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Another piece of the new MFA opens on April 23

It feels like just yesterday that we were invited to the reopening of the Huntington Avenue entrance of the Museum of Fine Arts, after decades of it being shut up. But that was, what, three or four years ago? The entrance, which was once the museum's front door, has actually been under construction again as part of the giant Building the New MFA project, featuring a $500 million expansion/renovation. And now, on April 23, the Huntington entrance will be re-opened again, this time with a new plaza, lighting and accessibility, all designed by Foster + Partners of London.

Along with the new/old entrance, the MFA will be opening several renovated or repurposed permanent galleries on April 23: the Rabb Gallery, for 20th century paintings and sculpture; the Italian Renaissance Gallery; and the Sargent Rotunda, with an installation of John Singer Sargent’s preparatory works for murals.

There's actually a game of revolving doors afoot at the MFA. The museum's West Wing entrance, which has actually been the museum's front door for the last few decades, closed in early March for its own renovations. So between now and April 23, if you're planning on going to the MFA, be prepared to hike around to the Fenway Entrance, which was actually the first part of the New MFA to open, last summer.  Got that?

Leno remembers Lennie's

I remember my parents taking me to Lennie's on the Turnpike (aka Route 1 in Peabody) to hear Erroll Garner, maybe on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, circa 1970. I was going to say Oscar Peterson, but the growling and mumbling as he played tells me Garner. Anyway, good story in Globe North this weekend by Kathy McCabe talking to Andover native Jay Leno about his early gigs at Lennie's, how Lennie Sogoloff rescued him from months of crappy strip-joint gigs. Leno's back in town on Monday for a sold-out benefit show at Salem State College for the Barbara Ann Sogoloff Scholarship (that's Lennie's late wife). Fans of Leno or Lennie's can still support the Barbara Ann Sogoloff Scholarship with checks sent to the Salem State College Foundation, 352 Lafayette St., Salem, MA 01970.

At least the politicians get to meet movie stars

In The Herald this morning, Dave Wedge reports on a Cornell study that says Massachusetts' and other states' tax incentives for filmmakers are a "lunatic competition" for "table scraps" that have little or no actual benefits. Ouch. Needless to say, the state film office disagrees. I have to admit this diminishes my excitement about the filming of "Paul Blart: Mall Cop II" here.

Details on Jazz Week '09

Cyrus Chestnut, Either/Orchestra, Cindy Blackman, Billy Novick, Don Byron, Leo Genovese, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Grace Kelly, Kenny Garrett, Jerry Bergonzi, Christian McBride, Yoko Miwa, Jonathan Baptiste and Donal Fox are among the many names who'll perform in Boston, Cambridge and surorunding towns during Jazz Week '09, April 25-May 3. The theme: What's your jazz? JazzBoston organizers promise more free and low-cost events than ever before, all over the area, from Allston to Roxbury to the Back Bay, and from Somerville to Belmont to  Framingham. Free concerts on Fan Pier as part of the Volvo Ocean racing festivities, a jazz meets salsa night at the Center for Latino Arts, and special menus as all the Restaurant Week eateries are promised. The New England Conservatory of Music, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of its Jazz Studies Program during the 2009 - 2010 academic year, is this year's Primary Sponsor of Jazz Week. Check the JazzBoston website, www.jazzboston.org, for all the details, or read on for the  complete press release...

Mass. Cultural Council grants: When level funding is a good thing

In these economic times, it's worth noting that the $1.3 million in new state funding for creative economy initiatives across Massachusetts announced by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Legislature's Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development on Wednesday is even with last year's payout. You'd think some clawbacks would apply, but no, so 37 groups got grants ranging from $4,000 to $70,000. I have to admit, the announcement reached me on Monday, but I was too busy trying to earn a living to note it here - I heard a brief report on WBZ on Wednesday, and otherwise the only report I've noticed was a brief writeup in Boston Business Journal. Among the recipients are Boston Cyberarts Festival, Cambridge Science Festival, and ArtsBoston’s new online arts and culture portal. Complete list is after the jump....

