Baltimore Orioles 

Baltimore Orioles

Lalah Hathaway

Berklee College of Music and the BeanTown Jazz Festival--both of which create accessibility to great jazz for Boston audiences--are partnering to present the opening concert for the fifth-annual BeanTown Jazz Festival, September 23-24. On Friday, September 23, Berklee and BeanTown are bringing jazz and R&B vocalist Lalah Hathaway to the Berklee Performance Center for a special pre-festival concert. On Saturday, September 24, the pair brings alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, with his bold blend of jazz and Latín music, to the outdoor stage on Columbus Avenue. General admission tickets for Hathaway are $25, with preferred seating and a preconcert reception with Hathaway for $50. The concert starts at 8:15 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster--www.ticketmaster.com, 617-228-6000--and at the Berklee Performance Center Box Office, 617-747-2261. The Berklee Performance Center is located at 136 Mass. Ave, Boston, and is wheelchair accessible. Zenón's Festival performance is free. Visit www.beantowniazz.org or the BPC website for more details.

"The BeanTown Jazz Festival is putting Boston on the map for major jazz festivals," says Berklee College of Music President Roger Brown, "and Berklee is delighted to help create a blazing sample from the world's amazing contemporary jazz scene in Boston this fall."