With its swinging rhythms and expressive melodies, the timeless allure of jazz has inspired countless generations of jazz lovers and musicians in our state. Important artists like Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Dave Brubeck, Horace Silver, Gigi Gryce, Jackie McLean, Paul Brown, Brad Meldhau, Christian Sands, and many others grew up or made their home here. But the musical impact of the Hartford jazz scene stretches far beyond our state’s borders. You can find Hartford cats playing in the basement and high-class jazz clubs of New York and Brooklyn, the hippest nightspots of LA and Oakland, the elbow-to-elbow jazz clubs of Tokyo and Osaka, and onstage at jazz festivals all across Europe.
This album presents a sampling of some of the great music you can hear in the clubs, concert halls, and stages in our area by this mix of young and seasoned musicians.
The cover artwork selected for this second Hartford Jazz Society album honors one of the most important American painters of the 2oth century, the multifaceted Harlem Renaissance artist, author, and songwriter, Romare Bearden. Romare Bearden was a close personal friend of Jackie and Dolly McLean; two large Bearden murals commissioned by the city of Hartford for the original Hartford Civic Center in 1980. The mural “Untitled” measured 10 by 16 feet and weighs over 500 pounds. Over time, the provenance of these two paintings was lost and when the Civic Center was due for a major renovation in 2014, both paintings were slated for demolition. An astute local architect recognized the importance of these paintings and a hold was put on their demolition. Shortly thereafter, the two paintings were appraised at $4.2M. Both paintings were saved and permanently relocated to the Hartford Public Library for display.
Your purchase of our new album, Straight from the Hart, Vol.2 , as a CD or digital download, helps the Hartford Jazz Society fund our annual Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz series in Bushnell park as well as other concerts during the year. To show your further appreciation of this music, please consider becoming a HJS member. A CD or digital download of the album is included with every new membership. The tracks on both the CD and digital download are CD quality uncompressed audio; an MP3 digital version is also available.
To purchase an individual copy of the CD or a high definition digital download, click the purchase button. You can also order either one by mail by sending a check for $15 to the HJS mailing address at the bottom of this page.
The Tracks
All of the musicians on this recording have deep roots in the Hartford area and across Connecticut. Many have spent their formative musical years as students at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. The music departments of other institutions such as the University of Connecticut, Western CT State University, Wesleyan University, and Yale University are also very active in shaping the next generation of jazz musicians.
The Hartford Jazz Society would like to offer our sincere thanks to these twelve outstanding musicians for their individual contributions to this recording. The Jazz Society also wishes to thank the many other musicians in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts who carry the jazz torch forward and make this region a vibrant and creative place for live music.
About the Album Artwork
Romare Bearden
Recognized as one of the most creative and original visual artists of the twentieth century, Romare Bearden had a prolific and distinguished career and was part of the Harlem Renaissance. He experimented with many different mediums and artistic styles, but is best known for his richly textured collages. An innovative artist with diverse interests, Bearden also designed costumes and sets for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and programs, sets and designs for Nanette Bearden’s Contemporary Dance Theatre. As an African-American artist deeply immersed in the civil rights movement, Bearden became a founding member of the Harlem-based art group known as Spiral.
Bearden’s work is included in many important public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and The Studio Museum in Harlem, among others. (excerpt from Romare Bearden Foundation.)
The Songs and Musicians
The Owl Shop (Joshua Bruneau) (6:33) – Joshua Bruneau Sextet, “Bright Idea”
Virtuoso jazz trumpeter Joshua Bruneau is a New Haven resident who spent ten formative years developing himself and his music at the Owl Shop alongside a cavalcade of brilliant musicians and friends. The Owl Shop’s owner Glen Greenberg gave the musicians room to bring their art and express themselves in any manner they choose.
From Josh Bruneau: “The Owl Shop will remain one of my favorite places on earth. It has now become (to me) a great diamond in the rich history of the New Haven Black American music scene!!”
