Ensemble Featuring the Music of Jimmy Giuffre to perform at the Vermont Jazz Center on March 13th

On Saturday, March 13th at 8:00 PM, the Vermont Jazz Center will present the Joel Harrison/George Schuller Sextet featuring Marty Ehrlich and Cameron Brown in “Whirrr, the Music of Jimmy Giuffre.” This group will focus on the music of the legendary composer/multi-instrumentalist who passed-away in 2008. Giuffre, is perhaps best known for his composition, “Four Brothers,” which he wrote for Woody Herman’s “second herd.” It featured three famed tenor saxophonists Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, and Al Cohn who performed its first incarnation with the baritone sax of Serge Challof. In later years many other great saxophonists have played “Four Brothers” in Woody Herman’s orchestra including local legend, Scott Mullett.

In the fifties, Jimmy Giuffre became a darling of the critics for developing what he called "blues-based folk jazz," a new style that featured stream-lined, contrapuntal, chamber jazz writing. Giuffre’s gorgeous tone on tenor saxophone was brought to the public’s attention in a stellar performance with Jim Hall and Bob Brookmeyer in the classic film about the Newport Jazz Festival, “Jazz on A Summer’s Day.” The song they played, the “Train and the River,” became a hit which Giuffre’s audience expected to hear, well after he had moved on to more progressive and less accessible concepts.

Guitarist Joel Harrison, while living in San Francisco in the 90s, organized a living tribute concert to honor Jimmy Giuffre. After moving to New York, he pressed drummer George Schuller, who had a history with Giuffre, to put together a formal group that used Giuffre’s compositions as a springboard. Together they combined forces with saxophonist Ohad Talmor and between the three of them arranged Whirrr, Swamp People, Phoenix, Threewe and other Giuffre compositions, some of which hadn’t been performed in over 40 years. They mulled over the instrumentation and musicians that would complement the project and decided a sextet would offer the best colors and arranging possibilities. They asked multi-reed player, Marty Ehrlich to represent Giuffre on clarinet: Schuller said that when looking for “a clarinet player that wouldn’t mimic Jimmy’s approach, but would capture his spirit - Marty immediately came to mind.” They invited Cameron Brown, a bassist who had actually played with Giuffre in the 70s. To complete the group, they called upon Slavik Soul Party’s trombonist, Jacob Garchik.

Jimmy Giuffre was a serious composer. After a truncated stint at graduate school (U.S.C.), he discovered that his path to knowledge was that of self-disciplined study with individual instructors followed by practical application. He fell in love with the use of counterpoint in writing jazz arrangements. In counterpoint, each musician plays a unique melodic line that fits into different melodic lines sounded by other instruments. The resultant sound of Giuffre’s compositions was that of a fabric created by a meshing of individual lines rather than a melody supported by chords. In jazz this is still an unusual approach. To this day, Guiffre is acknowledged as one of the music’s true mavericks.

Giuffre was also an early proponent of Free Jazz. His 1962 recording Free Fall, with pianist Paul Bley and bassist Steve Swallow is one of the seminal recordings of Free Jazz. Giuffre’s group received little attention while they were active, but were later cited as among the most important groups in jazz history. Music critic, Thom Jurek claims that this trio's recordings are "one of the most essential documents regarding the other side of early-'60s jazz."

The music played by Whirrr is drawn mostly from Giuffre’s Free periods using arrangements of music transcribed from 1961, Free Fall and includes one piece from Jimmy Giuffre 3. It explores a wide range of emotions, from soft, lush melodies to sustained intensities. The fascinating arrangements are constructed to offer ample opportunity for deft soloing from all of the musicians with special emphasis on the remarkable clarinet-work of Marty Ehrlich.

This is an incredible opportunity to hear the music of Jimmy Giuffre interpreted by some of New York’s most creative and accomplished performers. Come stretch your mind and experience this event first-hand, Saturday, March 13th at the Vermont Jazz Center at 8:00 PM. The Vermont Jazz Center thanks the Colonial Inn for their continued generosity in hosting Vermont Jazz Center musicians. Tickets are $20 general admission, $15 for students with valid ID. To purchase using a credit card, visit the VJC website at www.vtjazz.org and order using their secure server. Tickets can also be purchased at In the Moment in downtown Brattleboro, or can be reserved by calling the VJC ticket-line at (802) 254 9088 (ext.1). A surcharge of $1 per ticket will be added to all tickets purchased with a credit card, online, or by phone. This concert is handicap accessible, please call to discuss arrangements to facilitate your enjoyment of this concert: (802) 254 9088.