The Side Door Jazz Club

The Side Door Jazz Club A world-class jazz venue located at the Old Lyme Inn in Old Lyme, Connecticut!
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The Side Door Jazz Club is the realization of a long cherished dream - the perfect jazz venue: Intimate, welcoming, elegant and a quality, great sounding room that the very best jazz artists are happy to play in! On May 10th, 2013 its door and stage were opened by none other than the venerable George Wein and his Newport All-Stars band, cutting the ribbon and giving his blessing to an awestruck Ken Kitchings! An incredible gala night opening to be remembered – setting the standard and placing The Side Door firmly on the jazz venue map! Get all the artist details and buy your tickets at our website, sidedoorjazz.com, for the amazing jazz performances we have every Friday and Saturday nights! Enjoy world-class live jazz, a full bar, and enjoy dinner at the beautiful Old Lyme Inn before the show!

This Friday, The Side Door welcomes two-time Grammy nominee Thana Alexa, a vocalist, composer, and producer who's spent ...
09/15/2026

This Friday, The Side Door welcomes two-time Grammy nominee Thana Alexa, a vocalist, composer, and producer who's spent her career pushing the boundaries of jazz with textures of contemporary soul and world music. 🎤

Alexa earned back-to-back Grammy nominations for her album ONA, including Best Jazz Vocal Album, and has graced the cover of DownBeat Magazine. She's a longtime member of her husband, five-time Grammy winner Antonio Sanchez's touring ensemble Migration, and co-founder of the trio SONICA alongside fellow vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. The New York Times has called her "a jazz singer with a global perspective," and Billboard praised her for "turning a style of scatting that's become cliché into something entirely new, evocative, and exhilarating."

Friday, September 18 · 8PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT

Make a night of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1998117705846

09/15/2026

Wednesday - we are back at The Side Door Jazz Club for our “Season Opener!”

This Sunday, The Side Door welcomes one of the most electrifying bands in jazz today: The Cookers, seven legendary music...
09/11/2026

This Sunday, The Side Door welcomes one of the most electrifying bands in jazz today: The Cookers, seven legendary musicians who between them have played with everyone from Art Blakey to Miles Davis, now bringing that firepower to our stage together. 🔥

Eddie Henderson – Trumpet
David Weiss – Trumpet
Craig Handy – Alto Saxophone
Azar Lawrence – Tenor Saxophone
George Cables – Piano
Cecil McBee – Bass
Billy Hart – Drums

This isn't a reunion band, it's a working group of masters still pushing the music forward, and a rare chance to see this many jazz greats sharing one stage.

Sunday, September 13 · 7:30PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT

Make a night of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997208607709

This weekend at The Side Door, a true jazz legend takes the stage: Grammy-nominated saxophonist Bobby Watson brings his ...
09/08/2026

This weekend at The Side Door, a true jazz legend takes the stage: Grammy-nominated saxophonist Bobby Watson brings his acclaimed quartet for two nights of masterful, straight-ahead jazz. 🎷

Bobby Watson sits among the pantheon of present day jazz greats. From 1977 to 1981 he served as musical director of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, contributing to 14 recordings, more than anyone else in the group's 35 year history. He's worked with jazz icons Max Roach and George Coleman, alongside legendary vocalists Betty Carter and Dianne Reeves, and co-founded the acclaimed acoustic quintet Horizon with his longtime musical partner, bassist Curtis Lundy. A devoted educator, Watson spent 20 years as Distinguished Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

Bobby Watson – Alto Saxophone
Curtis Lundy – Bass
Jordan Williams – Piano
Victor Jones – Drums

Friday, September 11 & Saturday, September 12 · 8PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT

Make a weekend of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.

Friday tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1993167448493?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1993167632042?aff=oddtdtcreator

This weekend at The Side Door, pianist Aaron Goldberg brings his celebrated trio, featuring Reuben Rogers and Kendrick S...
09/01/2026

This weekend at The Side Door, pianist Aaron Goldberg brings his celebrated trio, featuring Reuben Rogers and Kendrick Scott, for two nights of extraordinary piano trio jazz. 🎹

The New York Times has called Aaron Goldberg a post-bop pianist of exemplary taste and range. He toured extensively with Joshua Redman, joined the bands of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Wynton Marsalis, and has collaborated with Charles Lloyd, Madeleine Peyroux, Betty Carter, and Freddie Hubbard, among many others. Goldberg and bassist Reuben Rogers formed one of jazz's most acclaimed working trios, releasing five celebrated albums together, and reuniting in recent years to continue that twenty-five-year musical fellowship. Joining them is drummer Kendrick Scott, one of the most sought-after and inventive drummers of his generation.

Aaron Goldberg – Piano
Reuben Rogers – Bass
Kendrick Scott – Drums

Friday, September 4 & Saturday, September 5 · 8PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT

Make a weekend of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.

