premier talent that loves to play in it. Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times that the group has "revived Charles Mingus's repertory and the brawling, muscular, hard-swinging, bluesy way he wanted it played." Their latest Dreyfus CD is Tonight at Noon.

Boston Musical Theatre: All That Jazz featuring Mara Bonde and David Ripley Charlotte Kaufman, Musical Director
29 FEB SUN 3 & 5:30pm: $20
Patrons of the 3pm show seated in Henrietta's Table after 1:30pm receive a $10 per person discount on brunch. BMT, who in 2002 went to Brussels to appear at NATO headquarters, continues its musical diplomacy next month when it travels to Russia to present its newest program at the Moscow Conservatory. Soprano Bonde, bass/baritone Ripley with pianist Dan Loschen, bassist Rich Appleman and drummer Bertram Lehmann will perform the tunes of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser and other jazz greats mixed with old American favorites by Foster and Copland and, of course, Russian folk melodies.