Buttonwood Tree Welcomes Nefesh Mountain

There was a time not too long ago that Doni Zazloff (pictured left) was known as Mama Doni, touring synagogues and Jewish Community Centers throughout the United States (and beyond) playing music that would get children ages five through 11 up on their feet and singing along.  One of the musicians in her band was guitarist-mandolin player-banjo picker Eric Lindberg (on the right side of the picture).  The band played a style of music one could easily call "Jewish kids rock" with albums based around the Sabbath, Hanukkah, and food!

Today, Doni and Eric front a quintet known as Nefesh Mountain ("nefesh" being the Hebrew word for "spirit") – the five now tour the world playing concert halls, performance spaces, festivals, camps, and, yes, synagogues and Jewish Community Centers.  They  have been playing this music for the past four years and have recorded two albums. 2018's "Beneath the Open Sky", featured several guest artists including guitarist Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas (longtime member of Alison Krauss's Union Station), and banjo guru Tony Trischka.

This delightful ensemble – vocalist Doni and vocalist/guitarist/ banjo player Eric plus violinist Alan Grubner, mandolin player David Goldenberg, and bassist Max Johnson (the latter two joined the band earlier this year) – are performing on Friday at 8 p.m. in The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street in Middletown.  NM's repertoire often includes traditional folk and country tunes mixed with Jewish folk songs as well as prayers.  The music really has a fire to it, the musicianship excellent, and Doni's vocals are heartfelt.  Nefesh Mountain doesn't get to this neck of the woods often and I recommend a trip to Middletown's North End should be on your schedule for August 9.

For more information, go to buttonwood.org/event/nefesh-mountain-bluegrass-2/.

To learn more about the band, go to www.nefeshmountain.com.

Give a look and listen:

Dixie Bee-Liners Thursday (but no yoga)

@ The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center, 605 Main Street

Kundalini Yoga Class with Kay Lani has been cancelled for Thursday (2/10/2011) only.....

In order to prepare for our Big Show with the Dixie Bee-Liners Thursday 2/10 we are canceling Yoga for this week. Yoga class will be resuming next week February 17th!


Show details:

The Dixie Bee-Liners are a five piece bluegrass band that is making a stop at The Buttonwood Tree in between their New York and Boston engagements! We are very fortunate that this band decided to play at The Buttonwood Tree, they usually play at much larger venues!!

The Dixie Bee-Liners –

"Sweet Pick’d for Freshness"

Nor'easter Tour!

@ 7:30 $15.

Every car on the highway has a story,” states BRANDI HART.

Hart should know. As lead singer and co-writer for roots-music phenoms THE DIXIE BEE-LINERS, she’s in the business of telling stories. “Our new CD Susanville is a collection of tales from the American highway… where people are going, what they’ve left behind, and the things they experience along the way. It’s our love letter to the open road.”

Building on the tremendous success of their 2008 chart-topper RIPE, The Bee-Liners blaze a bold new trail with Susanville — a concept album that takes listeners on a musical road trip along America’s highways and byways. The band’s second full-length work, Susanville peers into the cars and trucks in America’s cities and towns, bringing to life 19 breathtaking musical moments along America’s interstates and byways. The band employs its signature blend of hooks and harmonies, exploring themes such as escape, adventure, memory, and regret.

“This is not your parents’ concept record,” explains mandolinist and co-writer BUDDY WOODWARD. “It’s a collection of short stories set to music. Each song is a vignette about a different person in a different car or truck in a different highway in America, and they’re all headed either to or from Susanville.”

In 2008, The Dixie Bee-Liners quickly garnered praise for their ground-breaking albumRIPE, which dazzled critics and fans alike and earned the band four #1′s on the bluegrass charts. Later that year, The Bee-Liners were named Roots Music Associations’s Bluegrass Artist of the Year, plucked from among such luminaries as Alison Krauss and Merle Haggard, who also shared the nomination.