Friday tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aaron-goldberg-trio-with-matt-brewer-and-kendrick-scott-tickets-1992320250501?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

Saturday tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aaron-goldberg-trio-with-matt-brewer-and-kendrick-scott-tickets-1992320493227?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

This weekend at The Side Door, pianist Benny Green performs solo, an intimate evening from a true torchbearer of the jaz...
08/26/2026

This weekend at The Side Door, pianist Benny Green performs solo, an intimate evening from a true torchbearer of the jazz piano tradition. 🎹

Benny Green is one of the most exciting, hard-swinging pianists to emerge from the legacy of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He worked with Betty Carter from 1983 to 1987, joined Blakey's Jazz Messengers until 1990, and went on to join Freddie Hubbard's quintet and Ray Brown's trio. In 1993 he became the first recipient of the City of Toronto's Glenn Gould International Protégé Prize in Music, selected personally by Oscar Peterson. With a recording career spanning over one hundred sessions, Green brings the full weight of a legendary lineage to The Side Door for two nights of solo piano.

Friday, August 28 & Saturday, August 29 · 8PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT

Make a weekend of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.

Friday tickets: ]https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991845524583?aff=oddtdtcreator

Saturday tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/benny-green-solo-piano-tickets-1991845544643

This weekend at The Side Door, DownBeat's #1 Rising Star altoist Sarah Hanahan brings her quartet for two nights of ele...
08/19/2026

This weekend at The Side Door, DownBeat's #1 Rising Star altoist Sarah Hanahan brings her quartet for two nights of electrifying, modern jazz. 🎷
Sarah Hanahan is one of the most exciting young voices in jazz today. A graduate of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School and The Juilliard School, she was featured in the first-ever class of NPR's Jazz Night in America Youngbloods series, hosted by Christian McBride, and has worked with Jeff "Tain" Watts, Nat Reeves, Steve Davis, and Billy Hart, among many others. Her debut album Among Giants earned five stars in DownBeat and was named one of their Top Albums of the Year in 2024. The following year, she was named DownBeat's #1 Rising Star Alto Saxophonist, an honor she has now claimed in consecutive years.
Sarah Hanahan – Alto Saxophone
Caelan Cardello – Piano
Matt Dwonszyk – Bass
Sam Bolduc – Drums
Friday & Saturday · 8PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT
Make a weekend of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.
Friday tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991845379148?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991845417262?aff=oddtdtcreator

This weekend at The Side Door: the Nat Reeves Sextet celebrates the release of Now in Time, with the same all-star group...
08/11/2026

This weekend at The Side Door: the Nat Reeves Sextet celebrates the release of Now in Time, with the same all-star group from the record. 🎺
Nat Reeves, Bass
Eric Alexander, Tenor Saxophone
Steve Davis, Trombone
Eddie Henderson, Trumpet
Caelan Cardello, Piano
Jeff "Tain" Watts, Drums
Forty years on the bandstand with Jackie McLean, Kenny Garrett, Pharoah Sanders, George Coleman and Harold Mabern, and this is only Nat's third album as a leader. Now in Time came out in April on Cellar Live: twelve tracks that move between his originals and standards like "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Alice in Wonderland."
Six players who know each other's language, in a room where you can hear every bit of it.
Friday 8/14, doors 7:15, show 8:00
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991843656997?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday 8/15, doors 7:15, show 8:00
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991843712162?aff=oddtdtcreator

This Friday at The Side Door, bassist Adam Anderson brings his quartet, featuring the wonderful trombonist and vocalist ...
08/05/2026

This Friday at The Side Door, bassist Adam Anderson brings his quartet, featuring the wonderful trombonist and vocalist Naomi Wharry, for a night of swinging jazz. 🎺🎶
Naomi Wharry is a Yale-based trombonist and vocalist, an Oklahoma native whose musicality spans both the horn and her voice. Joining Adam and Naomi is pianist Sam Mayer and drummer Russ Algera for a night of hard-swinging, soulful jazz.
Adam Anderson – Bass
Naomi Wharry – Trombone & Vocals
Sam Mayer – Piano
Russ Algera – Drums
Friday, August 7 · 8PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT
Make a night of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adam-anderson-quartet-tickets-1991842803444

This Thursday, The Side Door hosts a jam session. 🎷🥁The night opens with a full set from the Avery Wyman Quintet, featur...
08/03/2026

This Thursday, The Side Door hosts a jam session. 🎷🥁
The night opens with a full set from the Avery Wyman Quintet, featuring the incomparable trombonist Steve Davis, a longtime member of the Jackie McLean Quartet and collaborator of Art Blakey, Chick Corea, and Freddie Hubbard. After the set, the stage opens up for an all-comers jam session until 10PM.
This is open to everyone, whether you're a musician looking to sit in or simply a music lover who wants to experience a spontaneous, electric night of jazz. Musicians who want to sit in play for free, just be sure to register on Eventbrite so we know to expect you. There's no better way to witness the living tradition of jazz than watching musicians come together in real time.
Avery Wyman – Drums
Steve Davis – Trombone
Anthony Bolden – Tenor Saxophone
Zaccai Curtis – Piano
Gavin Gray – Bass
Thursday, August 6 · Doors 7PM · Opening Set 7:30PM · Jam Session 8:30PM
The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn · 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT
Make a night of it, Side Door ticket holders receive 10% off dinner at the Old Lyme Inn.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1992004513122

Address

85 Lyme Street
Old Lyme, CT
06371

Opening Hours

Friday 7:30pm - 11pm
Saturday 7:30pm - 11pm

Telephone

(860) 434-2600

Website

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