Buddha, the one-man show

We could all use a little enlightenment, and we're not going to find it on twitter, am I right? (DM me your answers.) Tonight at the BCA, Evan Brenner opens his "The Buddha - In His Own Words" at the Plaza Black Box Theatre, the first of two weeks of performances of the show which was developed here over two years at venues like the Cambridge Center for Adult Ed. The show uses the original, ancient accounts of the Buddha's life to show the man and how his teachings were shaped, in India circa 500 B.C. Brenner wrote and performs the show, which is directed and produced by David Fuhrer. The play will be at the BCA through April 4. Tickets $28-$33, at www.bostontheatrescene.com or (617) 933-8600.. It also runs at Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre, 820 Mass Ave, Cambridge on April 10-12. Tickets, $25-$30, at www.brownpapertickets.com or call (800) 838-3006

Food drive at Symphony Hall

If you're headed to the Boston Symphony Orchestra performances Friday at 1:30 p.m. or Saturday at 8 p.m., bring along a canned food item or three: canned tuna, chicken or other meats, canned vegetables and fruit, and canned juices, soups, and pasta. The BSO is one of 236 bands involved in “Orchestras Feeding America,” a nationwide project of the League of American Orchestras. Donations at Symphony Hall will go to the Greater Boston Food Bank. You can also make a cash donation at www.bso.org/fooddrive. Receptacles for the BSO’s food drive at Symphony Hall will be at the Massachusetts Avenue and Cohen Wing entrances of Symphony Hall, before concerts and during  intermissions. The public isalso invited to participate by dropping food items off between 12:30-1:30 p.m. on Friday and between 7 and 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Activist and singer to be honored at Berklee

Sweet Honey in the Rock founder and Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History curator emeritus Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon will be honored when the Berklee College of Music Liberal Arts department holds its 15th Annual Liberal Arts Symposium on April 3, at the David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston St. The department (and the event) focuses on getting students to see the ways music shapes and is shaped by the world around it.  Reagon will speak on “Music and Society: The Cultural Autobiography of a Freedom Singer” and receive honorary doctorate of music from the college. Space for the symposium is limited. A musical tribute will include student singers directed by Renese King and student musicians directed by  Terri Lyne Carrington. They'll performperform some of Dr. Reagon's music as well as an original song written by Associate Professor Mark Simos and alumna Keppie Coutts. The event is open to the public but space is limited. Contact Lena Serpa at mserpa@berklee.edu or 617-747-2552 to attend.

Morning reading: Anyone up for a Pawtucket road trip?

Why do we have so much trouble throwing a decent arts festival in Boston lately? The Boston Folk Festival got canceled for lack of money, the Beantown Jazz Fest got rained out, and don't even mention the BMAs and NEMO. Now the Independent Film Festival Boston and Boston International Film Festival film festivals are scheduled on the same days in April (second item). Nice move, International Film Festival. Yeesh. ... Maybe it's time to get out of town, anyway: Good theater in Pawtucket? Who knew? I have to admit, never been to the Gamm Theatre, probably because it's at the other end of the world from HubArts World headquarters here on the North Shore. Never seen the Pawsox play, either. Maybe we can work a two-fer weekend. ... Or maybe a three-fer is in order, to judge by Greg Cook's take on "The Sight of Sound" at Machines With Magnets in Pawtucket. ... And get this, I just checked out the City of Pawtucket web site, and it turns out the burg's current motto is "Rhode Island's Creative Community." The city's arts festival begins Aug. 28, and the last Pawsox home game is Sept. 5. Hmmm....

Tanglewood and the Clark want your Berkshire dollars

Yet another special discount offer for these troubled times finds Tanglewood in Lenox collaborating with the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown for the first time. Claiming to be only 45 minutes apart, the institutions are offering a $45 package that includes two lawn tickets to Tanglewood and two tickets for admission to the Clark. The Tanglewood tix are good for any of the season's classical cocnerts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra or the Boston Pops, June 22-Sept. 6, while the Clark tix are for anytime June 7-Sept. 7, which happen to be the dates for the big Dove/O'Keeffe: Circles of Influence exhibit.

As a regular admission to the Clark is normally $12.50 and a regular lawn seat at Tanglewood is $18, that's $61 worth of arty goodness for your $45, a $16 saving, enough for a couple of tacos in downtown Pittsfield in mid-trip. Click here to buy through the Clark, and here to go through Tanglewood. I would allow more than 45 minutes for the drive, though.