Jazz, an essential part of the American artistic tapestry, has long been a mainstay of GBH Music’s offerings. Our 2026 JazzNOW series, made in collaboration with JazzBoston, represents the latest in both organizations’ efforts to promote the genre through live performances. Come see our final show of the month on Thursday, April 30 — a performance by the Emmy-nominated cuatrista Fabiola Mendez — for International Jazz Day!
In the meantime, we sat down with Sam Brewer, General Manager of GBH Music and Ken Field, President of JazzBoston to talk about the history (and future) of the genre, Boston’s jazz scene, and the joys jazz offers those who listen.
How did the collaboration between GBH Music and JazzBoston start?
Sam Brewer: It came together from the legendary Eric Jackson. He was such a huge pillar of the jazz community — a connector, presenter, and amplifier of so many musicians — and the voice of jazz on GBH for decades.
Ken Field: Eric was on the JazzBoston board for many, many years — up until he passed. At one point, he told me to reach out to Tony Rudel [former GBH Music General Manager]. When Tony and I talked, we hit it off on a personal level as well as in the ways our organizations could collaborate. He saw an opening for expanding GBH’s jazz offerings and ran with it. But it all started with Eric Jackson, to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude for all kinds of reasons.
What’s made that partnership so prolific over the years?
KF: We’re both on the same page. We see the value of jazz music — improvisational music that came out of the African American community — and we see the importance of it to our audiences. As an all-volunteer organization, [JazzBoston’s] budget is small. Partnerships are essential for us to have a broad impact, so this is a really valuable collaboration. GBH has a huge footprint and listenership, and people respect GBH.
SB: I second all that and also add that part of what GBH does writ large is develop close relationships with our community, and JazzBoston is the premier representative of the jazz community in the Greater Boston area and beyond. So it’s awesome to partner with them to amplify this music.
Many of JazzBoston’s and GBH Music’s shows are free. Why is it important to share jazz with the public in this way?
SB: The GBH Jazz Nights at the Boston Public Library — one each month from September 2025 through June 2026 — are free, and that’s designed to invite more people into the fold. Those concerts are well attended, and a great way for people to discover jazz, GBH, and JazzBoston.
KF: It’s also important to be able to reach a diverse audience, especially with this music, which comes out of a specific community. And it’s important to offer shows to people who can’t afford to pay a cover charge, or have other financial obligations.
Many have called jazz a quintessentially American art. Could you expand on that?
KF: Jazz was created in New Orleans, an artistic hotbed at the time and today. It was a perfect storm, so to speak. There were all these instruments from Civil War military bands that people still had lying around. Add in the unique cultural mix in New Orleans, which, because it was an economic/shipping hub, had people from the Caribbean, Europe, as well as white and Black Americans. All of that came together, culturally and musically. Hymns combined with work songs, mixed with Caribbean rhythms and European harmonies, and this wonderful improvisational element.
SB: There’s a great comment from Godwin Louis in the show that kicked off our JazzNOW season. He’s talking about jazz as an amalgamation of African syncopation, drumming, and vocals, with European instruments (trumpet, piano, etc.), as well as traits that are indigenous to the U.S. These three cultures collide, making a wholly American art form that’s one of our biggest artistic and musical exports.
What lessons do you think jazz has to offer to those who are unfamiliar with the genre?
KF: There’s a rhythmic propulsion in a lot of jazz that just moves the body. That said, “jazz” is a pretty big umbrella: there’s a lot of different music that people might call jazz. The surprise of the improvisational aspect, as well as the rhythms, are elements that can really catch people’s ears. When you’re composing spontaneously, there are no take-backs. You stop thinking and just play what you’re feeling. It’s a pretty powerful way of revealing the inner self.
Good music has to have a good balance between surprise and expectation. If it’s all things you expect, you might get a bit bored. And if it’s all things you didn’t expect, you might get a little lost.
SB: One of the reasons we love working with Ken is that he has a very expansive, big-tent definition of jazz. The way he curates JazzNOW and the GBH Jazz Nights at the Boston Public Library allows for an entry point for anyone who’s curious about music. For instance, we have a tribute to Ray Charles in June — tunes you can hum along to. On the other end of the spectrum, maybe you haven’t heard of Fabiola Mendéz or her instrument, the cuatro, which you can catch on International Jazz Day. We try to have a real range every season to bring in new audiences.
