BRATTLEBORO — For 37 years, the Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) has presented its summer jazz workshop, encouraging students from down the street and around the world to hone their improvisational and musicianship skills while getting away to a country setting.
On Thursday, Aug. 9, at 8 pm, VJC presents the summer workshop faculty concert, where teacher/musicians get to show their stuff. The concert features vocalists Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton, Howard Brofsky and Jeff Galindo on trumpet, Scott Mullett and Jake Whitesell on saxophone, Helmut Kegerer on guitar, Harvey Diamond, Ray Gallon, and Eugene Uman on piano, Cameron Brown, George Kaye, James Robbins, and David Picchi on bass, Satoshi Takeishi and Claire Arenius on drums, and Julian Gerstin, percussion.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door, online at www.vtjazz.org, or at In the Moment Record Shop on Main Street in Brattleboro. Call 802-254-9088 for reservations.
On Friday, Aug. 10, the VJC summer workshop will showcase faculty-coached student ensembles with numerous vocalists and several piano trios. This concert will be divided into two sections. The first will start at 3:30 p.m., and the second show will resume at 8 p.m. after a dinner break.
Singers will be accompanied by a professional jazz trio and the piano trios will be assisted and perform with a faculty bassist. Also performing will be a number of faculty-coached ensembles, usually comprised of horn, piano, bass, and drums. For the student concert, a $5 donation is suggested.
Both concerts will take place at the Michael S. Currier Center at the Putney School.
The VJC's summer workshop was founded and attained nonprofit status in 1974 when founding director Attila Zoller officially organized the informal gatherings of guitarists he held at his home in Newfane.
The VJC encourages an intergenerational balance where participants of all ages learn from each other, gleaning from both the wisdom of jazz's “old school” and the pedagogical advancements put forth in today's developed system of jazz education.
The VJC's summer workshop emphasizes the importance of improvisation and small-group dynamics within the context of jazz, encouraging participants to find their own voices using the jazz language.
The courses offered include jazz theory, composition, master classes in each instrument, focused listening, and faculty-led ensembles.