This events calendar includes Earl’s upcoming performances, compositional debuts, recordings and educational activities. On mobile devices this calendar is best viewed horizontally.
Event Information
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Thu09Jan2025
Joel Rosenblatt Trio
6 - 8 PMPrivate, Corporate Event. Westerly, RI
with Joel Rosenblatt – drums, Dave Edwards – bass
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Tue28Jan2025Wed29Jan2025
Myra Jazz Festival
Red River High School Performance Hall,
Grand Forks, North Dakota
The Myra Jazz Festival has been running continuously for over 30 years. It is a two-day festival for middle school and high school jazz bands in the upper Red River Valley. In addition to adjudicating and presenting clinic sessions, Earl will perform as a featured guest artist with the Myra Big Band. The festival is free and open to the public on both days. -
Sun02Feb2025
Chris Beaudry Quintet
3:00 PMHartford Public Library, 500 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103
Chris Beaudry – tenor sax,
Haneef Nelson – trumpet,
Earl MacDonald – piano,
Tyler Sherman – string bass,
Jesse Hameen II – drum set -
Fri07Feb2025
UConn High School Jazz Festival
8 AM - 7:30 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, 875 Coventry Rd, Storrs, CT
[directions and parking]
The annual UConn Jazz Festival is a non-competitive and educationally-rewarding experience that provides a forum for mutual support of each ensemble’s efforts while enhancing skills in the jazz idiom. Highlights of the festival include:
- a twenty-minute performance time for each ensemble,
- a twenty-minute personalized clinic by a UConn Jazz faculty member,
- beginning, intermediate, and advanced level improvisation master classes, and
- a mini-concert by the UConn Jazz Ensemble and UConn Jazz faculty.
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Sun09Mar2025
Scott Sasanecki Quartet
12 noon - 3pm
Scott Sasanecki – guitar, Earl MacDonald – keyboard, Fumi Tomita – string bass, Ben Bilello – drumsDewey’s Jazz Lounge, 232 Worthington St, Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 301-8337 -
Sat15Mar2025
2025 Clark Terry UNH Jazz Festival - Adjudicator
7:30 AM - 5:30 PMUniversity of New Hampshire, College of Liberal Arts, Department of Music, Paul Creative Arts Center, 30 Academic Way Durham, NH 03824-2617
Earl will serve as an adjudicator at the 2025 Clark Terry UNH Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 15th, 2025. He will provide written and verbal comments and post performance clinics for participating ensembles. -
Thu27Mar2025
UConn Jazz Faculty at Black Eyed Sally's
8 - 10 PM
Black-Eyed Sally's. 350 Asylum St., Hartford, CT, 860-278-7427.
Join the UConn Faculty Jazz Group for an evening of swinging jazz, presented with support from the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Hartford Jazz Society, and series curator Haneef Nelson.
Featuring: Luke Wingfield (trumpet), Evan Gray (trombone), Michael Farina (saxophones, subbing for John Mastroianni), Scott Sasanecki (guitar), Earl MacDonald (piano), Steve Bulmer (bass), Sarah DiMiceli (drums, subbing for Jonathan Barber), and vocalists Leala Cyr and Rod Nelman.
Don’t miss this special night of live jazz!
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Fri28Mar2025Sat29Mar2025
Guest Artist: Holyoke Community College Jazz Festival
Holyoke Community College
Leslie Phillips Theater at HCC’s Fine & Performing Arts Building
303 Homestead Ave, Holyoke, MassachusettsEarl MacDonald with the Amherst Jazz Orchestra
Friday, March 28 | 8:00 PM
Pianist, composer, and arranger Earl MacDonald joins the Amherst Jazz Orchestra as the featured guest artist for an evening of big band jazz. Directed by trombonist and music professor Dave Sporny, the AJO takes the stage at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 28th, in the Leslie Phillips Theater at HCC’s Fine & Performing Arts Building. The concert is free for HCC students, faculty, and staff, and $10 for the general public.Jazz Clinics with Earl MacDonald
Saturday, March 29 | 9:00 AM
Jazz clinics for high school and college music students, led by Earl MacDonald. Topics include improvisation, ensemble playing, and jazz interpretation. -
Sun30Mar2025
Steven Bulmer Trio - Jazz Brunch
11 AM - 2:30 PM
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103
Tickets include museum admission, brunch, and one complimentary bloody mary or mimosa.
There are two seatings, one at 10:30am & one at 12:30pm.
$39; $29 members. Tickets must be purchased online, in advance.Steven Bulmer - string bass, Scott Sasanecki - guitar, Earl MacDonald - piano
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Sun13Apr2025
UConn Jazz Lab Band
3:00 - 4:30 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Earl MacDonald, director
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Thu17Apr2025Fri18Apr2025
Michael Abene Residency at UConn
University of Connecticut Music Department
Thursday:
- 2:00-3:45 PM: Jazz Ensemble rehearsal
Friday:
- 10:00–11:00 AM: Meeting with jazz arranging students
- 1:25–2:15 PM: Presentation at Music Convocation for music students
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Fri18Apr2025
The River Room: Ribbon-Cutting & Open House Celebration!
