Trumpeter Haneef N. Nelson never imagined he’d be a leader in the Greater Hartford jazz scene.
“Before college, I didn’t know anything about Connecticut north of New Haven,” Nelson says. “That’s as far north as I ever came.”
The Long Island native fronts the Paul Brown Legacy Band, a tribute to the legendary Hartford bassist, who founded the Monday Night Jazz Series (then known as the Hartford Festival of Jazz) in 1967.
Nelson’s ensemble — tenor saxophonist Frank Kozyra, pianist Zaccai Curtis, bassist Matt Dwonszyk, drummer Ben Bilello and special guest Bill Saxton (also on tenor) — opens this year’s series on July 10.
And for three years and counting, Nelson has run the Hartford Jazz Society’s vibrant Monday night jam sessions at Black-eyed Sally’s, a tradition that celebrates its 10th anniversary in October.
Not bad for guy who almost quit playing music.
“There were a lot of promises made that never came to pass,” Nelson says of that time period. “There was a certain naivete about myself in that I didn’t understand how things worked.”
As a kid, Nelson played the violin, trombone and percussion until a teacher tricked him into picking up a trumpet. “She said, ‘It only has three keys. How hard can it be?'”
He discovered Miles Davis, whose version of “Someday My Prince Will Come” played as background music for a Sunday morning gospel show on New York’s WBLS 107.5. On weekends, Nelson became a regular at Jazzmobile, a non-profit organization started by pianist Dr. Billy Taylor. Though he didn’t know it at the time, some of Nelson’s teachers — Eddie Preston, Donald Byrd, Cecil Bridgewater, Charles Davis, Frank Foster, Ronnie Matthews, John Stubblefield and others — were living legends.
“When I learned who they were, I was like, ‘Wait a minute: I’ve been around these guys?'”
Suddenly, it seemed, jazz was everywhere. Nelson found Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie cassettes for sale at the supermarket. A high school teacher pointed out jazz-based samples on hip-hop tracks, steering Nelson toward the original recordings.
Still, improvisation was a foreign concept. At 14, Nelson attended a Binghamton, N.Y., jazz camp, which left a strong impression. “When I came home, I said, ‘I’ve got to get this stuff figured out. I really want to be able to do this.'”
Nelson arrived at the Hartt School in 1996 to study with alto saxophonist and composer Jackie McLean. He soon found himself skipping other classes to sneak into McLean’s seminars.
“You go to a lot of schools with teachers of Jackie’s age group and legendary status, and you don’t always have access to them,” Nelson says. “Jackie made it his mission not only to be present, but also to be teaching.”
McLean’s words stuck with Nelson. All of his mentors, Nelson says, “taught me that I’m not playing a style of music. You’re playing your life. Until you understand that, all you’re doing is playing notes.”
Nelson returned to New York after graduation. His mother was diagnosed with cancer and became ill. Unemployed and burned out, Nelson gave up.
Two colleagues from Hartt — pianist/big band director Chris Casey and bassist Dezron Douglas — reignited the spark.
“Both of them knew what was going on in my life,” Nelson says. “Chris would call me and say, ‘Hey, we don’t have enough trumpet players for the big band.’ I said, ‘Man, you know I quit playing music, right?’ … He just wanted me to be on the horn.”
Douglas, Nelson says, is “a guy who understands how deep the music is. … He never wants anyone to give up.”
On several occasions, when Nelson found himself listing his trumpets for sale on eBay, Douglas would call and offer him a gig.
“We’d play the gig, and he’d always be encouraging,” Nelson says. “He’d call me the next day and say, ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t sell your horns?'”
Nelson’s desire returned. At monthly jam sessions at the Community Music School, in Springfield, Mass., he reconnected with friends, and made a few new ones; soon, Nelson created a jazz program and new ensembles. Parents of students let him drive their kids to Hartford, where they’d hear big bands and other ensembles. Some students from that period still perform.
“One of the things Jackie taught me is when someone passes down to you this music, when someone teaches you about this culture and these traditions, you have an obligation to do the same,” Nelson says. “You have an obligation as a bandleader to bring someone up and do something for them. That’s a tradition I feel has been lost.”
Through Casey and others, Nelson maintains a pipeline to Hartt. He regularly hires students to play festival gigs, or invites them to jam at Black-eyed Sally’s. Taking over the weekly jam session taught him how to book artists and manage a budget.
“You realize that something like this jam session is important,” Nelson says. “Having a jam session is important not only for students, but also for working musicians who want to keep their skills sharp.”
Nelson wasn’t one of Brown’s students, but the bassist occasionally called on him to play. “He’d say, ‘Young man, you got your horn on you?’ and I’d say, ‘Yes sir.'”
In 2016, pianist Don DePalma asked Nelson to curate a tribute concert to the ailing Brown. More than 50 musicians and former students arrived to celebrate Brown’s life.
“It was a night of absolute joy and love,” Nelson says. “[Brown] sat there in the front row. Some of the musicians didn’t even play. They just wanted to talk to him.” Brown’s daughter later told Nelson: “My dad doesn’t remember a lot of things these days, but he remembers every detail of that night.”
Brown died two weeks after the concert. A few months later, the Hartford Jazz Society approached Nelson about creating the Legacy Band to open the Monday Night Jazz Series.
“[Paul Brown] is a guy who made himself available to me,” Nelson says. “It’s an honor and a privilege to pay tribute to that man.”
Drummer Michael Scott Jr. and other players in Brown’s orbit (vocalist Kitty Katherine, baritone saxophonist Norman Gage, pianist Alex Nakhimovsky and bassist James Daggs) will open for the Legacy Band at Bushnell Park as the Paul Brown Tribute Ensemble. Later that night, Nelson hosts a Brown-centric jam session at Black-eyed Sally’s.
“As long as I live here, if I have the capability to do something to make the music scene better, no matter how big or how small, I’m going to do it,” Nelson says. “If I don’t, then I have to no reason to complain about it.”
PAUL BROWN LEGACY BAND performs at Bushnell Park in Hartford on Monday, July 10, at 7:30 p.m., with the Paul Brown Tribute Ensemble opening (6 p.m.).
The Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series continues until Aug. 14, with performances by Little Johnny Rivero on July 17; the Joanne Bracken Trio on July 24; Silvia Cuenca Organ Quintet on July 31; Clifton Anderson Aug. 7; and Darius Jones Aug. 14; plus opening acts, at 6 p.m. Admission is free. hartfordmondaynightjazz.com.
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