Hartford Jazz Society

Black Eyed Sally’s Jazz Jam - Will Goble Quartet
2026-02-04 19:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | 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

Michael Palin's Other Orchestra
2026-02-03 20:00 - 22:00, 2026-01-27 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/

Hartford Jazz Orchestra
2026-02-02 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-01-26 19:30 - 21:30 | Elicit Brewery, 165 Adams Street, Manchester, CT
Every Monday at Elicit Brewery in Manchester CT. No cover.

Tuxedo Junction
2026-02-02 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-01-26 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.

JHunter Group
2026-02-01 17:00 - 20:00 | Steak Loft, 27 Coogan Blvd, Mystic, CT, United States
Live Jazz, Blues and other grooves and Great Food

Cecil Carter vocalist
Steven Marien saxophonist
Sam Mayer pianist
James Hunter bassist
Randy Cloutier drums

Yale Jazz Festival
2026-02-01 16:00 - 17:30, 2026-01-31 16:00 - 18:00, 2026-01-30 19:00 - 20:30 | CT

Baby Grand Jazz at Hartford Public Library
2026-02-01 15:00 - 16:00 | Center for Contemporary Culture (Main Floor) – Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT
Concerts will be held at HPL’s Downtown Library on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. from January through April, excluding Easter Sunday on April 5. Performances will take place in the Center for Contemporary Culture, 500 Main Street, Hartford. Doors open at 2:00 p.m., and each concert lasts about an hour. Shows will also be streamed on Hartford Public Library’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
2026 Lineup

January 4 – Iftah Kary Trio
January 11 – Lee Fish & Friends
January 18 – Koan
January 25 – Digba Ogunbiyi Quartet

February 1 – Matt Parker
February 8 – Meg Okura & The Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble
February 15 – Jen Allen and Heart Alchemy
February 22 – Jamile Trio

March 1 – The Hartford Sound
March 8 – Nigel Bello Band
March 15 – Laszlo Gardony Trio
March 22 – Rodney Jones
March 29 – Ben Bilello Quartet
April 5 – No concert
April 12 – Japanese MicroJam
April 19 – Tyler Sherman and Friends
April 26 – Rene McLean: Music of the Spirit

Dr. G’s Jazz Brunch
2026-02-01 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.