Multiple Grammy-winner BIL VORNDICK produced both Susanville and RIPE forPinecastle Records. VornDick works with legendary artists on a regular basis, but he has a passion for helping young bands develop their talent and establish a footprint in the music industry. “Bil’s been extremely generous with his time and talents,” says Hart. “In fact, everyone at Pinecastle has shown an incredible amount of faith in our creative instincts. We’re very fortunate to be working with such a wonderfully supportive team.”

Known equally for her golden pipes and lead foot, the dulcet-throated BRANDI HART is a native of the Bluegrass State. She grew up singing and playing music in Southern Baptist church choirs, where she got her start at the tender age of 2. Her thoughtfully penned originals cover a surprisingly broad range, from hard-driving bluesy scorchers to ancient-toned instrumentals. A prolific songwriter, Brandi is currently at work on three distinct bluegrass concept albums. She was featured in the OFFICIAL ASCAP/IBMA SONGWRITERS’ SHOWCASE at World of Bluegrass 2006 in Nashville. She plays rhythm guitar, Nashville guitar, fiddle, and mountain dulcimer… and has been known to moonlight in theater, dance, and voiceover acting!

Bluegrass veteran BUDDY WOODWARD was a founding member of seminal 90′s alt.country whiz kids THE GHOST ROCKETS, and NYC honkytonkers BUDDY WOODWARD & THE NITRO EXPRESS (“as explosive – and polished – a hard honkytonk outfit as you’ll find around New York” — Barry Mazor, The Village Voice), was a featured performer on Greg Garing’s Alphabet City Opry, as well as having played with John Starling, Steve Earle, Rosie Flores, Jim Lauderdale, The Coal Porters, Laura Cantrell, Bill Keith, Beat Rodeo, Sid Griffin, Smalltown Parade, The Jet Set, and The Chelsea Mountain Jamboree, among many others. Throughout much of 2005 and 2006, Buddy appeared in the Barter Theater’s smash hit play, Man of Constant Sorrow: The Story of the Stanley Brothers, playing the roles of George Shuffler, Pee-Wee Lambert, Bill Monroe, and a Primitive Baptist preacher. He also moonlights as a voiceover actor for cartoons, including Pokemon, Boogie Pop Phantom, and The Ping Pong Club. A gifted songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Buddy plays the mandolin, guitar, banjo, bass, and (*gasp!*) drums, as well as handling production chores for the band.

SAV SANKARAN is a crackerjack vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Originally from Altoona, PA, Sav now makes his home in Asheville, North Carolina. His soaring vocals and rock-solid downbeat on the bass are an ovation-inspiring highlight of DBL performances. On the fiddle and vocals is the lovely SARA NEEDHAM. A graduate of East Tennessee State University, where she studied with the legendary Clarence “Tater” Tate and performed with ETSU’s beloved Pride Band, Sara’s warm, earthy touch on the fiddle and alluring vocals bring an intriguing edge to the DBL sound. In the banjo chair is Mr. ZACHARY MONGAN. Zach currently attends ETSU with a Public Performance scholarship awarded by the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music program. In 2008, he was awarded the Grey Fox Bill Vernon Scholarship, which is given annually to talented and motivated students who are involved in bluegrass music. Fittingly for The Dixie Bee-Liners, his playing style is an engaging blend of traditional and contemporary influences. Finally, joining The Dixie Bee-Liners on select dates in 2011 is dobroist LEAH NEEDHAM. (Yes, she is Sara’s sister!) In addition to excellent musical instincts and a striking fashion sense, she’s got a singing voice that we can only describe as plaintively captivating. By spectacular coincidence, Leah is also a student of ETSU, where she performs with the Pride Band.

