September Songs, Sights & Sounds (9/01-06)

The final concert in the City of Middletown's Summer Sounds Series takes place tonight at 7 p.m. on the South Green. The Middletown Symphonic Band, Marco Gaylord, music director, will present an exciting program of music, ranging from classical works to jazz to popular standards to the music of John Williams (and much, much more.) The weather looks like it will cooperate so bring your chairs, blankets, jackets, light sweaters, and appetite for good music - you won't be disappointed.

Perhaps singing is more to your liking - rehearsals begin tonight at 7 p.m. for the Middlesex Hospital Vocal Chords and you neither have to an employee nor a patient to join. Show up at the Reverend Monsignor M. Davitt Fox Parish Center of St. Francis Church, Elm Street, sign up and start singing. For more information, call 342-3120.

Then again, one may wish to spice up their musical experiences by attending the Latin Jazz Workshop tonight at 7 p.m. in the MAC650 Art Gallery, Main Street. Conducting the workshops (the 2nd one takes place 9/15) is musicologist Jorge Arevalo Mateus. For more information, call 343-1516.

On Friday, MAC650 celebrates the opening of a new exhibition at 7 p.m. "Art Without Judges Gallery Show" is the name of the show and will be "up" throughout the month of September. Call the number above for more information.

The Buttonwood Tree reopens this Friday for its new season (after a brief respite in August) with a program titled "POSITIVITY! - A Hiphop Celebration" at 8 p.m. The musical program, which works hard to negate the image of negativity and self-hatred that often infuses this music. Live musicians work alongside turntablists to create this truly upbeat program. For more information, call 347-4957.

Also on Friday night, drummer Liviu Pop returns to Boney's Music Lounge with a group that features vocalist Toni Lynn Washington. The Massachusetts-based Washington is comfortable in both the blues and jazz idioms and this should be a fun gig. The music starts at 8:30 p.m.

On Saturday, The Buttonwood Tree welcomes the sextet known as Dani Jazz. Led by vocalist and keyboard player Danielle Elliot (a Connecticut native and recent graduate of the New School of Jazz & Contemporary Music), the ensemble features Kevin Smith (bass), Simon Kafka (guitar), Adam Jackson (drums), Tyler Greenblatt (trumpet) and Dylan Heaney (tenor saxophone) with special guest Jerrod Cattey (percussion.) There's been a lot of chat on the Internet lately about the inevitable "death of jazz" (as a commercial entity) but there are so many fine young musicians involved in the music that, instead of dying, one is tempted to say the music is "evolving" and onto new possibilities. Here's an opportunity to see and hear a fine young leader and ensemble. The music starts at 8 p.m.

At 8:30 p.m. in Boney's Music Lounge, Nu Direxion returns to play an evening of smooth jazz, reggae, r'n'b and more. The guitar, bass and drums trio plays throughout Central Connecticut and Southern Massachusetts, often with a guest saxophonist to round out the sound. One thing is for sure - they know how to "find the groove and make it move." For more information, go to http://nudirexion.com/ or call 346-6000.

Sunday September 6, The Buttonwood hosts an Artist's Reception for the opening of its latest exhibition, the very colorful paintings of Pierre Sylvain. His work has been featured in the lobby of Liberty Bank/Main Street, NOMA Gallery, and can be seen in the Imperial Caribbean Restaurant and Fishbone Cafe. The event takes place from 3 - 5 p.m.

Poetry & Music on Sunday

Susan Allison's long-awaited collection of poems has just been issued by Antrim House Books. "Down by the Riverside Ways" has been, at least, a decade in the making and is well worth your perusal. Separated into 4 distinct sections, from the one-poem "Prelude" to the hard-edged "War No More" section that closes the book, these poems are a clear-eyed look at the world in general and the poet's reflections upon life in Middletown. Allison, the co-founder of Ibis Books, the storefront on Rapallo Avenue that morphed into The Buttonwood Tree, loves this city but is no innocent (see the poem at the bottom of the column.) It's her home, flaws and all, the poet seduced by the river and the sunlight on the old brick buildings and the people who survive as well as the ones who thrive.

Where better to launch the book than at The Buttonwood Tree this Sunday (April 5) at 2 p.m. Susan Allison will read from the book, be happy to sign copies and talk about the pieces or whatever crosses your mind. For more information about the poems and Ms. Allison, go to www.AntrimHouseBooks.com.

At the same time (sigh), The Middletown Symphonic Band, Marco Gaylord, music director, presents is Annual Spring Concert in South Congregational Church, 9 Pleasant Street. The MSB, now in its 30th season, will play music by Beethoven, Saint-Saens and others. Joining them will be Professor, composer, and, on this occasion, pianist-organist, Neely Bruce. For more information about this free concert, email middletownsb@yahoo.com.

