Winner of the 2024 Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition, April May Webb brings Sounds of April & Randall to The Side Door.

April May Webb: Vocals
Randall Haywood: Trumpet
Yayoi Ikawa: Piano
Tyler Sherman: Bass
Dr. Nathan Webb: Drums

Winner of the 2024 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, April May Webb brings her award-winning ensemble Sounds of April & Randall to The Side Door.

April May Webb is one of the most exciting voices in jazz today. A William Paterson University graduate who studied under the legendary Mulgrew Miller, she made history as the first Black woman to graduate from the school’s Jazz Education program. In 2024 she won the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition — judged by Christian McBride, Bill Charlap, Terri Lyne Carrington, Lisa Fischer, and Madeleine Peyroux — out of more than 220 vocalists from 21 countries. She has been named a Woodshed Network Artist by NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, and in 2023 she and her husband Randall Haywood were named U.S. Cultural Ambassadors by the State Department, touring Fiji and Tonga.

Randall Haywood is a Juilliard-trained trumpeter who at age 15 became the youngest member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Together, Webb and Haywood co-lead Sounds of April & Randall, whose single “Horizon” hit #17 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts and whose album Questions Left Unanswered peaked at #12 on the National Jazz Week Charts.

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.

Kevin Hays – Piano

Rick Rosato – Bass

Jimmy Macbride – Drums

Raised in Greenwich, CT, Hays began playing professionally in New York while still in high school and has since built one of the most acclaimed careers in jazz. A true original whose music spans hard-swinging piano trio jazz, intimate singer-songwriter recordings, and ambitious collaborative projects, Hays has consistently defied easy categorization while earning the respect of the music’s greatest voices.

His many recordings have received critical praise from the New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, and JazzTimes, as well as the “Coup de Coeur” award from the Académie Charles Cros in France. He recorded three critically acclaimed albums for Blue Note Records, and his Seventh Sense was named one of the “Top 40 Jazz Releases of the Year” by Musician Magazine. Notable collaborations include a piano duo project with Brad Mehldau (Modern Music – Nonesuch), world tours with Sonny Rollins, John Scofield, Roy Haynes, and James Taylor, and co-writing credits on the Steve Gadd Band’s 2019 Grammy Award-winning album for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

In addition to his celebrated work as a pianist and composer, Hays has become increasingly recognized as a gifted singer-songwriter, releasing the widely lauded New Day (Sunnyside, 2015) and the piano-guitar collaboration Hope (2019) with Beninese guitarist Lionel Loueke. John Scofield has called him “all encompassing — phenomenally so,” while Brad Mehldau describes him as “a true original. Everything he plays has a deep intelligence and swing.” The New Yorker named him one of the best of the year, calling his playing “a jolt of joy.”

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.

Brooklyn-born guitarist Rich Goldstein brings his “Into the Blue” Quartet to The Side Door for a night of hard-swinging, groove-driven jazz

Rich Goldstein – Guitar

Brian Charette – Organ

Behn Gillece – Vibraphone

Jordan Young – Drums

Born in Brooklyn New York, east coast guitarist Rich Goldstein is known for his grooving hard bop style with a modern tinge. He has appeared with a wide range of musicians including, Andy Laverne, Charles Flores, Steve Davis, Houston Person, Reverend Hubert Powell, Javon Jackson, Jaimoe(from the Allman Brothers Band), Randy Johnston, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, and many others at jazz venues including Birdland , the Berklee Performance Center, The Jazz Gallery, and Smalls. He has appeared at festivals such as The Atlanta jazz Fest, The Cancun Jazz Fest, and The Festival of Arts and Ideas. Rich has performed with the Hartford, New Haven, and Farmington Symphony in venues including The Bushnell and Woolsey Hall.. He has recorded as a sideman with Charles Flores, Rob Zappulla, Larry Derdeyn (Lingo), Ed Fast and Conga Bop, and Jim Argiro, as well as numerous other studio dates. As a leader Goldstein recorded and produced “Comin’ from Montgomery”, a tribute to the Montgomery brothers (2008), which featured Mary DiPaola (piano), Kris Jensen (tenor sax), Steve Davis (trombone), Bhen Gillece (vibes), Ben Bilello (drums), and Stephen Porter (bass). “Effervescent” featuring Andy LaVerne (piano), Steve LaSpina (bass), Anthony Pinciotti (drums) , and Billy Drewes (Sax) (2011). Co-produced a project with Jesse Hameen II (drums), Kris Jensen (Sax), and Brian Charette (organ). In 2025 Rich released “Into the Blue” through the “Truth Revolution Recording Collective”, which features Yahn Frenkel (organ), Ben Bilello(drums), and Behn Gillece (vibraphone). Goldstein is a longtime faculty member at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, ( Jackie McLean Institute), as well as a past guitar professor at Central and Southern Connecticut State Universities. He has been involved with various jazz camps including “Meet the Masters”, runs the “Saturday Jazz Workshop” for aspiring high schoolers, and performs a number of lectures and master classes yearly. Rich keeps a busy schedule as a jazz educator, freelance guitarist, composer and recording artist, group leader, organizer, and is member of the CT Guitar Society, the Hartford Jazz Society, Jazz Ed Network (Jen) and AAUP. Rich received his initial training at the Hartt school’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and completed his masters in jazz studies at Purchase College in New York.

