Jazz at Three Sheets
2026-09-18 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-10-02 18:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Three Sheets, 372 Elm Street, New Haven, CT
New England Jazz Underground presents jazz on the 1st and 3rd Friday every month.

Ellington Jazz Series
2026-09-18 19:30 - 21:30 | Morse Recital Hall – Yale University, 470 College Street, New Haven, CT
Sept. 18 – Jeff Fuller & Friends
Oct. 16 – Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band
Jan. 22 – Steve Nelson Quartet
Feb. 12 – Sarah Hanahan Quartet

Jazz Jam at Cafe Nine
2026-09-19 16:00 - 19:00, 2026-09-26 16:00 - 19:00, 2026-10-03 16:00 - 19:00 | CT
Every Saturday, 4-7

Bob Ahern Quartet
2026-09-19 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-26 18:00 - 21:00, 2026-10-03 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
2026-09-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-26 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-10-03 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

Samara Joy Septet
2026-09-20 19:30 - 21:30 | Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge Road, Ridgefield , CT, 06877
A native of the Bronx, Samara Joy became entranced by classic R&B as a child and cut her teeth as a singer in her church’s gospel choir. And while her family history is deeply musical—her grandparents helmed the Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and her father, the musician and songwriter Antonio McLendon, has produced, composed and arranged his own astounding original work—she didn’t delve into the jazz tradition until college at SUNY Purchase. During her studies there she won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which introduced her to the larger jazz scene as a rising star to watch. She was heard, by audiences and critics alike, as a masterful interpreter of jazz standards and a rightful heiress of the sound, technique and charisma that defined her jazz heroines—including Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae.
Joy released her self-titled debut on the Whirlwind label in 2021, followed a year later by Linger Awhile, her breakout Verve debut, of which Down Beat said, “With this beautiful recording, a silky-voiced star is born.” The album earned her a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album in addition to a headline-making win for Best New Artist. A deluxe edition of the album was released, as well as the EP A Joyful Holiday, which took home Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Jazz Performance in 2025. Her latest Verve album, Portrait, which Joy co-produced with the veteran trumpeter/bandleader and multi-Grammy winner Brian Lynch, showcases the intimate, soulful chemistry she’s developed with her touring band, earning her an NAACP Image Award in 2025 for Outstanding Jazz Album and the GRAMMY for Best Vocal Jazz Album in 2026. Portrait also spotlights her burgeoning gifts as a lyricist, in ingenious arrangements that meld her thoughtful words with music by Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and her late mentor Barry Harris.

Tuxedo Junction
2026-09-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-09-28 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.

Hartford Jazz Orchestra
2026-09-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-09-28 19:30 - 21:30 | Elicit Brewery, 165 Adams Street, Manchester, CT
Every Monday at Elicit Brewery in Manchester CT. No cover.

Impossible Music Series
2026-09-21 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.

Jazz at Cafe Nine
2026-09-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Cafe Nine, 250 State Street, New Haven, CT, 06510
Presented by New Haven Jazz Underground on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday every month.

Pat Metheny: Side-Eye III+
2026-09-22 19:30 - 21:30 | Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge Road, Ridgefield , CT, 06877
Pat Metheny is a globally acclaimed, genre-defying guitarist and composer. His honors include three gold albums, 20 Grammy Awards, an additional 39 nominations, and more than 20 million records sold worldwide. He has been inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame, recognized as an NEA Jazz Master, and honored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, the Missouri Hall of Fame, and the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with icons such as Joni Mitchell, Jim Hall, Ornette Coleman, Ahmad Jamal, Jaco Pastorius, and Charlie Haden.
February 27, 2026, Metheny will release his first major studio album in six years, Side-Eye III+, the latest evolution of his Side-Eye project- a concept he first introduced to showcase the next generation of exceptional young musicians who have come onto his radar in recent years.
Touring with Metheny for the Side-Eye III+ shows: Joe Dyson (Drums), Chris Fishman (Piano/ Keyboards), Jermaine Paul (Bass), and Leonard Patton (Percussion/ Vocals).

Michael Palin's Other Orchestra
2026-09-22 20:00 - 22:00, 2026-09-29 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
2026-09-23 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-09-30 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

Fridays with Frank
2026-09-25 17:15 - 19:00, 2026-10-02 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.

Pat Metheny: Side Eye III+
2026-09-25 20:00 - 22:00 | Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs, CT
Twenty-time Grammy winner Pat Metheny returns to the stage in 2026 with his new ensemble Side-Eye III+, supporting the release of their self-titled album. Metheny’s Side-Eye project is a concept he first introduced to showcase the next generation of exceptional young musicians who have come onto his radar in recent years. Joining Pat Metheny for this dynamic performance are pianist and keyboardist Chris Fishman, bassist Jermain Paul, and drummer Joe Dyson.

Pat Metheny has stood at the forefront of modern music for more than five decades. Beginning on trumpet at age eight and switching to guitar at twelve, Metheny was performing with Kansas City’s top jazz musicians by fifteen, an early start that helped shape his unmistakable sound.

After joining vibraphonist Gary Burton’s group in 1974, Metheny’s horn-like phrasing, lyrical touch, and rhythmic fluidity quickly distinguished him. His debut album, Bright Size Life, redefined the possibilities of jazz guitar, introducing a new sonic openness and melodic clarity that inspired generations of players.

New Haven Improvisers Collective workshop
2026-09-28 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.

Melanie Charles: “The Lunacy of Not Believing”
2026-10-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, CT
As part of Make Jazz Trill Again’s year-long residency at the Center for the Arts, founder Melanie Charles will debut her newest album in an intimate, immersive performance installation examining what happens when we dedicate our lives to systems that fail to sustain us. Rooted in Charles’ experiences in jazz education, identity, ambition as a Haitian American artist, and mental health within family dynamics, the work explores belief, disillusionment, and self-worth, moving from institutional critique to a deeply personal reflection.

Town Hall with Make Jazz Trill Again
2026-10-03 12:00 - 14:00 | Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, CT
Throughout the year, Make Jazz Trill Again will present and develop new work through three campus engagements, each anchored by a public “town hall” that invites open discussion and exploration of themes related to the residency, amplifying the lessons jazz can teach us—about process, creative practice, and collaboration—that are applicable well beyond the limits of the music field.
Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.
We encourage you to RSVP to help us with our planning and to get a reminder the day before this event. While RSVPs are not required for entry, they are a big help!
