What happens when 25 bands play the same setlist simultaneously? Jazz Along the Charles

Now here's something you don't see or hear every day: 25 local jazz ensembles of all kinds will converge Saturday, Oct. 7 along a 1 1/2 mile walking loop on the Charles River. That's already pretty cool, but beginning at 2 pm they'll also embark on exploring the same list of 16 songs — simultaneously.

Jazz is known for being experimental, expansive and free-wheeling. But even musician and co-curator Ken Field admits the Jazz Along the Charles concept is kind of crazy. “You have 25 bands all starting at the same starting point – you know, 'go,' right?” he said, “And they'll start playing the setlist.”

While selecting the set's 16 tunes, Field and his co-curator Zahili Zamora abided by two rules: the songs had to have a relationship to Boston and also be written or popularized by women. “Why not?” Zamora asked, adding, “It's about time.”

The curators crafted a mix of jazz, pop and even classical works. There's “Boston Beans” by Peggy Lee, Berklee College of Music alumna Esperanza Spalding's “I Know You Know,” “Save Me” by Aimee Mann (who also went to Berklee), and “Within Thy Heart” by a Victorian-era composer, named Amy Beach, who was known for her chamber works.

“You might not think of Aimee Mann, or Amy Beach, as music that would be performed by jazz musicians,” Field said, “but there's an incredible history of jazz musicians taking music from all kinds of styles and improvising around it and making it into jazz.”

Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit, “Fast Car” also made the list. She studied at Tufts University and started her career in Boston. Zamora painted a picture of what audiences will experience when 25 ensembles put their own spins on the song.

“You're going to be walking around listening to "Fast Car," and you hear this band playing, maybe — I'm going to be biased here — in an Afro Cuban style,” she said with a laugh. “And then you'll keep walking, and you'll hear the same song now being interpreted by another band maybe in a free jazz. And maybe you have time to keep walking and hear the third band still playing the same song in straight-ahead bebop. That's the beauty of the project right there.”

Together, the local ensembles feature 100 musicians of all ages, skill levels, backgrounds and subgenres. They've been hard at work rehearsing for the big day. Among them are the Lexington High School Jazz Combo, the Ana Petrova Quartet, the Armenia duo Armadi Tsayn, Women in World Jazz, Charlie Kohlase's Explorers Quintet, and a surf rock group called Czarna Wolgastar Trio.

Ilona Kudina, flutist and bandleader of the Lativian-infused group Baltic Transit said, “Jazz on the Charles gives me a sense of belonging to Boston and its global music scene. It has been an adventure for my band, and a deep dive exploration into a fascinating music set list.”

While figuring out how to cover “Fast Car” with her quintet, saxophonist and Berklee professor Patricia Zarate Perez had to reign in her jazz musician instincts.“We want to complicate things as much as possible because we want to go deep into the meanings,” she said. “And I thought maybe we should have a really big arrangement and, you know, with new harmony and new rhythms.”

Instead, Zarate Perez opted to go simple and stay true to the song's story, which is about the cycle of poverty, because, she said, it's still as relevant as ever. The saxophonist is also doing something she's not completely comfortable with.

“I'm going to put my saxophone away,” Zarate Perez said. “I'm going to play the guitar, and I'm going to play the song as a duo, just like a folk singer would do.”

And her daughter Carolina will be singing with her.

The 25 ensembles will also play Zarate Perez's original composition “Continental Cliff.” She's thrilled about all of the other challenging jazz compositions by influential Boston women on the playlist. Zarate Perez points to “Cosecha” by Mili Bermejo who passed away in 2017, and Camila Cortina's “On Boylston and Mass Ave.”

Then there's a new commission, “Bay Warriors,” by Berklee colleague, drummer and gender justice pioneer Terri Lynne Carrington. She wrote the groundbreaking 2022 book, "New Jazz Standards," to canonize works by women (that the Jazz Along the Charles curators also consulted for their list) and produced a companion CD that includes “Continental Cliff.” The album won a Grammy Award in 2023.

“There's simply not a lot of spaces for women in jazz in general,” Zarate Perez said. The Chilean musician applauds Jazz Along the Charles for being accessible and inclusive. Co-curator Zahili Zamora, who also studied with Zarate Perez, said that was their goal with the line-up. “Every single one of those bands is saying something in their music that speaks about their heritage,” she said. “So they're playing this repertoire, but they're representing their own culture with the music as well.”

Zamora's composition, “Friends,” is also on deck. She loved playing with her Afro Cuban Jazz Trio at the last Jazz on the Charles in 2018. At the time, Zamora was a student at Berklee and she recalled what meant to be able to share her music with new audiences.

“We had time to talk to them, and also meet other musicians,” she said. “So I think it's great for the community in general.”

Gary Dunning got behind this concept, in part, because Jazz Along the Charles creates a “sonic journey” for audiences. He's president and executive director of Celebrity Series of Boston, a producing organization with a tradition of presenting public projects. “We exist for live performance,” he said, “And when performances can be experienced in a slightly different way I'm interested.”

We exist for live performance. And when performances can be experienced in a slightly different way I'm interested.

Gary Dunning

Highlighting women artists and their connections to Boston was a brilliant choice on the part of the curators, he added, “which I guarantee no one will fully realize until you go through the list.”

Ken Field said thousands of people turned out for the first edition five years ago, and he expects the same enthusiasm from audiences this year.

“We had thousands of people coming out to hear jazz,” he said. “I'm involved with Jazz Boston, a jazz advocacy organization, and [this year] they'll take away an appreciation for the amazing musicians we have here, the amazing history we have here, and the incredible breadth of what jazz is and what it can be.” Then he added, “People are going to walk away smiling.”

And maybe even dancing, too. The final Jazz Along the Charles tune is, “Last Dance,” by Dorchester native Donna Summer.

Jazz on the Charles will be performed on Saturday, Oct. 7, between 2 and 4 pm. The 1.5 mile loop spans from Community Boating along the Dudley Bike Path to Esplanade paths around the Storrow Lagoon and Charles River. The program will proceed rain or shine.