by Lisa Chase
As we anticipate balmy jazz-filled evenings in Bushnell Park, we’re always on the lookout for jazz venues to fill the intervening months. The Musical Club of Hartford is well known for its long history of supporting classical music performance, but jazz fans may be surprised to know the Musical Club’s members also enthusiastically support America’s quintessential art form.
This month the Club sponsored its first-ever solo jazz competition for Connecticut high school jazz students, and on January 28th the top three winners will perform for a Universalist Church audience in West Hartford. Accompanied by a professional jazz trio, these young musicians will showcase why Hartford is one of the most exciting places in the country for emerging jazz talent.
As a preview to the students’ cabaret-style performance, check out the Club’s morning program on January 11th, when the Meeting House Trio will perform a selection of Great American Songbook standards. Bassist Walter Mayo, David Sergio on piano and drummer David Woodard will be joined by vocalists Karen Robinson and John Church for some of the most enduring songs from the 1920s to ‘50s. The Trio’s musicians are masters of classical, contemporary and jazz music, illustrating yet again the cross-genre appeal of blues and jazz rhythms. For details on the January 11th and 28th performances, visit (http://www.musicalclubhartford.org/).
