Bobby Watson – Alto Saxophone
Curtis Lundy – Bass
Jordan Williams – Piano
Victor Jones – Drums

Bobby Watson sits among the pantheon of present day jazz greats. Born in Lawrence, Kansas and raised in Kansas City, Watson trained formally at the University of Miami, where his classmates included Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, and Bruce Hornsby. After graduating in 1975, he moved to New York City and became musical director of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers from 1977 to 1981, contributing to 14 Jazz Messengers recordings, more than any other musician in the group’s 35 year history. He went on to work with jazz icons Max Roach, Louis Hayes, George Coleman, and Sam Rivers, along with legendary vocalists Joe Williams, Lou Rawls, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, and Carmen Lundy.

In the late 1980s, Watson launched his acclaimed acoustic quintet Horizon alongside bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Lewis, releasing a string of now classic recordings for Blue Note and Columbia. As a leader he has released nearly 30 albums and appeared on over 100 more as a sideman or co-leader, along with composing more than 100 original works, including music for the soundtrack of Robert De Niro’s directorial debut, A Bronx Tale. He is also a founding member of the celebrated 29th Street Saxophone Quartet. A devoted educator, Watson served as the first William D. and Mary Grant Distinguished Professor in Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, transforming the program into one of the finest in the country over his 20 year tenure. His many honors include induction into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame, the Benny Golson Jazz Masters Award from Howard University, and selection as one of the first inductees into Kansas City’s 18th and Vine Jazz Walk of Fame, alongside Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Mary Lou Williams, and Pat Metheny.

Joining Watson is his longtime musical partner Curtis Lundy on bass, along with pianist Jordan Williams and drummer Victor Jones, an ensemble of extraordinary depth and history. This is a rare and unforgettable opportunity to hear a true jazz legend in an intimate setting.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

A true jazz legend and Grammy-nominated saxophonist brings his acclaimed quartet to The Side Door

Bobby Watson – Alto Saxophone
Curtis Lundy – Bass
Jordan Williams – Piano
Victor Jones – Drums

Bobby Watson sits among the pantheon of present day jazz greats. Born in Lawrence, Kansas and raised in Kansas City, Watson trained formally at the University of Miami, where his classmates included Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, and Bruce Hornsby. After graduating in 1975, he moved to New York City and became musical director of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers from 1977 to 1981, contributing to 14 Jazz Messengers recordings, more than any other musician in the group’s 35 year history. He went on to work with jazz icons Max Roach, Louis Hayes, George Coleman, and Sam Rivers, along with legendary vocalists Joe Williams, Lou Rawls, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, and Carmen Lundy.

In the late 1980s, Watson launched his acclaimed acoustic quintet Horizon alongside bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Lewis, releasing a string of now classic recordings for Blue Note and Columbia. As a leader he has released nearly 30 albums and appeared on over 100 more as a sideman or co-leader, along with composing more than 100 original works, including music for the soundtrack of Robert De Niro’s directorial debut, A Bronx Tale. He is also a founding member of the celebrated 29th Street Saxophone Quartet. A devoted educator, Watson served as the first William D. and Mary Grant Distinguished Professor in Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, transforming the program into one of the finest in the country over his 20 year tenure. His many honors include induction into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame, the Benny Golson Jazz Masters Award from Howard University, and selection as one of the first inductees into Kansas City’s 18th and Vine Jazz Walk of Fame, alongside Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Mary Lou Williams, and Pat Metheny.

Joining Watson is his longtime musical partner Curtis Lundy on bass, along with pianist Jordan Williams and drummer Victor Jones, an ensemble of extraordinary depth and history. This is a rare and unforgettable opportunity to hear a true jazz legend in an intimate setting.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

Aaron Goldberg – Piano
Reuben Rogers – Bass
Kendrick Scott – Drums

The New York Times has called Aaron Goldberg a “post-bop pianist of exemplary taste and range”, and over a career spanning three decades he has more than earned that distinction. Born in Boston, Goldberg discovered jazz in high school under the guidance of bassist Bob Sinicrope, and later studied with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi before moving to New York at seventeen to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. DownBeat magazine has praised his “quick witted harmonic reflexes, fluid command of line, and cut-to-the-chase sense of narrative logic.”

