This New York-based sextet will knock us out with their killer arrangements and masterful improvising as they pay tribute to the great iconoclast of the saxophone, Jimmy Giuffre.  This project is led by guitarist Joel Harrison and drummer Geoge Schuller and includes Marty Ehrlich and Ohad Talmour (saxophones), Jacob Garchik (trombone) and Cameron Brown (bass).  

Giuffre is best known for the foresighted compositions and arrangements he created during his tenure as one of the original “Four Brothers” in Woody Herman’s band.  He is also highly regarded for his prescient forays into free and modal jazz with Jim Hall.  This concert honors one of jazz’s unsung heroes (he passed in April of ’08), presented by an ensemble that can do justice to the intelligent content and deep spirit of Giuffre’s work.

VJC’s board president Howard Brofsky is a master of melody.  His improvisations on cornet are stories that unfold casually before our ears; they are so personal that if we follow the thread of a given solo from beginning to end, a narrative is revealed to us that exposes Brofsky’s private world.  “Dr. Bebop” knows how to select a great band: he especially enjoys saxophonists whose cascades of notes contrast with his thoughtful yet swinging lines (for example, Jimmy Heath and Charles Davis), and hard-swinging, soulful rhythm sections.  As Jon Potter of the Brattleboro Reformer notes, “Brofsky is one of the treasures of in our area.  Don’t miss him.”

Eugene Uman can’t sit still.  His musical interests are rooted in bebop and informed by his passion for jazz theory, but the music he writes also conveys his love for the energy of rock and the visceral movement embodied in Latin rhythms.  Uman utilizes this annual performance to assemble a group of his favorite musicians to interpret his compositions. Come find out what he’s been up to this year!