Takin' It To The Park + A Great Coming Attraction

This coming Monday evening (August 3), the Hartford Jazz Society presents the penultimate concert in its 2015 Monday Night Jazz Series and the headliner is Noah Baerman Resonance Ensemble.  Mr. Baerman (pictured left) has composed a new full-length work, "The Rock and The Redemption", and this is the 3rd opportunity he has had to present the work to an audience (and the first time outdoors as the Series takes place in Hartford's Bushnell Park).  Joining him onstage will be Kris Allen (tenor saxophone, flute), Chris Dingman (vibraphone), Melanie Hsu (cello, vocals), Henry Lugo (acoustic and electric basses), Bill Carbone (drums, percussion), Claire Randall (vocals) and Latanya Farrell (vocals) while he composer adds piano, synthesizer, slide guitar, and vocals.

Opening the show at 6 p.m. will be trumpeter Haneef Nelson and his group.  In case of rain, the concert moves indoors to the Asylum Hill Congregational Church.  For more information, go to hartfordmondaynightjazz.com.

Bassist Joe Fonda is also the curator of the annual Connecticut Composers Festival held in Middletown in September .  This year it's his 10th annual edition and the even is taking place on November 14 in The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street.  I'm telling you now because the performance space is fairly small and the event usually sells out.  Opening the evening will be the duo of Dominique Eade (vocals) and Allan Chase (saxophones), both of whom teach in Boston and had a long musical relationship.

Mr. Fonda is also sharing the stage playing alongside the creative whirlwind that is pianist Satoko Fujii. Ms. Fujii is one of the busiest performers in creative music leading several different ensembles plus having big bands in New York City, Japan, and now Berlin, Germany.

The final set of the night belongs to saxophonist (and Bloomfield, CT native) Jimmy Greene. Mr. Greene, who graduated from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, now teaches at Western Connecticut State University.  He'll be playing a solo set which is something the tenor and soprano saxophonist does not do very often (if ever).  This should be quite a fascinating evening.  For more information and reservations, go to www.buttonwood.org.

You'll notice no listing for The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme for the coming weekend and it's for a good reason.  They are closed so that the owner and manager can attend The Newport Jazz Festival.  In fact, The Side Door is still selling tickets, in association with WBGO-FM Newark, for bus rides to the Festival. Call 860-434-0886 for more information.  Go online to thesidedoorjazz.com to check out the lineup for the coming weeks. Shows include the Dave Liebman Quartet (8/08), Ellis Marsalis (8/14), and the Linda Oh Quartet (8/28).