Festival Event · Saturday, July 25, 2026 · 2:00 PM

Jimmy Greene was fresh out of college when he joined the first Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty in 1997, and he has maintained deep connections with the Camp and the Litchfield Jazz Festival ever since. We welcome him back to the Mainstage for this 30th Anniversary celebration of Litchfield Jazz Camp, joined by Christian Sands on piano, Mike Godette on guitar, Matt Dwonszyk on bass, and Jonathan Barber on drums.

Meet the Artist: Jimmy Greene

Jimmy Greene is one of the most respected saxophonists of his generation. He tours internationally and appears at storied clubs and festivals with his own groups and as a member of the Ron Carter Quartet. He has also toured and recorded with Horace Silver, Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Harry Connick Jr., Avishai Cohen, Kenny Barron, Lewis Nash, Dee Dee Bridgewater, the New Jazz Composers Octet, and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, among many others.

Jimmy’s professional career got an early boost when he earned a finalist win in the 1996 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Saxophone Competition. His discography is impressive. In addition to 12 albums as a leader, he appears on over 100 albums as a sideman. His 8th release, Beautiful Life (Mack Avenue, 2014), earned two GRAMMY nominations. His latest recording as a leader is As We Are Now, with guitarist Mike Moreno and bassist Dezron Douglas, a former Litchfield Jazz camper. Other recent releases include While Looking Up (Mack Avenue, 2020), Flowers: Beautiful Life Volume 2 (Mack Avenue, 2017), and Jimmy Greene Quartet Live At Smalls (Smalls Live, 2010).

Today Jimmy is Professor of Music and Co-Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT.

The Jimmy Greene Quintet

Jimmy brings together five outstanding musicians for this Mainstage performance:

Jimmy Greene & Litchfield

Jimmy Greene has been part of the Litchfield Jazz family from the very beginning. He joined the inaugural Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty in 1997, just out of college, and has stayed connected to the Camp and the Festival in the years since. His return to the Mainstage for the Camp’s 30th Anniversary is a homecoming in the truest sense.