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Noank pianist and composer Kent Hewitt has released
a CD of his original compositions called “Little Town by the Sea: Soundscapes,” a tribute to the village of Noank.
Consisting of Hewitt’s original compositions, the album includes jazz, classical and contemporary settings.
“This project is very close to my heart,”
says Hewitt, who grew up in the Groton Heights section of Groton, overlooking Thames Street and the Thames River. His family
lived in a sea captain’s style home with a widow’s walk built by his great-grandfather, Col. Hubbard Morgan. Hewitt’s
ancestors owned the Groton Grain and Coal Co. and Edgecombe and Poppe’s General Store, an institution for many years
on Thames Street. Hewitt’s father’s fourth grade teacher was Mary Virginia Goodman, “the duchess of Noank.”
“I have a special affinity for river
life and activity, finding it a source of inspiration for my music,” says
Hewitt. “I have written original music depicting significant scenes in this quaint maritime village.” He says
he hopes the CD will inspire listeners to appreciate and help to preserve the cultural, historical and ecological integrity
of Noank (“point of land” in the Native American language). “The preservation of historical buildings is
an important issue for me as well as the ecological issues of maintaining clean water in the surrounding environment,”
he says. “In addition, my purpose through the universal language of music is to bring people together as a community
and connect them in a common bond in this mission of their town’s preservation and the appreciation of its natural beauty.”
Hewitt earned a degree in business administration
from Boston University and a music degree in theory and composition from the University of Connecticut. He also holds a science
degree in nutripathy and has had a practice in holistic health counseling and natural healing. He has studied piano and theory
with Ray Santisi, Charlie Mariano, Hal Galper, Fred Hersch and Ron Brown. Additionally, he has led music clinics for the Hartford
Jazz Society and taught at Berklee College of Music, Trinity College, The Hartford Conservatory and The Music School of Providence.
He has collaborated with Noank writer Melanie
Greenhouse and composed music for her theatrical productions “Point of Land” and “The Duchess of Noank.”
He has also collaborated with Connecticut poet laureate Marilyn Nelson, releasing a CD titled “Poetry and Music”
and performing at the “Sunken Gardens” poetry festival. A mainstay of jazz and popular piano in Connecticut for
many years, Hewitt has been musical director for numerous Connecticut jazz clubs.
He recorded TV jingles for Don Elliott Productions
and also recorded with Michael Mussilami, Randy Brecker, Ray Drummond, Claudio Roditi, Ralph Moore, Thomas Chapin, Janet Marlow
and Phyllis Hyman, and he has performed in concerts with jazz notables Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean,
Steve Rossi and Jon Hendricks. Hewitt was the first pianist to open at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City. He has been solo
house pianist at the New York jazz club Jimmy Ryan’s and has toured Europe with trumpeter Laco Deczi. He currently leads
his own trio.
Sponsored by the Noank Historical Society and
the Groton Tercentennial Committee, the “Little Town by the Sea” CD features eight Connecticut musicians. The
CD is available by e-mailing khewitt@snet.net. |
