Sarah Hanahan Quartet at The Side Door Jazz Club
Sarah Hanahan Quartet at The Side Door Jazz Club brings one of the most acclaimed young alto saxophonists in jazz to Old Lyme on Saturday, August 22, for an intimate performance inside the historic Old Lyme Inn.
The concert begins at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7:15 p.m. Hanahan will be joined by pianist Caelan Cardello, bassist Matt Dwonszyk and drummer Samuel Bolduc for an evening of modern jazz led by a musician DownBeat has named its No. 1 Rising Star Alto Saxophonist for two consecutive years.
From Connecticut’s Hartt School to Juilliard
Hanahan’s path to the national jazz scene has strong Connecticut roots.
Raised in Marlborough, Massachusetts, she began playing alto saxophone at age eight. Her father was a drummer, and his love of music provided an early introduction to the jazz that would eventually become her career.
Hanahan came to Connecticut to attend the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, a program founded by legendary alto saxophonist Jackie McLean.
There, she studied with musicians including Abraham Burton, Rene McLean, Nat Reeves and Javon Jackson. She continued her education in New York, earning a master’s degree from The Juilliard School.
That combination placed Hanahan in two important jazz traditions: the hard-bop lineage associated with McLean and Hartford, and the intensely competitive New York jazz scene where she has since established herself as a working musician.
A Rapid Rise Through the Jazz World
Hanahan has accumulated an impressive list of collaborators while still relatively early in her career.
She has performed or worked with musicians including Jeff “Tain” Watts, Billy Hart, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nat Reeves, Steve Davis and Marc Cary. She has also performed with the Grammy-winning Mingus Big Band and Sherrie Maricle’s DIVA Jazz Orchestra.
New York audiences can regularly find her at clubs including Birdland, Smalls Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club and Smoke Jazz Club.
NPR also selected Hanahan for the inaugural class of its Jazz Night in America Youngbloods, a project hosted by bassist Christian McBride highlighting emerging jazz musicians.
But one of the biggest steps forward came with her first album.
Among Giants
Hanahan released her debut album, Among Giants, in 2024.
The title proved appropriate. Rather than surrounding herself entirely with musicians from her own generation, Hanahan recorded with veteran pianist Marc Cary, longtime Hartford bassist and educator Nat Reeves and celebrated drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts.
The album received a five-star review from DownBeat and was selected as one of the magazine’s top albums of 2024.
In 2025, DownBeat readers named Hanahan the No. 1 Rising Star Alto Saxophonist, recognition she has now earned in consecutive years.
Her playing combines the force and improvisational freedom of the jazz tradition she studied in Hartford with a lyrical quality and an energetic stage presence. The result is music that respects where jazz came from without sounding like an attempt to preserve it behind glass.
The Quartet Coming to Old Lyme
For the Side Door performance, Hanahan leads a four-piece group:
Sarah Hanahan — Alto Saxophone
Caelan Cardello — Piano
Matt Dwonszyk — Bass
Samuel Bolduc — Drums
There are Connecticut connections within the quartet beyond Hanahan’s years at Hartt.
Bassist Matt Dwonszyk is himself a product of the Jackie McLean Institute and has become a significant presence in Connecticut and New York jazz. He has performed with artists including Harold Mabern, Larry Willis and Steve Davis while also leading his own groups.
Pianist Caelan Cardello represents another generation of emerging jazz musicians. The New Jersey pianist has already performed at major New York jazz venues and developed a reputation as both a bandleader and sideman.
Together, the quartet format leaves plenty of room for interaction. With only saxophone, piano, bass and drums, each musician has space to respond to the others as arrangements move between composed passages and improvisation.
Jazz in a Room Built for Listening
The setting is part of what makes this performance different from seeing the same quartet in a large theater.
The Side Door Jazz Club is a dedicated jazz listening room located inside the historic Old Lyme Inn at 85 Lyme Street. Rather than functioning as a general-purpose venue that occasionally books jazz, The Side Door was created specifically around the experience of hearing the music in a small room.
That matters with a quartet like Hanahan’s. Jazz is conversational music. A drummer changes direction, the bassist catches it, the pianist leaves an opening and the saxophone answers. In a room this size, the audience can watch those exchanges happen only feet away.
Since opening in 2013, The Side Door has attracted nationally and internationally recognized jazz musicians while establishing Old Lyme as an unlikely stop on the touring jazz circuit.
Dinner Before the Show
Guests can turn the concert into a full evening by dining at the Old Lyme Inn before the performance.
Ticket holders who have dinner at the inn before the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.
Because the concert uses reserved seating, guests don’t need to race for a preferred spot when the doors open. Free parking is also available at the venue.
The performance is open to all ages.
Event Details
Event: Sarah Hanahan Quartet
Date: Saturday, August 22, 2026
Doors: 7:15 p.m.
Show: 8–10 p.m.
Location: The Side Door Jazz Club at Old Lyme Inn
Address: 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT 06371
Seating: Reserved
Ages: All ages
Parking: Free
Tickets are non-refundable. Guests dining at the Old Lyme Inn before the performance receive 10% off their dinner bill.
More information is available at the Event Website listed below.
To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.
