The Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon (JOSA) series continues its 2020 season with performances by tenor saxophonist Dan Moretti on February 2 and the JOSA Ensemble on February 23 at the Center at Eastman’s Bistro Nouveau.

Now in its 28th season, JOSA brings internationally acclaimed jazz musicians, backed up by pianist Bill Wightman and the JOSA Ensemble, to the Upper Valley every other Sunday from December to April. These performances give New Hampshire audiences rare opportunities to experience spontaneous jam sessions led by some of the nation’s most exciting and talented jazz artists.

Dan Moretti is a saxophonist, composer, producer and teacher whose eclectic musical career has spanned more than 30 years. He started playing tenor saxophone at age 12, and the following year he was invited to perform with the Rhode Island Youth Stage Band at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Moretti later studied musical composition and arrangement at the University of Cincinnati’s Union Institute and went on to perform or record with artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Dave Samuels and Dr. John. Today Moretti is as comfortable playing Latin, funk, and soul as he is performing straight-ahead jazz.

For many years, Moretti has also performed music and led teaching seminars in the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 2006, he was invited to play in the house band of The Montreux Jazz Festival’s tribute to Atlantic Records with Nile Rodgers, backing up artists such as Robert Plant, Stevie Nicks, and Steve Winwood.

In 2009, Moretti was awarded the prestigious MacColl-Johnson fellowship for jazz composers, which allowed him to unite his musical and Italian roots in a project with an Italian traditional orchestra.  Over the course of his career, he has released 17 recordings, with his last five hitting the top 40 charts in the United States Moretti also teaches contemporary writing and production at the Berklee School of Music.

The JOSA Ensemble will take center stage for a rollicking performance of a variety of music in the jazz genre including The Great American Songbook, funk and blues. JOSA director and pianist/vocalist, Bill Wightman, attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and since the mid-1970s, has been performing, teaching and directing music and theater throughout New England and New York.

Wightman will be joined by some of the New England jazz scene’s best sidemen, including bassist David Clark, percussionist Tim Gilmore, saxophonist Richard Gardzina and guitarist/vocalist Cliff Clegg.

Wightman and the late Rink Mann launched the JOSA series in 1972 as a way to replicate the spontaneous jazz sessions of the 1930s and ‘40s in New York City and Chicago. In those days, players like Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie would drop in with other local musicians and perform and improvise for hours. 

JOSA shows are held at the Center at Eastman in Grantham, from 4 to 7 PM, with doors opening at 3 PM. A bistro menu and full beverage selection is offered during all performances by the award-winning restaurant, Bistro Nouveau. Tickets are $20 for adults; $18 for seniors (62+) and students (-17). 

To reserve your tickets for JOSA performances, call the Wightsteeple Box Office at 603-763-8732 or 603-381-1662 (cell); email bill.wightman@nullcomcast.net; or visit josajazz.com. For reservations after 2 PM on the day of the show, call the Center at Eastman at 603-863-8000.