Over the past 11 years, Hartford Public Library’s Baby Grand Jazz Series has grown into one of Connecticut’s signature musical happenings.
This year, as usual, the concerts take place on consecutive Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m., from January through the end of April (there’s no show on April 5, which is Easter Sunday). They’re free, and they’ll likely all be jam-packed with listeners.
The 2015 lineup offers a lively snapshot of East Coast jazz: Half of the headliners arrive from either New York — Eli Yamin, Jan. 4; Eri Yamamoto, Jan. 18; Jonny King, March 22; Joshua Breakstone, March 15; and Brian Marsella, April 19 — or Boston (Mihoko Trio, Feb. 22; Laszlo Gardony, March 1; and Hey Rim Jeon, April 26).
Alexa Tarantino and Dariusz Terefenko (Jan. 25), a saxophone/piano duo, are based in Rochester, N.Y. And the remaining performers — Nicholas Di Maria, Jan. 11; Jolie Rocke Brown, Feb. 1; the Survivors Swing Band, Feb. 8; Steve Clarke, Feb. 15; Matt DeChamplain, March 8; Alvin Carter, March 29; and the Curtis Brothers, April 12 — are based in Connecticut or have deep ties to the state.
Yamin and the rest of his quartet — alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, bassist/cellist Jennifer Vincent and drummer Craig Holiday Haynes — open the series on Jan. 4. Though many jazz musicians teach at some level, you won’t find many who are as committed to education as Yamin, who serves as the head of instruction at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy and also co-founded the non-profit Jazz Drama Program.
“When I teach, it doesn’t feel like it’s something different than playing,” Yamin said. “Learning about jazz should feel like you’re playing it. If it doesn’t, there’s something wrong with the teaching… The goal is to have everyone feel like they’re being creative.”
The pianist grew up on Long Island, where he was surrounded by recordings by Elizabeth Cotten, Josh White, Jr., Paul Robeson, Mozart, Bach and many others. His own teachers included Harry Pickens, Fred Hersch, Kenny Barron and Jaki Byard. After college, Yamin spent every weekend for three years playing with Chicago drummer Walter Perkins at a bar in Jamaica, Queens, where musicians like Illinois Jacquet, Roy Haynes and Etta Jones would regularly sit in.
Now, in his own groups, Yamin plays with precision and relentless swing. There’s a restless energy that creeps into all of his various projects; he released “You Can’t Buy Swing,” featuring members of his quartet, in 2008, with Thelonious Monk-inspired originals like “Well, You Better Not.”
On “I Feel So Glad,” a 2011 compendium of blues and spirituals recorded by the Eli Yamin Blues Band, you’ll hear Yamin sing lead, harmonize and pick out triadic chords on such songs as “Shake, Sugaree” and “John Henry” over tuba bleats and backbeats. He also duets with clarinetist Evan Christopher; the terrific “Louie’s Dream,” a tribute to jazz heroes, was released in 2013.
In Hartford, Yamin plans to work a tune by Jackie McLean, our own patron saint of jazz and also a legendary educator, into the set. They’ll perform quartet arrangements of such songs as “Baraka 75,” Yamin’s tribute to the late poet/activist Amiri Baraka from “Louie’s Dream,” and also some blues.
“We like to swing and we like to bring people together through swing and blues music,” Yamin said. “We play the blues to get rid of the blues… It’s not just about being sad. It’s taking sadness and putting it to a great shuffle.”
ELI YAMIN JAZZ QUARTET performs on Sunday, Jan. 4, at Hartford Public Library. Showtime is 3 p.m. Tickets are free. Information: hplct.org.
