Hartford Jazz Orchestra
2026-03-30 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-04-06 19:30 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Elicit Brewery, 165 Adams Street, Manchester, CT
Every Monday at Elicit Brewery in Manchester CT. No cover.

Michael Palin's Other Orchestra
2026-03-31 20:00 - 22:00, 2026-04-07 20:00 - 22:00 | The Hungry Tiger, 120 Charter Oak Street, Manchester, CT
It’s a funky Big Band thang, a large jazz ensemble that rocks the house. Playing music from Tower of Power, Frank Zappa, The Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorious, Steely Dan, The Yellow Jackets, Bob Berg…..You’ll want to see them again and again!
https://www.facebook.com/OtherOrchestra/

Black Eyed Sally’s Jazz Jam - Matt Dwonszyk CD Release concert
2026-04-01 19:00 - 22:00 | Black-eyed Sally’s Southern Kitchen & Bar, 350 Asylum St., Hartford, CT, 06103
Located in downtown Hartford, for the aficionado, musician, or the curious first-timer, Black Eyed Sally’s Jazz Jams are the best taste of live jazz in Hartford. Set in the southern juke joint atmosphere of Black-eyed Sally’s, these jam sessions will strike a chord as you hear what our local talent has to offer, with regular special appearances by big city jazz names. Experience the cool original music of the jam session while you enjoy the hot fierce cookin’ of Hartford’s favorite BBQ joint.
After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, regularly scheduled jazz jams have returned to Black Eyed Sally’s every Wednesday. There will be a featured jazz ensemble followed by an open jam session. Bring your axe and be ready to jam!
The music begins at 7:00 PM, jam session begins after 1st set. No cover charge most nights, under 21’s welcome.
Presented by the Hartford Jazz Society and Neefjazz Entertainment

Marilyn Crispell/Harvey Sorgen Duo
2026-04-02 19:30 - 21:30 | Institute for the Musical Arts, 165 Cape Street, Goshen, MA, 01032, United States
Marilyn Crispell (piano), Harvey Sorgen (drums)
Marilyn Crispell is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music where she studied classical piano and composition, and has been a resident of Woodstock, New York since 1977 when she came to study and teach at the Creative Music Studio. She discovered jazz through the music of John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor and other contemporary jazz players and composers. For ten years she was a member of the Anthony Braxton Quartet and the Reggie Workman Ensemble and has been a member of the Barry Guy New Orchestra and guest with his London Jazz Composers Orchestra, as well as a member of the Henry Grimes Trio, Tiszigi Munoz Ensemble, and Quartet Noir (with Urs Leimgruber, Fritz Hauser and Joelle Leandre).
Currently she is touring and recording with two different trios: Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry (with Carmen Castaldi) and the Dreamstruck Trio with Harvey Sorgen and Joe Fonda. She also plays with Scottish saxophonist Raymond MacDonald and the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. She has collaborated with Angelica Sanchez, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Tyshawn Sorey, David Rothenberg and others. Besides working as a soloist and leader of her own groups (including trios with Gary Peaccok or Mark Helias and Paul Motian), Crispell has performed and recorded extensively with well-known players on the American and international jazz scene. She’s also performed and recorded music by contemporary composers Robert Cogan, Pozzi Escot, John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Manfred Niehaus and Anthony Davis (including four performances of his opera “X” with the New York City Opera in 1986). She is a 2025 NEA Jazz Master.
Woodstock-based drummer/composer Harvey Sorgen has lived a hundred lifetimes in one. Sorgen has drummed with such greats as Ahmad Jamal, Bill Frisell, Paul Simon, Derek Trucks, and his longtime gig Hot Tuna, and he’s also worked as an engineer and clinician. Upcoming records with Katie Bull, MaMuGe 3, the Fonda/Stevens Group, Black Dog Trio, and his own Sorgen/Rust/ Windbiel Trio attest to his versatility and seriously swinging, slightly abstract style. Sorgen says listening beyond the drums is the key to being a player other musicians want to work with. “Listen to the rhythm of everybody else in the band,” he advises. “It’s really about the way the other musicians are playing. Their rhythms and dynamics will help dictate your rhythms and dynamics and make it feel natural.”
Their new release, Forest, has been released on Fundacja Shuchaj.

