"Hot Jazz for Warm Homes" Winter Benefit Concert

The Vermont Jazz Center presents the "Hot Jazz for Warm Homes" Winter Benefit Concert, to assist struggling families and individuals with unmet fuel assistance needs throughout Windham County. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) and the Windham County Heatfund, both of which provide emergency fuel assistance to low-income households.

The featured artist will be the world-acclaimed acoustic Gonzalo Bergara Quartet. Native Argentinean Gonzalo Bergara is a guitar virtuoso who has forged his own style of progressive Gypsy Jazz. While heavily influenced by Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France, Bergara's "blazing quartet" (JazzTimes) performs meticulous arrangements of standards from the Gypsy Jazz canon as well as clever, soaring and inspiring originals.

Gonzalo's latest album, Simplicated (2011), follows his highly acclaimed 2007 release Porteña Soledad, which was named an Editor's Pick by Guitar Player Magazine and "a masterpiece" by Vintage Guitar Magazine.

The money raised from this event is especially critical this year, in light of funding cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) at the federal level, in spite of the fact that the demand for fuel assistance his risen dramatically. Heating assistance cuts particularly put children, the elderly, and people with disabilities and illness at risk during the cold winter months.

Would you like to be an event sponsor (a tax-deductible donation)? Please contact Eugene Uman at (802) 254-9088.

Sheila Jordan and Steve Kuhn Duo

Hailed by many as the queen of bebop, innovative singer Sheila Jordan exemplifies the vocal expression of jazz in all its forms. Drawing her most prominent influence from her friend and "big brother" Charlie Parker, her voice wends through melody like the wind instrument it fundamentally is, leaping intervals, sliding about scales and manipulating dynamics like a master saxophonist. Yet her treatment of lyrics is always deep and graceful, and whether she's singing the words of others or improvising her own--such as to the melodies of Bird, as only she can--her vocal strokes become the finishing touch of a musical masterpiece.

The VJC applauds Sheila Jordan for her 2011 NEA Jazz Master Award. Assisting in the artistic effort is Jordan's longtime collaborator and legendary jazz pianist Steve Kuhn. The onetime sideman with John Coltrane's quartet has for decades led pioneering jazz ensembles with such luminaries as Steve Swallow, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and, since the 1970s, Sheila Jordan, among many others.

Jazz Guitar Summit - A Tribute to Attila Zoller

The VJC's founder, Attila Zoller (1927 - 1998) was a top-tiered guitarist who performed and recorded with the most note-worthy jazz musicians of his time. His stature was confirmed by the New England Foundation on the Arts in 1995 when they presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award; he was lauded by JazzTimes Magazine as one of the 10 most underrated guitarists in History. A prolific composer, Zoller's catchy tunes with complex harmonic variants were his calling card. Sadly many of those compositions today lie dormant.

This year's concert will focus on the music of Zoller as performed by those who knew him well. It is being organized by one of Attila's distinguished students, Draa Hobbs, who remains passionate in his drive to keep Zoller's music alive. Also appearing are pianist Jon Raney, (the son of guitar legend, Jimmy Raney - one of Attila's closest friends), bassist Ron McLure and drummer Eliot Zigmund. Guest artists TBA

Howard Brofsky and Friends

Brofsky's sublime sound on cornet is at the core of the Vermont Jazz Center's identity. Whether performing a gentle ballad or tearing up an obscure bebop "head," Brofsky never forgets that the melody is what it's all about! An old-school learner, his jazz education came from listening to Charlie Parker live and transcribing classic solos from the original 78 RPM recordings.

He continues to teach at Queens College where students of jazz history realize that his classes are a remarkable opportunity to learn from a brilliant individual who drank from the original well. Now in his 80s and at the tope of his game, Brofsky seeks out young players to discover like-minded, energized performers. Last year the Octo-bopper's band spanned four generations. His penchant for the music of Charlie Parker, Sonny Clark and Dexter Gordon has earned him the name "Dr Bebop." At this concert listeners will be drinking water from bebop's deepest well.

Eugene Uman Project

Pianist Eugene Uman composes sizzling pieces of jazz that draw from a range of influences and cultural traditions. Embroidered through his works are heavy harmonic strands from Columbia and Cuba, with modal and rhythmic borders from India and regions of North Africa, all overlain with the format of jazz and free expression. The one constant coursing through Uman's music is energy, sometimes raw, other times refined, but always pushing forward, charting new territory.

Eugene Uman has served as artistic director of the Vermont Jazz Center since 1997, where he has produced more than 160 concerts and built the program to a renowned venue and educational hub. He has performed with a long list of jazz masters, including Sheila Jordan, George Mraz, Jimmy Heath, Donald Byrd and many more. Uman's Convergence Project melds the virtuoso talents of Jeff Galindo on trombone, Michael Zsoldos, saxophones, Stomu Takeishi, bass, and Satoshi Takeishi, drums, into a compelling amalgam of musical innovation.