The Astonishing Power of the Jam
Andy Follette changed many lives through his musical mentorship
‘Big Daddy’ Andy Follette, shown here at the 2022 Honesdale, PA Roots & Rhythm Festival with bassist Jimmy Malthaner, ran a legendary blues jam in Poughkeepsie for nearly 40 years. Andy, who died last week of cancer at age 63, mentored dozens of musicians over the years and showed how one person can change many lives for the better (8495Jazz photo)
I can think of three distinct types of friendships that occur early in life, and I have had occasion to consider each of them at some length in the past couple of weeks.
One of them, of course, is the friendship we form with those with whom we grow up – our neighborhood friends and schoolmates through the early years. But the nature of those is largely a matter of geography and timing. As children we are captive to the neighborhoods in which we are raised and the local schools we attend. Some of those early friendships stick fast, most don’t.
So, too, with the friendships we make during our first tentative and testing steps outside our childhood homes, in college or perhaps in military service. As we either return back to our hometowns or move away to create a new nest, most of those bonds are sure to fray.
There is a third type of early friendship, however, that seems destined to last. These friendships manifest themselves as we are finally coming fully into our own, ready to give the world our best shot with whatever divine gifts the Creator has bestowed upon us, and, if we’re lucky, to receive some gifts back.
Such was the nature of my friendship with Andy Follette. Andy led one of the greatest musical endeavors I have ever enjoyed, the Poughkeepsie-area blues jams, for nearly 40 years. He died last week of cancer at 63, far too young, but his legacy is immense; the testimonials from the musicians he mentored over the years are astounding in their number and depth of emotion. One of those musicians, Willa Vincitore, recollected what it was like as a self-described dorky chick “wearing mom jeans” to walk into one of “Big Daddy” Andy’s jams for the first time 30 years ago.
“I was terrified and had not sung publicly in more than a decade,” Willa remembered in an update to a GoFundMe campaign she and Hudson Valley Blues Society president Paul Toscano organized for Andy and his family. “I think we were all a little surprised I didn’t blow it. I only sang one tune (I didn’t know anything else yet). Andy told me to come back the following Sunday, because he was going to give me a list of tunes to learn. It wasn’t an inauthentic nicety—it was a demand. School was officially in session and I’d better show up.
“I did show up. He gave me a tape with many songs to learn (this was mix tape era) and also took it upon himself to begin teaching me the skills needed to lead a band. Over time, my confidence grew and I became a regular contributor to the local blues scene, building a fan base of my own. Without Big Daddy’s jam, I would not have met my first husband or any of the other musicians that expanded my knowledge and community. When my first husband was sick and hospitalized, Andy’s family insisted I drop our children at their house, where they threw epic sleepovers to help ease the stress of having both parents gone dealing with medical crises.”
Albany-area guitarist Scotty Mac also had memories of the enlightenment he got at Andy’s Sunday night jams.
“When you went to this jam you weren’t going to play your rock originals or any other genre BUT blues,” Scotty said in a Facebook post. “No Allman Brothers, no ZZTop...nothing that even resembled rock music.
“Blues music was going to be represented the correct way or you could just watch how the big boys did it. I thought my game was on point until I started trekking down there every Sunday night I could to play and learn from these blues crusaders.”
And, as Willa said, those who Showed Up had their lives changed. Some ended up touring the world (I can think of three jam alums right off the bat who worked with The Band’s Levon Helm), some up and down the Hudson Valley and the Northeast circuit, and a lot never left the neighborhood. But they all – the diner cooks and waitresses, the history teachers and math professors, the real estate guys and stonemasons – built a musical community with few peers.
My path first crossed with Andy’s in that third type of friendship mentioned above – he as a musician and I as a writer, when I was assigned a story on a friendly little jam that was happening on a traditionally slow night for stepping out. Those little gatherings became a legend.
Our friendship was based on just enjoying the hell out of each other’s company – his band played my first wedding – and a deep respect for each other’s complementary chops. I haven’t lived in Poughkeepsie for 35 years, yet every single time my wife and I made it over there for a jam, Andy never failed to call me out from the stage and thank me for the journalistic support I gave to the blues guys early on.
He didn’t have to thank me, I always replied. They did all the work, and I was just telling folks about it.
But I do want to thank Andy one last time for the joy he brought this world.
