Fall In The 8495: So Much Music (And Cider And Donuts!)
New England’s most colorful time of year beckons music fans to get out there!
The former New London Big Band has a new name and a new home. The band is now known as the Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra, and their monthly residency shows will be at The Side Door in Old Lyme, CT. Their first show is Wednesday at 7:30 pm (photo courtesy Sean Nelson’s Jazz Orchestra)
Though I am tempted to say we don’t know how lucky we are to live in the nation’s epicenter of autumnal splendor, I think most of us do know, and many of us take full advantage of fall’s colors, fairs, festivals, and seasonal food. Oh, and the jazz calendar doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all after summer’s hornucopia of outdoor shows and festivals, either.
There is a lot of great music on tap in the 8495 in the coming weeks, and I feel duty-bound to help you call up your calendar of choice and maybe catch some of the very talented folks who bring it to us. And away we go:
From New London to Old Lyme: Sean Nelson’s band gets a new name and new home
Longtime readers of 8495Jazz may recall a story we did with Sean Nelson, trombonist-composer-arranger par excellence for both the U.S. Coast Guard Band and his own New London Big Band. Or should we say, the former New London Big Band. Sean has re-branded the outfit as the Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra and they will be getting a new home; they are moving their monthly residency shows from New London’s Social Bar & Kitchen to the dean of southern New England jazz clubs, the Side Door in Old Lyme.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and this feels like the right moment,” Sean said on his web site in announcing the new era. “Besides no longer having our home base in New London, I want to focus on the band's identity as a world class ensemble with a national reach. The band has evolved since its inception nine years ago to become my musical voice, and in turn to enable all of the individual musicians' voices.”
If there was any doubt about the amount of respect Sean gets from his fellow musicians, one need look – or listen – no further than Don’t Stop Now, the band’s album of “lost” Thad Jones scores written for Harry James, released this spring. Sean recruited drummer John Riley and trumpet legend Wayne Bergeron to come in for this album (I am one duly impressed trumpet hack over that feat).
The Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra’s first “in residence” show at the Side Door kicks off at 7:30 Wednesday night. GA tickets are $38.57 and student tickets are $22.68 including service fees.
Series kickoffs at Real Art Ways and Firehouse 12
Fans of intimate surroundings and cutting-edge music are once again in luck as Real Art Ways in Hartford and Firehouse 12 in New Haven revive their seasonal series.
Real Art Ways returns the music of guitarist-bassist Joe Morris in its “Instantiations” series, starting Sunday, Sept. 28. The name is new, the series is not. Formerly known as “Improvisations Now,” the music in the monthly Sunday afternoon program is completely improvised. The series runs through May 3, 2026.
The full schedule is available here.
Firehouse 12’s Fall Jazz Series kicked off last Friday, but there are plenty of opportunities for folks who want to hit Crown Street for a Friday night of jazz in a top-notch intimate listening room. The series runs through Dec. 19 and features sets at 8:30 and 10 pm.
“Many of this season's performances are fronted by Firehouse 12 regulars like Ches Smith Clone Row (October 3rd), John Irabagon Quintet (November 21), and Matt Mitchell & Sara Serpa (December 5th),” the venue said in putting the listings up. “We end our series with 2025 German Jazz Prize winner Ingrid Laubrock's Grammy Season.”
For the full series lineup, click here.
Jazz on campus
One of the 8495’s hidden gems is the music presented by touring artists, faculty members and students from the region’s universities. The talent is major league and the cost is usually small park peanuts.
Wesleyan University gets things off to a great start today at 3 in the Crowell Concert Hall with the Elite Syncopation Quintet, playing authentic period arrangements of many classics of the early days of jazz, including Jelly Roll Morton’s “Jelly Roll Blues,” James Reese Europe’s “Castle House Rag,” Duke Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy,” and music by other key figures of the period including Armand Piron, Eubie Blake, John Rosamond Johnson, Perry Bradford, and Spencer Williams.
The show is free and open to the public.
The University of Connecticut brings out the best in touring jazz and also stellar student performances beginning this week. Cuban piano master Jorge Luis Pacheco brings his trio to the university’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts Thursday (Sept. 18) at 7:30 pm; they’ll be paying tribute to The Buena Vista Social Club. Tickets are $10-$30 all-in.
On Saturday, Sept. 20, join UConn jazz students Michael Farina and Ciara Garcia in “Blowin’ Off Steam With Little Mike and Big C.” 8495Jazz profiled Michael, who plays a mean, mean sax, earlier this year. They’ll be at the Von der Mehden Recital Hall at 3 pm. And the show is free!