Together, these accomplished musicians contribute dynamic improvisational styles and add jaw-dropping grit, humor, and emotion to THE DIXIE BEE-LINERS’ live performances.

http://www.dixiebeeliners.com/index.html

Arts and Music this weekend

The Buttonwood Tree will be lively tonight with the Bluegrass music of our dear friends of Grass Routes! They'll cheer you up, and lift your spirits!
Come on by for a listen after dinner at one of our fine restaurants. Bring your dinner receipt and get a free CD!

Grass Routes Bluegrass Band

Friday November 5th, 2010
8 pm, $10 suggested donation

Grass Routes Band

Grass Routes is a Connecticut five-piece bluegrass band. Since 1980 they have been delighting audiences with a repertoire ranging from traditional bluegrass standards to folk and contemporary songs all performed in their own unique bluegrass style. Skillful instrumental work and strong vocals give Grass Routes their own characteristic sound. Showcasing especially tight harmonies, vocals include duets to four part harmonies. What make Grass Routes unique is that each member sings lead. With five lead vocalists, Grass Routes presents a different style and material with each vocal arrangement.

Members of the band include Joe Lemeris, banjo and dobro;
Bill Reveley, mandolin and fiddle; Marilyn Toback-Reveley, rhythm guitar; Dave ‘Tex’ Orlomoski, lead guitar; Joe DeLillo, upright bass. Grass Routes has appeared on radio and television and performed at major concerts and bluegrass festivals throughout the Northeast. Grass Routes currently has four recording projects. Their musical style appeals to audiences of all ages.

The band members enjoy each other as friends as well as musicians. Their latest music project, SOMETHING NEW, features a wide range of material from the likes of Bill Monroe, Nickel Creek and James Taylor, all done with that Grass Routes flair.

www.grassroutesbluegrass.com

Dan Pugach Jazz Trio

Saturday, November 6th, 8:00 PM
$10 Suggested Donation

The Dan Pugach Trio is comprised of an international cast of top-level musicians from New York. This group of artists have worked together in various capacities for the past few years and is now focused on performing their original compositions as well as inventive arrangements of the standard jazz repertoire.

Daniel Meron – Piano

Craig Akin – Acoustic Bass

Dan Pugach – Drums

Dan was Born in Raanana, Israel in 1983 and at age 11 began playing the drums. He studied with the finest drum instructors Israel has to offer.

During his musical studies at Metro-West High School he continued to study jazz and in 1999 won the first prize in the Israeli Jazz Performance Competition with his sextet.

Right after he graduated from high school he joined the army, where he was selected to serve as an the official drummer for the Air Force Band. During those 3 years in the army Dan managed to complete a full program at the Rimon School of Jazz, majoring in jazz performance.

In 2003, he won the Rimon Jazz Competition and was chosen to represent the school at the IASJ meeting in Freiburg, Germany. During his studies at Rimon Dan performed with International artists, such as, Airto Moreira and Frank Gambale.

In 2006, after four months of Portugues lessons, Dan traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil and studied drumset and percussion with the leading samba musicians, such as Jorginho do Pandeiro, his son Celsinho Silva, Marcos Suzano, Marcio Bahia and Paulinho Braga.

Soon enough, Dan was awarded the Berklee World Scholarship Tour and moved to Boston to begin his studies at Berklee College of Music, majoring in jazz performance. There he studied with Hal Crook, Dave Santoro, Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Samuels, George Garzone, and Joe Lovano.

Today Dan resides in Brooklyn, New York and is pursuing a career in music. He is a graduate student at the City College of New York, majoring in jazz performance. His recent activities include performances and recordings at venues such as, Blue Note Jazz Club, Zinc Bar, Red Sea Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, BeanTown Jazz Festival, just to name a few, as well as working towards a debut album.