Another very accessible part of this series is the intimacy of the spaces. We can fit around 100 people in the GBH Fraser Performance Studio, which lets listeners have a very immediate connection with the musicians. The same is true at the Boston Public Library. No matter what type of music they’re playing, watching virtuoso musicians practice their craft from 10 feet away is an incredible experience.
Speaking of the JazzNOW show, it was great to see Paris Alston hosting an event. Can we expect more GBH News crossovers from upcoming JazzNOW programs?
SB: We’re thrilled to partner with [GBH News] Rooted for the series this year. It just makes a lot of sense given jazz’s foundations as a Black American artform and Rooted’s place as an extension of GBH’s commitment to that audience, carrying on the legacy of Basic Black and Say Brother. It’s a natural fit, Paris is an incredible host, and it’s been a lot of fun working with her.
Audience-wise, the shows are going really well. We have at least 100 or so people at each event. The performers have all been happy and want to come back. We’re glad to be able to provide more gigs for working musicians in the city, and we want people to see these shows in-person because of the improvisational aspect of the music. Our generous funder, the Goldstein Family Fund, really wanted to put on these shows so musicians had gigs, and so people had the opportunity to experience jazz as it should be — live.
What more can we expect from GBH Music in the jazz genre going forward?
SB: The events and programs are our big commitments for now. We’re so grateful to the Goldstein Family Fund for making both the JazzNOW series and the GBH Jazz Nights at the Boston Public Library possible. I’m excited to keep building on the series and we’re already looking into potential acts that we might feature in the future. We also have a jazz newsletter, authored by one of our jazz hosts, Julia Marcus, with the help of Al Davis. I recommend subscribing to JazzBoston’s newsletter as well. And don’t forget we air live jazz every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening on GBH 89.7 starting at 9pm!
In a lot of ways, it’s a time of upheaval in the music industry. What developments have encouraged you in recent years regarding the future of jazz?
SB: People think of older genres as having a very fixed, declining audience — we hear this all the time with classical music. History consistently proves that wrong. I don’t see jazz becoming the most dominant, popular form of music, as it once was. But that doesn’t mean its overall audience is capped. It will continue to grow, and we’re really excited to be a part of that growth.
KF: At one point, jazz was the pop music of its day, but I think that the concepts behind jazz have become so universal. David Bowie recorded his phenomenal last album, BlackStar, with a jazz band as his backing band. You can look at the Grateful Dead and see jazz influences in their work. You can see jazz in hip-hop. Contemporary artists are expressing the genre in new ways all the time. People have voiced the concern that jazz is dead for decades. It’s very much not: I see a lot of interest in it from young people, I see its influence building, and our audience expanding.
Lightning round
Favorite local venue for jazz?
SB: GBH’s Fraser Performance Studio. For the two most recent shows, our producer, Kathy Whitman, (who produces all the JazzNOW shows in GBH Fraser Performance Studio) has given a real jazz club vibe to the studio — with lowered Edison bulbs for cool lighting, table seating, and high tops.
KF: I wish we had more, but there are a number of great venues in the city, in addition to the ways GBH is stepping up to host shows. We have our mainstay venues — Scullers, Regattabar, Mad Monkfish, even the Plough and Stars — that all have different vibes. I don’t want to leave anybody out, so I encourage folks to check out our full list of jazz venues in the Greater Boston area.
Favorite jazz show you’ve been to recently?
SB: The last one with Ethan Iverson, was one of my favorite shows that we’ve done in this whole series. He has this very disarming, almost professorial side to him, and when you pair it with this totally fluid, beautiful playing and the melodies that he improvises — I could have watched a three-hour show.
One jazz record you’d recommend to a layperson?
SB: Kind of Blue, Miles Davis.
KF: There’s a release with Miles, Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderley — it’s called Somethin’ Else — and it’s amazing. Just incredible stuff.
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Tune in to jazz every weekend at 9pm on GBH 89.7, as well as the JazzNOW series on GBH 2, GBH 44, and NEPM every week of Jazz Appreciation Month (April). Check out GBH’s radio schedules, follow @JazzGBH on Instagram, subscribe to GBH Music’s YouTube Channel, and join us for GBH’s International Jazz Day event with Fabiola Mendez on Thursday, April 30!
