Mark Harvey, leader of Aardvark, played a solo trumpet rendition of the National Anthem at Fenway Park before the Red Sox/Yankees game on Sunday, April 26. This was part of the Kick-Off Weekend for this year's Jazz Week Boston festivities.

Watch the video! (opens video on Vimeo.com in new window)

Harvey actually began his stadium performance career with the Syracuse University Marching Band, appearing at both Shea and Yankee Stadiums in New York and at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans' Tulane Stadium, with Pete Fountain as guest soloist with the SU Band. In Boston during the 1970s, Harvey served as the unofficial trumpeter for the City of Boston, playing for the City's annual Fourth of July parades and ceremonies as well as other civic functions. His Jazz Week appearance at Fenway continues these traditions.

For additional Red Sox information, please visit www.redsox.com.
For more information on Jazz Week events, visit www.jazzboston.org.
(Video provided by Boston Red Sox.)

Aardvark celebrated the 110th birthday of Duke Ellington with a salute to the Maestro of Ducal favorites and rarities.  Also included on the program was Ellington-inspired works by Mark Harvey.  This event was part of the "Kick Off Day" of events launching Jazz Week 2009 as well as the culminating concert of the Highland Jazz Series for 2008 -2009.

Highland Jazz Series, Newton South High School, Newton, MA  
April 25, 8 PM
Visit www.highlandjazz.org for more.

Composer and trumpeter Mark Harvey, a founder of the Jazz Coalition and now a member of JazzBoston's Board of Directors, co-led the Jazz Week '09 team with fellow JazzBoston director Don Carlson. Harvey's Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, performed for one of this year's kickoff events.

Jazz Week returned this past spring for the 3rd consecutive year, bigger and better than ever, with hundreds of events, many of them free or low-cost, in scores of venues in and around the Greater Boston area — from clubs, museums, and churches to libraries, universities, hotels, and community centers. For nine days from April 25 to May 3, the spotlight was on musicians of all generations, both internationally known and Boston-based, as they perform jazz of every style. The something-for-every-taste live musical menu of Jazz Week '09 offered over 200 samples to help you answer the question posed by this year's theme: What's Your Jazz?

For more information on all Jazz Week events, visit www.jazzboston.org.

During a recent concert tour in Thailand, Aardvark Jazz Orchestra member, Peter Bloom and pianist/harpist Mary Jane Rupert gave the world premiere of Elizabeth Vercoe's Butterfly Effects, composed for Bloom and Rupert and featuring flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo and harp.  They also performed the world premiere of Between Heaven and Earth, written for them by Thai composer Narong Prangcharoen.

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra featured improvisational conducting by world renowned Soundpainter Walter Thompson and music director Mark Harvey.  The concert featured works by Thompson and Harvey as well as music inspired by the aesthetics of Anthony Braxton and Sun Ra.  Funded in part by the Council for the Arts at MIT.

March 7, 2009, 8 PM
Kresge Auditorium, MIT

To be notified about this and other upcoming events, click here to receive Aardvark's spam-free event email announcements.

American Agonistes: Music in Time of War (Leo Records)
"Beautiful, poignant and raucous. . . This album drips with honesty,
intelligence, sound design, and art." Francois Couture, Billboard.com

"Truly impressive. . . a hit recording." Altrisuoni [Italy]

To read more reviews, find out about the cd tracks, listen to sample MP3 clips, and to order, click the Read more... link below.

Celebrating the release of its 9th CD, No Walls/A Christmas Concert (Aardmuse label), the CD features carols from around the world and Mark Harvey’s piece No Walls, a tribute to Doctors Without Borders. The CD is available now! Order yours!