Goldberg’s career has placed him at the center of some of jazz’s most important collaborations. He toured extensively with Joshua Redman, joined the bands of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Wynton Marsalis, and performed worldwide with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He has also collaborated with Charles Lloyd, Madeleine Peyroux, Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, and Guillermo Klein, among many others, and somehow found time to earn a master’s degree in philosophy from Tufts along the way. He is a Steinway artist and a member of the celebrated collaborative trio Yes! with Omer Avital and Ali Jackson Jr.

Bassist Reuben Rogers and Goldberg formed one of jazz’s most acclaimed working trios, releasing five celebrated albums together between 1998 and 2014, and reuniting in the studio in recent years to continue that twenty-five-year musical fellowship. Joining them is drummer Kendrick Scott, one of the most sought-after and inventive drummers of his generation. Together, this is a trio of extraordinary depth, taste, and telepathic interplay, a rare and special night of piano trio jazz at its finest.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

Aaron Goldberg – Piano
Reuben Rogers – Bass
Kendrick Scott – Drums

The New York Times has called Aaron Goldberg a “post-bop pianist of exemplary taste and range”, and over a career spanning three decades he has more than earned that distinction. Born in Boston, Goldberg discovered jazz in high school under the guidance of bassist Bob Sinicrope, and later studied with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi before moving to New York at seventeen to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. DownBeat magazine has praised his “quick witted harmonic reflexes, fluid command of line, and cut-to-the-chase sense of narrative logic.”

Goldberg’s career has placed him at the center of some of jazz’s most important collaborations. He toured extensively with Joshua Redman, joined the bands of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Wynton Marsalis, and performed worldwide with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He has also collaborated with Charles Lloyd, Madeleine Peyroux, Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard, and Guillermo Klein, among many others, and somehow found time to earn a master’s degree in philosophy from Tufts along the way. He is a Steinway artist and a member of the celebrated collaborative trio Yes! with Omer Avital and Ali Jackson Jr.

Bassist Reuben Rogers and Goldberg formed one of jazz’s most acclaimed working trios, releasing five celebrated albums together between 1998 and 2014, and reuniting in the studio in recent years to continue that twenty-five-year musical fellowship. Joining them is drummer Kendrick Scott, one of the most sought-after and inventive drummers of his generation. Together, this is a trio of extraordinary depth, taste, and telepathic interplay, a rare and special night of piano trio jazz at its finest.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

Benny Green – Solo Piano

Benny Green is one of the most exciting, hard-swinging pianists to emerge from the legacy of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Born in New York and raised in Berkeley, California, Green began classical piano studies at age seven, drawn to jazz through his father’s record collection of Monk and Bird, and his early talent led to a weekly trio gig at Yoshi’s while still in high school.

After moving to New York, Green studied with veteran pianist Walter Bishop Jr., who encouraged him to explore the full scope of jazz piano history to find his own voice. He went on to work with Betty Carter from 1983 to 1987, then realized a lifelong dream by joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, remaining a member until Blakey’s passing in 1990. He went on to join Freddie Hubbard’s quintet, and in 1993 became the first recipient of the City of Toronto’s Glenn Gould International Protégé Prize in Music, selected personally by Oscar Peterson. That same year he joined Ray Brown’s trio, remaining until 1997.

Green has been hailed as the bearer of a torch handed down to him personally by his mentors, Betty Carter, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, and Ray Brown, a living link to one of the great lineages of jazz piano. With a recording career spanning over one hundred sessions as both leader and sideman, and decades of touring as a soloist and bandleader, Green brings the full weight of that tradition to The Side Door for two nights of solo piano, an intimate format that allows his extraordinary touch, harmonic depth, and hard-swinging spirit to take center stage.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

Benny Green – Solo Piano

Benny Green is one of the most exciting, hard-swinging pianists to emerge from the legacy of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Born in New York and raised in Berkeley, California, Green began classical piano studies at age seven, drawn to jazz through his father’s record collection of Monk and Bird, and his early talent led to a weekly trio gig at Yoshi’s while still in high school.

