# Event Details

- **Event Name**: 42nd Annual Jazz Concert
- **Event Start and End Date**: Sun, 28 Jun, 2026 at 11:00 am
- **Event Description**: Join us for the 42nd Annual Jazz Concert!  

Music will take place from 11 AM to 1 PM, and a vendor event, refreshments, and a raffle will run from 10 AM to 1:30 PM.

This program is funded in part by grants from the New Bedford, Dartmouth, Mattapoisett, and Acushnet Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

The jazz service is a highlight in our year and helps us raise vital funds for our church and its social justice initiatives.

 We are excited to welcome back the Akoma Ensemble! FREE and open to all!

(pron.: ah KOH mah in the Asante Twi language; meaning: ‘blood’, ‘heart’, as in ‘Nya Akoma’, ‘take heart’)

The Akoma ensemble plays original and traditional music in the African American heritage known as Jazz. Using elements of world music cultures from West Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, the artists come together to create new sounds toward transcendence.

Art Hirahara is a New York-based jazz keyboardist, composer, and producer. From the traditional to the avant-garde, Art has found a sound of his own that cuts across genres and boundaries. He has recorded seven albums as a leader on jazz label, Posi-Tone Records, and is featured on the recordings of dozens of other artists.

He has toured as a performer in Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East and extensively around North America. Art has had the privilege to perform with Don Braden, Freddy Cole, Stacey Kent, royal hartigan, and Akira Tana, among many others.

Avery Sharpe is a bassist/composer/educator/producer, and is considered a major force of his generation. Avery worked with piano jazz legend McCoy Tyner for 20-plus years, playing hundreds of gigs worldwide and appearing on more than 20 recordings with Tyner.

Sharpe’s credits also include sideman stints and recordings with jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Yusef Lateef, Bobby McFerrin, Pat Metheny, Billy Taylor, and many more. In 1994, he started his own artist record label, JKNM Records. To date, he has more than 13 titles as a leader for JKNM Records.

Sharpe is equally adept at songs and longer compositional forms. He has composed for films, jazz bands, orchestras, choirs, and plays. His monumental work 400: An African American Musical Portrait has been premiered to audiences worldwide.

Avery Sharpe was the Sterling Brown ‘22 Distinguished Visiting Artist in Residence in Music at Williams College, and is now Artist Associate in Jazz Bass, and Jazz Coach at Williams College. He is also Faculty Advisor for the Williams Gospel Choir and affiliated faculty for Africana Studies.

Avery has served on the panels of National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, Meet the Composer, Rhode Island Foundation (for Composers), and more.

He continues to record, perform, and share his artistry with audiences across the world, and through these, has changed the lives of countless students and the jazz community.

Charles Langford has been writing music since his teenage years. This Springfield, Massachusetts, jazz artist plays tenor, alto, soprano sax, clarinet, and flute. Mr. Langford came to the Northeast United States after attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the New School for Social Research in New York City. He studied composition and teaching with Billy Harper, Donald Byrd, and Barry Harris, among others. Prior to that, Mr. Langford studied with Archie Shepp, George Coleman, and Yusef Lateef. Since then, Charles Langford has become one of the Boston area's top A-list players. He currently writes music for the daytime show The Young and the Restless on CBS. With his new release, "Powerless," Mr. Langford has great things in store, featuring industry leaders Jimmy Haslip, Russell Ferrante, and Elan Trotman.

Charles continues to perform, record, and compose in many media and styles, collaborating with creative artists in multiple disciplines through the world.

royal hartigan is a drummer, pianist, teacher, and author who has studied, lived, and performed the music of Asia, Africa, Europe, West Asia, and the Americas, as well as African American traditions. He has made a life focusing on the sounds and meaning from world cultures, bringing new concepts to drum set and jazz ensemble interactions, including time cycles and rhythms from India, West Africa, and the gong cultures of the Philippines, China, Korea, and Java. royal has produced four CDs and appears on over 40 others, many with the late Fred Ho. His books and films have documented the connections among global traditions, West African music, and the African American tradition known as jazz.

Author of the books "blood drum spirit, West African Rhythms for Drumset, Dancin’ on the Time," and "West African Eve Rhythms for Drumset," royal has spent decades studying with master artists and adapting rhythms, songs, and structures from global music traditions.

He was a Fulbright scholar to the Philippines and Ghana. royal has lived and worked extensively in Ghana, the Philippines, and China. He brings the music he has learned into the jazz tradition as a natural extension of the African Diaspora music he has dedicated his life to, first introduced to him by his mother and uncle (he began tap dancing at three years old). royal has met and been inspired by many great artists, including Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Randy Weston, Reggie Workman, Archie Shepp, and Sun Ra. He has studied with Lenny McBrowne, Clifford Jarvis, Max Roach, Ed Blackwell, Abraham Adzenyah, and Freeman Donkor, among others. His blood drum spirit ensemble has performed, given workshops, and collaborated with artists in Asia, West Africa, the Caribbean, and across the U.S.

Candida Rose A proud KabuVerdiana hailing from New Bedford, Massachusetts, Candida Rose is dedicated to studying and educating about the transnational musical legacy of Cabo Verdean Americans; she has published a book on this topic, KabuMerikanus - the Sum of US, based on original research for which she received a Master’s degree in Transnational, Cultural, and Community Studies from UMass Boston. She shares this research with the broader community through educational presentations at institutions like the Cape Cod Cape Verdean Museum, the New Bedford Public Library, and Bridgewater State University; recently, she and her collaborator J.L. Santos Spencer conducted a 5-module workshop series on Cabo Verdean music at Keith Middle School with support from the Mass Cultural Council. 

Candida’s educational efforts have received national attention through a feature on PBS’s No Passport Required; her scholarship on Cape Verdean women in music was published in a scholarly edited collection, Kriolas Poderozas; and her research travels to Cabo Verde are the topic of a forthcoming documentary film directed by Dr. Rosalyn Negrón, called Candida.

This program is funded in part by grants from the New Bedford, Dartmouth, Mattapoisett, and Acushnet Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/new-bedford/42nd-annual-jazz-concert/200029881320956
- **Event Categories**: entertainment, music, art, jazz, concerts, workshops, live-music, literary-art, performances, it, nonprofit
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 406

## Ticket Details


## Event venue details

- **city**: New Bedford
- **state**: MA
- **country**: United States
- **location**: 71 8th St, New Bedford, MA, United States, Massachusetts 02740
- **lat**: 41.63423
- **long**: -70.92982
- **full address**: 71 8th St, New Bedford, MA, United States, Massachusetts 02740

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: 42nd Annual Jazz Concert
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/36a0a40c72943ccd725e351301a8856a8f47c70a6d0c5bf406e8c6ce64b7128c-rimg-w1200-h675-dc010101-gmir?v=1782604838

## FAQs

- **Q**: When and where is 42nd Annual Jazz Concert being held?
  - **A:** 42nd Annual Jazz Concert takes place on Sun, 28 Jun, 2026 at 11:00 am to Sun, 28 Jun, 2026 at 11:00 am at 71 8th St, New Bedford, MA, United States, Massachusetts 02740.
- **Q**: Who is organizing 42nd Annual Jazz Concert?
  - **A:** 42nd Annual Jazz Concert is organized by First Unitarian Church In New Bedford.
- **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me?
  - **A:** 42nd Annual Jazz Concert is ideal for live music fans, concert-goers, and anyone who enjoys unforgettable performances from their favorite artists in an electric live atmosphere. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in New Bedford, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. With 400+ people already showing interest, this is clearly an event worth adding to your calendar - don't miss out.

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