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/danpugach#ixzz0vknJEpwO

www.danpugach.com/

Sherri Bedingfield and Mollie Pilling - Poetry Book Launch

Sunday we have a special POETRY Book Launch - sure to be interesting! Meet new folks and have some refreshments while letting your mind wander and your emotions get all stirred up ... (Sunday November 7th - Free - 3-5 pm)

This will be a book launch for two Antrim House poets, Sherri Bedingfield and Mollie Pilling, each of whom will be reading from her new book. Sherri’s book is entitled Transitions & Transformations, and Mollie’s book is entitled Journeys. A summary of each book follows:

In her first book, Sherri Bedingfield’s transitions and transformations are many. How naturally she moves from joy to deep sorrow and back to hard-earned joy, which she finds in the world of nature and in the dance of love; and how seamlessly she shape-shifts from human to animal existence and back again.This is a poet deeply in tune with psychic and physical mysteries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In her first poetry collection, Mollie Pilling draws upon her many years of living, journeying, and teaching in foreign lands. In these intelligent, visceral, sometimes rambunctious, sometimes heart-breaking poems, the author’s journeys are emotional as well as geographical. She glories in the joys of motherhood and all varieties of love, but she also mourns the losses that follow unleashings of the heart.

Anne-Marie Cannata
Executive Director NEAR, Inc. /
The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center
605 Main Street / Middletown, CT 06457
www.buttonwood.org / 860-347-4957 /

Tantric Rablerousers at Javapalooza

Come to Javapalooza for an evening of unlikely and exciting bluegrass music. Traditional tunes and original compositions galore. Fun time guaranteed for all.

Tantric Rablerousers:
Ali "Dumpster Blues" Telmesani - guitar, vocals
Max "Mad Dog" Wareham - banjo, vocals
Baron "The Chupacabra" Colins-Hill - mandolin, vocals
Matt "The Mule" Dwonszyk - bass fiddle

Date:
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Time:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location:
Javapalooza, 330 Main St Middletown

Check out their music at http://www.myspace.com/tantricrablerousers

G.I Joes, "Jazzy" Joe, and Classy Bluegrass

The Veterans Memorial Theater Company, based in South Windsor, comes to Middletown for its inaugural production. "Pvt. Wars", a 1979 play written by James McLure, tells the story of 3 soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders. They are in the recreation room of a V.A.Hospital and, through a series of short scenes, come to know each other and begin to trust themselves.

Despite the "heaviness" of the topic, the play actually has many lighter moments. Starring Dana O'Neal, Foster Reese, and Phil Godeck, performances take place at 8 p.m. the next 2 Fridays and Saturdays (11/7, 8, 14, and 15) in the Green Street Arts Center. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday November 16. Directing the show is Kathy Keena with the Middletown-based Connecticut Heritage Productions serving as co-producers. For ticket information, call 347-7771.

Bassist, composer, former Middletown resident, and world traveler Joe Fonda returns to The Buttonwood Tree this Friday night with a new ensemble. He's heading a trio featuring saxophonist Cliff White and special guest Jacek Kochan on drums. The Polish-born Kochan spent 15 years in the United States and Canada before returning to Warsaw. He's a skillful player who really likes to push the music so he should be an excellent companion for the rhythmical style of Fonda. The music begins at 8 p.m.

On Saturday, the Buttonwood presents the Grass Routes Bluegrass quintet at 7 p.m. Led by Bill Reverley (mandolin, fiddle, vocals) and his wife Marilyn Toback-Reverley (guitar,vocals), the ensemble blends traditional material with modern folk and country tunes. All the members sings and their harmonies can be quite nice. They've been performing in the area since the early 1980s and have a loyal following. For more information about The Buttonwood's offerings, call 347-4957 or go to www.buttonwood.org.

Also, don't forget that violinist/violist Anthea Kreston plays a free concert this Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Hubbard Room of The Russell Library. An afternoon of French Sonatas should be just the cure for the November doldrums.

Matt Nozzolio RIP

Middletown resident, MDC spokesman, and accomplished bluegrass player Matt Nozzolio died unexpectedly Sunday after a solo musical performance in New Haven.

More info at his website.