The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz is a non-profit organization originally conceived by Paul Brown, noted Hartford jazz bassist and music educator. For 25 years, Paul had produced the Monday Night Jazz Concerts in Bushnell Park, drawing thousands of music lovers to Hartford’s Bushnell Park for picnics and world-class entertainment. That first Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, in July of 1992, was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of those wonderful summers. 

The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz has grown to be the largest FREE jazz event in New England, with an average attendance of over 45,000, and attracting more than 55,000 fans during the three day Festival in 2009!

The tradition continues in 2010 in Bushnell Park, America’s oldest public park, when The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz will presented its 19th annual event of three nights and two days of hot and cool jazz on the Performance Pavilion and the Friends of the Festival Arch Stage, featuring great artists from around the world and the USA, as well as young and up-and-coming performers from the local region. Connecticut's State Capitol Building and Hartford's skyline provide a beautiful, dramatic backdrop as the sun sets and the stars rise in the night sky and on stage.