The Bellows Falls community radio station, WOOL-FM, welcomes back guitar duo John Stowell & Draa Hobbs for a return engagement of world-class jazz at Stage 33 Live. There will also be a musician’s master class on improvisation preceding.
John Stowell, based on the West Coast, is influenced as much by pianists and horn players as by guitar players, and his original take on harmony, chords, and improvisation sets him apart. He tours, records, and teaches internationally, and has been a contributing columnist for Downbeat, Guitar Player, Soundcheck (Germany), Guitar Club (Italy), and other influential publications. In 1983, along with David Friesen and Paul and Robin Horn, John toured the Soviet Union in the first American jazz group invited to play public performances in Russia in forty years. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Guitarist John Stowell’s style with standards is a delightful departure from the road well traveled. He transcends the label of jazz guitarist.”
Draa Hobbs grew up in Chicago and has made his home in Southern Vermont. He studied with the legendary Jimmy Raney, Attila Zoller, Gene Bertoncini, and Peter Lietch, performing in NYC, Burlington, Maine, and points in-between with notable musicians including Don Friedman, Ron McClure, Eliot Zigmund, and Vic Juris. “It’s rare to find someone so passionate about music that it serves as both their spiritual nourishment and their unfettered gift to others… one of the most respected guitarists and teachers in New England.” — Eugene Uman, Director of the Vermont Jazz Center
The concert begins at 4:00 PM at 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls; only 40 chairs are available. Admission to the performance is $12 in advance, which also reserves a chair up front — or $15 at the door, when any remaining chairs are first-come first-served. Attendees are allowed to bring their own portable seating to set up behind the house chairs, or to use in place of their reserved chair if they wish.
Preceding the concert there will be an intimate master class for guitarists and other string players addressing melodic and harmonic minor modes, triads, voicings, comping, and other techniques to further develop improvisational skills. Limited to not more than ten students; advance registration is recommended. Attendees will receive a 70-page PDF with helpful articles by John Stowell, charts for some of his original tunes, and more. The master class begins at 2:00 PM and costs $30, which includes concert admission.
Get advance tickets, register for the masterclass, and find more info about this and other events at stage33live.com
Stage 33 Live is adjacent to the WOOL-FM studio — an industrial-rustic listening room in a former factory located at 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, VT, documenting live performances and presentations on a small stage. Coffee, soda, water, and snacks by donation. Find more info about the nonprofit all-volunteer project, and this and other other upcoming events online at stage33live.com
