Natixis Global Asset Management Presents Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival: Reading Resident Rick DiMuzio Among Featured Artists

Boston’s Biggest Block Party Celebrates Jazz: The Next Generation on September 28 Natixis-Berklee City Music Scholarship Will Be Presented at the Event

Boston, MA, September 5, 2013 – Music lovers of all ages will gather for the 13th Annual Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival, a free outdoor event offering national and local jazz, Latin, blues, and soul acts on three stages. Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM), one of the world’s leading asset managers, is the presenting sponsor. Past Jazz Festivals have drawn 80,000 music fans. The festival takes place Saturday, September 28, noon to 6:00 p.m. on Columbus Avenue between Massachusetts Avenue and Burke Street.


Reading, MA, resident Rick DiMuzio will be featured at the festival with the Rick DiMuzio Quintet Featuring Lage Lund. Jazz saxophonist and composer Rick DiMuzio has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. In addition to leading ensembles under his own name, he has performed as a sideman with Greg Hopkins’ big band, the Kevin Harris Project, and Leo Blanco. He has played or recorded with such artists as David Liebman, Steve Grossman, Conrad Herwig, Danilo Perez, James Williams, Terri Lyne Carrington, Francisco Mela, and Jamey Haddad. DiMuzio serves as professor at Berklee College of Music, where he has taught ear training, improvisation, saxophone, jazz composition, and ensembles. He earned his doctorate in jazz composition from New England Conservatory, a master’s degree in jazz performance from the Eastman School of Music, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  

Festival highlights also include Meshell Ndegeocello; Will Calhoun Trio, led by the Grammy Award-winning alumnus and drummer of the band Living Colour; and Robin McKelle & the Flytones.


This year, the festival celebrates the theme Jazz: The Next Generation, with performances by some of the genre’s most acclaimed up-and-coming alumni artists, including Grammy-nominated trumpeter Christian Scott; Mike Tucker Trio featuring vibraphonist Warren Wolf; and the Matt Savage Quartet featuring sax great Bobby Watson.


Faculty and students also play a major role, with performances by faculty Lawrence “Larry” Watson & the Workforce, The Bell Affair featuring Karen Bell, and Matt Jenson and the Liquid Revolution; and students Berklee Global Jazz Ambassadors featuring Adam Cruz, the Simon Moullier Quartet, Giorgi Mikadze Group, the Berklee P-Funk Ensemble and the Berklee City Music All Stars Big Band Jazz Ensemble. Street performers Marcus Santos & Bloco AfroBrazil will perform throughout the afternoon.


The Natixis Family Park will transform Carter Playground on Columbus Avenue with activities including inflatables, face painting, and an instrument petting zoo staffed by Berklee professionals. The park also hosts KidsJam, an interactive program led by Berklee’s Music Education department, introducing young children to a variety of musical activities, including singing and sound exploration, playing rhythm instruments, and creating, listening, and responding to music.


The outdoor celebration also features a variety of vendor booths offering foods and crafts from all over the world. Check beantownjazz.org for updates and a full schedule of events.