Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present acoustic swing and alt gypsy jazz quartet Caravan of Thieves, plus folk rock singer/songwriter Brian Dunne, at Next Stage on Saturday, February 27 at 7:30 pm.

For the past eight years, Caravan of Thieves has roamed the North American continent recruiting a family of avid thrill seekers at their high energy shows. Driving gypsy jazz rhythms, acoustic guitars, upright bass and violin lay the foundation for mesmerizing vocal harmonies and fantastic stories. It’s theatrical and humorous. It’s musical and intense. It entertains, dazzles and defies classification while welcoming the spectator to join the band throughout the performance in momentary fits of claps, snaps and sing-alongs.

The spring session of the Brattleboro Women’s Chorus will begin on Wednesday evening March 2 from 6:30-8:30 at 118 Elliot, or on Thursday March 3 from 10 am – noon at Centre Congregational Church. New and former singers are encouraged to join this spring as we prepare for a May concert of compositions and arrangements by our founder and conductor, Becky Graber.

The first two rehearsals are open to anyone who would like to come and check out chorus for the first time. All women and girls over 10 are welcome, and there are no auditions. Reading music is optional since music is taught by rote and by ear with part recordings available. While many singers enjoy performing, some prefer to sing weekly and not participate in the concerts at the end of the session (Mother’s Day weekend, May 7 & 8).

Friends of Music at Guilford seeks additional voices for its Chambers Singers in preparation for its yearly “A Cappella à la Carte” event and 50th birthday party on Saturday, June 25, at a hilltop property in Guilford. The gathering will include a brief annual meeting, a festive potluck meal, and concert sets by the Singers and the Singcrony women’s quartet. Other music-making may emerge as plans develop. The Chamber Singers will perform love songs by Dowland, Elgar, Holst, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Young & Heyman, Healey Willan, and the group’s director, Tom Baehr; one or two others may be added. Rehearsals begin Monday, February 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Guilford Community Church. Contact Baehr at (802) 387-2796 or tombaehr@myfairpoint.net with questions or to join the group.

Guilford, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford, now in its 50th Anniversary Season, presents the second of three programs featuring Bolivian Baroque music from an archive of nearly 13,000 pages of recently collected manuscripts. The “Barroco Boliviano” concert begins at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 20, in the sanctuary of Guilford Community Church, just a mile south on Rt. 5 from Exit 1 off I-91 in Brattleboro.

This treasure trove of Baroque-era manuscripts was a sort of Holy Grail for musicologist Fr. Piotr Nawrot, a native of Poland who arrived in Bolivia in the early 1990s after spending a few years in Guatemala. He traveled the Bolivian countryside seeking out church elders with carefully hidden or, in some cases, unfortunately neglected materials first composed and performed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the Spaniards took over that area of the Inca Empire, and then forgotten when the Spanish colonial period ended in the early 19th century. Fr. Nawrot has spent many years preparing a significant amount of this music for publication and performance by a new generation of musicians, both in Bolivia and around the world.

The VJC welcomes Steve Davis Sextet to perform on Saturday, February 13th in a concert celebrating the music of trombonist J. J. Johnson. Featured artists in Davis’s sextet include one of bebop’s foremost elder statesmen on the piano, Harold Mabern as well as the formidable tenor saxophonist, Scott Mullett. The other musicians who comprise this sextet include Josh Bruneau (trumpet), Harold Mabern (piano), Nat Reeves (bass) and Joe Farnsworth (drums).

This concert was originally scheduled to highlight saxophonist Eric Alexander who gracefully bowed out to accept an extended European tour. This turn of events has evolved into a wonderful opportunity for the Vermont Jazz Center whose audience will now experience the exciting repertoire and tight arrangements of J. J. Johnson, one of the greatest trombonists in the history of jazz, interpreted by an all-star band. Saturday Night Live trombonist Steve Turre put it succinctly when he stated:

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.

Guilford, Vt. – Friends of Music at Guilford’s 43rd Christmas at Christ Church program is set for December 11 & 12, Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 4:00. These annual gatherings feature both choral and instrumental Christmas music, a story, and a short carol-sing.This year’s program includes an eclectic selection of songs, both sacred and secular, to bring in the holidays. Under the direction of Tom Baehr, the Guilford Chamber Singers present perennial favorites “Carol of the Bells” and “Deck the Halls” with much earlier carols from the 14th to the 17th centuries.

