The Vermont Jazz Center welcomes the Bobby Broom Trio on Saturday January 23rd at 8:00 PM. Broom is Chicago’s leading guitarist and, due to his commitment to teaching and his ability to draw crowds in Chicago’s best listening rooms, it is a rare treat to catch him on the east coast. He will perform with his long-standing trio of Dennis Carroll on bass and Makaya McCraven on drums who have each, respectively, played with Broom for 20 and 5 years. The trio will travel from Chicago to Vermont for this “one-off” concert with no other east coast gigs listed on their itinerary.

Broom stands out as one of the best guitarists in the world and has won the Downbeat Critic’s poll as Best Guitarist for 3 of the last 4 years. His music is both intelligent and soulful at the same time. He is a deep listener and an arranger who understands the power of space. He was “the first guitarist to be asked by Art Blakey to be a part of his group,” he loves standards, and can funk-out with the best of them. He has a beautiful tone, an extensive vocabulary of chordal voicings, a deep connection to the blues and a grooving rhythmical sensibility.

McNeill’s Brewery presents contemporary bluegrass and folk music quartet The Stockwell Brothers on Friday, January 15 at 9:00 pm.

Bruce, Barry, Alan and Kelly Stockwell’s music spans traditional and progressive styles, but their trademark acoustic sound features new singer/songwriter material recast with banjo, alternative rhythms and three-part harmonies. They cover straight ahead bluegrass songs, finger picked acoustic guitar ballads, full tilt breakdowns and traditional mandolin tunes mixed in with more unusual fare – Americana melodies riding world beat grooves and Celtic, jazzy, even neo-classical instrumentals.