Fridays with Frank
2026-04-03 17:15 - 19:00, 2026-04-10 17:15 - 19:00 | Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT
Join renowned jazz historian and Jazz Haven Board member Frank Cochran for BYOB “Fridays with Frank.” Happy Hour jazz listening sessions are held every Friday from 5:15 to 7:00 pm at the Institute Library in downtown New Haven. Each Friday Frank selects iconic jazz LPs to play from the Library’s extensive collection. Discussion follows. BYOB and please give a modest donation towards the IL’s spiraling utilities. A $5.00 contribution is welcome.

Jazz at Three Sheets
2026-04-03 18:00 - 21:00 | Three Sheets, 372 Elm Street, New Haven, CT
New England Jazz Underground presents jazz on the 1st and 3rd Friday every month.

Diana Krall
2026-04-03 20:00 - 22:00 | Palace Theater – Waterbury, 100 East Main St, Waterbury, CT
Diana Krall is the only jazz singer to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. To date, her albums have garnered two Grammy® Awards, ten Juno® Awards and have also earned nine gold, three platinum and seven multi-platinum albums. Krall’s unique artistry transcends any single musical style and has made her one of the most recognizable artists of our time. As The New York Times recently noted Krall possesses, “A voice at once cool and sultry, wielded with a rhythmic sophistication.” Born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, which is outside of Vancouver, Krall grew up in the western part of Canada and began studying the piano when she was four years old. By the time she was 15, she was performing jazz locally and with the encouragement of her father, a stride pianist with a vast knowledge of such Twenties and Thirties keyboard masters as Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and Earl Hines, she devoted herself to music. “I think Dad had every recording Fats Waller ever made,” she says, “and I tried to learn as many as I could.”
Diana Krall’s recordings have been included in several film soundtracks, and she has expanded upon her role as a performer to include songwriting, producing and arranging and has brought her talents to collaborate with many other artists including Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, and Tony Bennett. She tours extensively around the globe to sold out audiences, appearing at premiere jazz festivals and concert halls throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

The Makanda Project
2026-04-03 20:00 - 22:30 | Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, United States
Join us for a special night of jazz with The Makanda Project!
Kurtis Rivers · Saxophone
Seth Meicht · Saxophone
Sean Berry · Saxophone
Temidayo Balogun · Saxophone
Charlie Kohlhase · Saxophone
Jerry Sabatini · Trumpet
Haneef Nelson · Trumpet
Alfred Patterson · Trombone
Richard Harper · Trombone
Bill Lowe · Trombone
John Kordalewski · Piano
Avery Sharpe · Bass
Yoron Israel · Drums
The Makanda Project was started in 2005 as an effort to explore the previously unrecorded compositions of Makanda Ken McIntyre (1931-2001). Twenty years and over 250 performances later, the 13 musicians in the group are still moved by the challenges and opportunites this music presents. Leader and pianist John Kordalewski, a former McIntyre student, has arranged over 60 McIntyre compositions for the group’s 10-member horn section. Especially given that there is no record of Dr. McIntyre having performed these pieces, the Makanda Project differs from those repertory groups whose function is largely to re-create sounds or styles from the past. Rather, the McIntyre compositions have been a vehicle for the group to develop its own sound and identity.
The Makanda Project has established a presence on the Boston jazz scene through their ongoing series of self-produced free concerts in low-income neighborhoods. These concerts are unique in the Boston area both as a platform for creative music and as community events. They tale place throughout the year and have attracted a large and still-growing following.
The band has also collaborated with renowned guest musicians such as Oliver Lake, Chreles Tolliver, Chico Freeman, Ricky Ford, Feya Faku, Michael Gregory Jackson, and Craig Harris, as well as with poet Askia Toure and dancer/choreographer Mickey Davidson. These collaborations often involve the guests’ compositions. The Makanda Project has also performed at East Coast locations from Washington DC to Maine, in the Midwest, and in Europe. This will be their second appearance at the Side Door.
The individual members are Kurtis Rivers, Seth Meicht, Sean Berry, Temidayo Balogun, and Charlie Kohlhase (saxophones), Jerry Sabatini and Haneef Nelson (trumpets), Alfred Patterson, Richard Harper, and Bill Lowe (trombones), John Kordalewski (piano), Avery Sharpe (bass), and Yoron Israel (drums).

