The 56th Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series 2023

The 56 Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series in Bushnell Park (the “Series”) will be held on six consecutive Monday evenings beginning on Monday, July 10 and concluding on Monday, August 14, 2023. New this year; All concerts will be livestreamed at the HJS Facebook page. As in previous years, the concerts are broadcast on the radio via WWUH 91.3FM.

The Series has been recognized as a New England Legacy and is referenced in the Library of Congress as the oldest free continuously run jazz festival in the United States. Each year the Hartford Jazz Society seeks to present a diverse program featuring musicians exhibiting the highest artistic excellence, many of which are often new to the Greater Hartford audience. Each in-person concert will consist of an opening act featuring a local musician or ensemble followed by a headliner of regional, national or international prominence. Several nights will feature themes that have evolved in the twelve years the Hartford Jazz Society has presented the Series; including latin jazz, women in jazz, and a special feature for an overlooked elder statesmen of the music.

2023 Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Schedule

Opening act starts at 6 pm. Headliner starts at 7:30 pm.
click on artists name in table below for more info:

Date Opening Act (6pm)
Headliner (7:30)
July 10 O: Linda Ransom and Friends.
H: Emery Smith Quartet
July 17 O: Alden Helmuth Quintet.
H: Terry Jenoure and Portal
July 24 O: Amherst Jazz Orchestra with Ethel Lee.
H: The Makanda Project
July 31 O: The Ghazi Omair Quintet.
H: David Murray Quartet
August 7 O: Kendra Shank Quartet​.
H: Aja Moyé and Friends
August 14 O: Nigel Bello Band.
H: Sonido Solar

Directions

July and August concerts will be held in the The Thomas D. Harris IV Pavilion at Bushnell Park in Hartford, CT.

Rain

In case of rain, the concerts will held at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 814 Asylum Ave. Check our website or facebook for information on rain-outs.

Thanks to our sponsors:

Bank of America, N.A., Trustee

.

Sponsors:

  • Greater Hartford Arts Council
  • Evelyn W. Preston Memorial Trust Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
  • Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
  • Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation
  • J. Walton Bissell Foundation
  • The Side Door Jazz Club
  • WWUH

About Monday Night Jazz

Since 1967 the Monday Night Jazz Series has brought world famous musicians and local aspiring artists together in downtown Hartford for free concerts during July and August. These concerts provide access to the arts for audiences of all ages in central Hartford, help sustain jazz as a living art form, and invigorate the cultural community by promoting quality, diversity and economic growth.

How it Happened

In 1964 a group of local Hartford residents developed a social and cultural awareness program that would enrich the lives of residents in the North Hartford area. This group, Garden Area Neighborhood Council, also provided an interesting and educational environment for local community youth. These young people received music instruction, and local musicians were provided a place to explore their musical creativity. Neighborhood jazz teachers would also perform for the students.

Mondays soon became weekly jam session nights. Professionals playing in New York and Boston clubs on weekends would stop by the Center on Mondays to jam with the local musicians.

With the Council’s backing in 1967, Paul Brown, jazz bassist, founded what is now known as Monday Night Jazz, but was then called the Hartford Festival of Jazz. Festival performances took place on Monday nights, initially at the Garden Area Center. To accommodate the large number of fans that began turning out, the concerts were moved to various outdoor locations in Hartford, finally finding their permanent home in historic Bushnell Park.

Garden Area’s first outdoor concert was held in the predominately African-American North End section of Hartford. The great saxophonist, Cannonball Adderley, performed with his Quintet on Barbour Street. The 2nd concert had a blues rooted style by Muddy Waters and his Blues Band. The final concert in 1967 was Clark Terry’s Big Band wailing away in the yard of Fred D. Wish School.

Garden Area’s youth group, the Coming Storm, five novice musicians ranging in age from 10 to 15, was considered one of the best local groups at the Hartford Festival of Jazz. Jazz great Thad Jones was moved to tears when he heard the youngsters play one of his compositions at a summer concert. Back then, the members had only been playing music for six months to a year. They included in their repertoire such sophisticated numbers as Ellington’s Satin Doll; Nardis, a Miles Davis ballad; Mr. P.C. by John Coltrane and Paul’s Pal by Paul Chambers.

In 1991, after much research on weekend jazz festivals in the country, Paul focused on a summer weekend event that would spark additional economic gain to the downtown area. Around the same time, a Silver Anniversary celebration was planned for the Hartford Festival of Jazz 25th year. To accommodate the weekend festival, Paul changed the name of the Monday concerts to the Monday Night Jazz Series. Paul’s newly created weekend jazz festival would later become the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz. In 1992, the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz began its first four-day celebration featuring aspiring youth, local musicians and the internationally famous Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Saxophonist Frank Foster.

Oldest Free, Continuously Run Jazz Festival

photo Joe Chandler

In May 1999, the Monday Night Jazz Series was recognized as a New England Legacy and is now in the Library of Congress as the oldest free continuously run JAZZ FESTIVAL in the nation.

Paul Brown retired from producing Monday Night Jazz at the end of the 2007 series. At the request of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, The Hartford Jazz Society took over production, starting with Monday Night Jazz 2008. The HJS remains true to Paul Brown’s goals of access for inner city residents, diversity, quality, and economic development.

Sadly, Paul Brown passed away May 6, 2016. That summer, in a ceremony on the first night of the series, the festival was renamed Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz in his honor.

PBMNJ continues despite worldwide health crisis

In the year 2020, the COVID-19 virus became a pandemic affecting the entire world. Many of those most vulnerable to serious health consequences of COVID were over 65 and minorities, representing a significant part of our audience and musicians. New restrictions on large gatherings were put in place that resulted in PBMNJ initially being cancelled for 2020. This would have broken the consecutive year record at 52 years. Fortunately, a couple HJS board members came up with an idea to carry on the series as a virtual live streamed event. One of our generous sponsors agreed to fund the project. The opening acts were re-hired and a venue was secured with enough room to safely distance artists and staff. We purchased the necessary equipment and all six Monday night concerts were performed live streamed continuing its 53 year tradition.