Thursday, February 19
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Registration Required Below
Step into a world of timeless sophistication as the Jazz Society of Fairfield County presents an Allen & Helen Hermes Art Series concert dedicated to the musical giants who sculpted America’s original art form.
Matt Dwonszyk, bass
Since 2020, Matt has taught jazz bass at Manchester Community College and Central Connecticut State College. At CCSU, Matat also teaches jazz history. In 2024, he taught jazz bass at the University of Hartford and in 2025 at UMass Amherst. He also teaches privately. After graduating with a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Hartford, Matt obtained a Master’s of Music at SUNY Purchase College in New York. He soon was performing at legendary jazz venues like Smalls, Smoke, Minton’s, Zinc Bar, Birdland, and the Jazz Standard. Matt has also released several albums, with his most recent Live at the Side Door was released last year.
A Stamford native who has made a lifetime commitment to playing drums, some of Joe’s latest works can be heard on Big Fish Music’s production of cinematic percussion sounds. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and later joined the US Army band. Later, became a house drummer for Michael’s Pub in New York, backing such jazz artists as Red Norvo, Joe Venuti and Dave McKenna. Joe also was a member of the jazz/rock band New York Mary, which recorded two successful records and toured with the B52′s, Patti Smith, Stevie Wonder and Tony Williams Lifetime band.
Greg Wall, tenor and soprano saxophones
Also known affectionately as Jazz Rabbi, Greg has performed and recorded with Hasidic New Wave, Greg Wall’s Later Prophets and Zion80. Greg Wall’s Unity Orchestra has made many session appearances for record dates and film scores. Between 2008 and 2012 he produced over 70 recordings for Pioneers For A Cure, an innovative artist-driven project supporting a wide variety of cancer charities. Greg received rabbinic ordination in 2006, and was rabbi at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue in Manhattan’s East Village, where he founded the influential Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy. Greg moved to Westport in 2013 to become the rabbi of Beit Chaverim Synagogue. Since then he has been a founding board member of the Jazz Society of Fairfield County (JazzFC) where he serves as president and artistic director. Greg has curated a weekly Westport-based Jazz series since 2015, performing weekly with a rotating lineup of internationally acclaimed NYC based and touring Jazz artists.
The Allen and Helen Hermes Arts Series was founded in 2003, and is funded by a generous gift the couple donated to the Mark Twain Library. The mission of the series is to enrich the quality of life in the community of Redding by producing and supporting events in the visual, literary, theater and musical arts.
Registration is currently closed for this event.