By Larry Claflin Jr.
When Sandford Berman died of cancer in 1991 at 68, his dream of educating the region's youth about jazz and blues through the medium of television did not die with him — it just took an 18-year hiatus.
Berman was the owner of Sandy's Melody lounge and later Sandy's Jazz Revival — a Cabot Street music venue that brought in such jazz luminaries as Dizzie Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Muddy Waters, Chet Baker and Buddy Rich in its heyday. In 1983, Berman worked with local filmmakers to document the club's 50th anniversary celebration, and out of this project he fostered a relationship with a young Henry Ferrini, a musician, TV producer and frequent patron.
"Sandy's — along with Lenny's on the Turnpike — was the place where people could be (so close to) a performer and say 'wow,'" said Ferrini, of Gloucester. "The club was not just a Beverly tradition, but a North Shore jazz tradition."
On Sunday, Ferrini and others will continue Berman's legacy when they launch the North Shore Jazz Project at Chianti restaurant in Beverly. The event will serve as a fundraiser for the project, which Ferrini and BevCam personality Chava Hudson of Beverly founded just three months ago.
The afternoon event will feature performances from Willie Alexander, Roger Brockelbank, Mark Early, John Hyde, Rikki and Alek Razden, Dave Saginaro, Rich Greenblatt and many surprise guests.
The North Shore Jazz Project "is an extension of Sandy's original vision," according to Ferrini, who said Berman spoke about donating his building — formerly located at Cabot and Edwards streets — to a nonprofit that would educate young people about jazz and blues through TV and live performances.
"Sandy had vision of educating students," Ferrini said. "Continue his legacy, continue his vision — that's what I wanted to do."
But the project did not come to fruition, and Sandy's was razed after Berman's death.
Ferrini said he kept his friend's concept in mind all these years.
Then, while a guest on Hudson's show, "Zingology," recently, Ferrini said he decided to reprise the dormant initiative.
"Chava was the perfect person to partner with, because she has skills as a producer," Ferrini said of Hudson, who is also a Web designer and illustrator. "It just dawned on me that there was a real opportunity to give this thing another whirl."
Ferrini is the project's director, Hudson is its producer and filmmaker Joe Cultrera of Salem serves as editor. Other area musicians, such as Barrence Whitfield of Beverly, are advisers.
Chianti owner Rich Marino said it was an easy decision to host the initial fundraiser. He's building a new lounge for nighttime musical acts, hoping to reinvigorate the jazz scene in downtown Beverly, in a former liquor store next to his restaurant.
Marino, himself a musician who hosts live bands at his restaurant, has a long history with Berman, even though he never met the man: He and his wife purchased Berman's former home, on Ives Street in Beverly, in 1999.
It wasn't until a couple of years later, Marino said, that he found the home was previously a gathering place for America's jazz luminaries.
"These jazz greats would come for dinner and play with the kids," said Marino, who does Chianti's paperwork in the home's kitchen, at the same spot Berman once worked.
Marino is a Medford native, but Beverly's musical roots have stuck with him.
"I forget, sometimes, I'm not originally from here. I love this city," he said.
North Shore Jazz Project
According to the North Shore Jazz Project's Web site, www.northshorejazzprojest.org, its mission is to bring the vibrant jazz and blues tradition — started by Sandy's and Lenny's on the Turnpike — back to the North Shore. The North Shore Jazz Project intends not only to revitalize these cultural venues for the community, "but to reach a much wider audience through its own Web site and by producing a jazz and blues television series with an important educational component."
A pilot program will center on bringing a prominent musician to run a workshop with Beverly High School music students, culminating in a performance that will serve as the first in a series of jazz and blues TV shows.
If you go
What: North Shore Jazz Project Fundraiser and Afternoon of Music
Where: Chianti Tuscan Restaurant, 285 Cabot St., Beverly
When: Sunday, Nov. 15, 1 to 4 p.m.
How much: Free admission, donations accepted
www.northshorejazzproject.org; or RSVP to chava@chavahudson.com