After moving to New York, Green studied with veteran pianist Walter Bishop Jr., who encouraged him to explore the full scope of jazz piano history to find his own voice. He went on to work with Betty Carter from 1983 to 1987, then realized a lifelong dream by joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, remaining a member until Blakey’s passing in 1990. He went on to join Freddie Hubbard’s quintet, and in 1993 became the first recipient of the City of Toronto’s Glenn Gould International Protégé Prize in Music, selected personally by Oscar Peterson. That same year he joined Ray Brown’s trio, remaining until 1997.

Green has been hailed as the bearer of a torch handed down to him personally by his mentors, Betty Carter, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, and Ray Brown, a living link to one of the great lineages of jazz piano. With a recording career spanning over one hundred sessions as both leader and sideman, and decades of touring as a soloist and bandleader, Green brings the full weight of that tradition to The Side Door for two nights of solo piano, an intimate format that allows his extraordinary touch, harmonic depth, and hard-swinging spirit to take center stage.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

DownBeat’s #1 Rising Star altoist brings her quartet to The Side Door for an electrifying night of modern jazz.

Sarah Hanahan is one of the most exciting young voices in jazz today. Raised in Marlborough, Massachusetts, she picked up the alto saxophone at age eight, introduced to music by her father, a drummer who passed down his love of the music early on. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School, studying under Abraham Burton, Rene McLean, Nat Reeves, and Javon Jackson, and went on to complete her master’s at The Juilliard School.

Hanahan was featured in the first-ever class of NPR’s Jazz Night in America Youngbloods series, hosted by Christian McBride, and has worked with Jeff “Tain” Watts, Nat Reeves, Steve Davis, Billy Hart, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Marc Cary, among many others. She plays regularly at Smalls Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club, Smoke Jazz Club, and Birdland, and has performed with the Grammy-winning Mingus Big Band and the Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Orchestra. Her debut album Among Giants, featuring Marc Cary, Nat Reeves, and Jeff “Tain” Watts, earned five stars in DownBeat and was named one of their Top Albums of the Year in 2024. The following year, she was named DownBeat’s #1 Rising Star Alto Saxophonist, an honor she has now claimed in consecutive years.

With a sound that blends lyrical nuance and an ebullient, joyful stage presence, Hanahan represents the very best of jazz’s next generation. This is a rare opportunity to experience one of the most acclaimed young musicians in jazz today in an intimate setting.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

Nat Reeves – Bass
Eric Alexander – Tenor Saxophone
Steve Davis – Trombone
Eddie Henderson – Trumpet
Caelan Cardello – Piano
Jeff “Tain” Watts – Drums

For over 40 years, Nat Reeves has been one of the most respected bassists in jazz. Early in his career he performed with Jackie McLean, Benny Golson, Donald Byrd, Art Taylor, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Kirkland, and Kenny Drew. He became a longtime member of Kenny Garrett’s group beginning in 1994, and has worked and recorded with Pharoah Sanders, George Coleman, Harold Mabern, George Cables, and Joe Farnsworth, among many others. He has released three albums as a leader, State of Emergency, Blue Ridge, and now Now in Time, released April 17, 2026 on Cellar Live.

Now in Time brings together an extraordinary lineup spanning multiple generations of jazz, twelve tracks running just over an hour that move comfortably between Reeves’ own original compositions and a thoughtful selection of standards, including “On Green Dolphin Street,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and a tribute to Marvin Gaye with “The Creator Has a Master Plan.” Throughout the record, Reeves’ bass acts as a quiet narrator, steering the music’s direction with the kind of unhurried confidence that comes from four decades on the bandstand. Critics have praised the album as a recording that rewards close, attentive listening, one that resists the pace of casual consumption and instead invites listeners to settle into a long evening built on the trust and shared musical language of these six players.

This is a rare chance to hear the album’s celebrated lineup perform the music live, in an intimate setting.

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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.