Firehouse 12 Spring Jazz Series
2026-04-03 20:30 - 23:30, 2026-04-10 20:30 - 23:30 | Firehouse 12, 45 Crown Street, New Haven, CT
Performances are on Friday nights at 8:30pm and 10:00pm. Tickets for each performance can be purchased individually, with prices at $20 for our early shows and $15 for our late shows. Our Season Pass is available for $225, which provides 1 ticket to all sets of the 13 performances.
The complete season calendar can be viewed here.
March 20: GEORGE
March 27: Dave Fiuczynski’s KiF
April 3: Sun of Goldfinger
April 10: Amanda Monaco’s Deathblow
April 17: Caroline Davis, Solo
April 24: David Berkman Quartet
May 1: Mary Halvorson: Canis Major
May 8: Anna Badkhen Dezron Douglas Duo
May 15: Jerome Sabbagh Quartet
May 22: Allison, Cardenas & Nash
May 29: Marta Sanchez (Solo Piano)
June 5: Max Johnson Sextet
June 12: Curtis Hasselbring’s The Curhachestra
All 13 shows are on sale now at firehouse12.com. Tickets are $20 for the 8:30pm performance and $15 for 10:00pm. The complete Season Pass is $225. All tickets can be purchased online or, subject to availability, at the box office on the night of the show.

Jazz Jam at Cafe Nine
2026-04-04 16:00 - 19:00, 2026-04-11 16:00 - 19:00 | CT
Every Saturday, 4-7

Bob Ahern Quartet
2026-04-04 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-11 18:00 - 21:00 | Lighthouse Inn, 6 Guthrie Pl, New London, CT
The Bob Ahern Quartet will be performing the last Saturday of each month at the legendary Lighthouse Inn from 6-9. The group features Lisa Marien on vocals and Bob Ahern on drums along with various Jazz artists each month.

Blue Lion Trio
2026-04-04 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-11 19:00 - 21:00 | 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

Michelle Walker Quartet
2026-04-04 20:00 - 22:30 | Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, United States
Join us for a special night of jazz with Vocalist Michelle Walker and her Quartet!

