The tone was cool and soulful at Monday Night Jazz under cloudy skies and jacket-weather temperatures. For saxophone lovers, the first half of the evening showcased the instrument’s tonal diversity, with the Kris Allen Quartet’s original compositions centering around the interplay of two saxophones. Playing selections from the recently released album, “Beloved,” the Quartet featured tenor [...]
If Monday night in Hartford wasn’t sultry enough, Latin jazz rhythms turned up the heat in Bushnell Park for another very large and musically enthused crowd. Starting with Heshima Moja and Ofrecimiento’s “Afro Cuban Blues,” featuring Moja scat singing against the beat of David Allen Rivera’s conga drumming, the African and Caribbean influences were infectious. [...]
The purpose of this post is to illuminate the contributions of Native Americans—present and past—to the art form we love: Jazz. This is an important subject that has not been given adequate attention in the published jazz histories we are most familiar with. Yet, as the sources below make evident, these contributions have been authoritatively [...]
In an editorial in the Hartford Courant on July 14, 2017, an unnamed reporter questioned our city's motto: "Hartford Has It". It's a motto that poses the question "Has What?" It brings to light that Hartford is a city that is searching for it's identity. The article goes on to point out our popular jazz [...]
by Lisa A. Chase photos Maurice D. Robertson Kitty Katherine Paul Brown must have been smiling down on Bushnell Park as Kitty Kathryn and the Paul Brown Tribute Ensemble kicked off the Monday Night Jazz Series’ 50th anniversary celebration. Accompanied by Norman Gage on baritone sax, Alex Nakhimovsky at the piano, James Daggs [...]
Welcome to the Hartford Jazz Society Blog. Members of the Hartford Jazz Society are invited to contribute to this website through our blog. We are looking for articles about jazz music, history and art. Of particular interest are local concert and album reviews and articles about local jazz musicians from the Greater Hartford area. If you [...]