A songwriter whose work traveled from pop radio to sacred music will bring his jazz trio to Morrill Hall.
Jeff Franzel, a songwriter, composer and jazz pianist whose career has moved from nightclub stages to pop charts and international recordings, will perform with the Jeff Franzel Trio at Morrill Hall in New Canaan for an evening of music, refreshments and community gathering.
The event will feature Franzel on piano, joined by Eric Halverson on drums and Adam Armstrong on bass. Vocalist Eva Slossberg and clarinetist David Gottlieb will also appear with the trio that evening. Seating is limited.
Franzel’s musical résumé covers several American song traditions. He began his career as a jazz pianist, accompanying Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Mel Tormé, three performers whose names remain central to the 20th-century American songbook. That background gave Franzel an early place in the world of standards, swing, phrasing and live performance, before his work as a songwriter carried him into pop, adult contemporary, Christian music and international recordings.
His first recorded song was Taylor Dayne’s “Don’t Rush Me,” which became a No. 2 pop hit. Franzel later had a top 10 adult contemporary hit with Kathy Troccoli on “You’ve Got A Way” and a No. 1 Contemporary Christian Dove nominee with “Love Was Never Meant To Die.”
Across his career, Franzel has had more than 20 top ten singles and 275 recordings worldwide. His songs have been recorded by The Temptations, Phyllis Hyman, Louise, NSYNC, Shawn Colvin, Clay Aiken, Josh Groban, Plácido Domingo, Pope John Paul II and Rhys Lewis.
That range gives the Morrill Hall concert a particular local interest. Franzel is not arriving as a performer associated with one narrow category of music. He represents a musical life built across genres, rooms and audiences: jazz clubs, recording studios, pop radio, sacred music and concert halls. The New York City jazz world knows the Jeff Franzel Trio as a popular ensemble, and the New Canaan performance brings that city-based group into a smaller community setting.
The evening will also include two levels of admission. General seating, which includes the performance and refreshments, is $30. Premium seating is $60 and includes the performance, refreshments and a pre-event reception at 6 p.m. in the library or courtyard, weather permitting. That reception will feature a signature cocktail and catered hors d’oeuvres.
Morrill Hall’s limited seating gives the program the character of a close-range performance rather than a large concert. That scale suits the music. Jazz often depends on proximity: the drummer’s restraint, the bassist’s line, the pianist’s changes, the vocalist’s timing and the clarinetist’s tone. In a smaller hall, listeners can follow the conversation between instruments as well as the songs themselves.
For New Canaan, the event offers more than a recital by an accomplished musician. It is an example of how local cultural programming connects residents to artists whose work has circulated far beyond town borders. Franzel’s songs have reached pop audiences, adult contemporary listeners, Christian music audiences and international performers. In Morrill Hall, that broad professional history will be heard through the more immediate language of a trio, joined by voice and clarinet.
The combination of performance and reception also gives the evening a social dimension. Concerts in local halls often work because people come for the music and leave having spoken with neighbors, met new residents or stayed longer than they expected. A performer with Franzel’s background brings the draw; the setting gives the evening its local character.
The Jeff Franzel Trio’s appearance at Morrill Hall places a musician with chart success, jazz credentials and a long list of international recordings in a room designed for attentive listening. For a town that values arts programming as part of civic life, the concert is a chance to hear a songwriter’s career translated back into live performance, one instrument at a time.
