Music section
THE BEST VERSION OF JOHN HENRY I EVER HEARD, STARTS AT 15:00
If you love Blues, but sometimes start to want something more than even your favorite singer punching out one song after another in their particular style: This video will keep your interest… but it might disrupt your work if try to use it as background. Pretty soon it may draw your attention to the screen, as it moves along from one incredible venue to the next.
The Vermont Jazz Center will present trumpeter Jeremy Pelt in a live stream show featuring his working quintet on Saturday, March 20th at 8:00 PM. He will be performing music from his most recent album called Griot, This is Important! Joining Mr. Pelt will be the performers featured on this new recording: Chien Chien Lu (vibraphone), Victor Gould (piano), Vicente Archer (acoustic bass) and Allan Mednard (drums).
Jeremy Pelt is one of the finest jazz trumpeters of his generation; he has been compared favorably to Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw and Miles Davis. Nate Chinen of the New York Times sums up his abilities in a simple phrase: “Mr. Pelt plays brilliantly with warmth and depth.” Pelt expresses his mastery in a variety of settings. For example, his most recent trio album, The Art of Intimacy, Volume 1, showcases his golden tone in an understated set of Great American Songbook gems with pianist George Cables and bassist Peter Washington. Pelt’s numerous albums as a leader and sideman reveal his ease in playing over burning tempos and his delight in grooving over a visceral, swinging beat or taking his time on a saucy blues. Furthermore, Pelt is an accomplished composer and arranger – his original compositions convey unpretentious yet complex harmonic choices that complement the natural cadences of his melodies, resulting in song forms of enigmatic beauty.
The Brattleboro Women’s Chorus welcomes new members to help us celebrate our 25th Anniversary year by singing together weekly via Zoom. We will be singing on Thursdays via Zoom this spring starting Thursday, March 4 from either 10 – 11:30 am OR 7 – 8:30 pm until our Singalong performance on Mother’s Day, May 9.
The chosen music is an eclectic mix from around the world that is spirited, uplifting and easy to learn during these challenging times. Recordings and some videos are available to practice with between rehearsals.
Coco Love Alcorn joins Brattleboro Women’s Chorus for 25th Anniversary Virtual Sing
This 2020-21 year, the Brattleboro Women’s Chorus celebrates our 25 years of singing with online musical events on the 25th day of the month through May. All singers (not just women!) are welcome to join us for most of these events hosted on Zoom.
Jonathan Barber’s star has been on the rise since his auspicious 2018 debut, Vision Ahead, and a 2019 tour in Pat Metheny’s trio… an abundance of heightened energy and new ideas executed with pristine precision by the bandleader and his future-facing ensemble.
Bill Milkowski, Downbeat Magazine
Vermont Jazz Center Presents Drummer Jonathan Barber and Vision Ahead in a Live Stream Performance on Saturday, February 20th at 8:00 PM
On February 20th at 8:00 PM, drummer Jonathan Barber’s Vision Ahead will perform a livestream concert at the Vermont Jazz Center which will be viewable on line at www.vtjazz.org
Friends of Music at Guilford regretfully makes official the already-obvious announcement of the cancellation of its annual Messiah Sing and Christmas at Christ Church concerts due to the COVID pandemic.
This year would have been the 50th Annual Community Messiah Sing at Centre Congregational Church with all door donations going to Groundworks to help the homeless and hungry. The whole church, even balconies, is packed with singers enthusiastically joining in the choruses, some bringing their own well-worn scores, others borrowing from FOMAG’s collection; all accompanied by Centre Church’s excellent organ, while an ensemble of soloists perform the arias and recitatives.
The Brattleboro Women’s Chorus will perform their 25th annual fall “singalong concert” via Zoom this Sunday, November 22 at 4 pm.
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, the chorus will be singing songs about rivers, welcoming the ancestors & healing, led by Director Becky Graber. Some of the songs are very easy to join along with, and Becky will teach a song or two to all. Singers will be muted, though we will hear harmonized vocal tracks, so feel free to sing along in the comfort of your homes, if you wish.