Joshua Bruneau Sextet:
Joshua Bruneau – Trumpet; Steve Davis – Trombone; Ken Fowser – Tenor Saxophone; Andrew Renfroe – Guitar; Taber Gable – Piano; Matt Dwonszyk – Bass; Jason Tiemann – Drums
Live at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. Produced by Cory Weeds & Josh Bruneau
29 (Jonathan Barber) (6:04) – Jonathan Barber, “Vision Ahead”
Simply put, Jonathan Barber is one of the most in-demand drummers and international touring musicians on the jazz scene today. Even at a young age growing up in Hartford, his rhythmic sophistication, dynamic range, fluid style, and swinging groove were apparent to all who heard him play. Mr. Barber has performed with many of the best, including Pat Metheny, Nicholas Payton, Terrace Martin, Steve Davis, Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern, Terrence Blanchard, Christian Sands, Gretchen Parlato, Erykah Badu, Kurt Elling, Stanley Jordan, and many more.
As a composer, Mr. Barber wrote the tune “29” to celebrate his journey and development that he had made in his 20s. From his perspective, this composition allows him to be rhythmically expressive while sitting comfortably in the groove.
Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead:
Jonathan Barber – Drums, Vocals; Taber Gable – Piano; Andrew Renfroe – Guitar; Godwin Louis – Alto Saxophone; Matt Dwonszyk – Acoustic Bass
Recorded at Big Orange Sheep New York, NY. Producer- Jonathan Barber; Mix and Mastering- Drew ofthe Drew; Engineer- Micheal Perez-Cisneros
The Jody Grind (Horace Silver) (4:39) – Ed Fast & Conga Bop, “Do or Die”
As the percussion playing leader of Conga-Bop, the energetic, hard-swinging Latin jazz ensemble, Ed Fast has become a celebrated figure across Connecticut and beyond. His lifelong interest in Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz began early on while still in high school. He first heard the infectious beat of a great conguero while walking down a back street in New London and was hooked for life.
As a graduate of the Hartt School, he studied with the legendary percussionist Alexander Lepak who encouraged him to master many diverse styles of music and percussion. To highlight this point, Mr. Fast is right at home sitting-in with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, touring with premier Broadway road shows throughout the US, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea, or gigging in backup bands at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun accompanying big-name, casino favorites like Aretha Franklin and Paul Anka.
This selection from Ed Fast & Conga Bop, “The Jody Grind”, is a Latin-infused version of the classic Horace Silver composition and features the tight front line of Josh Bruneau, Chris Herbert, and Steve Davis.
Ed Fast & Conga Bop
Ed Fast – drums and percussion; Josh Bruneau – trumpet; Chris Herbert, – tenor saxophone; Steve Davis – trombone; Rich Goldstein – guitar; Sam Parker – piano; Matt Dwonszyk – bass; Jorge Fuentes – congas. Arranged by Ed Fast.
Blue Ridge (Nat Reeves) (9:21) – Nat Reeves, “Blue Ridge”, State of Emergency Band
Bassist Nat Reeves is noted among his fellow musicians and the jazz cognoscenti as a man with an impeccable sense of time. His musical biography reads like a veritable “Who’s Who” in jazz, having played with the likes of Jackie McLean, Kenny Garrett, Sonny Stitt, Pharoah Sanders, Curtis Fuller, Harold Mabern, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Dexter Gordon, and Hank Jones, to name but a few. For the majority of his career, he was an important and much loved Professor of Jazz studies at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz.
Never one to forget his boyhood roots in Virginia, Mr. Reeves writes of this song: “Blue Ridge is a composition that I had in mind for many years. It is inspired by my love for the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, where I spent most of my time growing up. The State of Emergency Band is an inspiring combination of musicians, all involved in Hartford and the University of Hartford, Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz.”
State of Emergency Band
Nat Reeves – bass; Josh Bruneau – trumpet; Steve Davis – trombone; Rick Germanson – piano; Sarah Hanahan – alto saxophone; Eric McPherson – drums
Recorded live at The Cutting Room, NYC, November 12, 2021
Get By (Jesse Combs & Erica Tracy) (5:14) – West End Blend, “Rewind”
“West End Blend sounds like the funk giants mentioned earlier (George Clinton, Earth Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang), but it’s closer in spirit to the more recent acid jazz: the Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, Digable Planets and others, who pull together various strains of funk, soul, hip-hop and jazz.” – Mike Hamad, Hartford Courant. Get By is a track written by guitarist Jesse Combs with lyrics written by vocalist Erica Tracy and MC Tangsauce. The song features the band’s pop-oriented side of their songwriting style and has since evolved into a completely new arrangement when performed live. The formal jazz training of many of the band members is evident throughout their high energy performances, especially in their funky horn arrangements.