Later Sunday afternoon (6 p.m.), The Buttonwood hosts the JJ Diamond Band "Farewell Performance." Vocalist and co-founder Judi Neal has taken a new job outside of Connecticut - the band will continue on and will soon post details on its website (www.judineal.com/pages/jjdiamond/band.htm.) In the meantime, the Sunday show will feature the band's fine mix of "...folk, country, 60’s rock, 40’s jazz, reggae, and originals." For more information, call 347-4957 or click on the website above.

As promised, here's a selection from "Down by the Riverside Ways", courtesy of the poet and Antrim House Books.

Out this Window: Patient Record

The same beauty and pain as anywhere.
The golden Maxfield Parrish light
on the building across the street
and the way the pigeons reflect
the sun and send their shadows
in brief array as they circle and return.
There is always beauty. There is always pain.
There is an emaciated prostitute
who sits on the geraniums
in the window box. She is not here now.
I can see the broken stems.
She is dying, will not speak to us.
From this window I see people
who have no money in the richest state
in the richest country in the world,
no homes, no futures, no jobs:
addicted to crack, alcohol,
abuse. Some are dying
and they either know it or don’t.
There is the girl with the colostomy bag
selling herself for a hit. There are the old men
waiting for the next high.
These are not the hollow men—
they say hello every day, they are kind,
they have howled in the wasteland.
They are not evil, just incurably lost. Meanwhile,
the scavengers of the new wasteland are many—
the creeps and the politicians and the buyers
and the sellers and owners and even some of
the social workers in their brand new jobs.
And all the suits walk by so quickly, can’t say hello
because they are card-carrying members of
the time-is-money cult or the efficiency cult
or the just plain nasty folks cult.
Two men on the corner, both dying, ragged, slow,
smile at each other and join in warm embrace.

Modern Opera, Blissful Jazz, Bags O' Books, A Classic Poem & Holiday Cheers

It's never too early to think about the coming weekend. It's not because I'm rushing time, it's just there's so much to choose from that one needs to weigh his or her options.

This is the 2nd weekend for the Oddfellows Playhouse Teen Repertory Company production of the Brecht-Weill classic, "The Threepenny Opera." We attended last Saturday's performance and, honestly, it looked like a work-in-progress. That said, the show came at the end of an incredibly long week of rehearsals (including "Tech-night", which is the theatrical version of madness.) Still, one could see that these kids have worked hard. If you've ever tried to navigate a Kurt Weill melody from the 1920s filled with Bertolt Brecht's tough lyrical passages, you know what the cast has to deal with. There are some top-notch performers and others, who when they return this week, should relax into their roles and elevate the show even more. The 5 musicians, directed by Joseph Getter, who accompany the 20 young actors, are excellent and work very hard to make sure that the audience can hear the words while not missing the music. Performances are 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday as well as next weekend. For ticket information, call 347-6143.

At the top of the column is the CD cover for the Noah Baerman Trio's new CD. "Bliss" features the Middletown-based pianist-composer-educator along with his long-time musical cohorts Henry Lugo (acoustic bass) and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums.) The Trio celebrates the CD release with an 8 p.m. concert this Friday at The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street. The music swings and sighs, displaying a bluesy elegance and an occasional hard edge. Everyone plays so well and they have such good interplay that the songs are very satisfying. In person, Sperrazza really pushes the music and it can get a bit loud, all in boisterous fun. The music starts at 8 p.m. For reservations, call 347-4957. To learn more about the CD, click here.

The Friends of The Russell Library holds its annual Holiday Book Sale this weekend, an opportunity to purchase gently used book, tapes and more for very modest prices. The Friends committee sets up their wares in the Children's Activity Room and is open for business Friday 9 a.m.- 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Monday 9 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.

On Saturday and Sunday, The Buttonwood Tree hosts the "Paradise Lost" Marathon Weekend. Over the course of 18 hours, John Basinger will recite all 12 books of John Milton's classic work in celebration of the poet's 400th birthday (he was born December 9, 1608.) Basinger does not use a script as he has spent many long hours over the past 15 years learning the piece. His performance is truly a "tour-de-force." The schedule looks like this; Saturday Books I & II 10 a.m. - 1 p.m, Books III & IV 2 - 5 p.m. and Books V & VI 7 - 11 p.m. while Sunday Books VII & VIII will be heard 12noon- 2 p.m., Books IX & X 3 - 7 p.m. and Books XI & XII 8 - 11 p.m. Refreshments will be served in-between sections.

The Middletown Symphonic Band's Annual Holiday Concert takes place Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Church of the Holy Trinity, 381 Main Street. Music Director Marco Gaylord leads his troops through many seasonal favorites and a few surprises. The event is free and open to the public.

At 4 p.m., there will be a Christmas Candlelight Concert at First Church of Christ, 190 Court Street. Scheduled to perform are the Senior Choir, the Celebration Singers and the Heart in Hand Bell Choir. For more information, call 346-6657.