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.

Drummer Tony Moreno honors his mentor Elvin Jones with new arrangements of his classic repertoire, performed by a stellar all-star ensemble

Tony Moreno – Drums

Troy Roberts – Tenor Saxophone

Patrick Cornelius – Alto & Soprano Saxophones

Manuel Valera – Piano

Gene Perla – Bass

Mauricio Herrera – Congas

Drummer Tony Moreno — one of Elvin Jones’ most devoted protégés — brings the Dear Elvin J. Project to The Side Door for a very special night honoring the extraordinary legacy of one of jazz’s most transformative figures.

The music from this collective grows out of a deep connection to the legacy of Elvin Jones, but it truly comes alive through the ongoing, living dialogue between the musicians themselves.

Drawing from ten compositions in Elvin’s repertoire, New York–based composer and arranger Rich Shemaria has created a set of new arrangements that honor the spirit of the music while opening it up in fresh and personal ways.

The band recently performed a sold-out night at Smalls Jazz Club—an experience that affirmed just how deeply this music can connect with an audience. A new recording is also on the way, scheduled for release this July, capturing the energy, depth, and shared feeling of the group in a direct and unfiltered way.

Each musician brings a distinct voice to the ensemble, and it’s in the meeting of those voices that the music finds its shape—rooted in tradition, yet always moving forward.

Moreno’s connection with Elvin began at age eleven, when his mother brought him to a club down the street where Elvin was performing. After the show, Elvin and his wife Keiko sat with the family, and the following week Elvin gifted the young Moreno a scratched-up set of Gretsch drums — the very drums he had played on John Coltrane’s Live at Birdland and Crescent. That same week, Moreno began a seven-year period of study with Elvin, spending time at his home talking, listening to music, and watching classic Western films together. “Elvin was my role model, my mentor, and my closest friend,” Moreno reflects.

For the Dear Elvin J. Project, Moreno selected ten compositions from Elvin’s classic repertoire and enlisted NYC arranger and composer Rich Shemaria to create new arrangements for a stellar ensemble. The result is a tribute that honors not just the music, but the spirit of one of jazz’s most transformative figures.

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.

Tony Levin · Bass

Pete Levin · Keys

Pat LaBarbera · Saxophone & Flute

Jeff Siegel · Drums

THE LEVIN BROTHERS BAND

Trained in Classical music, Pete and Tony Levin were also influenced by the 1950’s jazz recordings by bassist Oscar Pettiford. Both were encouraged by high school music faculty to pursue music careers. Pete went to The Juilliard School in New York City, Tony to The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. After graduating, Tony also moved to New York City. By the 1970’s both were active in the New York City music scene.

Style-wise, Tony and Pete have had divergent careers. Their musical paths have crossed many times, backing other artists and playing in each other’s bands. In the late ‘70s they toured together with Paul Simon. But other than a 1976 recording by their first group – “The Clams” – the Levin Brothers band was their first time developing a project together.

While their 2014 debut album “Levin Brothers” was rooted in ‘50s-era jazz, over the years they’ve added a lot of eclectic material to the band’s repertoire, drawing from Classical, Pop and Prog Rock genres and adapting it to the band’s jazz style. Performances now include compositions by Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Ennio Morricone, Ralph Towner, Astor Piazzolla and Jimi Hendrix, as well as originals by Pete and Tony.

Over the last 10 years the quartet has toured the U.S. and internationally, releasing 4 more albums. While Woodstock drummer Jeff Siegel has been with them from the beginning, the 4th member has varied over the years: saxophonist Erik Lawrence, guitarists David Spinozza and Jeff Ciampa, flautist Ali Ryerson and saxophonist Ken Gioffre. In 2024-25 they are joined by iconic saxophonist Pat Labarbera.

TONY LEVIN

Tony has become the bass and Chapman Stick voice for Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and BEAT. He has played on notable recordings for John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Dire Straits, Carly Simon, Judy Collins, Buddy Rich, Gary Burton, Chuck Mangione, Herbie Mann and many others. He currently records and tours with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Stick Men and BEAT.

