VJC KICKS OFF 2015 – 2016 Concert Season with Jazz Mini-Fest from September 18th to 20th
The Vermont Jazz Center is kicking off its new season of concerts with a bang, presenting a three-night Fall Festival from September 18 through the 20th.
On Friday (September 18th) the VJC presents renowned flutist, Jamie Baum and her Septet +. They will be performing Indian and Pakistani-influenced music filtered through Baum’s keen jazz aesthetic. On Saturday night (September 19th) Steve Wilson—claimed by NPR to be “one of the finest saxophonists in the business”—will present his quartet, Wilsonian’s Grain, in a concert celebrating the release of their new CD: “Live in New York, the Village Vanguard Session.” On Sunday (September 20th) at 4:00 PM vocalist Rebecca Holtz will pull out all the stops by hosting a CD release party in a benefit for the scholarship programs for the VJC and NECCA. All events will take place at the Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, Brattleboro, Vermont.
Friday night’s concert (September 18th) will spotlight Jamie Baum’s compositional prowess. She uses the sonic texture of the band’s instrumentation to great effect creating myriad textures and sounds from a front-line of flute, trumpet, French horn, and saxophone or bass clarinet, meshed with a rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass and drums. Diverse rhythms, many in odd meters, are overlaid by quirky, snake-like melodic lines that then spread into wide, lush chords. In her episodic compositions open sections dot the landscape and allow for improvisational excursions by the band’s brilliant soloists. Their forays are often enhanced by background figures or framed by engaging counter-lines. This is sophisticated stuff—but certainly not dry! The listener is drawn into the material and is kept wondering what creative shift will emerge around the next musical corner. Sonic, compositional and rhythmic variety collide in Baum’s complex and challengingly deep repertoire resulting in beautiful journeys that beckon us to enjoy the labyrinth.
Baum’s awards include “Best Flutist,” “Top Rising Star,” a Guggenheim Fellowship and many others. She is a focused artist with numerous ongoing ambitious projects. For this tour she is traveling with an ensemble comprised of: Jamie Baum, flutes; Jason Palmer, trumpet; Sam Sadigursky, alto sax and clarinets; Chris Komer, French horn; Brad Shepik, guitar; John Escreet, piano; Matt Clohesy, bass, and Jeff Hirshfield on drums. Baum traveled South Asia where she was “touched viscerally by the sounds of tabla, bansuri flute and vocal music.” She further deepened her knowledge by studying and performing with top Indian icons including Karaikudi Mani, V.M. Bhatt and Sandeep Das. Come listen to this driving and colorful blend of jazz and South Asian music performed with respect, intelligence and groove.
Thanks to a partial grant from Altus Handmade Flutes, Baum’s appearance will include a clinic with four of her band members for the BUHS Music Department under the direction of Steve Rice.
Saturday night’s concert (September 19th) features the muscular, hard-bop of Wilsonian’s Grain. Where Baum uses nuanced arrangements to create landscapes of sound, Wilson presents an opposite style: steady, driving, swinging beats upon which the soloists soar—and fly they do! The band is comprised of four improvising virtuosos, each with a mastery of the jazz vocabulary, fueled by perfectly gauged energy, and guided by wisdom and experience. This is music where even the ballads groove and are powered by the jazz flame of their heritage. One can almost sense the Blue Note heroes of the late 1950s and 1960s urging them on while each tone is played as if their lives depended on it.
Steve Wilson’s quartet has been heralded as “jazz at its finest – in conception, execution and spontaneity.” Along with Wilson we will hear Uri Caine on piano, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and local favorite Clarence Penn on drums. They are currently riding a wave of success after releasing their new album “Live in New York, the Village Vanguard Session” to high acclaim. It received 4 stars in a recent Downbeat review: “The deep sync of this driving quartet is indisputable, and this exciting live date is clearly enjoyed by the crowd at the Vanguard who whoop and holler.” Come find out why Steve Wilson is regarded as one of the finest alto saxophonists on the scene today and why New York’s Wall Street Journal claims: “Mr. Wilson is essential to this city’s jazz landscape.”
On Sunday (September 20th) area favorite Rebbeca Holtz will host a benefit concert for the VJC and NECCA scholarship funds at 4:00 PM at the Vermont Jazz Center. This event will celebrate the release of Holtz’s debut jazz EP “Take Me There.” It will feature a live circus performance, music with three different bands and dancing. NECCA artists Yemma May and Ben Kaufman will start with a duo acrobatics performance. Rebecca will then take the stage singing with her Indy-folk band The Once Hollow with Jon McAuliffe and Jeremiah Millay. She will then blend into the material from her Jazz EP with Jun Iida (trumpet), Eugene Uman (piano), Chris Robinson (bass) and George Robinson (drums). To end, Rebecca will sing with her party/dance band, Funky Public Radio, which includes a combination of the aforementioned musicians in addition to Ben Levergood on electric guitar.
Rebecca will be moving to San Francisco within the next month and is using this concert as a means to say goodbye to her numerous friends. She wishes “a very fond farewell to New England” and wants to use this occasion “to highlight the incredible work that NECCA and VJC are doing not only for our local area but for circus artists and jazz musicians in their broader communities.” Rebecca affirms that she is “showing support for two organizations that have had a huge impact on [her] artistic and personal life.”
Come help the VJC kick off their 2015-16 season!
The Jamie Baum Septet + will perform at the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro, Vermont on Friday September 18th. Wilsonian’s Grain will perform on Saturday September 19th and Rebecca Holtz will perform at 4:00 PM on Sunday September 20th. These concerts are made possible due to the generous support of the following sponsors: Friday night’s concert on September 18th with Jamie Baum is sponsored by Julian Gerstin and Carlene Raper; the Clinic with Ms. Baum and BUHS Music Program sponsored by Altus Handmade Flutes. Saturday’s concert with Wilsonian Grain on September 19th is sponsored by Dave Ellis and Ann Greenawalt of Ellis Music and Canopus Drums. The VJC is grateful for ongoing support from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Hospitality for our artists is provided by the Hampton Inn of Brattleboro. VJC publicity is underwritten by the Brattleboro Reformer, The Commons, WVPR, WVEW and WFCR with appreciation to Chris Lenois of Green Mountain Mornings of WKVT.
Tickets for Jamie Baum Septet and Wilsonian Grain shows are $20+ general admission, $15 for students with I.D. (contact VJC about educational discounts); available at In the Moment in Brattleboro, or online at www.vtjazz.org. Tickets can also be reserved by calling the Vermont Jazz Center ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1. Tickets for Rebecca Holtz’s concert on September 20th are $10+, for further information, contact Rebecca@rebeccaholtz.com.
Contact: Eugene Uman at eugene@vtjazz.org or 802 258 8822
Short Summary
Who and When:
• Friday, 8:00 PM, September 18th, Jamie Baum and her Septet +
• Saturday, 8:00 PM, September 19th, Steve Wilson and Wilsonian’s Grain
• Sunday, 4:00 PM, September 20th, vocalist Rebecca Holtz
Where: The Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, #222, Brattleboro, VT 05301
Tickets available: online at www.vtjazz.org by phone 802 254 9088, in person at In The Moment, Main St., Brattleboro, VT. Inquiries about tickets for Rebecca Holtz at Rebecca@rebeccaholtz.com.
Interviews
Good interviews with Wilson and Holtz last night… I tuned in too late to hear Baum.
One of the things I like is that Eugene asks his guests to talk about their upcoming shows and what they plan to do for folks when they show up here. It’s also interesting to hear the guests speak of their influences, and thoughts on music.