Join us for an evening of conversation and jazz as we welcome acclaimed author and historian John Gennari, who will discuss his new book, The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, The Berkshires, and Place of Jazz in American Life. Gennari will be joined in conversation by Neil Leonard, professor and Artistic Director of the Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute, Berklee College of Music.
Rachel Ambaye, a Boston-based jazz vocalist, composer, and recording artist, will perform during the program.
The Jazz Barn explores the cultural significance of venues like the Berkshire Music Barn and later the Lenox School of Jazz to tell a surprising story about race, culture, and place. John Gennari explores how a predominantly white New England town became a haven for African American musicians and reveals the Berkshires as an important incubator not just of American literature and classical music but also of the Modern Jazz Quartet and Ornette Coleman’s “new thing.” The Berkshire Music Barn became a crucial space for the mainstreaming of jazz. Richly illustrated with the photographs of Clemens Kalischer, among others, The Jazz Barn demonstrates that the locations where jazz is played and heard indelibly shape the music and its meanings. --------------------
Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 6:00pm
Suffolk University's Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
Admission is FREE. Tickets are required. This event is open to the public.
Walk-up tickets will be available to reserve at the Modern Theatre box office day-of, subject to availability.
The Modern Theatre box office and lobby will open one hour before the event's scheduled start time.
If you have any questions or if you need assistance reserving tickets, please email the Modern Theatre Box Office at boxoffice@suffolk.edu .
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VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE - If you are unable to attend in-person, you may register to attend via Zoom at the link below:
If you have any questions or need assistance registering or attending via Zoom, please email Susan Spurlock at sspurlock@suffolk.edu .
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Please see below for important information to note before your event:
SEATING: This event has General Admission seating. All seats are first-come, first-served.
WAITLIST: If the event is sold out, you may add your name to the waitlist by checking in at the box office on the day of the performance. All unclaimed tickets will be released to the waitlist ten minutes before the event's scheduled start time.
ARRIVAL: The Modern Theatre lobby and the box office will open one hour before the event's scheduled start time.
All unclaimed tickets will be released to the waitlist ten minutes before the event's scheduled start time. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the event's scheduled start time and check in at the box office to avoid losing your tickets to the waitlist.
RUNNING LATE? Late seating will be permitted during appropriate breaks in the performance, at the Front of House Manager’s discretion. Please arrive on time, at least 15 minutes before your event's start time.
ACCESSIBILITY: We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodation for all events. Please email boxoffice@suffolk.edu to make a reasonable accommodation request.
The Modern Theatre is wheelchair and mobility aid accessible.
ADA and companion seating is available for all events.
The Modern Theatre has an ADA accessible and gender neutral restroom.
CONTACT US: Please email boxoffice@suffolk.edu if you have any questions or need assistance reserving tickets.
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