PETE LEVIN

In the 1970s, Pete switched to keyboards, becoming a synthesizer specialist in the New York City recording studio scene. Over the years, he has graced hundreds of jazz and pop recordings and performances with artists including Gil Evans, Jimmy Giuffre, David Sanborn, Miles Davis, Joe Louis Walker, Annie Lennox, Jaco Pastorius and Wayne Shorter. He has released 19 solo albums. He currently leads the “Gil Evans Remembered” band, an 11-piece group made up of alumni of the Gil Evans Orchestra of the 1970’s.

JEFF “SEIGE” SEIGEL

Drummer/Composer/Educator Jeff Siegel is a veteran of the New York Jazz Scene. A member of Sir Roland Hanna’s Trio from 1994-99, Jeff has performed and recorded with jazz legends including Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Frank Foster, Helen Merrill and Mose Allison. For many years he was a member of legendary pianist Lee Shaw’s recording and touring trio. He currently tours “The Professors” a jazz group made up of four members of the SUNY music faculty.

PAT LABARBERA

American-born Canadian jazz tenor sax player, Pat Labarbera is best known as a long-time featured soloist in Buddy Rich’s band and Elvin Jones’ quartet. Pat comes from a musical

family, sharing jazz history along with his two brothers, John (Buddy Rich) and Joe (Bill Evans, Tony Bennett). Pat also played in groups led by Woody Herman, Louie Bellson and Carlos Santana. Living in Toronto, Ontario since 1974, Pat has played a major role in the development of a generation of Canadian saxophonists. Pat joined the Levin Brothers quartet in 2024, appearing with them for four shows at the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

Mike Rodriguez – Trumpet

Nicole Glover – Sax

Gary Versace – Piano

TBD – Bass

Ele Howell – Drums

Mike Rodriguez is one of the most in-demand trumpeters in jazz today — a Queens-born musician whose career has taken him to the very top of the music. A Grammy Award winner as part of Chick Corea’s Spanish Heart Band, he has performed and recorded alongside Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Joe Lovano, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Maria Schneider, Kenny Barron, Carla Bley, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He is currently a member of the internationally acclaimed SFJazz Collective and serves on the faculty at NYU and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Rodriguez’s playing is rooted in the hard bop tradition but reaches comfortably across the full spectrum of jazz — from straight-ahead to Latin, from chamber settings to large ensembles. His recordings as a leader, Reverence (Criss Cross) and Pathways (2021), showcase a mature voice that is at once lyrical, searching, and deeply swinging. Alongside his brother, pianist Robert Rodriguez, he has recorded five albums as the Rodriguez Brothers — a long-running creative partnership that has earned Grammy nominations and international acclaim.

At The Side Door, Rodriguez brings his own quintet — an intimate format that puts his voice front and center in a room built for exactly this kind of music.

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.

Billy Childs · Piano

Matt Penman · Bass

Ari Hoenig · Drums

Billy Childs stands in a category of his own in contemporary jazz. A pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor whose music moves effortlessly between jazz and the classical tradition, he has garnered six Grammy Awards and seventeen nominations — including back-to-back wins for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Rebirth (2018) and The Winds of Change (2024). The Guggenheim Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters have all recognized his work. DownBeat simply calls him “one of the foremost American composers of his era.”

Childs began his career in the late 1970s apprenticing alongside Freddie Hubbard and J.J. Johnson — two of jazz’s all-time giants. Since then he has performed and collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Sting, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, the Kronos Quartet, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among many others. His compositions have been commissioned by the LA Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and the LA Master Chorale.

At The Side Door, he brings the piano trio format down to its most intimate — just three musicians in a room, playing at the highest level. This is a rare opportunity to hear one of jazz’s true masters in close quarters.

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.

Reggie Watkins · Trombone

Matt Parker · Saxophones

Orrin Evans · Piano

Matt Dwonszyk · Bass

Byron Landham · Drums

Reggie Watkins is one of the most compelling trombonists working in jazz today — a musician whose playing Hot House Magazine describes as marked by “originality and creativity avoiding clichés and predictable phrases in an entirely distinctive trombone style.” Rooted in the Pittsburgh jazz tradition that gave the world Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn, and Ahmad Jamal, Watkins has spent over two decades pushing jazz forward on his own terms.

His résumé spans the full range of the music. He served as trombonist and musical director for Maynard Ferguson for six years, has been a longtime member of the Grammy-nominated Orrin Evans Captain Black Big Band, and has shared the stage with Aretha Franklin, Arturo Sandoval, Dianne Reeves, and Trombone Shorty, among many others. His most recent album, Rivers (2025), recorded with a Pittsburgh-based quartet, draws on his deep roots in the Steel City while pushing confidently toward the future.

At The Side Door, Watkins brings a hand-picked quintet featuring some of the finest players on the scene today — including pianist Orrin Evans, a longtime collaborator and one of the most creative voices in contemporary 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. Tickets are reserved seating. Guests dining at the Old Lyme Inn restaurant prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.