Sean Nelson and Steven Feifke share an 80-seat room at the Side Door

The trombonist who made Old Lyme's jazz club his band's monthly home brings in a Grammy-winning pianist and arranger for a Wednesday night on Nov. 18.

Eighty seats, reserved, inside an old inn on Lyme Street. That's the whole room at The Side Door Jazz Club, and on Wednesday, Nov. 18, it holds Sean Nelson with Steven Feifke — a pairing that would draw a crowd in Manhattan, playing about two and a half weeks from now in Old Lyme.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $40 through Eventbrite, and the date was announced Oct. 14. In an 80-seat room with assigned seating, the good tables go first, so the earlier you book, the better your view of the piano.

For Side Door regulars, Nelson needs little introduction. The trombonist leads the Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra, the big band formerly known as the New London Big Band, which rebranded and moved its monthly residency from New London to the Side Door. The seventeen-piece group has become one of the club's monthly traditions, with guests in recent seasons including drummer Sherrie Maricle and vocalist Leala Cyr. The billing for Nov. 18 doesn't spell out whether the full orchestra is on the stand, so expect Nelson as host and bandleader and let the lineup be a surprise.

A Grammy-winning big-band arranger, an 80-seat room, and a Wednesday night in Old Lyme.

The guest is the draw. Steven Feifke is a pianist, arranger and bandleader who became the youngest person to win the Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, for the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra, the band he co-leads with trumpeter Bijon Watson. He teaches at The New School's jazz program, and JAZZIZ has called him a "masterful pianist." Put an arranger with that big-band résumé next to a big-band leader with a home crowd, and the night has an obvious center of gravity — and the Side Door's acoustics will let you hear every voicing.

The club itself is part of the reason this kind of booking works. The Side Door is a dedicated jazz listening room inside the historic Old Lyme Inn at 85 Lyme Street, and it opened in 2013 with pianist and festival founder George Wein on its first bill.

For Southeastern Connecticut listeners, that's the case for this one: you don't need to go to New York to hear a Grammy-winning arranger at arm's length. You need to go to Old Lyme, on a Wednesday, and get a table early.

Sean Nelson with Steven Feifke — The Side Door Jazz Club, Old Lyme. Wed., Nov. 18, 2026, 7:30 p.m. $25–$40. Tickets via Eventbrite.

Sources: CT Examiner — Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra at the Side Door (ctexaminer.com); Hartford Jazz Society — Sean Nelson Jazz Orchestra ft. Sherrie Maricle (hartfordjazzsociety.com); 8495 Jazz — Semper Swing (8495jazz.substack.com); Yamaha Artists — Steven Feifke (yamaha.com); CBS Boston — Local jazz pianist Steven Feifke makes history at the Grammys (cbsnews.com); Berklee — Steven Feifke and Bijon Watson present the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra (berklee.edu); CTvisit — Side Door Jazz Club (ctvisit.com); LymeLine — Old Lyme Inn opens its new jazz club the Side Door; George Wein to perform (lymeline.com); Sean Nelson at The Side Door — Eventbrite (eventbrite.com); Sean Nelson at The Side Door Jazz Club (JamBase show page) (jambase.com)