Jazzmeia Horn
2026-01-31 20:00 - 22:30, 2026-01-30 20:00 - 22:30 | Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, United States
As Grammy-nominated vocalist Jazzmeia Horn looks out the window of her 11th-floor hotel room in Tokyo, she describes the surrounding skyscrapers, the yellow and pink clouds floating by and Messages — her fourth leader date, which is set to release October 25, 2024, via Empress Legacy Records.
In part, Messages, is intended to be a word of encouragement to anyone making tough choices — a reminder that we all make sacrifices. Sometimes, the difficulties encountered along the way are worth it, though.
One of those hardships, for Horn, is being on the road as much as she is. It leaves less time to be with her family. But touring the world also granted Horn, a product of Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, space to ruminate on her relationships — both familial and romantic — how they’ve changed and how they inform her art.
“If you want to sing your own song, if you have a mission, if you have a lyric,” she began, looking out that window in Japan. “Whatever that voice is, that love, that light, that grit — whatever that is inside of you, you have to do that.”
In contrast to 2021’s Dear Love, the bandleader pared back her ensemble, eschewing the personnel of a big band, but retaining the avant-playfulness of the Sun Ra Arkestra — especially on the interstellar “Submit to the Unknown.” Ruminations on family, friendship, and love all circulate among the 10 original compositions on the album.
As much as those connections are mined for recurring lyrical motifs, Horn’s writing — her messages — readily reassures listeners to focus and pursue their ambitions. It’s also the bandleader bolstering herself against the world.
On “Sing Your Own Song,” she sings: “Some things may not be fair/ Gloom and misery everywhere/ But I think it’s amazing/ what life can bring to you.”
Horn said she wrote the tune for her mother, who gave up a career in music to raise her. The singer didn’t make the same choice for herself.
“I miss them when I’m on tour — and when I’m with them, I miss them, too,” Horn said about being away from her children. It’s a sentiment explored further on her composition “Mother’s Love,” an uplifting and comforting tune that changes meter while Horn lands its melody in unpredictable places. “They’re growing up, you know. I come back from tour and the youngest one lost a tooth and the other one won an award at school.”
As new generations engage the history of the music, it’s already been built into Messages: Horn interprets the 1932 composition “You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me”; and her own tune “Tip” sounds as if it could have been recorded in the ’50s — the band in a casual groove as the bandleader displays her seemingly boundless vocal range.
Horn is among the vanguard in jazz, using her knowledge of the canon to inform decisions firmly rooted in traditional parts of the genre, while still adding in contemporary ideas, themes and music. The 21st century comes to bear on the album through the singer splicing in voice recordings and voicemails — literal messages — into a few songs. “Voicemail Blues” is a whimsical trip through Horn’s inbox as listeners get to hear from bassist Reggie Workman, the singer’s friends and family.
Album closer “Flip D Switch” features some Herbie-esque electric keys and a recording of an unhinged tirade delivered by Horn’s ex. After that piece of tape rolls — when the unnamed man tells Horn she has issues with, among a litany of other nonsense, obedience — the vocalist summarizes their relationship, dismissing his fits and tantrums.
She sings: “Flip the switch, I don’t play with kids, we grown/ Flip the switch, time for me to move on.”
The inverse of that song and sentiment arrives on “Mysteries of Us,” a compositionally complex, extended piece delving into the fullness of love Horn feels for her current partner — and their decision to be together.
“I’ve prayed about it, I’ve fasted about it, and I’ve asked God for guidance and wisdom,” she said about the relationship. “I’ve made my decision.”
The song’s comprised of a traditional lyric section, an instrumental portion — led by Chicago-bred trumpeter Marquis Hill — and an emotionally dense poem, where Horn guides listeners through the love and hardships of her long-term partnership.
“I love his sound,” Horn said about why she asked Hill to contribute to the tune. “And I felt like he was probably the only one who could really give me exactly what I wanted.”
While the bandleader again doesn’t explicitly say who she’s addressing in the lyric, it traces the couple’s dovetailing spirituality, and knowledge of literature and scripture.
“Listening to the lyrics, you can’t help but reflect on your own past relationships. I just used those thoughts and feelings, and poured it into the music,” Hill said about working with Horn and her ensemble, which here includes pianists Keith Brown and Victor Gould, bassist Eric Wheeler, percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell and drummer Anwar Marshall. “When you hear Jazzmeia sing the melody and sing these lyrics, you can sense the rawness in her voice, and the realness in the music. I just tried to piggyback off her energy and tap into that same space.”
The openness Hill heard on that single song is evident across each of Horn’s Messages. She’s written this collection for herself, for her family, and for listeners and fans who might need a reminder to believe in themselves.
“When I write, I don’t really care what people think. I don’t ask, ‘Is this gonna fit?’ I don’t care,” Horn said. “My messages are for healing. My messages are for reconciliation. My messages are for exposing, for movement. My messages are for freedom — the freedom of expression. That’s what the record is really, truly about.”

Wes Lewis Quartet
2026-01-31 18:30 - 21:30 | Encore by Goodfellas, 702 State Street, New Haven, CT

Bob Ahern Quartet
2026-01-31 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.

Jazz Jam at Cafe Nine
2026-01-31 16:00 - 19:00, 2026-01-24 16:00 - 19:00 | CT
Every Saturday, 4-7

Jeff Fuller & Friends
2026-01-30 19:00 - 23:00 | Best Video Film and Cultural Center, 1842 Whitney Ave, Hamden, CT
Jeff Fuller & Friends, with Naomi Wharry (trb/voc), Nigel Regan (alto sax), Ryan Sands (drs), and Darren Litzie (pno.)

Fridays with Frank
2026-01-30 17:15 - 19:00, 2026-01-23 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.

Black Eyed Sally’s Jazz Jam - Haneef Nelson Birthday Bash
2026-01-28 19:00 - 22:00 | Black-eyed Sally’s Southern Kitchen & Bar, 350 Asylum St., Hartford, CT, 06103

Jazz at Cafe Nine
2026-01-27 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.

New Haven Improvisers Collective (workshop) - CANCELLED
2026-01-26 19:30 - 22:30 | The Sandbox, 70 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT
The New Haven Improvisers Collective is dedicated to bringing improvised music to New Haven. Bring your instrument to the next NHIC improvised music workshop. Visit the website below and send your contact information to info@nhic-music.org
https://www.nhic-music.org
https://www.facebook.com/groups/95225530822
Notes and directions about The Sandbox. It’s a great space, but has it’s challenges. Its on the second floor (with elevator).
Door is locked so everyone will need to be let in, so try to get there by 7:30. Someone will check after every exercise for latecomers.
Parking is as follows There is a paid garage right at the building, otherwise street parking, mostly metered. Similar costs. There is some free parking on Lincoln Street, and a pathway at the end so you can walk directly to the building.

