Darryl Yokley Quartet

Grammy-winning saxophonist Darryl Yokley is coming to The Side Door — and this is not one to miss.

Darryl Yokley- Saxophones

Zaccai Curtis- Piano

Luques Curtis- Bass

Wayne Smith Jr.- Drums

Darryl Yokley has drawn praise from the New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, and beyond for a sound that resists easy labels. Jazz critic Brent Black put it best: Yokley is someone who "side steps standard categorization with ease," while Downbeat's Dave Cantor described him as "nakedly shuttling emotion through his instrument." However you try to define it, the consensus is the same — there is no one else who sounds quite like him.

The son of an African-American father and a first-generation Mexican mother, Yokley has woven his multicultural background into a compositional voice all his own. After touring with Motown legends the Four Tops, the Temptations, and the O'Jays, he moved to New York and quickly established himself as both a compelling bandleader and in-demand sideman, performing at venues including the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. He has shared the stage with Eddie Palmieri, Orrin Evans, Ralph Peterson Jr., and Nasheet Waits, among many others.

His latest album, Un Mundo en Soledad, pays homage to Gabriel García Márquez's beloved masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude, with song titles drawn from passages in the book and ordered according to the story's chronology. The record landed on multiple Best of 2024 lists and earned Yokley some of the strongest reviews of his career.

The Side Door Jazz Club is a dedicated jazz listening room located inside the historic Old Lyme Inn, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT. Tickets are reserved seating. Guests dining at the Old Lyme Inn restaurant prior to the show receive 10% off their dinner bill.