Beautiful Life - Jimmy Greene

I had the pleasure of attending a performance last night by Jimmy Greene ('97).  He was performing with his quartet at The Side Door jazz club in Old Lyme, Connecticut.  The Side Door is an excellent venue attached to the Old Lyme Inn, both of which are owned by Ken and Jan Kitchings. The club is now one of the most important jazz venues in New England and worthy of our support.  (As an extra bonus, Jimmy Macbride, son of Hartt professor David Macbride, was performing in the quartet last night.)

The primary reason for attending The Side Door last night was, however, being able to hear Jimmy.  He has been performing music from his recent album, Beautiful Life.  If you have not yet purchased a copy of the album, do yourself and others a favor and do so.  The music itself makes the purchase well worth your investment.  There is, no doubt, that Jimmy is a wonderful composer, musician, and saxophonist.  As a [former] saxophonist myself, I was so very appreciative of and inspired by Jimmy's craft as a saxophonist.  He is among the very best tenor saxophonists I have ever heard.
 
There are additional reasons to purchase the album and treat yourself to attending Jimmy's performances.  Beautiful Life also features appearances by Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut, Javier Colon, Christian McBride, Pat Metheny, musicians of the Hartford Symphony, and others.  Jimmy's composition are wonderful and the performances don't leave the listener wanting for anything but to listen again.

Most importantly, as many of you are aware, Ana Grace Greene, the daughter of Jimmy and his wife, Nelba Marquez-Greene ('97), was murdered on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Beautiful Life is a celebration of Ana's life.  For a message from Jimmy, please click here.

As Jimmy says "I want the music to reflect the way that Ana lived." Proceeds from Beautiful Life support the Ana Grace Project and The Artists Collective.

Here is Jimmy's upcoming performance schedule.