Avery Sharpe · Bass
Zaccai Curtis · Piano
Yoron Israel · Drums

Avery Sharpe is widely regarded as one of his generation’s most imaginative bassists, a distinction earned over a career that includes twenty years and more than 20 recordings as bassist for piano giant McCoy Tyner. McCoy Tyner himself, when asked to describe Sharpe in two words, chose “impeccable rhythm.” Beyond his work with Tyner, Sharpe has performed and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Archie Shepp, and Pat Metheny, among many others, and has released more than a dozen albums as a leader on his own JKNM label, along with commissioned works for symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles.

Joining him is pianist Zaccai Curtis, winner of the 2025 GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for his recording Cubop Lives!. A Connecticut native who studied at Jackie McLean’s Artists Collective in Hartford, Curtis has performed and recorded with Eddie Palmieri, Christian Scott, Donald Harrison, and Cindy Blackman Santana, and, notably, has shared the stage with Sharpe himself in the past. On drums is Yoron Israel, Chair of Percussion at Berklee College of Music and a veteran of the bandstand who has performed with Sonny Rollins, Ahmad Jamal, Abbey Lincoln, and Joe Lovano, with more than 250 recordings to his credit as an accompanist.

Together, this is a trio of extraordinary depth and pedigree, three master musicians whose combined resumes touch nearly every major figure in modern jazz.

The Side Door Jazz Club is a dedicated jazz listening room located inside the historic Old Lyme Inn, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT.