October Jazz at Pizzeria Lauretano

 is located at 291 Greenwood Avenue, Bethel at the junction of Routes 53 and 302. Sunday performances are from 6-8 p.m., with a cover charge (normally $10, unless otherwise noted, plus a $10 minimum). Reservations are strongly recommended by calling the restaurant at 203-792-1500. For more information, please visit the restaurant's new website: www.pizzerialauretano.com.

Sunday, Oct. 2 - John Fumasoli Quintet (cover $12.50)Trombonist and educator John Fumasoli has been active in music for the past 35 years. As a performer he has recorded with The Average White Band, Bob Baldwin, Marion Meadows Thunderstick, Robbie Dupree and his own group the Jones Factor. In addition he has performed with artists as diverse as Gerry Mulligan, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, The Temptations, and Connecticut Grand Opera. He teaches at Fairfield University and has been a band director in the Fairfield Public Schools for more than 30 years. This summer he performed in concerts the music of Duke Ellington with a NEA grant through Fairfield U, in a band led by Brian Torff (jazz director of Westport Arts Center). Fumasoli has two CDs out with his group the Jones Factor. This performance of standards and original material, from bop to modern jazz, will feature a phenomenal band including saxophonist Bill Harris, who toured with Sam Cooke, bassist James Cammack (Ahmad Jamal), drummer Thierry Arpino (Jean-Luc Ponty, Randy Brecker, Larry Coryell), and Rob Aries on keys (John Scofield, saxophonist Bill Evans, Brazilian pianist Eliane Elias, and singers Liza Minnelli, Melba Moore and Freddie Jackson).

Sunday, Oct. 9 - Joe Carter Samba Rio TrioJoe Carter and his Samba Rio Trio return to the pizzeria after they canceled a performance due to Hurricane Irene. The group plays an exquisite style combining bebop and Brasilian music for what Carter calls 'Samba Jazz.' He and the group will play a number of songs Joe has composed in the various Brasilian music styles, like the three tunes he's composed for his sons - a samba he (Viktor With a K), Anton's Choro and a Bossa Nova (Fireflies in the Backyard). Papa's Baiao, based on a Northeast Brasilian rhythm, was written after an extended time performing and teaching in Recife in the Northeast of Brasil. Alongside these tunes, the trio will perform their take on Brasilian standards written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Baden Powell, Luiz Bonfa, Joao Donato and others. Carter has worked and recorded extensively with leading Brazilian musicians in both Brazil and New York City. 
Wednesday, Oct. 12 - Kathleen Kruze and Friends CD RELEASE CONCERT (6:30-8:30 p.m., no cover)Kathleen Kruze is a singer/songwriter and guitarist originally from the New York area now living in Brookfield. Kathleen's musical sensibilities lean towards jazz, but infused with the diverse influences she grew up with: Blues, Folk, Jazz, Latin and R &B. Her signature sound is her unique voice in a smooth-Jazz style. Kathleen has recently completed her third CD, "Night Owl", featuring internationally-acclaimed talents flutist Ali Ryerson, Brazilian percussionist Nanny Assis, bassist Jeff Fuller (Paquito de Rivera, Steve March Torme), World-beat percussionist and  vocalist James Moss (Kool and the Gang), jazz pianists Nick Bariluk and Kent Hewitt, and drummer Roger Post. 

Sunday Oct. 16, Jen Allen Quartet CD Release ConcertThe talented young pianist Jen Allen returns to the pizzeria with her debut CD "Pieces of Myself,"  along with her trio and her husband Kris Allen on saxophone. They'll play tunes from the new album, Jen's originals, and new arrangements of old standards. A native of Foxboro, Mass., who now resides in West Hartford, Allen has been developing her original sound for more than a decade. She's played with jazz greats including Nat Reeves, Jimmy Greene, Dezron Douglas, and Charles Flores, and with many groups including Kendrick Oliver’s New Life Orchestra and the collaborative New Unity Quartet. She has performed at venues around the world including the Winnipeg Jazz Festival and the Cambridge Festival of the Arts. In May 2001, Jen was chosen as one of only eight pianists from around the world to participate in the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Workshop at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. 

Sunday Octo. 30, Kelly Mittleman Quartet
Vocalist Kelly Mittleman takes her own approach to jazz with a spirited mix of jazz, soul and R&B. The Redding singer was a finalist in over 5,000 entrants in the Today Show Superstar Contest, and won honorable mention in the 2009 International Songwriting Competition. Mittleman has two albums out, her debut "Kelly," produced by Nile Rodgers, and her latest, "A New Reason," a soul-flavored jazz collection showcasing her sophisticated songwriting. A former award-winning correspondent for CBS and NPR, Mittleman has worked with Diana Ross and Nile Rodgers. She'll be bringing a bunch of new tunes along with her top-notch quartet of Bill Bickford, Bill Anderson and Roger Post.