Joe Farnsworth – Drums

Eric Alexander – Tenor Saxophone

Medjé Owusu – Trumpet

Isaac Byrd – Piano

Peter Washington – Bass

Joe Farnsworth is one of the most highly regarded jazz drummers on the scene today — known for his blazing speed, precision, and deeply melodic playing. Born in South Hadley, Massachusetts into a musical family, Farnsworth studied with legendary educators Alan Dawson and Arthur Taylor before graduating from William Paterson College in New Jersey, where he first began playing alongside saxophonist Eric Alexander. Upon moving to New York City, he quickly became one of the most in-demand drummers on the scene, recording over 100 albums as a leader and sideman and performing with Pharaoh Sanders, Horace Silver, Harold Mabern, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton, Diana Krall, Benny Golson, George Coleman, Johnny Griffin, Lou Donaldson, Barry Harris, and Curtis Fuller, among many others. He is a founding member of the celebrated One for All Quintet and leads his own Prime Time Band at Dizzy’s, Smalls, and Smoke Jazz & Supper Club in New York City.

Joining him as featured soloist is tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander — one of the most celebrated and distinctive voices on the instrument working today. Born in Galesburg, Illinois, Alexander also studied at William Paterson College under Harold Mabern, Joe Lovano, and Rufus Reid, and placed second in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition behind Joshua Redman. Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination deeply rooted in the bebop tradition, Alexander has released over 36 albums as a leader and is a core member of the One for All Quintet.

Together, Farnsworth and Alexander bring a lifetime of musical partnership to The Side Door — joined by an exceptional supporting cast for what promises to be an extraordinary night of straight-ahead 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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

Javon Jackson – Tenor Saxophone

Rich Goldstein – Guitar

Jeremy Manasia – Piano

Corcoran Holt – Bass

McClenty Hunter – Drums

The Meet the Masters Summer Jazz Workshop is one of Connecticut’s most beloved jazz education programs — an intensive annual week-long program held at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford that connects jazz students between the ages of 13 and 18, as well as adult musicians, with internationally recognized jazz masters. Under Jackson’s direction, the mission of the camp is to offer participants advice, feedback, playing tips, and historical narrative on America’s greatest art form, culminating in a public performance by all participants at the end of the week. This performance at The Side Door brings that same spirit to the stage — the Meet the Masters All Stars are the faculty of the camp itself: Rich Goldstein, Jeremy Manasia, Corcoran Holt, and McClenty Hunter — a group of master musicians who work together each summer to pass the tradition forward.

One of the most storied saxophonists in jazz, Javon Jackson left his studies at Berklee College of Music in 1986 to join Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers — one of the most celebrated bands in the history of the music — where he played alongside pianist Benny Green, trumpeter Philip Harper, and trombonist Robin Eubanks. He remained a fixture in the Jazz Messengers until Blakey’s passing in 1990, and has since built one of the most distinguished careers in contemporary jazz. He joined Elvin Jones’ group in 1992, recorded his Blue Note debut in 1994 under the direction of Betty Carter, and has gone on to release over 22 recordings as a leader — touring and recording on over 150 albums with jazz greats including Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Stanley Turrentine, and Ben E. King. He was the recipient of the prestigious Benny Golson Award from Howard University in 2012 for recognition of excellence in jazz. Since 2013, Jackson has served as Director of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School — one of the country’s most respected jazz programs — and in 2016 founded the Meet the Masters Summer Jazz Workshop. As Jackson has said of his educational mission, “Today’s students won’t get to know Art Blakey or Freddie Hubbard or Elvin Jones. But they can know them through me.”

This is a rare opportunity to hear this extraordinary ensemble in an intimate setting — a night that honors both the tradition and the future of 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 prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.

Corcoran Holt – Bass

Stacy Dillard – Tenor & Soprano Saxophone

Josh Evans – Trumpet

Benito Gonzalez – Piano

Kweku Sumbry – Drums & Djembe

Corcoran Holt is a force of nature on the bass — a musician whose commanding presence, deep groove, and musical intelligence have made him one of the most sought-after players on the New York scene. A son of Washington, D.C., Holt began his musical journey at age four playing djembe and West African percussion before taking up the upright bass at ten with the renowned DC Youth Orchestra. He attended the prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and went on to earn his B.A. in Jazz Studies from Shenandoah Conservatory and his M.A. from Queens College under the tutelage of Buster Williams. His connection to the music runs deep — legend has it that his great-grandfather, a bassist who grew up in High Point, North Carolina, lived next door to a young John Coltrane and gave him his first music lessons.

Holt has performed and recorded with some of the most celebrated names in jazz, including Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove, Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Delfeayo Marsalis, Carmen Lundy, and Jazzmeia Horn, among many others. He appears on three Grammy-nominated recordings — Kenny Garrett’s Pushing the World Away (2013), Jamison Ross’s Jamison (2014), and The Baylor Project’s The Journey (2017) — and on Kenny Garrett’s Sounds from the Ancestors, which won the NAACP Image Award for Best Jazz Instrumental in 2021. In 2009 he represented the United States as a Jazz Ambassador with the U.S. State Department, touring the Middle East as both performer and clinician. He has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, the Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, and Dizzy’s Club, and has toured across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Jazz Bass at Arizona State University and is the DC Jazz Festival’s Artist-in-Residence.