Baby Grand Jazz at Hartford Public Library - CANCELLED
2026-01-25 15:00 - 16:00 | Center for Contemporary Culture (Main Floor) – Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT
January 25 concert is CANCELLED
Concerts will be held at HPL’s Downtown Library on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. from January through April, excluding Easter Sunday on April 5. Performances will take place in the Center for Contemporary Culture, 500 Main Street, Hartford. Doors open at 2:00 p.m., and each concert lasts about an hour. Shows will also be streamed on Hartford Public Library’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
2026 Lineup

January 4 – Iftah Kary Trio
January 11 – Lee Fish & Friends
January 18 – Koan
January 25 – Digba Ogunbiyi Quartet

February 1 – Matt Parker
February 8 – Meg Okura & The Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble
February 15 – Jen Allen and Heart Alchemy
February 22 – Jamile Trio

March 1 – The Hartford Sound
March 8 – Nigel Bello Band
March 15 – Laszlo Gardony Trio
March 22 – Rodney Jones
March 29 – Ben Bilello Quartet
April 5 – No concert
April 12 – Japanese MicroJam
April 19 – Tyler Sherman and Friends
April 26 – Rene McLean: Music of the Spirit

Tyreek McDole Quintet
2026-01-24 20:00 - 22:30, 2026-01-23 20:00 - 22:30 | Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, United States
Tyreek McDole – Vocals & Keys
Dylan Band – Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
Joe Block – Piano/Keys
Dan Finn – Bass
Gary Jones III – Drums
Tyreek McDole, a 25-year-old Haitian-American vocalist from Florida, is making waves on the New York and international music scenes. His artistry is rooted in the belief that music is the highest form of communication a powerful tool for healing, reflection, and collective dreaming.
He first gained attention at Jazz at Lincoln Centers 2018 Essentially Ellington Competition, where he was awarded Outstanding Vocalist by Wynton Marsalis. Since then, he’s performed alongside an impressive roster of artists including Rodney Whitaker, Theo Croker, Gary Bartz, Maurice Brown, Joey Alexander, Terri Lyne Carrington, Nicholas Payton, and many others.
Tyreek has appeared at many of the world’s most hallowed stages such as Blue Note New York, Salle Pleyel, Nublu, Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Ronnie Scott’s, Birdland Jazz Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, and major international festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac, and the Nice Jazz Festival.
In 2023, he won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, joining the ranks of standout vocalists like Cyrille Aimee, Lucia Gutierrez Rebolloso, and Samara Joy.
His debut album, Open Up Your Senses, released in June 2025 on Artwork Records, is #1 on Jazz Week, received 4 stars in DownBeat Magazine, and is being celebrated as one of the most thoughtful and spiritually resonant jazz debuts in years. He hopes you enjoy.

Warren Byrd’s Birthday Celebration
2026-01-24 17:30 - 21:30 | The Flying Monkey, 2095 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT
Saskia Laroo – trumpet, sax, vocals

Warren Byrd – keys, vocals, bongos

Doug “Basszilla” Long – bass

Willis Moore – drums

Warren Byrd is a Hartford legend and an internationally touring artist, composer, and producer with a career spanning over 40 years. Together with his wife and musical partner Saskia Laroo, he has performed around the world, blending straight-ahead jazz with funk, hip-hop, and Latin grooves — always rooted in soul, rhythm, and deep musical connection.

This is a rare chance to see Warren up close and live, sharing his creative improvisations, impressive vocals, and joyful musical spirit — while celebrating his life, his music, and ours together. Come enjoy great food, drinks, warm vibes, and an unforgettable night of live music with friends old and new.

Let’s celebrate — with groove, love, and community.

Christopher Casey
2026-01-23 17:30 - 19:00 | American Mural Project, 90 Whiting Street, Winsted, CT
Christopher Casey earned a bachelor’s degree from The Hartt School and studied under Jackie McLean, Jackie Byard, and Hotep Galeta. An active pianist, composer and arranger, Chris performs extensively throughout New England and the New York area. He has performed with such greats as Jackie McLean, Nat Reeves, Steve Davis, Claudio Roditi, Slide Hampton, Houston Person, Jacomo Gates, Bob Berg, Jimmy Greene, and Greg Banaszak. His works have been commissioned by Jackie McLean, Curtis Fuller, Steve Davis, PBS Television, and The Polish National Chamber Orchestra of Slupsk. Recordings include “Double Vision”, “Jazz in the Wild”, “Sounds of Hartford”, “Head over Heals”, and “Imagination”.