6:45 - 8PMThe River Room, 50 Riverside Drive, Willimantic, CT, 06226
Trio with Michael Farina – tenor sax, Fumi Tomita – string bass, Earl MacDonald – piano
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Tue22Apr2025
UConn Jazz Combos
8 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Steven Bulmer, director
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Fri25Apr2025Sun27Apr2025
58th NAfME Eastern Division In-Service Conference
Hartford Convention Center
UConn Jazz Ensemble performance. Time TBA
April 26, 9 – 10AM: Jazz Pedagogy Round Table -
Sun27Apr2025
UConn Jazz Ensemble Concert, featuring arranger Michael Abene
6 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.John Mastroianni, director
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Wed30Apr2025
College Showcase at Black Eyed Sally's
7 - 10 PMBlack-Eyed Sally's. 350 Asylum St., Hartford, CT, 860-278-7427.
Student ensembles from four outstanding programs—UConn, Hartt, WCSU, and UMass—take the stage for an evening of high-energy, half-hour sets. The night wraps with an open jam session, where students from all schools join forces in an exciting, spontaneous musical collaboration. Experience the next generation of jazz at the annual College Showcase!
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Fri02May2025
Sean Nelson & the New London Big Band: Album Release Concert
8 - 10:30PM
The Side Door Jazz Club | 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT 06371 | tel: 860.434.2600
Celebrate the New London Big Band’s release of their album: Don’t Stop Now: The Lost Music of Thad Jones!
All Ages. From $27.98
Purchase tickets -
Mon05May2025
UConn Jazz Clinics & Sectionals at Hall High School
7 - 8 PMHall High School, West Hartford
UConn Jazz faculty coach Hall High School jazz students in sectionals.
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Sun11May2025
Steven Bulmer Trio - Mother's Day Jazz Brunch
11 AM - 2:30 PMWadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103
Tickets include museum admission, brunch, and one complimentary bloody mary or mimosa.
There are two seatings, one at 10:30am & one at 12:30pm.
$39; $29 members. Tickets must be purchased online, in advance.Steven Bulmer - string bass, Scott Sasanecki - guitar, Earl MacDonald - piano
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Mon14Jul2025Fri18Jul2025
Jazz In July Summer Music Program
Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jazz in July is a multi-generational jazz improvisation program with an impressive 40+ year history. It is a concentrated two-week program where both vocal and instrumental musicians study jazz improvisation with some of the nation’s best jazz educators and artists.The 2-week in-person program will run July 14-25, 2025. Earl will teach during the first week: July 14-18.
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Fri25Jul2025
Jazz in July All-Stars Concert
6 - 9PMAmherst Town Common, Amherst, Massachusetts
The Jazz-in-July All-Stars Concert is a round-robin style concert featuring collaborations between the nationally and internationally known Jazz in July faculty members.Although subject to change, the anticipated roster of performers includes:Vocals: Sheila Jordan, Dominique Eade
Brass: Jeff Holmes, Haneef Nelson
Saxophone: Bruce Diehl, Felipe Salles, Frank Newton
Piano: Earl MacDonald, Lee Tomboulian, Stephen Page
Bass: Fumi Tomita, Avery Sharpe, Genevieve Rose
Guitar: Bob Ferrier
Drums: Steve Johns, Winard Harper, Greg CaputoThis concert is presented in cooperation with the Amherst Business Improvement District as part of their summer concert series. -
Sun19Oct2025
UConn Jazz Combos
3 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Steven Bulmer, director
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Sun09Nov2025
UConn Jazz Lab Band
3:00 - 4:30 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.Earl MacDonald, director
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Fri14Nov2025
Earl MacDonald's Black Square Ensemble
8PM
The River Room · 50 Riverside Drive, Willimantic, CT
The River Room is an intimate, 65-seat performing arts venue with a speakeasy vibe. All performances require a ticket, available at riverroomwilli.com.Experience the debut of Earl MacDonald’s Black Square Ensemble—a bold new project where jazz, classical, and global traditions converge with urgent social themes. This intimate preview concert takes place just one day before the ensemble enters the studio to record their debut album, featuring powerful, genre-defying compositions that speak to our time with clarity, depth, and purpose.
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Sat15Nov2025Sun16Nov2025
Recording Session: Earl MacDonald's Black Square Ensemble
PBS Studios - Westwood, MA
Earl MacDonald’s Black Square Ensemble heads into the recording studio!
Earl MacDonald – piano
Rod Nelman – bass baritone voice
Amanda Gookin – cello
Rogerio Boccato – percussion -
Sun16Nov2025
UConn Jazz Ensemble
6 PMvon der Mehden Recital Hall, Storrs, CT
General admission is $10.
Students, faculty, children and military members with ID are admitted free.John Mastroianni, director
