Arlington Jazz Festival

Schedule of Events

11:30AM - Morningside Music Studio Ensembles at Arlington Center for the Arts, 20 Academy St.
Cost: No cover charge

2:00PM - Guy & Billy at Arlington Center for the Arts, 20 Academy St.

Frequent guests of the Prairie Home Companion show, NPR's All Things Considered, and numerous film and television soundtracks, Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick's music has wed together two perfectly suited musical personalities. Novick's ever-inventive and soulful clarinet playing provides the ideal complement to Guy's innovative finger-style guitar wizardry. Their music sounds fresh and original, yet is also deeply rooted in the rich legacy of classic jazz.

Cost: ADVANCE TICKETS (recommended) - limited availability at door $20 general admission; $10 students & seniors

3:30PM - Rafael Barata Trio at Arlington Center for the Arts, 20 Academy St.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rafael Barata is a self-taught drummer based in NY. He started playing at the age of five and has played and recorded with many impressive artists such as Kenny Barron, João Donato, and Eliane Elias, who he worked on the GRAMMY award-winning album Made in Brazil with. Rafael tours all around the world with several projects including the Eliane Elias Quartet, Cello Samba Trio, and lately, with the multi-awarded artist Dianne Reeves.​​

Featuring:
Rafael Barata - drums
Dave Zinno - bass
Liz Sinn - piano

Cost: ADVANCE TICKETS (recommended) - limited availability at door $20 general admission; $10 students & seniors

1:00PM - Vertigo Trio at The Mill Café, 14 Mill St.

The Vertigo Trio is:
Tim Blackman - piano
Doug Toland - drums
Ethan Focht - bass
This Arlington-based group originally formed when three software engineers came together based on their love of the Bill Evans Trio. Since then there have been some changes, but the group still focuses on group improvisation over songs of the Great American Songbook and other jazz standards. Additionally, Vertigo is fascinated by the relationship of film and music, and frequently plays music that originated in the golden era of Hollywood from 1931 to 1959.

Cost: No cover charge, donations accepted

2:30PM - District 5 Jazz Band at The Mill Café, 14 Mill St.

Hailing from Boston's District 5, this jazz sextet thrives on playing live music and bringing fun and celebration to all who hear them play. Their repertoire tends to land in the great jazz era of hard bop, with a heady dose of funk and some friendly blues—material from such great composers as The Crusaders, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Roy Hargrove, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Jobim, and many others.

Cost: No cover charge, donations accepted

​7:30PM - Direct from Cuba: Espirales at Calvary Church, 300 Massachusetts Ave.

Performing for the very first time in the US, right here in Arlington, Espirales performs a blend of Cuban, jazz, world, and chamber music. Tania Haase, Olivia Rodríguez, Alejandro Aguiar, Jesús Estrada and Rodrigo García have led or contributed nationally and internationally to projects across all these styles, performing at Cuba's International Jazz Plaza Festival and the Habana Clásica concert music festival. They are also teachers who have designed a development program on Cuban music and culture. The group is led by pianist Rodrigo Garcia. Although his career is still in its early stages, his achievements include the award for best composition at the Stanford Jazz Workshop 2016; first place in the international Vivo competition (2018) at Carnegie Hall in New York; and special prize in the international Grand Prize Virtuoso Amsterdam (2019), together with his wife and Espirales violinist Tania Haase; and the Grand Prize at the Rocky Mountain Music Competition (2021).

Cost: ADVANCE TICKETS - also available at door $20 general admission; $10 students & seniors

9:00PM - Tonight's Hang at Donut Villa, 319 Broadway
​
Featuring Mark Pfaff & the Morningside All-Stars

Join us for the late night hang where bassist Mark Pfaff will present classic jazz with friends including:
Debbie Lane - vocals
Peter Orne - trumpet
Tim McLaughlin - sax
Gavin Benke - sax
Jeff Hopwood - keys
​Rob Schneider - guitar
Mike Chamness - drums

Cost: No cover charge