Upcoming Concerts

Novel Jazz Septet Concerts, 2025 

June 2025

Dear Jazz Lovers,

Happy Jazzy June, everyone!  The busy Maine music season is ramping up!  I have a couple of jazz events to tell you about for late June into early July for both the Novel Jazz Septet as well as other musical groups....

(1)   If you are near Boston on Saturday, 21 June, 2025, 6PM, drop by Davis Square in Somerville, MA.   The Dixie Cookbook Jazz Band will be having a 50-year reunion of sorts.  Back in the mid ‘70s I had the good fortune to perform with the Dixie Cookbook around Boston.  The band was led by superb guitarist, Dave Macmillan, with Jimmy Mazzy on banjo (who soloed on Prairie Home Companion), Craig Ball on Clarinet (who headed-up the White Heat Jazz Orchestra amongst other bands), various bass and tuba players and myself on trombone.  We performed regularly at a club called Bette’s Rolls Royce in Haymarket Square (an utterly wild venue!), as well as a lot of busking on the streets and in the subway stations of Boston.  This coming Saturday, we’ll be busking once again in Davis Square, just like old times!  If you are nearby, come check out the Dixie Cookbook!

(2)   I am starting a new jazz collaboration with Bess Jacques (of “Bess Jacques and the Strays”) called “BONE & IVORY: BALCH & JACQUES.”  Pianist/vocalist Bess Jacques and myself, are joining forces in a new jazz collaboration. We will be giving our first performance at The Lincoln Hotel (17 Lincoln St., Biddeford, ME; tel. 207-815-3977) on Wed. 25 June, 2025 from 5:45-8:45PM. We’ll be playing a mix of rich, timeless, classic jazz from the Great American Songbook.

A little background…Bess Jacques is a Maine-based pianist, singer, and songwriter, performing widely in the greater Portland, Maine area. Her music spans jazz, singer-songwriter, and pop styles, combining vintage standards with fresh originals. Her band, “Bess Jacques and the Strays” has just released a new album, “Anthems for Lily Briscoe”.   I had the good opportunity to sit-in with Bess at her regular gig at the Lincoln Hotel in Biddeford and realized that the combination of her beautiful, alto voice, and superb piano voicings, along with the smooth, mellow sound of the trombone was entirely unique. The setting for this performance, The Lincoln Hotel, has a lively and elegant lobby bar, replete with grand piano, plus plenty of room to relax and unwind to the sounds of classic jazz. It is situated in a beautifully re-imagined mill in downtown Biddeford. There is also a restaurant in the hotel for your dining pleasure. So come out on Wednesday, 25 June to enjoy a finely-paired beverage with the premier of this exciting new jazz collaboration, “Bone & Ivory: Balch & Jacques!”

(3)   On Wednesday, 2 July, the Novel Jazz Septet will be in concert at the Little Brown Church, on Route 32 in Round Pond, ME at 6:30PM.  This year, we are celebrating Strayhorn’s 110th anniversary this season as well as our 21st year sharing the music of these jazz icons around New England.  The mission of the Novel Jazz Septet is unchanged: to keep the music of Ellington and Strayhorn “alive and swinging.”   We’ll be performing our brand-new 2025 show of Ellington and Strayhorn compositions, researched from the archives of the Smithsonian and Library of Congress, dusted-off, and arranged for the Septet during the long cold winter.  We have some great new finds this year as we bring this music back to life with a 21st century sound. 

(4)   On 13 July, 2025, 10AM I’ll be performing with four other dear friends (Lefty McAuslin (Saxophone), Mickey Felder (piano), Herb Maine (bass) and Bill Manning (drums) for the annual Jazz-Sunday church service at the Boothbay Harbor Congregational Church, Townsend Ave, Boothbay Harbor, ME.  This is always great fun.  It is a popular annual event so be sure to arrive early to snag a seat!

There are many more upcoming events after these events that you can find out below. I’ll tell you about these in a subsequent letter.  So jazz lovers, hope to see you for a “musical catch-up” this summer!

Best,

Barney Balch