The Vermont Jazz Center will present its annual big band swing gala on Friday, December 4th at 8:00 PM. All proceeds will support the VJC’s Scholarship Program. This year’s concert will feature the music of world-class vibraphonist Terry Gibbs and his Dream Band. The VJC will use the same arrangements that Gibbs’ Ensemble performed during the group’s apex that took place in the late 1950s and early ‘60s.
Based out of Los Angeles, Gibbs’ Dream Band is still recognized as one of the best big bands to emerge after the bebop movement. It included heavy hitters Mel Lewis, Joe Maini, Frank Rosolino, Conte Candoli and Richie Kamuca and was given the title of “Best Band in the World” in Downbeat’s 1962 Critic’s Poll. Arrangers for the Dream Band were some of the finest jazz composers of the time including Bill Holman, Med Flory, Shorty Rogers, Lennie Niehaus, Marty Paich, Al Cohn, Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Albam.
They initially featured new arrangements of compositions made famous by their predecessors: Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. There was such a buzz about the Dream Band that during its heyday audiences of 300 regularly packed their Los Angeles home base, a club called The Seville, where famous movie stars and jazz musicians thronged to hear the West Coast’s best jazz artists playing hip arrangements of their favorite songs. Drummer Mel Lewis who later went on to lead the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra at New York’s Village Vanguard was quoted as saying: “I don’t think there was ever a better band than this one, including my own.”
The 17-piece Vermont Jazz Center Big Band acquired some of the sheet music of Gibbs’ Dream band and searched for a vibraphonist who could stand in for the virtuosic and hard-swinging Gibbs (who is now a feisty 91 years old). Fortunately, Berklee College of Music professor Rich Greenblatt, who often performs with area guitarist Draa Hobbs, was available – he took on this project with gusto, delighted by the level of writing and the prospect of reinterpreting such significant material. Rich has played in jazz and blues festivals in the U.S. and Europe and has recorded with The Be-Bop Guitars, The Jazz Composers’ Alliance, The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, The Paramount Brass Quintet and others. He has performed with Kurt Elling, Billy Mitchell, Kevin Hayes, Valery Ponamarev, Bill Charlap, Greg Hutchinson, Dennis Irwin, Winard Harper, Joe Hunt, Teddy Charles and Oscar Castro-Neves.
The VJC Big Band will also feature vocalists Jill Connolly and Mark Anagnostopulos, two gems who can be found singing in clubs and concert venues throughout New England. The VJC big band is directed by trumpeter Rob Freeberg and features many top-flight soloists. Rob Freeberg was Director of Bands at New Rochelle High School; he also led his own professional big band and a community big band in Westchester County. Freeberg received awards from the New York State School Music Association, and conducted high school performances at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, he currently serves on the Jazz Center board, directs the VJC Sextet and co-directs the Jazz Workshop at BUHS.
The Vermont Jazz Center Big Band is a professional community band that comes together under the auspices of the VJC to rehearse and take on projects. In years past, the VJC has saluted Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, performed charts sung by Frank Sinatra and hosted guest vocalists Kevin Mahogany, Rob Fletcher, Samirah Evans, Jill Connolly, Amanda Carr and Rebecca Holtz. Other performances have featured saxophonists Houston Person and Scott Mullet; in 2011the VJC paid tribute to the Mambo Kings by joining forces with timbalero Eguie Castrillo. The VJC Big Band is comprised of trumpeters Charlie Schneeweis, Steve Sonntag, Rick Anderson and Don Anderson (no relation); trombonists Riley Goodemote, Bob Thies, Rob Skrocki; saxophonists Michael Zsoldos, Bob Stabach, Larry Tutt, Nick Pelton, Sherm Fox; the rhythm section is Wayne Roberts (bass), Steve Rice (drums) and Eugene Uman (piano) with guest percussionist Julian Gerstin (congas).
The VJC’s tribute to the Dream Band will take place on Friday, December 4th – this concert has been made possible due to the organizational skills and financial generosity of Band Manager Sherm Fox and Musical Director Rob Freeberg. It is sponsored by VJC friends, Dianne Gallo, Steve Lieberman and Henry Uman. Special thanks go out the Vermont Arts Council, WVPR and New England Public Radio. The music is tailored for dancing and will include tempos perfect for a myriad of dance steps including the Fox Trot, Two Step, Charleston and even the Cha Cha. Shine your shoes, and come prepared to dance to the powerful force of a live band performing new arrangements of your favorite big band classics. The money raised from the annual big band gala helps fill the coffers for the VJC scholarship fund.
Admission, which includes a delicious desert buffet, is $25 plus for general admission, $30 plus for reservations that include reserved seating. For local high school students, there is a special fund available to subsidize admission. Purchase tickets online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at ginger@vtjazz.org, at In the Moment Records in downtown Brattleboro, or call the VJC ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1 (a $1 surcharge per ticket will be charged for all tickets purchased with a credit card, online, or by phone). Tickets can also be purchased at the door. This concert is handicapped accessible, but please call in advance (802 – 254 – 9088) if someone in your party will require the use of an elevator. Purchase your tickets early. It is anticipated that this concert will sell out quickly. Dance the night away at the Vermont Jazz Center’s tribute to Terry Gibbs’ Dream Band on Friday, December 4th at 8:00 PM.
Terry Gibbs – Don’t Be That Way:
Jazz Profiles Blog about the band (By Steven Cerra, 2008)
http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-terry-gibbs-dream-band-from-archives.html
Terry Gibbs:
Jill Connolly:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jillconnolly
Rich Greenblatt:
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Vermont Jazz Center Big Band Gala Celebrates the Music of Terry Gibbs’ Dream Band and Raises Funds For Scholarship Assistance
Press Release
Contact Eugene Uman, Vermont Jazz Center, 802 254 9088, eugene@vtjazz.org
Short Summary
Who: The VJC Big Band under the direction of Rob Freeberg with guest vibraphonist Rich Greenblatt and vocalists Jill Connolly and Mark Anagnostopulos.
What: Jazz Standards, Great American Songbook. Tribute to renowned vibraphonist, Terry Gibbs and his Dream Band
When: Friday, December 4th at 8:00 PM
Where: The Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, #222, Brattleboro, VT 05301
Tickets available: online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at ginger@vtjazz.org, by phone at 802-254-9088, in person at In the Moment Records, 143 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301.
