Whether it's a song, a style, an idiom or an image, Duke Robillard will render it with mastery, power, nuance and an unerring grasp of its essence. Born Michael John Robillard on October 4, 1948, in Woonsocket, R.I., Duke has carved out one of blues' most illustrious legacies, while also trodding some lofty related territories as a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, bandleader, studio sideman, producer, label operator and educator. Duke's resume is decorated with Grammy nominations, Handy Awards and Blues Music Awards, and other honors for his artistry, recordings and productions within the United States and internationally. On his latest release, "Duke Robillard and his Dames of Rhythm" on M.C. Records, he wields an acoustic archtop and joins six thrushes for evocative and enjoyable renditions of 1920s and 1930s swing tunes; it's a worthy successor to his 2016 BMA-winning "The Acoustic Blues And Roots Of Duke Robillard." Duke remains based in Rhode Island and a whirlwind as a musician, producer, gardener and photographer.

Duke is joined on this show by the Gerry Beaudoin Trio.

www.DukeRobillard.com

Jazz Brunch returns to the Poli Club for a festive holiday concert with David Penn & Creative Tone. With a career spanning over several decades, David Penn has established himself as a truly unique Jazz Musician. His colorful melodies and mesmerizing performances have over the years captivated audiences worldwide. He has worked with artists like Cecil Bridgewater, Charlie Persip. Lewis Nash, iconic pianist Benny Greene and the one and only Betty Carter. A delicious brunch is served at 11:00 AM, catered by Chef Charlene of Ciesco, the official caterer of Litchfield JazzFest. Enjoy an assortment of sweet and savory brunch favorites along with fruit and pastries while you relax and listen to some great music. Doors open at 10:15am. Music is 12pm – 2pm. Presented by New England Arts & Entertainment and Litchfield Jazz

DavidPenn-CreativeTone.com

Giacomo Gates does more than sing “a bunch of songs.” He is truly an entertainer, for all ages and styles, as audiences enjoy the music, the interaction on the bandstand between him and his musicians, the spontaneity, the humor, the stories about the music and composers, along with their relation to everyday life. People are smiling, having a good time, while thoroughly enjoying the music. What usually lacks in most of today’s performances is obviously present ... fun! The criteria for defining jazz singing will probably be argued for the rest of time. But no matter which side of the argument one may be on, there can be no doubt that Giacomo Gates is an authentic jazz vocalist. Heavily steeped in the traditions of the original vocal improvisers from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald through their modern counterparts Betty Carter and Leon Thomas, Giacomo’s own approach draws most heavily from the bebop-rooted masters like Jon Hendricks, Babs Gonzales, King Pleasure and most of all, Eddie Jefferson. Like his influences, Gates has forged his own unique path.

www.GiacomoGates.com

Peter McEachern, a Connecticut native, has toured and recorded three CDs for Polygram with Blues legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown; has worked and recorded with minimalist composer Lamonte Young, and is featured on several important CDs: "Insomnia" with the Thomas Chapin Trio on Knitting Factory Works and "Song for Septet" with the Mario Pavone Septet on the New World Countercurrents label. He received a fellowship for music composition from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in 2001. Peter has also been a teaching artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp since 1998. He is also a member of the New England Jazz Ensemble. In the Fall of 2018 his CD “Bone-Code” was released on the Clean Feed label based in Lisbon, Portugal. A new project “New Chordtet” featuring Mike DiRubbo, Jimin Park, Dave Santoro, and Tom Melito was released in November 2019 on Truth Revolution Records.

www.PeterMcEachern.com

Sarah Jane Cion is a 1st Place Winner of the internationally acclaimed 17th Annual Great American Jazz Piano Competition. The judges were Horace Silver, Kenny Barron, Ellis Marsalis, Benny Green and Bill Charlap. Ms. Cion’s trio has performed in Japan at the prestigious Fukuoka Blue Note and Sarah appeared on the Nationally syndicated NPR radio show “Piano Jazz“ with Marian McPartland. Most recently, her songs “Cat in the Hat” and “Golden Song” were featured respectively in Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Mule in 2018 and Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Golden Song in Thor: The Dark World. Sarah has performed with young and older jazz legends such as Clark Terry, Etta Jones, Anita O’Day, Della Griffin, Ralph Lalama, Alan Harris, Carmen Leggio, Dr. Lyn Christie, Bucky Pizzarelli, Don Braden, and many others. She is often found performing with New York City mainstay big bands such as the Lew Anderson Big Band at Birdland and is currently performing with bestselling author and tenor man James McBride. Her debut CD, Indeed! features alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, drummer Tony Reedus and other young jazz giants. Her second CD Moon Song was released internationally on the Naxos Jazz label featuring Phil Palombi, Chris Potter and Billy Hart. Moon Song was the 4th best selling Modern Jazz album in Japan in April 2000, and reached Number 15 on the U.S. Gavin Reports on June 22nd, 2000.

www.SarahJaneCion.com

Born in the Bronx, NY, Albert Rivera’s musical journey began early on and flourished at Laguardia High School for Performing Arts in New York City, Albert has won awards as both a sideman and a leader. He won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award in 2009 , the 2012 Chamber Music American Residency Grant and most recently the 2021 New York City Artist Corps Grant. Critics have called him “a modern Jazz Messenger.” As a performer, he has appeared in his hometown of New York in venues like Zinc Bar, Smalls Jazz Club, and the Blue Note . His collaborators have included Don Braden, Jimmy Greene, Claudio Roditi, Avery Sharpe, Rachel Z, and legendary pianist Junior Mance. At the Litchfield Jazz Camp and Jazz Festival, where he is the current Director of Operations, he often appears with his own group and faculty stars like Matt Wilson, Paul Bollenback and Dave Stryker.