Armed with a provocative, whiskey-soaked tone, jazz vocalist Michelle Walker is a charismatic singer that uses an artful blend of blues, bebop, swing and soul with playful rhythmic expressiveness. Based in New York City, she bends the lines and pushes the boundaries of jazz vocal art. With rich colors and adventurous flexibility, she moves easily from a dark, deep tone to a mid-range, swinging lilt. Michelle is very versatile and blessed with a beautifully distinctive voice. Her artful arrangements are garnishing her critical praise. In her upcoming release, Love Misery, Michelle brings together a collection of jazz standards, original songs and her arrangements of pop tunes that thematically chronicles a love affair. This latest recording project features Joel Frahm on sax, Ron Affif on guitar, Toru Dodo on piano, Michael O’Brien on bass and Willard Dyson on drums. Additional highlights of her career include multiple tours in Europe, performing in the Lincoln Center Women in Jazz Festival, touring with jazz vocal legend Mark Murphy and performing at the White House for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. Dave Nathan at AllAboutJazz.com says, “Walker demonstrates an extraordinary degree of musicality…” Michelle is often compared to Cassandra Wilson, Nina Simone and Betty Carter in style and tone but has develop her own unique sound and singular voice.
It is easy to see why this is looking to become a breakout year for Walker. In early 2016, she performed at the JAVA JAZZ FESTIVAL in Jakarta, Indonesia headlining the festival with Kurt Elling, Monty Alexander, Patti Austin, Chris Botti, Sting, Robin Thicke and more. She then went on to tour in Asia which included performing debut concerts in Kazakhstan and Thailand. Michelle has also headlined the Belarus International Jazz Festival in the city of Minsk on the same bill as Vocal group TAKE 6, The Silver Spring Jazz Festival with Wynton Marsalis and Spyro Gyro, The Lincoln Center Women in Jazz Festival and the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival which featured George Benson. Throughout 2015 & 2016, she completed a 30 city extraordinary tour in Russia performing at many Philharmonic Concert Halls around the country. The uniqueness of Walker is found her shifting, rhythmic, lyrical phrasing and her revived, unexpected arrangements of standard songs. Mike Joyce of the Washington Post says, “[Walker]…has a soul-comforting allure.” Michelle has performed in concert with noted jazz musicians Joel Frahm, Ron Affif, Dan Tepfer, Robert Rodriguez, Benito Gonzales, Matt Wilson, Klaus Mueller, Boris Kozlov, E.J. Strickland, Helen Sung, Ben Monder and Yotam Silberstein.
Michelle studied classical voice at the University of Maryland and also studied at the Amsterdam Music Conservatory in Holland and the Stanford Jazz in Palo Alto, CA. Michelle was the first vocalist asked to perform at the “Hot Jazz” Concert Series which featured jazz veterans Kenny Werner, Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, David Hazeltine and Jimmy Greene. Walker has performed throughout US, Canada, Russia, Israel England, Holland and most recently at Blues Alley and The Black Rock Performing Arts Center outside Washington, DC where she helped kick off the jazz concert season which has featured Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut and Ravi Coltrane.
Her debut recording, Slow Down, was released with critical acclaim. The recording received a Washington Area Musician Association (WAMA) Award nomination for Best Jazz and Debut Album of the year and also a national nomination for Best Independent Jazz Vocal album of the year. Walker spent the first years of her career working as a full-time vocalist in the Washington, DC area before she moved to New York City, where she currently resides and performs. While living in the DC area, the Washington Post placed her several times on its Top Ten Area Performers to see perform live. Michelle served on the 2003-2005 Executive Board for the DC Chapter of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE).

Dr. G’s Jazz Brunch
2026-04-05 12:00 - 15:00 | Quattro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar, 14 Water Street, Guilford, CT
Dr. G’s Jazz Brunch held on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays from 12pm (noon) until 3pm at Quattro’s Italian Restaurant:

All events will also include jazz masters Jeff Fuller on bass and Barry Ries on drums &/or trumpet. “Dr. G” will provide guitar accompaniment.

Tuxedo Junction
2026-04-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Guilford VFW Post 9666, 104 Mill Road, Guilford, CT
For over 24 years, hosting public rehearsals every Monday night, now at Guilford VFW Post 7666.
Tuxedo Junction was started in 1989 by Pete Jacobs (trumpet) and Will Tayler (drums), WWII veterans who set up an 8-piece Dixieland jazz band in the basement of the senior citizens center in Madison, CT. Pat soon joined on piano.
The band quickly grew into a full swing band as Pete added big band arrangements and people joined: everyone from high school students to retired music teachers started to fill out the sections. Tuxedo Junction moved its practice home to the Westbrook Elks briefly, and in 1997 Paul James suggested that Bill’s Seafood restaurant in Westbrook would be a great place to share the sounds of swing. After more than 20 years of Monday nights at Bill’s, originally outnumbering the customers and staff before turning it into the most happening place on the Shoreline for a Monday night, we moved outside to Town Greens, Overlook Farm in Killingworth, and the Guilford VFW.
Tuxedo Junction plays original big band arrangements from the 30’s through the present, including charts from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Sy Zentner, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. We focus on danceable tunes from swing to waltz, foxtrot to two-step, Latin and even some rock. The band has weekly open rehearsals at local venues on the Eastern Connecticut shoreline. The public is invited to dance and listen in at no charge. We are also available for hire at public and private events throughout Connecticut.
After more than 1,001 performances, Tuxedo Junction has become a musical success story. We are now eighteen passionate musicians, men and women of all ages, following the great jazz tradition and warmly welcoming visiting jazz musicians to sit in.

