Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Eddie Palmieri
(Photo: )The Litchfield Jazz Festival takes place this weekend, Aug. 9–11, atop the rolling hills and lush greenery of Northwest Connecticut.
Just a few hours outside of New York City in Goshen, Conn., the festival kicks off Friday night, Aug. 9, with Tony Award-winning singer and actress Christine Ebersole performing with the Aaron Weinstein Trio. Ebersole and Weinstein, winner of the Rising Star–Violin category of this year’s DownBeat Critics Poll, have been performing classic music from the ’20s and ’30s in clubs around New York since their sold-out show at Birdland in 2011. The set list has included tunes like Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz,” Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” and the Gershwins’ “Shall We Dance.” The Emmet Cohen Trio, fronted by the talented 22-year-old pianist, opens the evening.
On Saturday, Aug. 10, the Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band headlines along with the soulful jazz vocals of Gregory Porter. Other highlights include Gary Smulyan’s Baritone Summit, an explosion of the baritone saxophone featuring Smulyan, Lauren Sevian, Claire Daly and Andrew Hadro. Bassist Avery Sharpe performs Gospel Explosion & Sacred Songs, and The Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble kicks off the day.
The Sunday, Aug. 11, headliner is one of the hottest live Latin acts touring this summer, the Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours. Sparks will fly when the Vincent Herring-Eric Alexander Quintet performs with a special guest—pianist Harold Mabern. The Don Braden Quartet, featuring Geri Allen on piano, brings grace to the stage in the afternoon. And get there early to hear the Orrin Evans Trio at noon as well as the Chet Baker Project with June Bisantz.
Two afternoon Artist Talks sessions have been scheduled. Artist-In-Residence Smulyan and DownBeat Publisher Frank Alkyer sit down to chat with Porter on Aug. 10 and Papo Vázquez on Aug. 11.
For more information and tickets, click here.
DB.
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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