Down in New Haven, Yale University kicks off its Ellington Jazz Series Friday (Sept. 19) at 7:30 in the Morse Recital Hall with hometown favorite Christian Sands. Christian and his quartet “will be reimagining classics with his signature warmth and finesse,” Yale tells us. GA tickets start at $26.
There’ll be plenty more collegiate jazz events through the fall semester, from WestConn in Danbury to New England Conservatory in Boston; 8495Jazz will do its best to keep you informed.
Zoom Into Jazz at Yale
If you can’t make it out to see a show but still need to satisfy the jazz jones, Yale will be hosting a Zoom seminar about the legendary professor Willie Ruff tomorrow (Sept. 15) at 4 pm.
The discussion will be led by university music librarian Suzanne Lovejoy. In 1972, Ruff conducted 19 interviews with Bessie Jones, a gospel singer and living repository of African American children’s games and songs. Then, as preparations for the American Bicentennial were underway, he learned the Rockefeller Foundation was planning a series of 200 recordings that would document the musical history of the U.S. He proposed interviewing a group of jazz giants and to distill those into a long-playing record. Although the recording was never made, the interviews are now part of the Oral History of American Music at Yale and are now part of the present exhibition at the university’s Gilmore Music Library about Willie’s role as an oral historian.
The webinar is free but advance registration is required; you can do that right here.
Ches Smith brings his latest quartet to New Haven’s Firehouse 12 October 3 as part of the Crown Street venue’s fall series jazz shows. Marc Ribot, who penned the album’s liner notes, said in the venue’s promo for the show, “It’s as if I’m hearing a Jim Hall concert in which one of us did a lot of mushrooms, or… some post-punk post-Dave Brubeck post-trip-hop experiment with classical form.” The show is just one of a veritable musical feast for jazz fans in the 8495 this fall.
Out and About with 8495Jazz
These listings are a curated sampling of shows in the region. As an independent resource for jazz news, 8495Jazz does not receive any consideration, free tickets, or affiliate fees for these listings. Please confirm events are still happening directly with the venue.
8495Jazz Wild Card Gig of the Week
Regattabar, Boston, MA
Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis (guitar, combo), Thursday, Sept. 18. The MacArthur Fellow winner brings the band (trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, guitar, bass, and drums), “born from a post-pandemic ‘reset’ into Boston for one night. GA $35.97, student $24.33 including service fee.
8495Jazz Spur of the Moment Gig TODAY
The Parlour, Providence, RI
Clear Audience (combo), 5 pm. All ages show, $10.
Other Shows This Week
Palace Theater Poli Club, Waterbury, CT
Adam Birnbaum trio (piano, combo), Friday, Sept. 19, 7 and 9 pm. GA $51 including service fee.
VFW Post 399, Westport, CT
David Hazeltine Quintet (piano, combo), Thursday, Sept. 18, 7:30 and 8:45 pm. GA $10.76-$20.76, student/vets $15.76 for 7:30 show.
The Falcon, Marlboro, NY
Jonathan Scales Fourchestra (steel pans, combo), Thursday, Sept. 18, 7:30 pm. Free ($30 suggested donation).
Elicit Brewing Co., Manchester, CT
Hartford Jazz Orchestra, Monday, Sept. 15, 7:30 pm. Free.
Alchemy, Providence, RI
John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, Monday, Sept. 15, 8 pm. GA $20.77 all-in.
Jams
Cafe Nine, New Haven CT
New Haven Jazz Underground jam, usually 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month: free admission
Saturday jazz jam most Saturdays, 4 pm. Free.
Blackeyed Sally’s, Hartford, CT
Jazz Wednesdays, featured set 7 pm, jam session afterward.
Carmine’s, East Hartford, CT
Paisley’s All Star Memorial Jam, 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7:30 pm. House band set followed by jam. Free.
Mahoney’s, Poughkeepsie, NY
Poughkeepsie Jazz Project, every Tuesday, 7 pm. Free.
Park City Music Hall, Bridgeport, CT
Scott Cushman and Friends followed by jam, usually first Wednesday of the month.
Jazz Societies and Organizations (great info on events, festivals, and more)
Jazz Society of Fairfield County
Jazz Fridays at Three Sheets New Haven 1st/3rd Fridays from 6-9pm
Jazz Thursdays at The Cannon New Haven every other Thurs from 7-9pm.
8495Jazz takes its name from the two Interstate highways that cross our region, I-84 and I-95. Within short driving distances from either, you can find incredible entertainment, from local jams to world-famous festivals in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 8495Jazz: From Newburgh to Newport!
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