Jazz Along the Charles

On a single fall afternoon, 25 jazz ensembles will gather at a series of connected, walkable locations along the Charles River Esplanade, interpreting a curated list of Boston-related tunes in one collective concert that celebrates the great jazz community in Boston today. Such is the vision of Jazz Along the Charles: A Walkable Concert, produced by Celebrity Series of Boston. These 25 jazz ensembles will come together simultaneously to interpret the same set list in their own style. The audience will stroll along the Charles River on a two-mile loop, discovering new songs, artists, and areas of the Esplanade, creating a dynamic and evolving jazz concert experience. Jazz Along the Charles is a free public event, part of Celebrity Series’ commitment to free public performance experiences for the people of Boston. Previous Celebrity Series projects have included Street Pianos Boston (2013 & 2016), Le Grand Continental (2014), and Let’s Dance Boston! (2015 & 2017).

We are no longer accepting applications for Jazz Along the Charles. Thank you to everyone that applied. 
All applications will be reviewed by a selection committee of educators, musicians, and administrators. All applicants will be notified by email of their selection status by May 10. Selected jazz ensembles will be publicly announced by the Celebrity Series in late May.

What We Are Looking For 
Jazz Along the Charles will celebrate local musicians performing jazz in Greater Boston today. We are seeking a wide variety of small, improvisational jazz ensembles (1-5 people) who will perform outdoors in a mostly acoustic environment. We welcome musicians who are at the amateur, college, pre-professional and professional levels. Applications are encouraged within all genres of improvisational jazz, including, but not limited to: acid, Afro-Cuban, Asian-American, avant-garde, bebop, bossa nova, chamber jazz, cool, dixieland, ethno jazz, free, funk, fusion, gypsy jazz, indo-jazz, latin, second line, swing, third stream, and world. We are seeking groups who are eager to be part of the shared experience and community of a large-scale event. Musicians should have a demonstrated connection or commitment to the arts in Boston, and live or work in the greater Boston Metro area. This project wishes to represent the diverse ages, backgrounds, cultural identities, ethnicities, ranges of education, and styles of artistic expression of local musicians performing jazz in Boston. A stipend of $300 per musician is available.

Jazz Along the Charles is sponsored by Leslie & Howard Appleby, Amy & Joshua Boger, the Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, Donna & Michael Egan, and the Barr Foundation. This concert is produced in cooperation with the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Esplanade Association.