Erica Tracy (Bryan) Sullivan – vox; Michael Bafundo – trumpet and vox; John Mundy – trombone; Tom Sullivan – bass; Sam Horan – drums; Paul Phillipone – keys; Jesse Combs – guitar; Mike DiPanfilo – guitar
Recorded at TELEFUNKEN STUDIOS, South Windsor, CT. Recording Engineer and Producer, Brendan Morawski.
Circle House (Kris Allen) (5:51) – Kris Allen, “Circle House”
“Circle House” was the first track ( and title track ) of Kris Allen’s first album as a band leader and one of the very first (001!) recordings in the ever-expanding Truth Revolutions Recording Collective Catalog. In addition to his work as a saxophonist and composer, Mr. Allen is a dedicated educator, currently the Lyell B. Clay Artist Artist-In-Residence in Jazz at Williams College. Kris’ most recent 2022 album “June” received 4.5 stars from Downbeat Magazine and was cited for its “subtlety, suppleness and sense of urgency”.
“Circle House is a reference to the “Round Home”- a facility built in the Philippines by the modern abolitionist group Love 146 to house children who had been rescued from human trafficking and slavery.
Kris Allen – alto saxophone; Zaccai Curtis – piano; Luques Curtis – bass; Eric McPherson – drums
Recorded at Bennet Media Studios, NY. Recording Engineer and Producer, Brendan Morawski.
Caravan (Juan Tizol) (3:38) – Matt DeChamplain, “Stride-Bop”, Solo Piano
Inspired by the music of piano legends Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller, Dave McKenna, Dave Brubeck, and many others, Matt DeChamplain’s “Stride-Bop” solo piano album is a fresh interpretation of some classic jazz tunes that date as far back as 1915. Mr. DeChamplain studied with the great Dr. Billy Taylor and has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Berks Jazz Festival, New York’s JVC Jazz Festival, the Berklee Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Internationally, Mr. DeChamplain was a semifinalist in the Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition in Paris, France. His Latin-infused performance of the timeless Juan Tizol tune “Caravan” gives modern listeners a glimpse into the depth, sophistication, and rhythmic musicality of 1920s stride piano at its best.
Matt DeChamplain – piano
Recorded at Black Bear Studio, Bloomfield, CT.
I’ll Get Back to You Tomorrow (Francis Rodriguez) (4:49) – The Latin Heartbeat Orchestra, “El Camino”
The Latin Heartbeat Orchestra is New England’s Premiere Salsa Ensemble. From bandleader William Mendoza: “The track was created in memory of a dear friend who was a radio host for 25 years WWUH (Super Sabado Radio Show). Our friend developed stage 4 pancreatic cancer and succumbed to the disease in 2020 and during a gathering to say goodbye to our friend I turned to him and said, Mike I am going to immortalize your name, if you were to produce a Latin Jazz track how would you go about it? He answered I don’t know man, I said OK, how about Caribbean Jazz Project horn lines? He said that would be cool, but it has to have swing I countered, and he answered I love it. What would you call it, and at that precise moment he got a jolt of pain and teary eyed he said “Can I get Back To you Tomorrow? And I countered, we have a title. Mike passed three days later and never got a chance to hear what we created, but if you pay close attention at the end of the track you will hear our friend Mike Abreu bidding farewell. Rest easy my friend!!!”
The Latin Heartbeat Orchestra
Nicky Laboy – Batás; Eddie Montalvo – Conga; Orestes Abrantes – Timbal/Bongo; Ray Martinez – Bass; Adan Perez – Piano; Charlie Garcia – Trombones; Jonathan Powell – Trumpets; Ivan Renta – Baritone Sax; Francis Rodriguez – Composer/Arranger; Producer – Charlie Garcia; Executive Producer – William Mendoza
Jeannine (Duke Pearson) (7:06) – The New England Jazz Ensemble, “It’s a Grand Night for Swinging”
This version of the great Duke Pearson standard “Jeannine” was arranged by Walt Gwardyak and features the vocals and scat singing of the great Giacomo Gates. The New England Jazz Ensemble is a large jazz orchestra comprised of regionally based artists with a mission to perpetuate the uniquely American large jazz ensemble as an art medium. They’re equally at home with a wide range of jazz styles, including big band jazz, bebop, blue, salsa, and cool jazz. While often performing standards from the jazz repertoire, they’ve been known to tackle the classical realms as well, as with their well-received commissioned foray into Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale, “Peter and the Wolf”.
