Ali Ryerson Quartet Featuring: Lou Pappas, Tom Melito & Larry Ham – Bethel, CT

Indoor Seating Chart

Seating and dinner orders will be taken beginning at 6pm. Please arrive at 6pm or earlier to be seated and to your order taken. Showtime begins at 7pm after dinner.

Please respect that this is a performance by seasoned, professional musicians. Many with Grammy and other awards to their credit. It’s important out of respect for the performers and other patrons that there is no talking during the performance.

Tickets: 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 $25.00 Per Person, Ticket prices may be higher for special performances. Tables Of Two = $50., Four = $100., Five = $125 Six = $150., Eight = $200, Twelve = $300 Have 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.

Ali Ryerson With a career spanning nearly five decades, jazz flutist Ali Ryerson has consistently ranked among the top flutists in the Downbeat Jazz Poll for well over a decade. Born in 1952 in New York City, Ali grew up in a musical family. Her father, Art Ryerson, was a renowned jazz guitarist who got his start with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, and later became a top studio player in NYC, recording with everyone from Louis Armstrong, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan, to Frank Sinatra. Ali Ryerson has carried on the family tradition, becoming an international touring/recording artist, with performances ranging from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, to the Blue Note (NYC and Japan), plus festival appearances worldwide. Ryerson has released over two dozen albums on major jazz labels, including Concord Records, DMP, Capri, and legendary jazz producer Bob Thiele’s final jazz label, Red Baron. When Ryerson’s groundbreaking Jazz Flute Big Band released their debut CD, Game Changer on Capri Records, the album hit the ‘TOP 10’ on the US Jazz Charts for six straight weeks.

Ali has recorded and/or performed with jazz greats such as Red Rodney, Roy Haynes, Kenny Barron, Frank Wess, Hubert Laws, Stephane Grappelli, Harold Danko, Art Farmer, Mike Mainieri, Joe Beck, and Gene Bertoncini, as well as a recent guest appearance with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. She has also performed with classical artists Julius Baker and Luciano Pavarotti (when she was principal flutist with the Monterey Bay Orchestra). Ali was musical director of the Hudson River Regional Jazz Festival (2001-’04), Jazz Chair for the National Flute Association, and founder of the NFA Jazz Flute Big Band. As an educator and author, Ryerson published the widely acclaimed Jazz Flute Practice Method, and conducts master classes worldwide. Ryerson is a Gemeinhardt Artist with an Autograph Series of flutes by Gemeinhardt Musical Instruments.

Ryerson’s most recent invitations as a guest artist includes: the Galway Flute Festival in Switzerland, the International Flute Festival of Lima, Peru, the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival, the New York Flute Club, the International Low Flute Festival, the University of Michigan, Florida and MidAtlantic Flute conventions, the Rochester Flute Fair, the Chicago Flute Fair, and invitations to tour Japan again in 2019 and 2020.

Larry Ham: Pianist, composer, and arranger. Larry Ham is a veteran New York keyboard player. Larry began his professional career in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra in the late 80s. He was pianist in the Illinois Jacquet Big Band 1990-95 and has worked extensively with countless other jazz legends, including the late Junior Cook and Dakota Staton. His recent New York appearances include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Iridium, The Village Vanguard, Smalls, The Kitano Hotel, and Harlems historic Lenox Lounge.

Lou Pappas – double bass (Tom Scott, Randy Brecker) Lou Pappas’ career encompasses both Jazz and Classical music. Originally from Colorado, his first classical performing experience came with the Colorado Springs Symphony, at the same time working with visiting jazz and popular artists such as Jay McShann, Tom Scott, composer Patrick Williams and Phil Urso. After three years with the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra, he moved to New York to accept the position as bassist with the United States Military Academy Band at West Point. As a member of the “Jazz Knights”, he has performed at jazz festivals in New York City, Atlanta, Denver and Seattle, with guest artists including Byron Stripling, Claire Fischer, Randy Brecker, James Williams and fellow bassist John Clayton. He is also a member of the Greater Newburgh Symphony, the Bergen Philharmonic in Teaneck, NJ, and has played with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic , Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic and the Chappaqua Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Pappas is presently the Adjunct Artist Instructor of Double Bass at Vassar College.

Tom Melito – Drummer, Tom has been a mainstay on the jazz scene for many years. His drumming has been heard behind such varied artists as Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Wess, Harry Allen, “Sweets” Edison, Lew Soloff, Herb Ellis, Warren Vache, John Bunch, and Bill Watrous. Tom’s talents have been in demand internationally, including numerous tours of Japan, Europe, and South America. He has also performed at most of the world’s largest jazz events including; the JVC, Montreal, and the Berne Jazz Festivals. His numerous television appearances include the CBS Early Show, Entertainment Tonight, and CNN World Beat. Melito has also toured with many singers including the late Etta Jones and Kenny Rankin. He has been featured with Stacy Kent and continues to perform regularly in New York City jazz clubs. Active in jazz education he is an adjunct professor of music at Central Connecticut University. He also plays on Jerry Bergonzi’s CD play along method, and is recording a series of jazz educational CDs for “Windplayer” magazine.

We’re sorry, there are no refunds after tickets have been purchased. In the event of 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, cancellations, 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. Bethel Jazz can not make refunds because of illness.