To these are added contemporary pieces “Bethlehem Spiritual” and “The Winter’s Night,” a hauntingly beautiful and evocative song that has become the group’s favorite; an entertaining setting of “Winter Wonderland” and even an arrangement of “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy” from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” “Come, Dear Children” by Alfred Burt is an invitation to participate in the season’s festivities.

It’s a Wonderful Messiah Sing
Anyone who has ever sung Händel’s Messiah should come enjoy Brattleboro’s annual Messiah Sing on the first Saturday of December. You should probably cram first. I do. This post is our Saturday morning cram guide.

‘s Messiah Sing is Brattleboro at its best. It’s when everyone from our diverse music community is drawn to one place. The soloists are not boring. They’re either up-and-and coming locals or let-me-show-you-how-this-is-done professionals. For the choruses, you’ll always be near a strong singer. Brattleboro is lousy with them. You can just hum along if you’re unsure and then sing loud for the Hallelujah Raucus. If the singing stops during that dramatic rest just before the final Hallelujah, it’s wonderful and glorious. Someone ususally goofs, but there’s always next year when we’re sure to get it right. You just gotta let go on the Hallelujah Chorus. That’s the thing and ’tis the season. As the page turn will tell you, I Know That My Redeemer Liveth!

Friends of Music at Guilford invites singers and music lovers in the Tri-State region to start their holiday season at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, with the 45th annual Community Messiah Sing, a benefit for the homeless. Centre Congregational Church, at 193 Main Street in Brattleboro, has been home for the Sing since 1982 and for a few prior seasons as well.

Terry Larsen, a resident of Southampton, Mass., returns for a ninth season to lead the Sing. He brings over twenty-five years of experience as a music teacher, choral singer, soloist, and conductor to his role at the helm. William McKim, who has played the organ at this event for twenty-seven past seasons, and officially “retired” twice from doing so, agreed to step in on short notice when UVM’s David Neiweem, who played for the Sing in 2014, broke a collarbone in late October.

Mole Hill Theatre presents contemporary bluegrass and folk music quartet The Stockwell Brothers on Friday, December 4 at 7:30 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.

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.

Next Stage Arts Project, in collaboration with Twilight Music, Popolo and WOOL91.5, presents contemporary folk singer/songwriter Antje Duvekot and newgrass quartet The Stockwell Brothers at The Windham Ballroom in Bellows Falls, VT on Saturday, November 14 at 8:00 pm.

Antje Duvekot is a German-born, American-raised singer/songwriter whose songs have been critically praised for their hard-won wisdom, dark-eyed realism and street-smart romanticism. Her bicultural upbringing and relative newness to English have helped shape her unique way with a song, giving her a startlingly original poetic palette. They are the keys to the powerful, even revolutionary, empathy that informs everything she writes. She has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the Kerrville Folk Festival Best New Folk Award and the Boston Music Award for Outstanding Folk Act.

On Saturday, November 14th at 8:00 PM, the Vermont Jazz Center presents “A Tribute to Jobim,” a performance by three leading artists from Brazil, all of whom had direct connections with Antônio Carlos Jobim who is widely regarded as “one of the most important songwriters of the 20th century.” The VJC presents pianist/musical director, Grammy Award-winning Hélio Alves, Grammy Award-winning vocalist Maucha Adnet (who for 10 years sang with maestro Jobim) and Grammy Award-winning drummer, Duduka Da Fonseca. They will be supported by first-call bassist David Finck in an evening of beautiful Bossa Novas and exhilarating sambas.

To this day, Antônio Carlos Jobim’s compositions continue to serve as a musical bridge between Brazil and the United States. He is best known for penning How Insensitive and Wave but, by just scratching the surface of his tremendous compositional output, we discover other gems such as A Felicidade, Triste, Agua de Beber, Chega de Saudade, Aguas de Março just to name a few. The composer first became known through his association with the Brazilian intellectual, poet, bon vivant and diplomat Vinicius Moraes who hired the then little-known pianist to write music for his play/movie “Black Orpheus.”

