On Saturday nights Avenue One restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Hotel offers "Hot Fondue and Cool Jazz," in which fondue dishes are cooked by chef Brad Ozerdem and coupled with live smooth-jazz bands and vocal performances. Boston-born jazz vocalist Leah Souza is a frequent performer. There is no cover charge to see the performances.
Avenue One
1 Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111
617-422-5579
avenueoneboston.com
From Ledisi and Paula Cole to Wynton Marsalis and Walter Beasley, Saturday nights at the prestigious Berklee College of Music are host to the top names in contemporary jazz. The Berklee Performance Center seats 1,215 and offers state-of-the-art sound and lighting. Students of the school can attend shows for free if tickets are obtained before the day of the show. Berklee Concert Club members receive discounts and free passes to the Beantown Jazz Festival. Annual membership dues are $250.
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617-747-2474
berkleebpc.com
Wally's Cafe founder Joseph L. Walcott was the first African-American to own a nightclub in New England. With a rich jazz history that dates back to the 1940s and 1950s, Wally's offers live music daily and maintains its tradition of Saturday-night jazz. There is no cover charge, and the dress code is casual--guests often show up in T-shirts and jeans. Performers include a mix of jazz professionals and students from Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music and Harvard University. Wally's Cafe has a long tradition of supporting young musicians; its Student to Student Music Project gives students the opportunity to perform and perfect their craft onstage during the week.
Wally's Cafe
427 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
617-424-1408
wallyscafe.com