The Hall Monitors Quintet.. Intense Jazz Originals & Tributes To Legends

Doors open at 6:00pm. Try to be seated by 6:30pm to have your dinner order taken. Showtime begins at 7:00pm when we transform the space into a theater.

Out of respect for the performers and other patrons, please keep talking to a whisper during the performance.

Very Limited Occupancy. Tables seating 2, 4, 5 guests, with tables for 6, 8, 12 available upon request. Single, general admission tickets are also available. See The Attached Seating Chart. Admission Is $15.00 - $25.00 Per Person, Ticket prices may be higher for special performances. Having problems with the ticketing system? Call 203-247-4273

Parking: Please park in LaZingara's lot or on Greenwood Ave. or School Street. Please avoid parking in P.T. Barnum Square.

Check out the band:

The Hall Monitors perform a variety of intense jazz styles and including innovative originals along with original treatments of not-so-standard jazz classics and tributes to jazz legacies such as Harold Mabern, Phil Woods, Roy Hargrove and Benny Golson. It features a classic piano-bass-drums rhythm section with two innovative and complementary saxophonists. The personnel currently consists of Steven Bulmer on bass, Jen Allen on piano, Matt Parker on saxes and flute, Nathan Edwards on saxes and Ben Bilello on drums.

STEVEN BULMER is a multi-dimensional musician actively performing and recording on upright bass, electric bass and tuba. A native New Englander from Connecticut, Steve enjoys a very active career that spans many musical idioms including jazz, classical, musical theater and pop/rock. Initiated on piano at age 6, his music journey sent him acoustically lower and lower as he was drawn to the inspirational role the bass plays both rhythmically and harmonically in all type of musical idioms. Steve was formally trained at the Eastman School of Music where he received a bachelor’s degree in both Music Education and Music Performance. He subsequently headed west and he received a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University studying with the famous pedagogue and Chicago Symphony Orchestra tubist Arnold Jacobs. Steve performs extensively with regional and national musicians in many settings. He has performed on Broadway in productions of Chicago (the Musical) and Parade! at Lincoln Center doubling on upright bass and tuba. He is first call in the region when national touring shows hire area musicians, and has played in such productions as If/Then, Beautiful – The Carol King Story, Spamalot, Pippin, Mary Poppins, Evita!, The Addams Family, Billy Eliot, Victor/Victoria, and Young Frankenstein and has backed such talents as Mel Tormé, Ray Charles, The Three Irish Tenors, and Josh Groban. Steve is active as a jazz bassist performing throughout New England with many regional artists and ensembles including performances with Phil Woods, John Abercrombie, Ali Ryerson, Kendra Shank, Nick Brignola, Tom Malone, Lou Marini, Matt Parker, Anton Kot, Jeff Holmes, Earl MacDonald and vocalese artist Giacomo Gates.

MATT PARKER is a tenor and soprano saxophone player, born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After seeing trumpeter Maynard Ferguson in concert, he fell in love with jazz and was mentored by the legendary South Florida saxophonist Jimmy Cavallo. Parker played professionally as a teenager in New Orleans before moving to New York to study with Jane Ira Bloom, Barry Harris, and Junior Mance. Later, Parker would go on to play in Maynard's band Big Bop Nouveau for two years and is on the album “MF Horn VI: Live At Ronnie's” (2006). Parker's career has been wildly eclectic, showcasing his tireless explorative spirit and chameleon-like style. He has paid tribute to both avant-garde players and straight-ahead stalwarts on his albums “Worlds Put Together” (2014) and “Present Time” (2016), and has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, including Reggie Watkins, Ariana Grande, Orrin Evans, Hess is More, and the Mingus Big Band. He is also a member of the viral ensemble Postmodern Jukebox and has made appearances (both musical and on-screen) in the hit action film “John Wick”. The Dorrance Dance company features Parker in “45th and 8th” premiering nationally (2022-23). He is also a featured performer with comedian, and renowned entertainer Murray Hill and Bridget Everrett (“Somebody, Somewhere”). Parker's experience with the Cape Town Youth Choir, where he learned the importance of blending and the beauty of collaboration, has had a profound impact on his music. DownBeat Magazine praised Parker's "own tireless explorative spirit," while JAZZIZ Magazine described Parker as someone who "welcomes listeners with warmth and wit." Hot House noted that Parker's playing can recall the gruffyet-sensuous lines of Ben Webster, while Outside-Inside-Out said, "Parker can do anything...he swings his ass off." Something Else Reviews called Parker "restlessly inventive" and "showed off his resourcefulness and playfulness," while The Village Voice praised him as a "Tenor and soprano sax whiz." All About Jazz said Parker "can't be pigeonholed into just one tradition" and that "he has arrived on the creative music scene a fully formed artist – one with his own unique voice and singular vision."

