July 25th: Friday Opens In Style!

The Fest begins with our Opening Night Gala at 5:45 PM, and it will be gala indeed with a bit of the old "Goshen Vibe." We are throwing this party under our twinkle-lit Anniversary Tent, with music by this year's outstanding Jazz Campers.

Our festival opening act is the Emmet Cohen Trio at 7:45 pm, with Philip Norris on bass, Joe Farnsworth on drums, and Emmet on keys. In the spirit of our recent festival openers, this is another tip-of-the-hat to the iconic Litchfield Jazz Camp. Emmet is a former Jazz Camper who joined us in his teens and made his festival mainstage debut in 2013 fresh out of college. This will be his fifth appearance at Litchfield and we can't wait!

July 26th: All Jazz All Day

This second festival day features three top-flight groups. We open at 3 PM with the Matt Dwonszyk Sextet. Matt is one of the fastest-rising, in-demand bassists working today, and, like Emmet, he too was a Litchfield Camper! Matt is joined by Kris Allen on saxophone, Andrew Renfroe on guitar, Taber Gable on piano, Jonathan Barber on drums, and Shenel Johns, a regular at JALC, on vocals.

Next up we present the distinguished guitar duo, Pasquale Grasso and Frank Vignola. The young Grasso came into Litchfield’s sphere when he performed in 2022 with Samara Joy at LJF. The great Pat Metheny said of him: “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso.” Grasso has a regular Monday night residency at Mezzrow in NYC. Frank Vignola, too, can be heard regularly in New York at Birdland Theater. A master of his instrument, his extensive touring has taken him to 21 countries on 3 continents and counting. This is his first Litchfield appearance.

Closing Saturday, we are thrilled to present the brilliant clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen and her newest ensemble, Anat Cohen Quartetinho. This international group of multi-instrumentalist-virtuosos includes bassist Tal Mashiach, pianist/accordionist Vitor Goncalves, and vibraphonist/percussionist James Shipp. Anat Cohen Quartetinho will offer originals by Cohen, Mashiach and Shipp along with material by the great masters Antonio Carlos Jobim, Egberto Gismonti and others. The result is melodic, lyrical and delightful.

July 27th: The Finale - Sunday Jazz Brunch

Our 30th Festival wraps with al fresco dining and music in our beautiful Anniversary Tent. The Jazz Brunch begins at noon with a delicious meal from Litchfield's Official Chef, Charlene Dutka!

The brunch stars the madly entertaining jazz pianist and vocalist, Champian Fulton and her trio of 18 years featuring Fukushi Tainaka on drums and Hide Tanaka on bass. Champian first appeared at Litchfield when she was barely in her 20s. Where did the time go? All About Jazz has called her “… a balm for the soul. Champian sounds, always, like she’s having the time of her life.” And you will too. Make your reservations early, the Jazz Brunch always sells out.