www.AlbertRiverJazz.com

Sally Terrell’s professional singing career may be a “second act” following thirty years as an English professor, but music has always been her first passion. A native of Youngstown, New York, she began playing piano and singing at age six, poking out melodies alongside her father, a classically trained pianist and jazz aficionado who passed along his love for music while discovering his youngest daughter could play and sing by ear. Terrell’s interest and skill flourished in her public school music program, but she would put her musical ambitions aside while building a successful college teaching career in Connecticut. Terrell began singing professionally when she and her husband formed the Green Jazz Band in 2010. Her second release, Feel Alive (2022), “artfully captures the zeitgeist of the pandemic era with a collection of emotional, socially conscious originals and fresh interpretations of standards that uniquely fit our cultural moment.” Both projects highlight a fruitful collaboration with producer and renowned jazz pianist John diMartino, who says of her work, “Sally brings a beautiful energy to these songs, breathing new life into them.” Terrell’s intuitive interpretations and razor-sharp ear showcase a velvety alto and a gift for sharing the timeless stories of jazz while boldly exploring her range across musical genres.

www.SallyTerrell.com

Composer, arranger, bandleader, and drummer Art Lillard grew up in Miami, where his jazz roots include playing with the great master Ira Sullivan and studying with pianist/composer Wally Cirillo. Having begun his college music studies in Florida, Art transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he earned merit scholarships, several Faculty Association Awards for Performance, and his bachelor’s degree in jazz composition and arranging. A professional drummer since 1970, Art has had a rich performing career, leading and co-leading various jazz ensembles, and as a sideman in groups of various musical genres, including jazz, country & western, cabaret, rock, and show music. He has recorded with swing/blues band Groovalaya (“Groovalaya ’92”), with vocalist Cleve Douglass (“Duke Ellington Boulevard”), and with flutist Jan Leder (“Passage to Freedom” on Monad Records and “Nonchalant” on A-Records). He performed at the Greenwich Village jazz Festival in 1983 with the Amy Duncan Trio (at the Blue Note), at Finland’s Pori Jazz Festival in 1993 with the New York All-Stars, and at the Hunter Mountain Festival with Slicker, a country & western group, in 1993, ’94 and ’95. During the 1990’s he also played at the Hudson Riverfest in Yonkers with his Heavenly Big Band, with the Dixieland band the 9th Street Stompers, and several times with the Jan Leder Quartet. Art’s own ensembles include the Heavenly Big Band, the Blue Heaven swing sextet, the On Time trio/quartet, and the Art Lillard Duo. He has produced eight professional recordings with these bands.

www.ArtLillard.com

Dan Pugach is a GRAMMY® Award nominated drummer and composer, a three-time recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Jazz Composer Award, a winner of the BMI Charlie Parker Composition Prize/Manny Albam Commission as part of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, and a Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency Program participant at the Kennedy Center (where he worked with Curtis Fuller, Nathan Davis and George Cables). He was the featured drummer on the 2024 GRAMMY® Award winning album “How Love Begins,” co-produced by Nicole Zuraitis and Christian McBride. Dan is the leader of The Dan Pugach Nonet and the Dan Pugach Big Band, playing his original music and arrangements. The Nonet and Big Band tour regularly, and have played at Bird’s Eye Basel, The Zone in Tel Aviv, Blue Note Jazz, Birdland Jazz Club, The 55bar, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Loft, The Jazz Estate, Stowe Jazz Festival, and esteemed Performing Arts Centers across the country. Dan’s debut nonet album, “Plus One” (2018), was released on UNIT Records and charted on jazz radio in the top 20. The album includes Dan’s arrangement of Jolene (Dolly Parton), which was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award (Best Arrangement, Instruments with Vocals) alongside vocalist Nicole Zuraitis.

www.Dan Pugach.com

Leala Cyr is fast becoming one of the most sought-after jazz vocalists of her generation. A rare “double threat,” Cyr complements her impeccable vocals with a warm, golden tone on the trumpet. As a member of Esperanza Spalding’s “Radio Music and Chamber Music Societies,” she has performed around the world and has appeared on The Late Show, The Tonight Show, The View, The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits, and more. In February 2019, Cyr released her debut album, First Instinct. A blend of originals and standards, the album showcases her unique talent for vocal improvisation as well as her ingenuity as a songwriter and arranger. Leala has appeared with her own group at highly regarded venues such as Cornelia Street Café, National Sawdust, Zinc Bar, and Rockwood Music Hall in New York City; Ryles Jazz Club, the Bee Hive, and the Beat Brew Hall in Boston; the Egg in Albany, NY; the Blue Opus in Green Bay, WI; and at the Baby Grand Jazz Series and Black Eyed Sally's in Hartford, CT.

www.LealaCyr.com

Dan Moretti is an acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and educator with a career spanning over four decades. Known for his versatility and innovative approach to jazz, Moretti has released numerous albums as a bandleader and has performed with a wide array of legendary musicians. His work continues to push the boundaries of jazz, blending traditional elements with modern influences. Dan is thrilled to announce the release of his latest album, Dan Moretti & Brazilia: Live at the Pump House Music Works. This extraordinary live recording captures a vibrant performance dedicated to the legendary jazz composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, blending the genius of Shorter’s compositions with the dynamic rhythms of Latin jazz.

www.DanMoretti.com