Free Jazz Concert Series Kicks Off August 5 and Runs Through August 26
Jazz Fridays are back! Free performances will be held every Friday from August 5 through August 26 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm on the rear patio of the Museum, located at 370 Beach Road. Bring your chairs, blanket and a picnic to enjoy during the event.
In the case of inclement weather we will make every effort to reschedule the performance.
Jazz Fridays is generously sponsored by Alan and Sylvia Neigher,
“Our Jazz Fridays concert series features the best talented regional jazz artists and ensembles." —Fairfield Museum Executive Director Mike Jehle
Our summer lineup:
Aug 5 – Brian Torff
Brian Torff is the Music Program Director at Fairfield University, and helped curate the Jazz Fridays series. Torff will be performing with Matt DeChamplain, keyboard, Atla DeChamplain, vocals and Arti Dixon drums. “We will be performing jazz standards, a tribute to Ukraine, a Jimi Hendrix ballad, some blues harmonica, and a few originals. I am excited to be working with these great musicians once again!”
Aug 12 – Bill Crowe Quartet
Bill Crowe is an American jazz bassist and will be playing with pianist, David Childs. Among other work, Crow was the long-term bassist in saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's bands in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1975 into the late 1990s he worked in theater orchestras for Broadway shows and during that time he also played engagements with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. In 1983 he was elected to the Executive Board of Local 802, the musicians' union of Greater New York, where he served for twenty years.
Aug 19 – Isabella Mendes
Singer, songwriter, composer, pianist, and educator Isabella Mendes is quickly becoming one of New Haven and Hartford County’s top Brazilian and Jazz entertainers in the industry and has earned an impressive list of accomplishments well beyond her years. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Isabella started to study music at age four and hasn't stopped since. She has been studying with Grammy Winner pianist Fabio Torres and Emmy Winner vocalist Michal Towber. Isabella is also a leader in education, studying at Carnegie Hall as part of the Music Educators program. She is the founder and teacher of IMMusic Studio, a private music school, where she teaches piano and voice. She is an advocate for women and diversity in the arts, and is leading workshops bringing diversity through music in schools and community events.
August 26 – Chris Coogan
Chris Coogan has played pop with Phoebe Snow, Donna Summers, Bette Middler and Darlene Love, broadway with Paul Newman, Jim Naughton and Kelli O’Hara and jazz with Randy Brecker, Sal Salvador, and with his own Chris Coogan Quartet. He music directs at churches, synagogues and with local theaters as well as leading the Good News Gospel Choir. He teaches the art of jazz improvisation to many students locally and at the University of Bridgeport. The New York Times has called him a “masterful performer.” He is quoted as saying, “I like to bring people together with music.”
Jazz Fridays is generously sponsored by Alan and Sylvia Neigher,
