New England Conservatory's Pioneering Jazz Studies Department Announces 2022-2023 Season

New England Conservatory's internationally renowned Jazz Studies Department announces its 2022-2023 season with an array of concerts featuring NEC students performing with faculty and guest artists.

Highlights include NEC's visiting artist-in-residence, bassist/composer and NEA Jazz Master Dave Holland in a concert with students; a residency concert by vocalist Michael Mayo featuring live vocal looping; and other residencies to be announced.

The NEC Jazz Orchestra will present four concerts: one with guest clarinetist Don Byron, one focusing on music for voice, one focusing on Jazz and the Struggle for Freedom and Equality, and another with special guest Jim McNeely featuring music by Thad Jones. There will also be dozens of Jazz Ensemble concerts featuring rising star students.

The concerts are free and open to the public. Please check the NEC website to discover which events will be livestreamed or broadcast at a later date. For information, please visit https://necmusic.edu/concerts.

FALL 2022

Wednesday, August 31 | Jazz Jam Session
8 p.m., Brown Hall.

Sunday, September 18 - Thursday, September 22 | Dave Holland Residency

Thursday, September 22 | The Music of Dave Holland
7:30 p.m., Brown Hall
Master bassist Dave Holland performs with NEC jazz students.

Thursday, October 20 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents Crossing the Boundaries: CMA50
7:30 p.m., Jordan Hall

Ken Schaphorst directs the NEC Jazz Orchestra in repertoire ranging from his own film noir interpretations to music inspired by diverse global and improvisational traditions, featuring Don Byron on clarinet. The program will include a tribute to NEC's own George Russell along with arrangements and compositions by Anthony Braxton, Melba Liston, Randy Weston and others.

Monday, October 31 - Thursday, November 3 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Three separate, faculty-coached student ensembles perform each evening at 7, 8 and 9 p.m.

Thursday, November 3 | Michael Mayo Residency Concert
7:30 p.m., Williams Hall

NEC alum Michael Mayo will share his unique approach to solo performance featuring live vocal looping, along with NEC vocalists and instrumentalists.

Monday, November 7 - Thursday, November 10 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Monday, November 14 | Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Wednesday, November 16 - Thursday, November 17 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Monday, November 21 - Tuesday, November 22 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Monday, November 28 - Thursday, December 1 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Monday, December 5 - Wednesday, December 7 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Thursday, December 8 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents If You Could See Me Now: Music for Voice
7:30 p.m., Jordan Hall

This concert will feature music composed and arranged for voice and jazz orchestra, from traditional jazz to more contemporary styles. Selections will include music by Cab Calloway, Tadd Dameron, Gil Evans, John Hollenbeck, Maria Schneider and Billy Strayhorn.

Monday, December 12 - Thursday, December 15 | Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Tuesday, December 13 | Jazz Composers' Workshop Orchestra
7:30 p.m., Brown Hall

SPRING 2023

Tuesday, February 7 | Jazz and CMA Faculty Spotlight
7:30 p.m., Jordan Hall

Tuesday, February 28 | Jazz Composers' Workshop Orchestra Residency
7:30 p.m., Jordan Hall

Thursday, March 2 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents Jazz and the Struggle for Freedom and Equality
7:30 p.m., Jordan Hall

The NEC Jazz Orchestra will perform landmark compositions and arrangements created to combat racism and bigotry. Selections will include Charles Mingus's "Haitian Fight Song" and selections from Duke Ellington's "Black, Brown and Beige." NEC alum Omar Thomas will conduct his own composition, "We Will Know: an LGBT Civil Rights Piece in Four Movements."

Monday, March 27 - Wednesday March 29 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Thursday, March 30 | Jazz and CMA Honors Ensemble Concert
8 p.m., Jordan Hall

Monday, April 3 - Thursday, April 6 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Monday, April 10 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Wednesday, April 12 - Thursday, April 13 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Monday, April 17 - Wednesday, April 19 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Thursday, April 20 | NEC Jazz Orchestra presents Groove Merchant: The Music of Thad Jones
7:30 p.m., Jordan Hall

Pianist and composer Jim McNeely will join the NEC Jazz Orchestra in a celebration of the music of the legendary composer and arranger Thad Jones, born 100 years ago on March 28, 1923.

Thursday, April 20 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Tuesday, April 25 | Jazz Composers' Workshop Orchestra Concert
7:30 p.m., Jordan Hall

Thursday, April 27 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

Monday, May 1 - Thursday, May 4 | Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7-10 p.m., Eben Jordan Ensemble Room

The first fully accredited jazz studies program at a music conservatory, NEC's Jazz Studies Department was the brainchild of Gunther Schuller, who moved quickly to incorporate jazz into the curriculum when he became president of the Conservatory in 1967. Schuller hired Carl Atkins to head the department, as well as George Russell, Jaki Byard and Ran Blake. Among the "most acclaimed and successful in the world" (JazzTimes), the program has spawned numerous Grammy winning composers and performers and has an alumni list that reads like a who's who of jazz, while the faculty has included six MacArthur "genius" grant recipients (three currently teaching) and four NEA Jazz Masters. The foundation of its teaching and success begins with the mentor relationship developed in lessons between students and the prominent faculty artists. In addition to its two jazz orchestras, NEC's faculty-coached small ensembles reflect the Conservatory's inclusive approach to music making, with groups focused on free jazz, early jazz, gospel music, Brazilian music, and songwriting, as well as more traditional approaches to jazz performance. Each jazz student is encouraged to find their own musical voice while making connections and collaborating with a vibrant community of creative musicians, and to ultimately transform the world through the power of music.

Founded by Eben Tourjée in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867, the New England Conservatory (NEC) represents a model of music school that combines the best of European tradition with American innovation. This independent conservatory stands at the center of Boston's rich cultural history and musical life, presenting concerts at the renowned Jordan Hall on Huntington Avenue, recognized as Boston's Avenue of the Arts. As a not-for-profit institution that educates and trains musicians of all ages, NEC cultivates a diverse, dynamic community, providing music students of more than 40 countries with performance opportunities and high-caliber training from 225 internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Propelled by profound artistry, bold creativity and deep compassion, NEC seeks to amplify musicians' impact on advancing our shared humanity, and empowers students to meet today's changing world head-on, equipped with the tools and confidence to forge multidimensional lives of artistic depth and relevance.

NEC pushes the boundaries of music-making and teaching through college-level training in classical, jazz, and contemporary improvisation. Through unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships, NEC empowers students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC's mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education deliver training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students and adults.

To post a comment, you must register and login.