I will be joining the Latin-Grammy winning New York Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band under the direction of Joe McCarthy at The Morgan School as part of their George Flynn Classical Concert Series. This performance features the music from the Pan-American Nutcracker Suite, along with ballet and visual projections. This is an incredible interdisciplinary project!

I am looking forward to playing the music of Eunmi Lee at The Jazz Gallery this December! More details coming soon!

I am excited to be teaming up with longtime collaborator Lee Fish for a special night of music at The Beehive, one of Boston’s oldest music venues! More details forthcoming!

I am really looking forward to making a long-overdue return to my hometown to work with the students in Capital University to talk about all the great things we’ve got going in our Masters of Music in Jazz Studies at The University of Hartford as well as our upcoming auditions at Cuyahoga Community College on November 21-22!

I am really looking forward to making a long-overdue return to my hometown to work with the students in Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra at Jazz Arts Group to talk about all the great things we’ve got going on at The University of Hartford as well as our upcoming auditions at Cuyahoga Community College on November 21-22! Without CYJO and JAG, I would not have pursued a career in music, so I’m always grateful for the opportunity to repay this great organization in Columbus!

I’m looking forward to performing at with the Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT! Sean is a wonderful trombonist and composer and this will be a ton of fun!

I am really excited to be organizing the inaugural Jackie McLean Institute Jazz Trombone Day on Sunday, October 19th from  2-5pm in Berkman Recital Hall on our beautiful campus in West Hartford, CT. The JMI Jazz Trombone Day will consist of a combination of jazz trombone masterclasses, Q+A about jazz trombone and campus life, a participant's jazz trombone choir, and a short faculty recital with myself, JMI students, and alumni. 

As an endorsing artist for King Trombones, the event is also sponsored in partnership with King and Bach Brass Instruments, which are affiliate companies to Conn-Selmer. The West Hartford location of Music & Arts will be bringing professional level tenor & bass trombones for your students to try out if any of them are thinking of purchasing a new instrument soon!

This event is free and open to the public and all ages, students, and music educators are also welcome to attend! However, if you have any students that might be interested in attending, please have them send me an email to sblakesle@hartford.edu to register for the event and so I can prepare the jazz trombone choir music accordingly.

Below is a flyer for the Jazz Trombone Day if you'd like to post in your band rooms and/or share with your students. If you or your students have any questions about the event or our program in general, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at this email address and I'd be happy to help!

Thank you for your time in reading this email and I hope to meet you and some of your students on October 19th!

I am excited to join the Hartford Jazz Orchestra for the first time as part of their weekly Monday residency at Elicit Brewing from 7:30-9:30pm! Hope to see some CT folks there!