Baby Grand Jazz

Lee Fish & Friends

Hartford Public Library’s highly popular Baby Grand Jazz series is back for its 22nd season in 2026; with a spectacular line-up of the best jazz musicians in the region.

January 11, 2026 - Lee Fish & Friends

Acclaimed Boston-born drummer and composer Lee Fish has been part of the thriving New York City music scene since 2018. A fixture at Wally’s Cafe during his student tenure at Berklee — playing with such distinctive leaders as Jason Palmer, Esperanza Spalding, Nadia Washington, and Evgeny Lebedev — Lee became a highly sought collaborator in Boston, and is now freelancing as well as leading his own band in NYC. Having earned his master’s degree on full scholarship at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Lee received his earliest musical education on the road. Long before he studied under Danilo Pérez, Terri Lyne Carrington and Joe Lovano, at age 3, he would perform with his parents’ band Amante at venues across North America, from Florida to Quebec. Since then, he’s performed all over the world on nearly every continent. In the studio and on the bandstand, Lee has enjoyed artistic associations with a range of icons, including Danilo Perez, Warren Wolf, Gary Burton, Julian Lage, John Ellis, David Gilmore and Ryan Scott, among others. Lee’s artistry allows energy to inform his choices on the bandstand. His aesthetic reflects joyful confrontation. He seeks to challenge traditional constructs, mingle genres and push the music in soulful new directions, always inviting the listener along for the ride. The centerpiece of Lee’s expression is groove. At once thoughtful and unpredictable, he plays with a vitality as pervasive as the heartbeat that pulses from one moment to the next. His dynamic sensitivity serves the music wherever it wants to go. And his familial connection to harmony influences textural intentions and experimentation. In 2017, Lee began an extended project study of the vast repertoire of his late mother Lori Starr’s unrecorded music. “Sounds of a Starr” incorporates new interpretations of his mother’s original compositions Lee arranged for unique instrumentation, as well as themes, excerpts and inspiration from her library of journals and poetry albums. View “Sounds of a Starr’s” first presentation here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQoUzK8az_M Lee performs regularly throughout New York City including venues such as The Jazz Gallery, Birdland, and Sunny’s. He has been a Zildjian artist since 2018, and looks forward to releasing new music in the coming months and recording his debut album in 2025. For more information, or to follow Lee’s tour schedule, visit www.leefishmusic.com

Lee Fish - drums & composition/arrangements

Devon Gates - bass & vocals

Lawrence Fields - baby grand piano

John Ellis - saxophone