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This January marks the beginning of Litchfield Performing Arts’ 45th Anniversary year, and the first show on that calendar of events drops February 13th at the Poli Club. It features Albert Rivera & Friends in a Valentine’s Celebration.
Albert is a jazz star with connections to our region and to Litchfield Jazz that go back more than two decades. He won a scholarship to Litchfield Jazz Camp when he was 15, and today at 43, he is one of the busiest horn players in the New York metro area. He manages to fit 150+ gigs a year around a busy teaching and mentoring schedule. He has been Operations Director of Litchfield Jazz Camp since 2005 and regularly appears on the Camp and Festival stages and draws sold-out houses for Litchfield Jazz Presents at the Poli Club.
Albert has performed with Don Braden, Jimmy Greene, Avery Sharpe, Rachel Z, and the late, great masters Claudio Roditi and Junior Mance. He often appears with Litchfield Jazz faculty stars Matt Wilson, Paul Bollenback, Dave Stryker and GRAMMY winners Luques and Zaccai Curtis and vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. Known for his mastery of soprano, alto, tenor saxophones and flute, he was hailed as “a modern Jazz Messenger” by the Hartford Courant.
Albert is the creator of several arts residencies—for The Berks Jazz Festival, PA, the Miami Arts Charter School, and Warwick Academy, Bermuda. His latest, Swinging Saturdays, will serve New Haven area youngsters through June 2026. He counts among his honors the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award, the Chamber Music America Residency Grant, and a New York City Artist Corp Grant. He instructs students from across the US as a clinician for the Jazz Education Network. His bands can be heard in our area at smart private parties, brunches in Greenwich supper clubs, annual fundraisers at the Norfolk Library, and pop-up appearances at the elegant Commissioners Cigar Lounge in Waterbury.
Albert will be joined for this special Valentine’s show by pianist Alejandra Williams, drummer Ian Carroll, vocalist and recent Fulbright Scholar, Anson Jones, and a special guest from Seoul South Korea, bassist Sean Pentland.
For a small taste of what’s in store, take a listen to Albert’s beautiful rendition of Si Tu Vois Ma Mere, recorded live during the pandemic at the 2021 Litchfield Jazz Festival at Telefunken Soundstage. Click below.
