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Natixis Global Asset Management Presents Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival: Arlington Resident Matt Jenson 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.

Arlington, MA, resident Matt Jenson will be featured at the festival with his group. Matt Jenson and the Liquid Revolution is a powerful six-piece band built on a foundation of rock-solid-REGGAE-GROOVE with tight vocal harmonies and inspired blues-rock soloing. Jenson is a multi-genre keyboardist, singer, arranger, composer and educator, currently on the piano faculty at Berklee College of Music, where he is well-known for his class “The Music and Life of Bob Marley.” Joining reggae’s long mission of revolutionary consciousness-raising, the Liquid Revolution expresses the cry of alternative global thinking in this era of climate change and extreme economic injustice. Not only do Jenson’s poetically insightful songs strike at the heart of these issues, but his tunes about joyful expressions of love, spirituality and the lessons to be learned from simple stories of every day life offer a vision for a bright future. This year saw the release of the group’s debut album, Dragonfly Taxi.

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 Rick DiMuzio Quintet; 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.

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