The Fall Jazz Series: Three Cities. Three Sounds. One Jazz Community.

This fall, Jazz Forward Dayton invites you to experience the incredible talent and diversity of the regional jazz community with a three-concert series featuring musicians from Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis. Each performance brings a unique sound and perspective to the stage, while celebrating the improvisation, creativity, and connection that make jazz such a powerful art form.

The series opens with Organized Gentlemen from Cincinnati, featuring George Simon on guitar and Jeff Mellott on drums, bringing their energetic blend of jazz, funk, soul, and groove to Dayton. Next, Clave Sonic from Columbus takes the stage, bringing the infectious rhythms of Latin jazz together with contemporary jazz, funk, and fusion. The series concludes with the Brandon Meeks Trio from Indianapolis, featuring the acclaimed bassist and bandleader whose music honors the rich traditions of jazz while looking toward its future.

From Cincinnati to Columbus to Indianapolis, this series is a celebration of the musicians who are keeping jazz vibrant throughout our region. Come hear the different sounds, meet the artists, and be part of the growing jazz community that Jazz Forward Dayton is working to connect and strengthen.

Clave Sonic - Clave Sonic is a Latin-Jazz-Fusion music group from Columbus, Ohio. The group combines intelligent original songwriting and arranging, with infectious Latin and funk grooves to create an exciting, captivating, and entertaining experience for listeners.

Clave Sonic brings their high octane groove-based jazz set reminiscent of the sounds of Medeski, Martin and Wood meets Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder and Sting, mixed with the montuno and tumbao rhythms of early Afro-Cuban music. The Latin jazz influence in the band’s music comes from composer and pianist/keyboardist Dean Marcellan, who spent many years in the Boston area performing with some of the top jazz and Latin jazz musicians in the city. That experience paved the way for a variety of original compositions rooted in jazz and R&B, with a “Latin” feel, hence the band’s inclusion of “Clave in the name. Clave is the traditional rhythmic pattern in Afro-Cuban music.

Fall Jazz Series - Clave Sonic

Jazz: Then, Now & Forward