New Haven Improvisers Collective
2026-04-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Ely Center of Contemporary Art, 51 Trumbull St, New Haven, CT
Knox Chandler and Bob Gorry – Guitar Duo
GoBruCcio (Gorry/Brunelli/RIccio)
COMBO NHIC

If you’d like to be part of COMBO NHIC, get there and be ready by 7pm. It would be great to have you as part of it. Music will start promptly.
Free parking lot across the street.
Next Workshop is scheduled for Monday April 27th at the Sandbox.

Jazz & Justice Suite: A Multi-Movement Declaration
2026-04-07 20:00 - 22:00 | von der Mehden Recital Hall – UConn, 875 Coventry Road, Storrs, CT, 06269
The UConn jazz faculty present a completely new body of work, called the Jazz & Justice Suite.

“Jazz & Justice Suite: A Declaration in Seven Movements is an original jazz suite composed and performed by UConn Jazz faculty. This powerful artistic statement explores human rights through music, with each movement inspired by an article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and honoring a historical figure or movement. “

“Through composition, narration, and improvisation, each piece interprets a specific human rights issue—from racial justice and political participation to gender equality, environmental advocacy, and the right to education. This suite responds musically to the call for justice, offering a deeply personal, expressive, and intellectually compelling experience.”

$15 General Admission / FREE for UConn Students & Faculty

Jazz & Justice Suite: A Multi-Movement Declaration
by UConn Jazz Faculty:
Leala Cyr – voice
John Mastroianni – saxophone, clarinet, flute
Louis Hanzlik – trumpet
Evan Gray – trombone
Scott Sasanecki – guitar
Earl MacDonald – piano
Steven Bulmer – string bass
Jonathan Barber – drum set

Movements:

“No Exceptions”
Composer: Earl MacDonald
UDHR Article: Article 7 – “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.”
Inspiration: Racial justice and civil rights struggles in the United States, past and present, honoring the legacy and ongoing fight for equal protection under the law.
“Malala’s Call”
Composer: John Mastroianni
UDHR Article: Article 26 – “Everyone has the right to education.” Inspiration: Malala Yousafzai, global girls’ education advocacy.
“Si Se Puede”
Composer: Evan Gray
UDHR Article: Article 23 – “Everyone has the right to work under fair conditions, with equal pay for equal work, and to form and join trade unions.”
Inspiration: Dolores Huerta and Labor Rights
“We Are”
Composer: Leala Cyr
UDHR Article: Article 27 – “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts…”Inspiration: Women’s rights; women in jazz and the arts

“Iron Curtain Blues”
Composer: Earl MacDonald
UDHR Article: Article 21 – “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.”
Inspiration: The erosion of democratic processes and authoritarian crackdowns on elections around the world; the fragility of participatory government in an era of political polarization and power consolidation.
“Waltz Gaiabetic”
Composer: Steven Bulmer
UDHR Article: Article 29 – “Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.”
Inspiration: Environmental advocacy / Wangari Maathai and her Green Belt movement.
“Declaration (Redux)”
Composer: Earl MacDonald
UDHR Article: Article 30 – “Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group, or person any right to engage in any activity aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.”
Inspiration: The human cost of war and conflict, including the invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing U.S.– Iran conflict, reflecting on accountability, geopolitical upheaval, and the fragility of human rights enforcement worldwide.

