Baby Grand Jazz – Double Header

1 p.m., Doors open to the public

2 p.m., Nat Reeves and Friends

3 p.m., Y3W + 1

Nat Reeves is a Hartford treasure. Seriously. For more than 40 years, he has been one of the top bassists in jazz. His supportive and stimulating playing has uplifted a countless number of sessions and recording dates (most notably with the great altoists Jackie McLean and Kenny Garrett), and he has led his own recordings “State of Emergency” and “Blue Ridge.” In 2001 Nat began a full-time teaching career at The Hartt School, Jackie McLean Institute. Although Nat retired from the University in 2021, he continues to perform and teach.

Jordan Young’s Artist Statement: “In my artistic practice, I aim to communicate constructions of illustrations of sonic allusions that challenge literal or figurative archetypes. Through music composition, settings are reimagined, characters are reconstructed, stories are deconstructed and stereotypes are disarmed. Inspirations towards this compositional philosophy include Duke Ellington’s Concert of Sacred Music, Second Sacred Concert, Ornette Coleman’s Law Years, All My Life, Wayne Shorter’s Unknown Soldier, Aung San Suu Kyi, Prometheus Unbound and many more. With this research, I composed the score for the 2022 production of Broken Box Mime Company’s “Asks Why”—a play presenting Critical Race Theory to families.”