The New England Jazz Ensemble
Guests: Giacomo Gates – vocals; John Abercrombie – guitar; Ali Ryerson – flute; Walt Gwardyak – arrangement
Reeds: John Mastroianni – saxophone; Bob DePalma – saxophone; Mike Leventhal – saxophone; Larry Dvorin – saxophone; Lisa Ladone – baritone saxophone
Brass: Jeff Holms – trumpet; Steve Fitzko – trumpet; Phil Person – trumpet; Hank Zorn – trumpet; Tim Atherton – trombone
Rhythm: Walt Gwardyak – piano; Steve Bulmer – bass; Jon Mele – drums
Recorded live at the Polish American Home, Hartford, CT
La Source (Jocelyn Pleasant) (6:51) – The Lost Tribe
Composed by the outstanding drummer, percussionist, and ethno-musicologist Jocelyn Pleasant, “La Source” is a song about the importance of being grounded, being home: “Go back to Black. Go back, I’m home. Like the womb, the breath, the pulse of the water. I am home. Ancestral roots and power.” Additionally, the underlying track of the song layers different West African instruments such as the sangban and the gyil. The gyil (pronounced JEE-lee), a xylophone of the Dagara people of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast with strong spiritual connections, figures prominently throughout this song.
The Lost Tribe
Jocelyn Pleasant – percussion, loops, SPD pad; I-SHEA – lyrics, vocals & shekere; Joel Hewitt – bass; Michael Carabello – keyboard; Karim Rome – tenor sax; Nathan Davis – trombone; Asaad Jackson – dundun & kenkeni. With special guest Damian Curtis – Fender Rhodes. Additional parts by Dylan McDonnell – flute; Douglas Wilson III – guitar
Recorded Live at Parkville Sounds, Hartford CT (July 2022) by Steve Cusano. Mixed by Marc Wager Weisgal at Roxbury Station, Roxbury CT
Dula (Andrew Renfroe) (5:06) – Andrew Renfroe
Now an in-demand bandleader, sideman, and touring musician based out of Los Angeles, guitarist Andrew Renfroe spent four of his most musically formative years at Hartford’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz before furthering his education at The Julliard School in New York. His uniquely innovative guitar playing draws from a diverse source of musical inspirations, including the John Coltrane Quartet, the Delta Blues of Son House, and the traditional music from Burkina Faso and Mali in West Africa.
Mr. Renfroe’s original composition “Dula” is a love song based on the changes to Neil Heftis “Girl Talk”.
Andrew Renfroe – Guitar; Braxton Cook – Alto Saxophone; Taber Gable – Piano; Rick Rosato – Bass; Curtis Nowosad – Drums and Electronic Drums
Recorded live at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, NY in Jan 2020.
Blue Nile (Alice Coltrane) (5:06) – Brandee Younger, “Soul Awakening”
Brandee Younger’s genre-bending talents as a gifted harpist and composer know no limits. She has almost single-handedly reinvigorated the harp as a important jazz instrument, picking up the tradition where legends like Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby left off. A 2021 Grammy Award nominee, her musical interests span the gamut from straight-ahead jazz to neo-soul, pop, hip-hop, classical, and much more. She is equally at home playing with the likes of Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Jack Dejohnette, and Charlie Haden as she is grooving with popular artists like Common, John Legend, The Roots and Lauryn Hill.
Originally recorded in 2013 and released on her much heralded album “Soul Awakending” in 2019, her contribution to this HJS recording is the evocative and atmospheric Alice Coltrane composition, “Blue Nile”. Bassist and Hartford native Dezron Douglas adds a richly expressive bass accompaniment to this fine recording.
Brandee Younger – concert harp; Dezron Douglas – bass; EJ Strickland – drums; Stacy Dillard – soprano sax; Antoine Roney – tenor sax
Recorded at The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, NY and Tedesco Studios, Paramus, NJ. Produced by Dezron Douglas
Special thanks go out to the talented graphic designer, Eduardo Barrios at Barrios Cre8tive (https://barrioscre8tive.com) for the album design and to jazz writer Ken Laster (WWUH radio, “In the Groove” podcast, and AllAboutJazz contributor) for their help in making this album possible. Produced by Sherm Schlar.