Aardvark Jazz Orchestra: Celebrating America250’s next Boston-area show is October 24, 2026 at Church of the Covenant.
Aardvark Jazz Orchestra is a longtime Boston big band led by founder and music director Mark Harvey, playing ambitious original compositions that critics have compared to Mingus, Gil Evans, and Frank Zappa. Its America250 program mixes Harvey's own pieces with an early American work by Boston composer William Billings, tracing musical threads from the Revolutionary era through the civil rights movement to today. Expect a large ensemble, dense arrangements, and jazz that leans into American history as much as it leans into swing.