Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend–We’ll be on Main Stage, at 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday, June 18
WHERE: Berkshire Gateway Jazz, Lee Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee MA
WHEN: Friday, June 18, 2022, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
WHO: Mary Ann Palermo, singer and band manager, with Rich Hommel, lead guitar, bassist Steve Deitmann, Sam Earnshaw, percussion, and Eric Loffswold, horns
WHAT: American Song Book and contemporary Jazz
Mary Ann Palermo & First Take Band will be part of the main stage program at the Lee Green Main Stage, and is thrilled to be returning to the Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend.
Lee—”Gateway to the Berkshires”—hosts the annual Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend, and this year this takes place June 17-19, featuring headline concerts, free al fresco jazz, food vendors, a jazz brunch, and more, all spanning Father’s Day weekend, and all in the beautiful western Massachusetts town of Lee, MA. Main stage events take place in Lee Commons, adjacent to Lee Police and the Congregational Church, close in to the many downtown Lee shops and restaurants.
Jazz has always been part of the cultural scene in the Berkshires, and in fact the Berkshires have played a significant role in jazz history. In the 1950’s and 1960’s The Music Inn and the Lenox School of Jazz were at the forefront of innovation, hosting concerts, lectures, educational offerings and symposia, the likes of which had never been seen. These offerings featured Jazz greats such as John Lewis and the Modern Jazz Quartet, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmie Giuffre, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Jim Hall, Max Roach, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and many many more.
Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend is produced by Berkshire Gateway Preservation, Inc in collaboration with Berkshires Jazz, Inc., a non-profit organization which has as its mission presenting and preserving America’s unique art form, and continuing to make the Berkshires a welcome place for Jazz. Berkshires Jazz produces concerts and educational programs throughout the year. For more information about upcoming Jazz events in the Berkshires, visit www.BerkshiresJazz.org