Black Eyed Sally’s Jazz Jam - Hall High School Combo 1 & Second Sphere under the direction of Nathan Edwards
2026-04-08 19:00 - 22:00 | Black-eyed Sally’s Southern Kitchen & Bar, 350 Asylum St., Hartford, CT, 06103

Lucía
2026-04-09 20:00 - 22:00 | The Drake, 44 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA
In 2022, then twenty-three-year-old singer Lucía was a finalist at the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
The Veracruz native also was the first Mexican artist to enter the contest. For her performance in the final round, Lucía chose a standard that reflected her musical sensibility, influenced equally by the beauty of jazz and the Latin American songbook.
“We played ‘What a Difference a Day Makes,’ which was popularized by Dinah Washington, but in its initial incarnation was a bolero written in Spanish by María Grever,” she says from her home in New York City. “We started it as a jazz ballad in English, then switched to Spanish and added some zapateado dancing.”
Lucía won the competition. And the fact that she did it with such a soulful, multicultural rendition of a jazz standard marked her arrival on the music scene. Lucía’s gorgeous rendition of the standard now opens her self-titled debut album. It’s also a fixture of her live sets, anchoring performances filled with numbers in which Lucía deftly and gorgeously blends jazz, Latin, and pop music. Be with us as Lucía brings our Next50 series to a magnificent close in the intimate setting of The Drake.
Total price starts at: $35.00.
Total price for youth 17 and under and Five College students starts at: $20.00.

Tony Vacca and Fusion Nomads
2026-04-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA
With John Isaac Sheldon, Chris Devine, Chuck Langford, Jo Sallins, and special guest, Senegalese master of the talking drum, Massamba Diop.
From Tony: I love working with this group of committed co-conspirators in our adventurous World Fusion Music. And our special guest, MASSAMBA DIOP, has been the talking drum player for Baaba Maal’s world famous band for 3 decades, and the lead drummer in both The Black Panther soundtracks.

Blues on the Corner: McCoy Tyner Legacy Band
2026-04-10 20:00 - 22:30 | Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, United States
Join us for a special night of jazz with the McCoy Tyner Legacy Band!
Francisco Mela – Drums and bandleader
Nat Reeves – Bass
Benito Gonzalez – Piano
George Garzone (special guest) – Tenor Saxophone
Blues on the Corner: McCoy Tyner Legacy BandDon’t miss world-renowned drummer and former McCoy Tyner sideman Francisco Mela as he leads this all-star tribute to his legendary mentor and former bandleader.Joining him is Venezuelan-American pianist Benito Gonzalez, widely hailed as the torchbearer for McCoy’s hard-driving yet lyrical style. Acclaimed bassist and Hartt School Professor Nat Reeves anchors the rhythm section. Tenor saxophone titan George Garzone will be a featured guest, heard here like never before.Produced by New England Jazz Collaborative, whose work has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition and in The Boston Globe.“[Francisco] Mela is just a fantastic player. He has his own style and his own sound, which is what I look for in a drummer.”— McCoy Tyner“Fans and critics of pianist Benito Gonzalez agree: He’s a Latin McCoy Tyner.”— Michael J. West, JazzTimes“I’m not the master of the sax, George Garzone is.”— Michael Brecker

