2023 Greater Hartford Festival Of Jazz, What You Need To Know

Greater Hartford Arts Council

HARTFORD, CT — Downtown Hartford's Bushnell Park this week will host the state's largest annual music festival with a long list of big-time performers and top-notch music.

And it all starts Thursday night. And it's all free.

During a special press conference Monday, the Greater Hartford Arts Council Monday announced the latest details surrounding the 2023 Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz.

Attracting more than 100,000 visitors from around the country, the event offers world-class
music and is considered a significant economic driver for the city.

The 2023 edition is expected to pump more than $3.1 million into the local economy during its four-day run and create 30 temporary jobs with 35 percent of those being local artists.

The festival starts on Thursday, July 13, and runs through Sunday, July 16.

Attendees will gather at Hartford’s Bushnell Park and listen to a multitude of incredible performances including Camille Thurman, an American jazz musician,
composer and singer and Grammy-winning pianist Eddie Palmieri.

Monday's event also kicked off the Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz series in Bushnell Park held on six consecutive Monday evenings.

Monday’s opening act was Linda Ransom and Friends and the headliner was the Emery
Smith Quartet.

These summer jazz events are in partnership with the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, Hartford Jazz Society and the Hartford Public Library.

The jazz festival is a part of the Hartford Creates program, a collaboration between the Arts Council and the City of Hartford.

The Travelers Foundation is the premier investor in all 2023 summer art events.

“Starting Thursday night and running through Sunday, we’re going to have tens of thousands of people out here celebrating jazz, enjoying this great American art form, coming together as a community from Hartford, from the region, from New England, and from around the country," said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

"This event draws people from everywhere because there aren’t a lot of events like it, with the diversity of acts that you’ll see, the different styles of jazz all in this beautiful setting in this natural amphitheater in Bushnell Park. So I want to say thank you to everybody who works all year around to make this happen.”

The Rev. Dr. Shelley Best, chief executive officer of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, and other council officials agreed.

“Let the rhythm of jazz flow through the streets of Hartford, for it is the heartbeat that unites our region. Together, let's celebrate the power of jazz to inspire and ignite the passion within us all," said Best.

Jazz Festival Schedule:

● THURSDAY, JULY 13
4:30 p.m. Hall High School Jazz Band Kick Off Performance.

● FRIDAY, JULY 14
6 p.m. Latin Heartbeat Orchestra “The Power of Attraction”
8 p.m. Tony Succar “Unity Show”
10 p.m. Eddie Palmieri

● SATURDAY, JULY 15
2:30 p.m. Paula Atherton
4 to 4:10 p.m. Art Frm Da Hart Studio 860
4:30 p.m. Rob Zinn “Anything Can Happen Tour”
6:30 p.m. The NewUrbanJazz Party featuring: Bob Baldwin, Ragan Whiteside and Friends
8 to 8:10 p.m. Art Frm Da Hart Taris “MachineGun Poptart” Clemons and Tang Sauce
8:30 p.m. Special EFX All Stars featuring: Chieli Minucci, Elliot Yamen, Nelson Rangell, Lao Tizer, Karen Briggs, Dave Livolsi, and Joel Rosenblatt
10:30 p.m. Maysa

● SUNDAY, JULY 16
10 a.m. The Hot Cat Jazz Band Jazz Mass at Christ Church Cathedral Downtown Hartford
2:30 p.m. Matt Dwonszyk and the Dwonztet
4:30 p.m. Jazz & Strings Charlie Parker Guest Kris Allen
6:30 p.m. The Blackbyrds
8:30 p.m. Take 6

For more information on the 2023 Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, click on this link.