Hartford Jazz Society

Blue Lion Trio
2027-02-27 19:00 - 21:00, 2027-03-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2027-03-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2027-03-20 19:00 - 21:00, 2027-03-27 19:00 - 21:00, 2027-04-03 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Open Door Tea, 3552 Main Street, Stratford, CT
Every Saturday
Host & drummer Richard Sylvester has launched a remarkable jazz series (every Saturday!) at this cozy venue

Impossible Music Series
2027-03-15 20:00 - 22:00, 2027-04-19 20:00 - 22:00, 2027-05-17 20:00 - 22:00, 2027-06-21 20:00 - 22:00, 2027-07-19 20:00 - 22:00, 2027-08-16 20:00 - 22:00 | Stella Blues, 204 Crown Street, New Haven
A new series dedicated to unclassifiable, unrepeatable, original, new music in downtown New Haven. Building community in the middle of the city.
Sponsored by the New Haven Improvisers Collective.
The inaugural event this Monday features Brett Bottomley on the Chapman Stick joined by the incredible duo of Chris Morrison and Jamie Finegan. The trio is celebrating the released of a new record – Firehouse Sessions, Songs and Improvisations. Black Iron, with Bob Gorry and Stephen Chillemi is also on the bill, check out their record BLACK IRON.
The second installment, in September, will feature the CD release of RHINOCH, power rhythm trio and a special solo set by Knox Chandler.
8/17
Brett Bottomley / Jamie Finnegan / Chris Morrison (CD release – Firehouse Sessions)
Black Iron (Bob Gorry / Stephen Chillemi)

9/21
RHINOCH (CD Release) Jeff Cedrone / Bob Gorry / Peter Riccio
Knox Chandler (The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Golden Palominos)
8/17
Bottomley/Finegan/Morrison just released a new CD, Firehouse Sessions – Songs and Improvisations. Hypnotic with explorations and grooves.
Brett Bottomley (Chapman Stick) The Stick is a guitar like instrument with 12 strings played by tapping on the fretboard. It has a very wide range from extremely low bass-notes to the more traditional guitar range. Brett is a Berkeley College of Music grad who gives Stick seminars around the country, performs and records a range of music from traditional jazz to progressive rock to the more experimental sounds of electronhic.
Jamie Finegan (keyboards) is a composer and multi instrumentalist playing trumpet and piano and anything else he can get his hands on. His professional playing credits are myriad and diverse having recorded, toured and performed all over the world, with many great jazz and blues artists including: the late, great Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Jim Hall, Geri Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Phil Guy Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, as well as Lucky Peterson, Randy Brecker, Don Braden and many others. Jamie is a long-time a music educator including at Fairfield University.
Chris Morrison (guitar) began performing early on with New Haven, CT jazz organists Richard McCrae, Bobby Buster and Eddie Buster. Chris has been fortunate to record and perform with many wonderful musicians, including saxophonist Andrew Beals, and the legendary guitarist, Joe Diorio, as his guitar duo partner. He was a member of the jazz faculty at Western Connecticut State University for 30 years and continues to play and teach.
Bob Gorry (guitar) is a guitarist/composer/bandleader living in and working out of New Haven, CT where he curates the Impossible Music Series and leads the New Haven Improvisers Collective, a group he founded that is now celebrating 21 years. Other current working bands include GoBruCcio, The Light Upon Blight Ensemble, RHINOCH, and The Roundhouse Quartet. He has performed and recorded with Joe Morris, Stephen Haynes, Butch Morris, Vance Provey, Allen Lowe, Greg Bendian, Albee Balgochian, Adam Matlock, Brett Bottomley, Michael Larocca, and many more.
Stephen Chillemi (drums) – Multi-Instrumentalist and long-time New Haven Avant Garde Torch Bearer from Dr. Dark, Doot, Invisible Them and many more. Has played with everyone and played around the world, from New York to LA to Zappanale in Bad Doberan, Germany.
9/21
Knox Chandler’s career has spanned over four decades, including long stints as a member of The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Cyndi Lauper band, as well as extraordinary experiences in recording and performing live around the world on guitar, bass, and cello. Knox spent a decade residing in Berlin, Germany, while he explored sound-scaping. He developed a technique he calls “Soundribbons”, which he recorded and performed in its own right as well as applying it to different genres and mediums. He composed, recorded, toured, produced, and wrote string arrangements for Herbert Grönemeyer, Jesper Munk, Pure Reason Revolution, The Still, TAU, Miss Kenichi and the Sun, Mars William’s Albert Ayler Xmas, Rita Redshoes, Them There, The Night, etc.
RHINOCH – featuring drastic, fantastic and elastic power trio; krautrock rhythms and skronks. A new CD will be available.
Bob Gorry (bass) is a guitarist/composer/bandleader living in and working out of New Haven, CT where he curates the NHIC New Music series and leads the New Haven Improvisers Collective, a group he founded over 20 years ago. Other current working bands include GoBruCcio, The Light Upon Blight Ensemble, RHINOCH, and The Roundhouse Quartet. He has performed and recorded with Joe Morris, Stephen Haynes, Butch Morris, Vance Provey, Allen Lowe, Greg Bendian, Albee Balgochian, Adam Matlock, Brett Bottomley, Michael Larocca, and many more.
Jeff Cedrone (guitar) is a New Haven-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and prominent figure in the Connecticut avant-garde music scene. Best known as the founder and leader of the experimental jazz collective Light Upon Blight, his work bridges the gaps between free jazz, drone, prog rock, and noise. He has an art rock trio, douxreves, and is a core member of the New Haven Improvisers Collective
Peter Riccio (drums) acquired his first set of drums at the age of eight and has been involved in a constant stream of diverse performing groups and configurations ever since (indie rock, punk, jazz, new music, etc). He studied jazz drums at Berklee College of Music along the way. He has played in punk, indie rock, and jazz groups. Peter also plays rhythm guitar, sings, and writes songs for the Sawtelles and plays drums with Lys Guillorn’s Void Kittens.

New Haven Improvisers Collective workshop
2027-03-29 19:30 - 21:30, 2027-04-26 19:30 - 21:30 | Never Ending Books/Vol. 2, 810 State Street, New Haven, CT
The New Haven Improvisers Collective meets every month to explore the nexus of improvisation across all genres of music. Our workshops are open to anyone who’s interested – from sqronking saxophonists to knob-twisting laptop rockers; our members have improvised on everything from vocals to theremins to African drums (and yes, we actually had these last two jamming together at a workshop – and it was awesome!) The New Haven Improvisers Workshop is a great place to network with like-minded musicians, to test out new composition ideas, and to learn to play your instrument in new ways. We get a few new faces every time, so come on down! You don’t need to be able to read music to be able to play! All you need is a pair of ears and a sense of adventure.
The Collective meets on the last Monday of every month at 810 State St., New Haven, CT.
