Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra
The New London Big Band is now the Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra
Why the name change? It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and this feels like the right moment. Besides no longer having our home base in New London, I want to focus on the band's identity as a world class ensemble with a national reach. The band has evolved since its inception nine years ago to become my musical voice, and in turn to enable all of the individual musicians' voices.
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Starting in September, our new regular home will be at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme. We played there recently, and I fell in love with the club. Incredible acoustics (yes, even for a big band), intimate performance space, beautiful grand piano, a rehearsal space, and the general vibe and prestige of a dedicated jazz club meant for listening. Thanks to the Side Door/Old Lyme Inn’s owner and music visionary, Ken Kitchings, for agreeing to have us for this monthly residency.
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"How do you fit all those musicians at the Side Door?" We fit just fine! There are just a few less seats for the audience, and we are a little tight on stage, but it works surprisingly well. There is a really exciting energy that comes from the intimate quarters. We do adjust the way the band plays to fit the space, so that we don't overwhelm the room with too much volume. The combination of intimate band/audience connection and world class acoustics make for an unparalleled big band listening experience.
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We’ve had nine wonderful years at our home at The Social Bar + Kitchen, and I am so thankful to have had such a hip spot to play at with such supportive management. And we are not totally leaving the Social! We’re still planning to play there a few times a year, including our very popular Christmas shows.​
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Stay tuned for more. I’m very excited for the next chapter of the band!
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-Sean
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Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
June 2025
Guest artist Wayne Bergeron (trumpet) with Sean Nelson (trombone) at the Garde Arts Center, August 2023.
Social Hour!
Led by trombonist and composer Sean Nelson, the New London Big Band brings an eclectic mix of Count Basie inspired swing, world music influences, and some unorthodox instruments - ever heard electric trombone? Social Hour! is the band’s theme song and an homage to the band’s regular performance spot, The Social Bar + Kitchen in New London, Connecticut. Available now via MAMA Records.
Birdland Jazz Club
CD release concert for a sold out audience on June 19, 2022
Regular shows at the Side Door Jazz Club
Old Lyme, CT
The band plays one Wednesday a month at our home base, the Side Door Jazz Club, in Old Lyme CT. See our calendar for the next time we play, or sign up for our email list so you don't miss it!
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7:00PM Doors open
7:30-10:00PM show
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85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT
860.434.2600
About the band
Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra
The Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra is a "full bodied and polished brassy big band" (Jazz Weekly) made up of 17 of the finest musicians in New England. Formed in 2016 as the New London Big Band, for the past nine years they have played monthly for sold out crowds at the Social Bar + Kitchen in New London CT. The band has performed all over the country, including the Kennedy Center (Washington DC), the Birdland Jazz Club (NYC), Monks Jazz Club (Austin TX), and Hallowed Halls (Portland OR). The band has released three albums, the most recent of which, “Don’t Stop Now: the lost music of Thad Jones for Harry James,” reached #29 on the jazz radio charts.
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The band’s sound is rooted in the Kansas City swing of Count Basie, “swinging high, hard, and hot” (All About Jazz.) "Nelson...has assembled a youthful, sharp, hip 17-piece ensemble as dedicated as he is to the belief that big band sounds can provide a fine musical experience — one best served up live, where the groove and excitement of the arrangements and instrumental interplay can energize and pack a dance floor across generations." (The Day of New London)