Brattleboro–Area youth bands will compete at Youth Services’ Battle of the Bands at the River Garden on Friday, November 6, during Brattleboro’s Gallery Walk night, from 7 to 10 p.m.

The public is encouraged to attend and vote for their favorite group with their applause. Competing bands to date are: Negative Space, The Regulars, Wicked Thirsty, Raspberry Jam, Sometime Sunday, and Nomad vs. Settler. Opening the event will be a performance by the indie-rock band Snaz, which helped get their start as winners of the Battle of the Bands in 2012.

Vocalist Sofia Reí is everywhere these days: This fall season alone she will tour to Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Florida, she’ll drop in at the Vermont Jazz Center on October 30th at 8:00 PM, make music in her adopted city of New York and then travel to Austria and Germany to play with her trio. This Argentinian singer is making a splash everywhere she travels. Her versatility and brilliance have the New York Times claiming: “the passion and clarity with which she assayed a tricky mix of South American rhythms and jazz-inflected harmonies made clear why she has been embraced by New York City audiences from Carnegie Hall to the hippest downtown haunts.”

On Friday, October 30th at 8:00 PM, Sofia Rei’s concert will mark the first collaboration between the Vermont Jazz Center and Next Stage Arts. Their managing teams agree that Rei’s complex yet accessible music fits both of their individual programming goals while supporting their shared vision. Rei’s repertoire is comprised of rich original compositions set over a well-spring of rhythms from Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Peru. Her music is naturally diverse and inherently beautiful and it thrives on grooving rhythms illuminated by carefully crafted arrangements and uncompromising musicianship.

Those around Brattleboro who remembeer the Chelsea House will remember Sparky Rucker from his many visits there in the ‘70s. The Chelsea House may be gone, but Sparly and his wife, Rhonda, are back for a house concert on Nov. 5.

Sparky and Rhonda’s music includes a variety of old-time blues, Appalachian music, slave songs, and spirituals as well as originals, and they accompany themselves with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, blues harmonica, old-time banjo, piano, spoons, and bones.

The Ruckers also weave American history, traditional storytelling, and humor into their concerts, and they have been featured tellers at the International Storytelling Center and Festival.

The Estey Organ Museum will host an “Organ Spooktacular with the Phantom” on Friday, October 30, at 7:00 PM at the First Baptist Church, 190 Main Street, Brattleboro. The event will feature two shortened silent films, “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Nosferatu”. The “Phantom” features Lon Chaney, and “Nosferatu” includes Max Schreck in the lead roles. Both will receive appropriate accompaniment on the church’s Estey pipe organ.

In addition there will be live performances of songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “The Phantom of the Opera” as well as appropriate spooky music played on the organ.

Organist for the event will be Mark Andersen from Lumberton, NC. Mark began his education at East Carolina University in North Carolina where he studied organ, harp, voice and carillon. His graduate studies carried him to Chicago and the American Conservatory and then on to a full scholarship at the Paris Conservatory where he studied organ with Marcel Dupre and composition with Nadia Boulanger.

Renowned folk musicians Tony Barrand and Keith Murphy will perform a benefit concert in the Main Reading Room of Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St., Brattleboro, on Friday, November 6 at 7PM.

Barrand and Murphy will feature songs and ballads composed by James Atwood and family members during the mid19^th century in West Dover, Vermont.

The Atwood collection includes dramatic ballads, romantic and funny songs about domestic life and marriage, and children’s songs.  Tony and Keith will sing “Jubilee Jim Fisk,” a song about Brattleboro’s own Jim Fisk, notorious Robber Baron of the Gilded Age.

Over the years the Estey Organ Museum in Brattleboro, VT has received a number of reed organs which are no longer needed for the museum’s permanent collection. As a way to free up storage space as well as pass some of these instruments on to those who would have a use for them, the museum is holding a Reed Organ Re-Homing Weekend on October 24 & 25, 10 AM to 4 PM, at the museum, 108 Birge Street, Brattleboro, VT.

These instruments range in condition from just dusty to requiring complete re-building or re-purposing. Also available are parts for reed organs, pipe organs, and early electronic organs.