Anders Nilsson’s Hesa Gun
2026-04-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Holyoke Media, 1 Court Plaza, Holyoke, MA
Anders Nilsson (guitar), Sam Kulik (trombone), David Ambrosio (bass), Vinnie Sperrazza (drums)
“Swedish-born and New York-based experimental guitarist Anders Nilsson produces music that is at once bracingly direct and utterly unclassifiable.” – Matt Miller
As an electric, acoustic, and 11-string alto guitarist, he has performed at festivals and concerts throughout Europe and North America. His solo guitar music is featured on the albums Night Guitar (2012) and Äventyr (2022). His own band Hesa Gun features his own compositions together with Sam Kulik – trombone, David Ambrosio- bass, Vinnie Sperazza – drums. He plays on over 40 albums and has performed and/or recorded with many artists such as Mohsen Namjoo, Gordon Beeferman, Jason Kao Hwang, Kalabalik, Paquito D’Rivera, Elliott Sharp, Fay Victor, and Angelblood. Nilsson’s work as a composer has produced 100+ compositions ranging from brief to epic solo works to large experimental ensemble works, many of which have been released on several acclaimed albums. He has also written music for string quartet, short films, butoh dance performances and theatre.
American musician Sam Kulik was born in western Massachusetts, but moved to Ohio in 2000 to study at Oberlin College. Upon moving to New York City in 2004, he quickly established himself among the city’s improvisational music scene, volunteering at John Zorn’s venue The Stone, and collaborating with experimental rock bands such as Skeletons and Parts & Labor. Primarily playing trombone, Kulik has also been proficient at a variety of other instruments, including tuba, bass, and electric guitar, and has played in a variety of musical projects ranging from folk to indie rock to classical to free jazz. Kulik’s 2012 album, Escape from Society, was inspired by the “song poem” phenomenon, and demonstrated his prowess as an offbeat songwriter. Kulik has guested on several recordings by N.Y.C. improv prankster duo Talibam!, and was co-credited on their 2011 album Discover AtlantASS, as well as Double Automatism, their 2015 collaboration with Japanese Fluxus-associated composer Yasunao Tone.
For the past 30 years, David Ambrosio has been one of New York City’s finest freelance musicians and educators. His current working projects as a leader are CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: Blue Note Records in the Progressive ‘60s, featuring Grammy nominated saxophonist Donny McCaslin and drumming legend Victor Lewis; and the David Ambrosio Trio, featuring saxophonist Loren Stillman. In addition to his own ensembles, he is the co-leader of the David Ambrosio/Russ Meissner Sextet, 40Twenty, and Grupo Los Santos, as well as being a part of many other groups including George Schuller’s Circle Wide, the Matt Renzi Trio, Eri Yamamoto Trio, and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra led by Ted Nash and Andy Farber. He has performed with such jazz greats as Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, George Garzone, Joseph Jarmon, and Ralph Alessi. David has also frequently toured in Central and South East Asia on behalf of the US State Department as a performer and clinician. Currently he is on the faculty at Hunter College and the New York Jazz Workshop in NYC.
Vinnie Sperrazza is a Brooklyn-based jazz drummer. Born in 1979 in Utica, New York, music and drumming is a family affair for Sperrazza. His father plays and taught drums in Central New York, and his mother sang at church and did live sound for his father’s bands. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at William Paterson University in 2002 and moved to Brooklyn later that year. From 2004 until 2013, Sperrazza was focused on teaching drumset and jazz ensembles, privately and at local music schools. Meanwhile, he continued his musical studies in harmony, counterpoint, and composition with Paul Caputo. Sperrazza made a few noted recordings at this time, including John McNeil’s Hush Point and 40twenty with trombonist Jacob Garchik. By 2014, when Apocryphal, his first album of original compositions was released, Sperrazza was moving away from teaching to focus on performing. He has made a mark on the New York jazz community with his swinging, enthusiastic playing and his commitment to original projects. In 2017, he premiered the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Pepperland in Liverpool, England, with a score by pianist and composer Ethan Iverson, and has continued to tour with the company. He is a member of the Hank Roberts Sextet and Hank Roberts Trio, tours and records with the groups Landline, the Choir Invisible, Curtis-Garabedian-Sperrazza, Hearing Things, Vinnie Sperrazza-Jacob Sacks-Masa Kamaguchi PLAY, and trioTrio, works with bandleaders/composers Mike McGinnis and Michael Formanek, writes music, leads his own bands Apocryphal and Small Cities, organizes improvising groups, and continues his musical studies.

Arthur Migliazza – A Boogie Woogie Concert
2026-04-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Milford Arts Council, 40 Railroad Avenue S, Milford, CT
Award-winning pianist Arthur Migliazza brings the Boogie Woogie and Blues piano tradition to life through astonishing musicianship and engaging storytelling. A living historian, he takes audiences on a one-of-a-kind journey through the origins of this profoundly influential African-American music, revealing its lasting connections to jazz, rock and roll, and American popular music. This is no mere history lesson—Migliazza is a virtuoso who grew up immersed in Boogie Woogie and Blues, learning directly from contemporary masters of the style.
Advance Purchase Ticket: $35*
*Addl $3 processing fee per ticket applies to Advance Purchase ticket sales.
Advance Purchase Ticket is available online until 2 hours before start of event.
Child (under 17) with Paying Adult Ticket: $5 (contact MAC Office)
At The Door Ticket: $40
No discounts are available at the door.
