Marblehead Summer Jazz Concerts
Through August 23
Marblehead Festival of Arts
July 3 through 6
“Summer begins at those concerts for us,” said Oliver Loewen, long-time subscriber of Marblehead Summer Jazz. “It’s probably the best put together jazz series in the Boston area.” Since 1985, when Marblehead jazz aficionados started the concert series, they’ve worked hard to keep it that way.
It began with a “wouldn’t-it-benice” conversation between the late Richard Conte, JoAnne King and Gene Arnould, about bringing then young, newly graduated from Berklee jazz pianist Makoto Ozone to Marblehead. Their arts-friendly Unitarian Universalist Church liked the idea and its pews became the concert venue. After succeeding beyond their wildest dreams - they sold 400 tickets for the 275-seat hall with listeners encircling the piano and filling the stairs - the producers set other dates and started the series.