JEN ALLEN is a pianist, composer, author and educator. She frequently performs in New York, the Northeast US and in venues throughout the world, as the leader of her own groups or as a member of other creative music ensembles. Notable appearances include the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, Cambridge Festival of the Arts, Greater Hartford Monday Night Jazz Series and Wexford Performing Arts Centre (Ireland). Jen has performed with many notable artists, including Don Braden, Jimmy Greene, Kendrick Oliver, Sarah Caswell, Camille Thurman, Freddie Hendrix, Nat Reeves, Kris Allen, Ike Sturm and Antoinette Montague. In 2011, Jen was chosen as one of only eight pianists from around the world to participate in the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Workshop at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, presenting a trio concert and working with Toshiko Akiyoshi, Lynne Arriale and Sherrie Maricle. An active recording artist, Jen is featured on many albums including her debut, “Pieces of Myself,” “Raise Up,” by collaboratively led Trio 149 as well as many albums as a sideman. Jen composes music for big bands, studio orchestras, string quartet and other smaller ensembles. She has been commissioned to compose music for several universities and grade schools. She was a member of the prestigious BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City, a colloquium of the foremost up-and-coming writers of large ensemble jazz music today. In November of 2018 Jen was a composer-in-residence for St. Peter’s Church (NYC) Jazz Lauds and received a commission from Spark and Echo for her piece “Kurinji”. Starting in 2018 Jen has curated and produced a concert series in West Hartford, CT called “Bring It Home” that features musicians from all over the world, including Brazil, Romania and Italy in the company of local Connecticut musicians, all in collaboration with local visual artists. In 2017, Jen was the music director and arranger for the Litchfield Jazz Festival Orchestra where she arranged 7 pieces of music for a 10-piece ensemble.

BEN BILELLO – DRUMS. As one of the most in demand freelance drummers in New England, BEN BILELLO can be seen at numerous clubs, concert halls and festivals with a wide variety of artists. Originally from Narragansett, Rhode Island, Ben began playing the snare drum in his elementary school band. As time passed, Ben became interested in learning the drum set, acquiring his first kit at age fourteen. His first significant exposure to jazz occurred around this time and he made the decision to study music at a formal conservatory. After graduating from Narragansett High School in 1995, Ben moved to West Hartford, Connecticut to begin college. In autumn of 1995, Ben entered The Hartt School of Music, majoring in jazz studies/African American music. The jazz students were under the watchful eye of master saxophonist Jackie McLean. Hartt afforded Ben numerous opportunities in the areas of performance and study. While at Hartt, Ben studied drums and percussion with Ben Toth, Tony Leone, and Michael Carvin. He also studied frame drum and riq with master percussionist Glen Velez. During his time at Hartt, Ben was frequently called upon to perform with students, faculty members, and guest artists. In 1997, Ben won the Hartt Award of Excellence in Jazz Studies, presented by Professor McLean. Ben graduated cum laude from Hartt in the spring of 1999 with a BM in Jazz Studies. After graduating from Hartt, Ben established himself as a noted performing artist, having worked with the likes of Mulgrew Miller, Eddie Henderson, Anthony Braxton, Joe Wilder, Branford Marsalis, Javon Jackson, Curtis Fuller, George Cables, Gene Bertoncini, Don Friedman, Charles Flores, Steve Davis, Nat Reeves, Jimmy Greene, Shelton “Fatman” Laster, Wayne Escoffery, and Dezron Douglas/New Jazz Workshop, among many others. In addition to performing with many renowned figures in jazz and improvised music, Ben has toured with the South American folk groups Viva Quetzal and Markamusic.

NATHAN EDWARDS - Saxophone, Nathan is a graduate of Western Connecticut State University with a degree in Music Education. In addition, he recently completed a Master's degree in Jazz Studies at the Jackie Mclean Institute of Jazz within the Hartt School of Music. Throughout his time performing and studying music he has had the opportunity to perform with jazz icons such as Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, Orrin Evans, Lewis Nash, Steve Davis and Jimmy Greene. Although an active performer, Nathan Edwards has established a career in Music Education where he has discovered a passion for teaching and enriching the minds of his students through music and performing. As a founding member of the CMEA Equity and Advocacy Committee, Mr. Edwards has presented at Sacred Heart University and the University of Hartford. He is currently the Director of Bands at King Philip Middle School School in West Hartford.

We're sorry, there are no refunds after tickets have been purchased. In the event of a pandemic, rain, snow, or other forms of weather which prohibit a performance, the performance date will be postponed and rescheduled for another date within a reasonable amount of time. If the new date is postponed, a future alternate date will be picked at the discretion of Bethel Jazz and the musical artist. The ticket holder will be notified of postponements, cancelations, and rescheduled dates via email. Tickets are non-refundable and may be transferred to another person in the event a purchaser can not make the rescheduled date. In the event, an artist cancels a date, and Bethel Jazz is unable to reschedule the artist, Bethel Jazz reserves the right to provide a substitute performer of equal quality without notice to the ticket purchaser. If a date is canceled and not rescheduled, Bethel Jazz will provide a refund (in some cases minus the Eventbrite fee) or credit for another performance at the choice of the ticket holder. Bethel Jazz will always do its best to accommodate for changes in seating, table sizes, or changes to tickets.

Host or Publisher Bethel Jazz