As a bandleader, Holt channels that same depth of spirit and vision into his own music. His debut album The Mecca (2018) paid homage to his D.C. roots, and his acclaimed sophomore release Freedom of Art stands as his most personal statement yet — a testament to transformation, family, and the enduring principle at the heart of jazz: freedom itself. The compositions emerged during the 2020 pandemic, drawing from the loss of his father, the steadfast love of his family, and the deep musical brotherhood forged over years of touring with this very ensemble. Stacy Dillard delivers soulful, inventive saxophone work throughout, Josh Evans brings virtuosic trumpet firepower to the group, Benito Gonzalez anchors the harmony with brilliance and warmth, and Kweku Sumbry — a percussionist of extraordinary range — holds it all together on drums and djembe. This is a rare opportunity to experience this extraordinary project 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.

Guillermo Klein – Piano/Vocals

Vinicius Gomes – Guitar

Sebastian De Urquiza – Bass

Rogerio Boccato – Percussion

Rodrigo Recabarren – Drums

Born in Buenos Aires and trained at Berklee College of Music, Argentine pianist and composer Guillermo Klein is one of the most quietly revered figures in contemporary jazz — a musician whose music has earned the devotion of peers and critics alike while defying easy categorization. NPR describes his writing as “an intuitive hybrid of big band jazz, Argentinean folk rhythms and the modern classical idiom,” while All About Jazz calls him “an erudite visionary.” Over the past three decades, some of New York’s most celebrated jazz musicians have sought out the chance to play his challenging and deeply original music.

Klein spent the 1990s in New York leading his acclaimed 17-piece big band at Smalls and the Jazz Standard, before scaling the group down to the celebrated ensemble Los Guachos — featuring the likes of Miguel Zenón, Chris Cheek, Ben Monder, and Jeff Ballard — which has maintained a yearly residency at the Village Vanguard since 2007. He has been commissioned by Carnegie Hall, MIT, and the Library of Congress, and his arrangements appear on Miguel Zenón’s Grammy-nominated Alma Adentro. As a composer and arranger he has been described as “the Gil Evans of Argentina” — and like Evans, his music rewards deep listening with seemingly endless discovery.

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.

Edmar Castañeda – Harp

Andrea Tierra – Vocals

Birsa Chatterjee – Tenor Saxophone

Julian Miltenberger – Drums

Colombian-born and New York-based, Edmar Castañeda has single-handedly redefined what the harp can do in jazz. Playing bass lines, harmony, and melody simultaneously on his instrument, his technique is unlike anything else in music. NPR’s Fresh Air raves that his playing is “the real astonishment — Castañeda juggles lead, rhythm and bass lines, using a variety of hard and soft string attacks to keep those voices distinct, all without giving up the groove.” The New York Times writes that he “engages modern jazz in ways that honor cultural origins, and has the capacity to astonish by virtue of his fingerstyle technique.” Moses Sumney put it simply: “My brain cracked open when I first saw this.”

A Latin Grammy nominee and member of BEATrio alongside Béla Fleck and Antonio Sánchez — whose album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album — Castañeda has collaborated with Wynton Marsalis, John Scofield, Paquito D’Rivera, Hiromi, Dave Holland, Marcus Miller, Sting, and Paco de Lucia, among many others. He was commissioned by Carnegie Hall to write Bordones for string orchestra and EC Llanera Harp, and by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to compose Tres Cordilleras for harp and big band under the direction of Wynton Marsalis. He is the creator of the EC Llanera Harp in collaboration with Camac Harps, and has released eight acclaimed albums as a leader on his own label.

Joining him is his wife and longtime collaborator, vocalist Andrea Tierra, along with an extraordinary rhythm section. This is a once-in-a-lifetime performance in a 68-seat room — not to be missed.

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.

Jaleel Shaw – Alto/Soprano Saxophone

Lawrence Fields – Piano

Alex Claffy – Bass

Nasheet Waits – Drums

Born and raised in Philadelphia, alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw came up on one of America’s most storied jazz scenes, immersing himself in the city’s rich musical tradition before earning a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music. He went on to receive his Master’s degree in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was recruited by both the Mingus Big Band and the Count Basie Orchestra while still a student.

The New York Times has called him one of the “stewards of a next-generation jazz mainstream that’s inspired, not constrained, by timeworn traditions,” while PostGenre has named him “one of the best saxophonists of his generation.” PopMatters writes that “Shaw’s playing is gorgeous at every turn, filling any listener with the power of feeling.” He has topped critics and readers polls in both DownBeat and JazzTimes, winning the 2014 DownBeat Critics Poll for Rising Star Alto Saxophonist — sharing the honor with Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Bunky Green, and Kenny Garrett.

A longtime member of the Roy Haynes Quartet — appearing on Haynes’ Grammy-nominated album Whereas — Shaw has also performed alongside Christian McBride, Dave Holland, Pat Metheny, Jason Moran, Chick Corea, Robert Glasper, Roy Hargrove, Stefon Harris, and Terri Lyne Carrington, among many others. He has headlined the Newport Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, the Village Vanguard, Birdland, Jazz Showcase, and Blue Note Tokyo, among countless other prestigious venues around the world.

As a leader, Shaw founded his own label Changu Records in 2008, releasing a series of internationally acclaimed albums including Optimism (2008), The Soundtrack of Things to Come (2013), and Echoes (2021), which received a four-star review from DownBeat and was inducted into the Library of Congress’ collection of Pandemic Art. His most recent album Painter of the Invisible (2025) has earned widespread critical praise and follows his first-ever appearance as a bandleader at the Newport Jazz Festival in 2024 and his inclusion in Dave Holland’s celebrated 2024 quartet alongside Kris Davis and Nasheet Waits. A recipient of multiple ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards and a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, Shaw is as revered in the classroom as he is on the bandstand.

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.

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.