Discovering the Joy of a Sanctuary of Soaring Sound

This past weekend was incredible at The Buttonwood Tree - AND THAT's MIDDLETOWN! The space once again offered a sanctuary of sound ... last night (4/10) at the generously talented hands of Warren Byrd, Maxine Martin, Gary Wolsieffer, Sinan Bakir, and Mike Augeri, who headed the group; and on Friday, (4/9) it was the Ya Yas and Ben Rabb.

Augeri's group started a bit after 8 and their music immediately soared, keeping the audience entranced for over an hour before stopping for a break. As they played - their individual sounds meshed, blended and harmonized to a unified glorious whole - revealing their immense talents and skills and their exuberant charm. Warren Byrd at the keyboard - fingers pouncing and prancing, dainty and dashing - engulfed our spirits with joyful delight. Watching Byrd, a regular at TBT, become one with his music, never fails to grab me and on this night, joined with the other artists to produce an incredibly delicious meal for my soul. Sinan Bakir will be heading his own group here on May 1st, we're looking forward to it!
Judging by the repeated applause from the audience, I know we all had a thoroughly delightful time. We chatted during the break, making new acquaintances, devouring the pistachio cake that O'Rourke's Diner graciously gave us. The audience came from all over CT, yet interestingly, one of our regular patrons, Colleen from Torrington, noticed the pastor of her church was here! He brought his son, a poet, out for his first experience of live jazz, and was referred to us by way of WWUH. Thank you Brian Burness and WWUH! These newcomers said they were quite pleased with TBT and the performance.

Friday night (4/9) was a whole different scene. The YaYas, a trio, played music of a folksy pop sort of style and kept us laughing all night. The loving energy between the husband and wife was warming to witness, and the three of them kept the ball moving with humor and lively tunes. Catherine's lovely voice and entertaining lyrics completed their fun presentation. Ben Rabb, a local musician with an overall sound similar to James Taylor, opened both sets and was a pleasant addition to the evening's line-up.

More and more people are discovering the joy that comes from a night at The Buttonwood Tree. It can be an intimate social place that offers a refuge from stress and affords anyone a place to rest, relax and rekindle the spark of life. And THAT'S MIDDLETOWN.

Thanks to Christopher Polack and Ken Villines of Boxrazor.com, we have a new website - check out our growing schedule at www.buttonwood.org.

submitted by Anne-Marie Cannata