Robert Pinsky and Jazz

If you're in the Boston area and are looking for something to do this Saturday night, I highly recommend this Jazz Boston event:

“A Kaleidoscopic View of Jazz in Boston” Benefit Concert May 3

On Saturday, May 3, at 8 p.m., JazzBoston’s second annual Jazz Week benefit concert, “A Kaleidoscopic View of Jazz in Boston,” will be held at Berklee Performance Center. In a rare treat for music and poetry aficionados alike, the concert will feature former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky in only his second jazz performance ever, with internationally renowned percussionist Rakalam Bob Moses. Also appearing: George Garzone and Friends; the Coltrane EOP Quartet with Leonard Brown, Tim Ingles, Alvin Terry, and Emmett Price; the Marianne Solivan Quartet with Eric Hofbauer, Dmitry Ishenko, and Mike Connors; and the Berklee City Music All-Stars Quintet. MC for the festivities will be Eric Jackson, host of WGBH Radio’s “Jazz with Eric in the Evening.”

Proceeds from the stylistically wide-ranging event will go to three outstanding jazz outreach programs in the Boston Public Schools — the John Coltrane Memorial Concert Educational Outreach Program, the New England Conservatory Community Performances and Partnerships Program, and the Berklee College of Music City Music Program, which will be represented onstage.

Specific Concert Listing Information:
“A Kaleidoscopic View of Jazz in Boston” Benefit Concert
Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass. Ave., Boston
May 3, 8 p.m.
For tickets and information: 617-931-2000, 617-747-2261, www.ticketmaster.com
General admission: $15, students, seniors, & JazzBoston members $10, and under 16, $5.

I had the opportunity to hear improvisational jazz paired with poetry at the Dodge Poetry Festival 2 years ago and it was one of the most powerful events I've ever attended. I think jazz and poetry have a lot of resonance. I've never heard Pinsky read his own work, and to get that chance along with a wonderful concert is a treat not to be missed.

See you all there!