![]() Jazz great Thad Jones was moved to tears when he heard the youngsters play one of his compositions at a summer concert. Garden Area’s youth group, the Coming Storm, five novice musicians ranging in age from 10 to 15, was considered one of the best local groups at the Hartford Festival of Jazz. The final concert in 1967 was Clark Terry’s Big Band wailing away in the yard of Fred D. The 2nd concert had a blues rooted style by Muddy Waters and his Blues Band. The great saxophonist, Cannonball Adderley, performed with his Quintet on Barbour Street. Garden Area’s first outdoor concert was held in the predominately African-American North End section of Hartford. To accommodate the large number of fans that began turning out, the concerts were moved to various outdoor locations in Hartford, finally finding their permanent home in historic Bushnell Park. Festival performances took place on Monday nights, initially at the Garden Area Center. With the Council’s backing in 1967, Paul Brown, jazz bassist, founded what is now known as Monday Night Jazz, but was then called the Hartford Festival of Jazz. Professionals playing in New York and Boston clubs on weekends would stop by the Center on Mondays to jam with the local musicians. Mondays soon became weekly jam session nights. Neighborhood jazz teachers would also perform for the students. These young people received music instruction, and local musicians were provided a place to explore their musical creativity. This group, Garden Area Neighborhood Council, also provided an interesting and educational environment for local community youth. In 1964 a group of local Hartford residents developed a social and cultural awareness program that would enrich the lives of residents in the North Hartford area. These concerts provide access to the arts for audiences of all ages in central Hartford, help sustain jazz as a living art form, and invigorate the cultural community by promoting quality, diversity and economic growth. Since 1967 the Monday Night Jazz Series has brought world famous musicians and local aspiring artists together in downtown Hartford for free concerts during July and August. Go Organic Orchestra/Brooklyn Raga Massive is funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies. ![]() Featuring over twenty musicians, Ragmala bridges musical and cultural distinctions between Indian Classical, jazz and West African Music. The Series will be highlighted by the finale, which will feature a presentation of Ragmala by the Go: Organic Orchestra and Brooklyn Raga Massive. Several nights will feature themes that have evolved in the twelve years the Hartford Jazz Society has presented the Series including latin jazz, women in jazz, and a special feature for an overlooked elder statesmen of the music. Each in-person concert will consist of an opening act featuring a local musician or ensemble followed by a headliner of regional, national or international prominence. Each year the Hartford Jazz Society seeks to present a diverse program featuring musicians exhibiting the highest artistic excellence, many of which are often new to the Greater Hartford audience. The Series has been recognized as a New England Legacy and is referenced in the Library of Congress as the oldest free continuously run jazz festival in the United States. The 55th Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series in Bushnell Park (the “Series”) will be held on six consecutive Monday evenings beginning on Monday, July 11 and concluding on Monday, August 15, 2022.
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