Newtown, Connecticut’s own Jimmy Greene, Jazz Saxophonist and Grammy nominee for his album inspired by the loss of his 6 year old daughter, and New Orleans funk master Jon Cleary perform at The Ridgefield Playhouse as part of a special evening in the Moffly Media Evening of Art, Wine and Jazz Series and Pepsi Rock Series Powered by Xfinity on Thursday, September 21 at 8 p.m. Ticket holders can enjoy a complimentary wine tasting in the lobby before the show along with an art exhibit by photomosaic artist Joe King – who will be debuting a special guitar-inspired piece for the event.
Jimmy Greene is a Producer and Music Professor at Western Connecticut State University and was nominated for two Grammy Awards. Greene was First Runner-Up in the 1996 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, was named one of the “25 Young Rising Stars in Jazz” by DownBeat Magazine and was awarded the 2013 State of Connecticut Governors Arts Award in Music. As a member of Harry Connick Jr.’s Big Band, Greene is a featured soloist on 2 DVD releases, Harry for the Holidays, and Only You. Jon Cleary’s thirty-five years of intensive hands-on work on the Crescent City scene has made him a respected peer of such New Orleans R&B icons as Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. Toussaint, in fact, took time from his busy schedule to write most of the horn arrangements for GoGo Juice – thus bringing symmetry to Cleary’s recording of an entire album of Toussaint songs, entitled Occapella, which garnered rave reviews in 2012. In addition to the Toussaint touch, GoGo Juice bursts, full flavor, with expert accompaniment by some of New Orleans’ top session men – including fellow keyboardist and vocalist Nigel Hall, and the Dirty Dozen horns – along with members of Cleary’s band, the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, and the veteran production skills of Grammy Award-winning producer John Porter.