ADVENTUROUS JAZZ SINCE 1973
A Personal Appeal From Mark Harvey: Dear Aardvark Fans, In 1974, Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi and I co-led an exciting ensemble in Boston called the Allstars Big Band. Claudio went on to international fame with many artists including Paquito D’Rivera and Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Read More …
Mark your calendars now for upcoming Aardvark Jazz Orchestra concerts in Fall 2019 through Spring 2020 Sunday, September 22, 2019 at 7:00 pm Duke Ellington Sacred and Secular Music, with the First Parish Choir First Parish Church 20 Lexington Road, Concord, MA 01742 Information: Read More …
If you’re traveling to New Hampshire this summer, be sure to add the Aardvark Jazztet to your itinerary. The group, comprised of members from the larger orchestra, will be performing two shows in August, in Claremont and Cornish, New Hampshire. Dates and locations below. Saturday, Read More …
On April 28 at the JazzBoston Annual Party, the organization presented its highest honor, the Roy Haynes Award “for exceptional contributions to jazz and the jazz community,” to only the fourth recipient since it was created in 2009 and presented to Roy himself. The organization Read More …
The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra continued its 46th season on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 8:00 pm, with a show on MIT’s main stage, Kresge Auditorium, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. The concert was presented by MIT Music & Theater Arts. Acclaimed tenor saxophonist Ricky Read More …
The stellar jazz duo of Peter H. Bloom, flute, and John Funkhouser, piano, will perform an exuberant show of Blues, Ballads and Bebop – a captivating mix by great tunesmiths like Hoagy Carmichael, George Shearing, Mercer Ellington, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker and others. Peter and Read More …
The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra marked its 46th Annual Christmas Concert with joyful music in the spirit of the season. The orchestra performed the premiere of music director Mark Harvey’s latest work, Healers of the Universe, a tribute to Boston social activist Kip Tiernan. The piece Read More …
In case you missed it: Aardvark celebrated the release of the band’s 15th CD, Democratic Vistas (Aardvark’s 9th recording on the prestigious Leo Records label). Selections from Mark Harvey’s Swamp-A-Rama suite were performed, including Fake News Blewz and Trumputin Tango. Also: Bullythug Ramble and No Walls, Aardvark’s anthem of hope and inclusivity. In early critical acclaim, Democratic Vistas has Read More …
The Aardvark Jazztet, a small ensemble drawn from The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, performed for the dedication of a memorial, honoring Kip Tiernan, a lifelong crusader for social justice, founder of Rosie’s Place, and co-founder of the Poor People’s United Fund. Kip was a fan and Read More …
Inspired by Walt Whitman’s 1875 essay of the same name, DEMOCRATIC VISTAS is a Jeremiad on the corruption and spiritual/moral rot of our social-political situation. Among the pieces are the “De-Evolution Blues,” the 10-movement “Swamp-A-Rama” Suite, serious and satirical by turns—from the “Trumputin Tango” to Read More …