Etienne Charles entered the stage wearing a plaid jacket with notes of hot pink, green, blue, and gray. Already, he was rocking a pair of bright pink boots, his face rimmed in lime green glow-in-the-dark-glasses. Even before he began to play, he radiated a well-earned confidence, more warmth than swagger.
The clothes, maybe, were just for the night. But what would last forever was how the crowd felt under the sonic, mesmerizing influence of his trumpet and the musical sway of his bandmates, who together comprise Creole Soul.
That sound blessed Milford last Saturday, as the Milford Arts Council (the MAC) unveiled its inaugural Jazz’n Downtown festival, a series of free jazz concerts and one culminating, ticketed event happening across downtown Milford over several mellifluous hours. From the town’s Lisman Landing Marina to the patios at Parson’s Plaza and the Stonebridge Restaurant, concert goers experienced some of the best in contemporary jazz music for free. A total of 13 acts performed in various locations throughout the town.
“I was like, ‘You know what? I think downtown is ready for something different,’” said MAC Executive Director Paige Miglio, crediting Stephanie Sands as the event’s primary organizer and musical curator, on a recent episode of WNHH Community Radio’s “Arts Respond.”
“Milford has so many community events and free festivals … and I’m like, ‘I want to take arts and culture from our little tiny venue, and put it front and center, in the midst of the busiest merchant and restaurant district of downtown.’ Really, soaking up the natural beauty that we all take for granted, and exposing it to the world. And what better way to do that than through live music? The genre of jazz is just really really appropriate.”
The journey to Jazz’n Downtown began several years ago, when Sands—yes, mother to the prodigiously talented musicians Ryan and Christian Sands—told Miglio that she had always wanted to open a jazz club named Penny’s. Miglio, who has worked to weave community partnerships into the MAC’s programming, suggested she use the organization’s stage to produce a jazz series. The idea grew from there.
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