Hi Neighbors,
I’m Lisa McCormick, and I’ll be leading a Halloweeny Ukulele Flash Mob on the Brattleboro Commons this coming Saturday at noon.
Masks are a must, and social distancing is easy, as there is plenty of space for spreading out. Costumes highly encouraged!
I’ll also be live-broadcasting the event on Zoom, so ANYONE can come, from anywhere!
JAZZ KU BOP by Namaya the Jazz Poet
https://namayajazzpoetstoryteller.bandcamp.com/album/jazz-ku-bop-2
The definitive CD of Jazz Ku Bop by Namaya the jazz poet.
“utterly agile and delightful—poetry filtered through a hep-cat cool.” Cyrus Cassells – poet.
As previously announced, Friends of Music at Guilford has had to cancel its annual Labor Day Weekend Festival due to COVID-19, the first time the event has not taken place in its 55-year history. However, FOMAG’s digital archives have yielded a bounty of video, audio, and still photos from nearly 20 years’ worth of past concerts, and samples will be available online this coming weekend.
The Festival traditionally includes an evening concert on the 1897 Guilford Tracker Organ, and an outdoor program of vocal and orchestral music on the lawn at the Organ Barn on Packer Corners Road, and excerpts from both programs will be included.
Friends of Music at Guilford regretfully announces the cancellation of its annual Labor Day Weekend Festival due to the COVID pandemic.
Traditionally, the two-concert event includes a Saturday evening organ program, and a Sunday afternoon lawn concert at the Organ Barn in Guilford, featuring the Guilford Festival Orchestra. The organ concert highlights Friends of Music’s 1897 “tracker-action” pipe organ, which was installed in the barn in 1964 by late organist A. Graham Down, founder of the annual event.
In making the announcement, Friends of Music president Jenifer Ambler noted that this is the first time the event has been cancelled in its 55-year history. “The organ program, being indoors, has always gone ahead, no matter the weather,” Ambler said. “The barn is too small, however, for our 45-piece orchestra and the several hundred folks in our audience, so on a handful of occasions the orchestral program has been moved by rain to either Guilford Central School or Broad Brook Community Center. But this is our first-ever cancellation.”
The Vermont Jazz Center will celebrate its 45th season by offering an online version of its annual Summer Jazz Workshop from August 9-14, 2020. In the spirit of moving forward, the VJC has developed a structure to share the love of jazz and the wisdom of the faculty as a temporary replacement for its traditional summer jazz workshop in Putney, Vermont. This year’s program features an expanded faculty, a new take on masterclasses, plus two new features: “Hot Topics” and “Zoom Tunes,” as well as a composition course led by Helen Sung as part of our theory curriculum.
Called “Zoom Into Jazz,” 2020’s workshop welcomes a handful of new masterclass instructors on bass (Linda Oh, Genevieve Rose, David Picchi), drums (Clarence Penn, Corey Fonville), piano (Shamie Royston, Maya Keren, Miro Sprague), trumpet (Rachel Therrien, Ray Vega) and saxophone (Felipe Salas) to complement VJC’s stellar faculty (see below for a full list). The masterclasses will focus on different, daily topics – transcribing, comping, improvising, electric or acoustic instruments, note sets, etc. Each teacher will define the parameters of their own offerings.
Next Stage Arts Project presents two Drive In theater concerts by the Vermont Jazz Center Sextet on Friday, July 3 at 5:30 and 7:30 pm in the Basketville parking lot in downtown Putney, VT. Cars will be socially distanced, leaving a vacant space between cars for lawn chair seating (bring your own chairs). Rain date for the concerts is Sunday, July 5.
The Vermont Jazz Center Sextet is the VJC’s community outreach ensemble. The group has developed programs which are performed in schools, assisted-living homes and libraries, bringing live jazz into settings outside of concert halls. Through these performances and clinics, people who might not attend concerts at the VJC are given the opportunity to hear and learn about the music of Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Art Blakey and others, with original music and arrangements often written by members of the ensemble.
