Ed Fast & Conga Bop
Ten world-class musicians, one intimate room — Ed Fast & Conga Bop bring their Afro-Cuban jazz to The Side Door.
Ed Fast · Drums
Dina DiMarco · Vocals
Steve Davis · Trombone
Josh Bruneau · Trumpet
Wayne Escoffery · Tenor Saxophone
Amy Millan · Piano
Gianni Gardner · Guitar
Matt Dwonszyk · Bass
Jorge Fuentes · Congas
Anthony Carrillo · Timbales
A Hartford Courant favorite and a fixture of the Connecticut jazz scene for over two decades, Ed Fast & Conga Bop fuse Afro-Cuban rhythms and hard-bop harmony into a sound that is impossible to sit still for. The band grooves through a rich palette of Latin rhythms — rumba, cha cha cha, son, and Afro-Cuban 6/8 — drawing on the music of legends like Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, and Hilton Ruiz alongside Fast’s own soulful originals.
Bandleader Ed Fast is a Hartt School-trained multi-instrumentalist equally at home on drums, timbales, congas, and vibraphone. His career has taken him from the pit orchestras of Broadway road shows touring Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea, to backup bands accompanying Aretha Franklin, Paul Anka, and Chita Rivera at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, to the stage of New York’s Iridium Jazz Club. The Hartford Courant called him “a celebrated figure in town” and Latin Beat Magazine has praised the band’s unique sound.
Joining Fast is an exceptional cast of musicians. Vocalist Dina DiMarco brings an electrifying presence and a wide-ranging repertoire spanning jazz standards and Broadway classics. Trombonist Steve Davis is one of the most recorded and respected voices in jazz, with credits spanning Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers lineage and dozens of acclaimed recordings as a leader. Tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery has established himself as one of the most in-demand voices in contemporary jazz, with a long association with the Mingus Big Band and Tom Harrell. Rounding out the ensemble are some of the region’s finest rhythm section players and percussionists, creating the kind of layered, infectious groove that has made Conga Bop one of New England’s most beloved live acts.
This is a big band experience in an intimate room — the kind of night that gets people out of their seats.
The Side Door Jazz Club is a dedicated jazz listening room located inside the historic Old Lyme Inn, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT. Tickets are reserved seating. Guests dining at the Old Lyme Inn restaurant prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.