And by way of saying that, I also want to recommend that we as music fans get out to our local jams, built on the same spirit Andy showed for decades.
Just as Andy occasionally brought in blues legends like Lowell Fulson, Carey Bell, and Hubert Sumlin who had inspired or mentored him, New Haven Jazz Underground founder Nick Di Maria has brought his mentors, Dr. Eddie Henderson and Jeremy Pelt, to the NHVJU jams at Cafe Nine.
Up in the Hartford area, Wednesday night jams at Black-Eyed Sally’s run by trumpeter Haneef Nelson and pianist Andrew Wilcox feature a monthly mentorship jam, in which an established jazz musician shares the stage with an up-and-coming high school or college musician.
“They are paid like every other person in the band with the caveat that at the end of the first set they sit with the bandleader and any other veteran musicians that were a part of the house band for the night to get feedback on how they did, and what they can do to improve,” Haneef told 8495Jazz. “And it often leads to younger musicians getting other gigs from veteran musicians as well as potentially being programmed in a summer series that I run in West Hartford.
“Many of these students become ingrained in the local jazz scene as a result of this mentorship series. Jazz was traditionally taught via mentorship prior to its entrance into academia, and that aspect of learning is still important.”
Across the river in East Hartford, bassist Matt Dwonszyk inaugurated Paisley’s All-Star Jazz Invitational in 2024 in memory of saxophonist Paisley Ramirez, held monthly at Carmine’s, to encourage young talent. I am sure I have mentioned that the first gig Dan Pugach and Nicole Zuraitis played after Dan’s 2025 Grammy win was a Tuesday night Paisley’s jam. Imagine jamming with Dan Pugach on drums behind you.
So, please, go to a jam. There are many listed at the bottom of every edition of 8495Jazz, and I learn about more all the time. At the very least, you’ll have a pleasant evening supporting folks brave enough to get up on stage and give the art form their best shot. You will very likely also encounter emerging top-drawer talent, and occasionally one of the genre’s greats, all for the price of throwing a few bills into a tip jar. The experience may not change your life, but it could very well be changing somebody’s.
Andy Follette was an encyclopedia of the blues. Here he plays T-Bone Walker’s “T-Bone Shuffle” at the 25th anniversary of the Poughkeepsie-are jams he oversaw.
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
Scullers, Boston, MA
Steve Davis & We See All-Stars (trombone, combo), Friday, April 17, 7 pm.
8495Jazz Spur of the Moment Gig TODAY
Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
Instantiations w/ Melanie Dyer (improv viola and combo), 2:30 pm. GA $16.50 including service fee.
Other Upcoming Shows
Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT
Caroline Davis, Solo (sax and electronics), Friday, April 17, 3, 8:30 and 10 pm. GA $20 for the 8:30 show, $15 for 10 pm show.
VFW Post 399, Westport, CT
Atla DeChamplain (vocals), Thursday, April 16, 7:30 and 8:45 pm. GA $20.76, student/vet $15.76 for 7:30 show, GA $10.76 for 8:45 show.
Arlington, MA (various sites)
2026 Arlington Jazz Festival, today, 11 am – 7:30 pm. Free and ticketed shows.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA
Aaron Goldberg Trio (piano, combo), Thursday, April 16, 7:30 pm. GA $3597 - $47.61 including service fees.
The Falcon, Marlboro, NY
The Analog Jazz Orchestra (big band combo), today, 7:30 pm. Suggested donation $30.
The Side Door, Old Lyme, CT
Halie Loren Quartet (vocals, combo), Saturday, April 18, 8 pm. GA $54.45, students $27.98 including service fee.
New England Conservatory, Boston, MA
Miles Ahead: Miles Davis at 100 feat. guest drummer Billy Hart, Thursday, April 16, 7:30 pm. Free (ticket required).
Hot Plate Brewing, Pittsfield, MA
Pittsfield, CityJazz Festival Jazz Jam, Friday, April 17, 7 pm.
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, various Tuesdays, click link for dates, 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, first Wednesday of the month.
The Parlour, Providence, RI
First Sunday Jam (first Sunday of the month) with Ben Shaw Quartet followed by jam, music starts at 6. Jammers $5, audience $10.
Groton Hill Music Center, Groton, MA
Jams every second Tuesday of the month through June, 7 pm. $10 at the door, no advance sales.
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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