The Convergence Quartet to Perform at the Vermont Jazz Center, Saturday, June 20th at 8:00 PM
The Vermont Jazz Center presents a live stream event with Eugene Uman’s Convergence Trio with special guest Wanda Houston on Saturday, June 20th at 8:00 PM. The group includes Uman on piano, Houston on vocals, David Picchi on electric piano and Jon Fisher on drums.
The Vermont Jazz Center is excited to present an online event on Saturday, May 23rd and Sunday, May 24th with drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science. The activities will be livestreamed from the VJC’s website at www.vtjazz.org beginning at 8:00 pm on Saturday and continuing Sunday, May 24th, from 2:00 – 5:00 PM. Saturday will feature a musical presentation and Sunday will be three separate masterclasses including Q&As with audience members.
The core of Social Science is Carrington on drums, pianist Aaron Parks and guitarist Matthew Stevens. This trio is expanded to a sextet on their recent double-length recording, Waiting Game, and, at the VJC event, will include multi-instrumentalist Morgan Guerin on bass and saxophone, as well as vocalists Kassa Overall and Debo Ray.
Something to brighten up your day:
The Connor Party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErFN7Y7qnLg&app=desktop
Lyrics Transcript :
00:30 You can catch it when you’re at the grocery store
00:36 You can catch it off the handle of a door
00:41 You can catch it from a friend just dropping by
I was wandering around the house humming this morning, as I often do, and the song that I was humming was “Button Up Your Overcoat.” This is nothing new. I’ve been humming it for the last two weeks. But it was only today that I had time to figure out why. Duh. It’s the pandemic, stupid.
The Vermont Jazz Center presents Downbeat Rising Star Award-winning vibraphonist Ross in concert on Saturday, March 14th. Ross, a 24 year-old Blue Note recording artist, is making the “vibes” a more familiar and accessible sound to audience members of his generation. For listeners familiar with the impact of the vibes in bebop and swing, Ross’ dynamic sound and virtuosity brings back memories of its judicious use by jazz legends Red Norvo, Lionel Hampton, Bobby Hutcherson, Milt Jackson and Gary Burton. Ross’ approach is both modern and steeped in the tradition. JazzTimes Magazine claims “Not since Stefon Harris’ arrival 20 years ago has the jazz world heard a young vibraphonist intent on exploring so many dimensions.”
Ross will be performing selections from his highly acclaimed Blue Note album, KingMaker, a musical tribute to his family. Joining him at the Jazz Center will be other mid-20s artists including Immanuel Wilkens on saxophone, Jeremy Corren on piano, Kanoa Mendelhall on bass, and Jeremy Dutton on the drums. All except Mendelhall can be heard on Ross’ recent release. Downbeat Magazine gave KingMaker a 4 star review, noting that “Ross’ playing erupts through the layers of lush arrangements like consistent currents of electricity, high-powered and full of luminous energy. These bright bursts of solos and melodic lines surprise, excite and stretch…”
The Brattleboro Women’s Chorus will begin their spring session with open rehearsals the first week of March. To celebrate the 100thanniversary of women’s right to vote, the theme of the songs will be of strength, solidary, and suffrage. Following the Chorus’s concerts in May, those who choose to can join a repeat performance of several songsat WomenSing100, a singing gathering in honor of women’s strength and voting rights to be held in Worcester, MA in August.
Open rehearsals are for any women or girls age 10 and older to check out with no obligation whether Chorus is right for them. The Chorus has been under the direction of Becky Graber since 1996 and is unique in that much of the music, even multiple and complicated parts, is taught by ear. Written music is available on occasion, but practice recordings and word sheets are always provided to help with learning.
The Vermont Jazz Center welcomes Bobby Watson and Horizon on Saturday, February 15th at 8:00 PM. Watson, on saxophone, will be joined by Rising Stars Jazz Award-winner Giveton Gelin on trumpet and a rhythm section comprised of members of the original group: pianist Edward Simon, bassist Carroll V. Dashiell and the legendary drummer Victor Lewis.
Horizon is a supergroup that performs straight-ahead, acoustic, hardbop music. According to band leader Watson, his composing style and the group’s sound is influenced by Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, and Sly and the Family Stone. Horizon does not play covers, they definitely play jazz.
