Dakota Austin wins the 3rd Emerging Artist Showcase

Voting for the Emerging Jazz Artist Showcase is over. Congratulations to the winner, Dakota Austin. Dakota outpaced 13 musicians and a total of 1,600 votes cast. Thank you to all the musicians and jazz fans that participated.

Dakota’s playing reflects the intense mentoring that he received from Rene McLean, Jimmy Greene, Kris Allen, Andrew Beals and many other key figures over the years. Recently graduating from Western Connecticut State University, Dakota continues to further his education at The Hartt School, and develop a musical voice that is truly his own, both as a saxophonist and composer.

You can check out the four finalist videos and results below.

We present to you the 2019 finalists for the Hartford Jazz Society Emerging Artist Showcase. Please watch the videos below, and vote for your favorite. Voting will run through Aug 11. We will announce the winner at the last Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz concert. The grand prize winner gets a cash award and two tickets for the Hartford Jazz Society River Cruise where they will be invited to do a solo performance between band sets. Thanks for your participation.

Please note: Voting utilizes Google Forms to verify one vote per person, and requires signing in to a Google account.

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The Hartford Jazz Society supports the jazz community in many ways. We produce free outdoor concerts in the park, weekly jazz jams, scholarships, and a jazz river cruise just to name a few. Please consider becoming a member to support our efforts.

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