NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Jazz Festival will co-present the New York-based quintet Civil Disobedience: Blue Note Records in the Progressive ’60s in a one-night-only concert at the Iron Horse on Sunday, April 12 at 7 p.m.

The Northampton Jazz Festival has expanded its live jazz offerings beyond its signature two-day festival in late September. It now co-presents visiting jazz artists in one-night-only concerts by partnering with area performance venues. In doing so, the Jazz Festival is able to bring more world-class jazz musicians to the region year-round.

Civil Disobedience, created by New York bassist David Ambrosio, is a project that has been carefully crafted to showcase the compositions of progressive jazz maestros from the late-’60s Blue Note Era, such as Bobby Hutcherson, Jackie McLean, Stanley Cowell, Harold Land, Joe Chambers, Duke Pearson, and James Spaulding. Aside from leader Ambrosio, members of the band include Donny McCaslin on tenor and soprano saxophones, Jason Palmer on trumpet, Bruce Barth on piano, and Rudy Royston on drums.

In a reflection of a past era marked by social upheaval and civil unrest, the compositions that form the core of Civil Disobedience’s playlist lay dormant for decades, unheard and unappreciated at the time of their creation. More than 50 years later, America is at a crossroads again, witnessing significant parallels in social movements reminiscent of that transformative era. It is against this backdrop that the once-overlooked music of the late-’60s Blue Note Era gains a newfound relevance.

“David Ambrosio is going to bring a band of some of the best musicians on the New York scene today — Donny McCaslin, Bruce Barth, Rudy Royston, and Jason Palmer — who will play their hearts out in sharing this music of protest and civil unrest on the Iron Horse stage,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the Northampton Jazz Festival. “Musicians are poets, and I’m grateful that these fine musicians are coming to Northampton to play this poetry of protest during such an unsettling time in our nation’s history.”

Ambrosio is bringing his band to Western Mass. on a mini-tour, which includes a teaching workshop at Amherst College on Sunday afternoon, April 12, and with Ambrosio as a sideman in a Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares concert in Holyoke on Saturday, April 11.

The April 12 concert at the Iron Horse will preview the first album produced by the group, titled Civil Disobedience, with a release date of May 16.

John Anz

NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Jazz Festival has welcomed two new board members who bring broad skills and experience in marketing, design, music production, and fundraising.

The new members are John Anz, who joined in January, and Jack Brown, who came on board in January 2025.

“Their skills are a tremendous complement to the board, providing us with deep experience in the areas of fundraising, music production, design, and marketing,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the board of directors.

Jack Brown

Anz is currently director of Development & Community Engagement for the Loomis Communities. An alumnus of Williston Northampton School and Trinity College in Hartford, he moved permanently to Western Mass. in 2002 from his native New York City and deeply involved himself in the local music, arts, and culture scene. He has served on several boards of arts organizations, including the Northampton Community Music Center and the South Hadley Cultural Council, including two years as chair. He has also created, produced, and presented live music in the area as co-chair of the SHOWCASE South Hadley arts and culture festival and, under JAzz Productions, produced Music Mondays Cafe at the Gaylord Memorial Library in South Hadley.

After careers in college coaching and real estate management, Anz has been in the development and philanthropy fields of nonprofit fundraising for more than 20 years, including music and arts organizations such as Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Berkshire Hills Music Academy.

Brown is Marketing director at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council. He has worked in Northampton’s cultural circles for three decades as an artist, writer, and musician, and promotes the region in his current role. He creates and executes the strategies for marketing to constituents of both organizations across all digital, social and print communications channels.

Brown’s expertise also includes content creation, graphic design, and setting and analyzing marketing metrics across all channels. He is also a musician (guitarist), illustrator, and graphic designer, having earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at the University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School.