Nauset Grad Returns Home With Jazz Quintet

This August, a hometown voice returns to the Cape — not just to perform, but to premiere something brand new.

From Aug. 7 to 9, Eastham native and Nauset Regional High School graduate Emily Wade Adams will take the stage at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, leading her NYC-based jazz quintet, The Café Society, in a three-night run celebrating the release of their debut album, “Change Partners.” It’s the first stop of their album release tour, and for Adams, an especially meaningful one.

For the vocalist, the Cape has always been more than just home — it’s where her love of music took root.

“I was just really fortunate to grow up in a place where there was so much artistry,” Adams said. “There’s a real appreciation for the arts on the Cape, and a lot of inspiration.”

That inspiration began early. Adams had her first audition — for “Annie” — at just 3 years old at the Academy Playhouse in Orleans. A decade later, she had her first “big” role at the same theater, performing in “Guys and Dolls” at 14, surrounded by adult cast members. Not long after, she landed the lead in “Cabaret” at Cape Cod Community College even before she could drive herself to rehearsals.

“Anytime I could sing, dance, play piano, make music, I was doing it,” she said. “I just did everything I could.”

After graduating from Nauset, Adams earned a Presidential Scholarship for Distinguished Achievement in Voice at Wake Forest University, where she co-founded the school’s first women’s a capella group. Adams is now the vocalist and co-founder of The Café Society, a jazz quintet she leads alongside saxophonist Justin Flynn.

The quintet has performed at renowned New York City venues like Feinstein's/54 Below, the Roxy, the Rum House in Times Square, and Ian Hendrickson-Smith's Uncle Cheef. The upcoming Cotuit performances will feature Adams and Flynn alongside acclaimed New York musicians Matt Chertkoff (guitar), Jim Greene, (bass), and Ben Clines (drums). 

Their album, “Change Partners,” is a celebration of iconic jazz pairings, featuring selections inspired by Sinatra and Jobim and Coltrane and Hartman. The album includes fresh interpretations of works by Monk and McRae, Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley, and more.

While the album is born from jazz tradition, Adams says it was Cape Cod that gave the band the push to finally record it. When someone from the Cotuit Center for the Arts reached out to schedule a concert, the band agreed.

“The Cape was the entire inspiration for the recording. We wouldn’t have had the motivation to do it without this show coming up,” she said.

Now Adams brings it all back home: the artistry, the music, the full-circle moment. “I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else,” she said.

The performances will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 7, Friday Aug. 8, and Saturday Aug. 9 at the Cotuit Center for the Arts at 4404 Falmouth Rd. in Cotuit. Tickets are available at cotuit.org.