Emmet Cohen
The Ted Rosenthal Trio will perform at Shakespeare & Company on Saturday, April 15.
Anton Kot in performance at 10×10, 2023.
News Reporter
Emmet Cohen
PITTSFIELD — Two Berkshires Jazz prodigies are returning to the city this spring for the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival.
The 2023 Pittsfield CityJazz Festival, running April 21-30, will feature jazz prodigies Emmet Cohen and Anton Kot, Houston Person, Avery Sharpe, Don Braden, Albert Rivera and more.
Berkshires Jazz, which curates the festival has a number of events planned, including an open jam session at Hot Plate Brewing on April 21, a performance by the Anton Kot Quintet at the Berkshire Museum on April 22, and the popular Annual Jazz Crawl on April 28.
PITTSFIELD CITYJAZZ FESTIVAL
When: April 21-30
Information and tickets: berkshiresjazz.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
OPEN JAZZ JAM SESSION
Bring your instrument or take a chance.
When: 7 to 10 p.m. April 21
Where: Hot Plate Brewing, 1 School St., Pittsfield
Admission: Free
BERKSHIRE JAZZ PRESENTS THE ANTON KOT QUINTET
Who: The Anton Kot Quintet with Don Braden, Albert Rivera, Avery Sharpe and Tyler Bullock. Bar open 6:30 to 7:25 p.m. Doors open 7 p.m.
When: 7:30 p.m. April 22
Where: Berkshire Museum, 39 South St., Pittsfield
Cost: $25, advance; $30, day off. Museum members: $20, advance; $25, day of.
Tickets: berkshiremuseum.org
ANNUAL JAZZ PRODIGY CONCERT
Who: Conor McMillen, 10, violin, with the Berkshires Jazz All Stars. Sponsored by the Friends of the Athenaeum.
When: 7 p.m., April 26
Where: Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield
Cost: Free
More information: pittsfieldlibrary.org
ANNUAL JAZZ CRAWL
Where: TBA. Multiple venues. Updates on berkshiresjazz.org
When: April 28
Information: berkshiresjazz.org
SWING DANCE WITH THE LUCKY 5
Dancing is optional.
When: 7-10 p.m. April 29
Where: The Berkshire Palate, 297 North St., Pittsfield
EMMET COHEN AND HIS TRIO WITH GUEST ARTIST HOUSTON PERSON
What: Capstone event of the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival. Berkshires Jazz Student Youth Band opens.
When: 4 p.m. April 30
Where: Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., Pittsfield
Cost: $38-$43
Tickets and information: berkshiretheatregroup.org
But the capstone event of the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival pairs Emmet Cohen with the “boss tenor” Houston Person, 4 p.m. April 30, at the Colonial Theatre.
Pianist and composer Cohen is recognized as a prodigy in the vanguard of his generation’s advancement of music.
Cohen, a pianist, composer and a recognized prodigy, is the winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, and artist-in-residence at the University of Indianapolis. He placed first in both the 2014 American Jazz Pianists Competition and the 2011 Phillips Piano Competition at the University of West Florida and, as a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. He was received in the Oval Office by President Barack Obama.
Anton Kot in performance at 10×10, 2023.
Cohen has appeared in varied international jazz events, including the Newport, Monterey, Detroit, North Sea, Bern, Edinburgh, and Jerusalem jazz festivals, as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia.
Known for his robust sound and swinging style, saxophonist Person has kept the hard bop and soul-jazz traditions alive. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. His working relationship with Jones began in 1973 and lasted for thirty years, until her death in 2001.
The Berkshires Jazz All Star Youth Band will play the opening set.
The April festival falls during Jazz Appreciation Month. Celebrated annually since 2001, it is an initiative of the Smithsonian Institution, and was recognized by Congress. Berkshires Jazz often involves local students in jazz-related activities.
“If the kids don’t listen to jazz and hear about jazz, they might never hear it,” said Ed McBride, chairman of Berkshires Jazz. “We want to make sure young artists get the opportunity to hear jazz, get to play jazz. If they never hear it, they’ll never get to like it.”
Part of the annual jazz festival includes a special “prodigy concert” featuring a child prodigy. This year, Conor McMillen, 10, a fourth grader from New York City will be the featured performer during a free concert, 7 p.m. April 26, at the Berkshire Athenaeum. He’ll be accompanied by the Berkshire Jazz All Stars — Luke Franco, guitar, Ben Kohn, piano, Dan Broad, bass and Conor Meechan, drums.
The Ted Rosenthal Trio will perform at Shakespeare & Company on Saturday, April 15.
On Saturday, April 15, “A Gershwin Extravaganza: Ted Rosenthal with the Kids 4 Harmony Orchestra” serves as a precursor to the jazz fest. The concert, at Shakespeare & Company’s Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, in Lenox, will feature Rosenthal’s trio (Martin Wind, bass; Tim Horner, drums) performing the first set by exploring the Gershwin catalog.
The local Kids 4 Harmony string ensemble, directed by Sean Elligers, continues the Gershwin thread into the second set, concluding with “Rhapsody In Blue,” featuring Rosenthal as soloist.
Kids 4 Harmony is the musical arm of 18 Degrees, a social services agency formerly known as Berkshire Children and Families. Kids 4 Harmony’s student musicians begin with no musical experience to earning college scholarships in music. Participating students have reportedly improved grades, classroom behavior and family relationships.
IF YOU GO
PITTSFIELD CITYJAZZ FESTIVAL
When: April 21-30
Information and tickets: berkshiresjazz.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
OPEN JAZZ JAM SESSION
Bring your instrument or take a chance.
When: 7 to 10 p.m. April 21
Where: Hot Plate Brewing, 1 School St., Pittsfield
Admission: Free
BERKSHIRE JAZZ PRESENTS THE ANTON KOT QUINTET
Who: The Anton Kot Quintet with Don Braden, Albert Rivera, Avery Sharpe and Tyler Bullock. Bar open 6:30 to 7:25 p.m. Doors open 7 p.m.
When: 7:30 p.m. April 22
Where: Berkshire Museum, 39 South St., Pittsfield
Cost: $25, advance; $30, day off. Museum members: $20, advance; $25, day of.
Tickets: berkshiremuseum.org
ANNUAL JAZZ PRODIGY CONCERT
Who: Conor McMillen, 10, violin, with the Berkshires Jazz All Stars. Sponsored by the Friends of the Athenaeum.
When: 7 p.m., April 26
Where: Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield
Cost: Free
More information: pittsfieldlibrary.org
ANNUAL JAZZ CRAWL
Where: TBA. Multiple venues. Updates on berkshiresjazz.org
When: April 28
Information: berkshiresjazz.org
SWING DANCE WITH THE LUCKY 5
Dancing is optional.
When: 7-10 p.m. April 29
Where: The Berkshire Palate, 297 North St., Pittsfield
EMMET COHEN AND HIS TRIO WITH GUEST ARTIST HOUSTON PERSON
What: Capstone event of the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival. Berkshires Jazz Student Youth Band opens.
When: 4 p.m. April 30
Where: Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., Pittsfield
Cost: $38-$43
Tickets and information: berkshiretheatregroup.org
Scott Stafford can be reached at sstafford@berkshireeagle.com or 413-281-4622.
News Reporter
Scott Stafford has been a reporter, photographer, and editor at a variety of publications, including the Dallas Morning News and The Berkshire Eagle.
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