Synchronicity at The Buttonwood Tree Preceeds International Powerhouses in the Jazz World

Joe Fonda presents: 9th Annual Composers and Improvisers Festival -  ft. the Best of "Not Your Standard Jazz")

March 8 @ 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm

$15 in advance, $18 at door

A STUNNING LINE-UP OF WORLD CLASS MUSICIANS:
Claire Daly - saxophone, Jole Forrester - piano  //
Charlie Kohlhase - saxophone, Eric Hofbauer-guitar; Curt Newton- drums //
Mike Musillami- guitar, George Schuller- drums, Joe Fonda- bass

Buttonwood connects again. A funny thing happened at The Buttonwood Tree Friday night. Three men were walking up Main street to Eli Cannon's and they stopped to hear the music from inside TBT. They peeked in to see a woman playing fiddle and were astonished to recognized her.  Upon confirmation that it was indeed Dara Takaki  (from Chester) in a duo with ArleneWow, one gentleman explained that they knew each other from 20 years before. The room lit up when the three sat and Dara recognized him. Everyone enjoyed the next 40 minutes of music as the two reunited and laughed, reminisced and enjoyed the moment. The gentlemen went on to Eli's delighted, and glad to know that NEAR (North End Arts Rising, Inc.) would bring back Dara to play again with ArleneWow! They will be accompanied by Nancy Parent, (from another Duo with Dara - and will be performing with at Mohegan Sun in April)  After a last minute cancellation of Stefilia's Stone for the Friday night concert with Marci Geller, ArleneWow was called to step in to open the show. Turned out better than expected when Arlene brought a bonus by inviting Dara to play with her. and do some of the songs they recorded for their upcoming CD. You just never know how things will go, but at The Buttonwood Tree, they go with the flow.

details on concert:

March 8 @ 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm

$15 in advance, $18 at door

Reservations suggested!

7:30 pm: Claire Daly Duo
Claire Daly, saxophone
Jole Forrester, piano

 

Claire Daly grew up in NY, hearing many jazz greats as a young girl. She studied with legend Joe Viola and has made a living playing music since 1980. Winner of many awards, including the Jazz Journalist “Baritonist of the Year” and Downbeat and Jazztimes Critic and Reader Polls, Claire’s first release as a leader, “Swing Low”, is featured in the Presidential Library of Bill Clinton, as a CD significant to him while he was in office.Her most recent CD, “Baritone Monk” was on the Jazzweek Charts for 24 weeks, 9 of which were in the top ten. It was also in the top 100 CDs of 2013 on Jazzweek. She has recently had her quartet at the Monterey Jazz Festival as well as touring the west coast, and performed at the Monk Gala with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Her 2012 CD “The Mary Joyce Project” was a tribute to her relative who made a solo 1,000 mile dogsled trip from Juneau to Fairbanks in 1935. The band has performed at many festivals and venues.  Claire teaches at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Litchfield Jazz Camp, as well as privately in NYC. She says, “Improvising a life in music is the best thing I could have done with my life.”

Claire has performed and recorded with Joel Forrester for nearly 25 years. Joel was a co-founder of the infamous and acclaimed “Microscopic Septet.” He and Claire had a quartet called “People Like Us” which recorded 4 CDs on the Koch label, and a recent one on Ride Cymbol Records. Claire’s next release will feature Joel’s tunes and will be called “Forrester.”

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8:30 pm: Charlie Kohlhase Explorers Trio
Charlie Kohlhase, saxophone
Eric Hofbauer, guitar
Curt Newton, drums

“As a mainstay in Boston’s jazz scene, saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has helped cultivate the city as one of America’s most fertile hotbeds for creative music.”
- John Murph, Jazz Times Magazine
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9:30 pm: Mike Musillami Trio
Mike Musillami, guitar
George Schuller, drums
Joe Fonda, bass

In a career that spans more than 25 years, Michael Musillami has worked extensively as a performer, bandleader/composer and educator. Critics have called him “a superior guitarist” (John McDonough, DownBeat), “an adroit and creative musician” (Michael J. West, JazzTimes), “a fine composer of notable original music” (Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide) and “a modern-day jazz master” (Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal). “His compositions develop in leisurely style from quiet simplicity to intricate complexity,” explained Jack Massarik in Jazzwise, “and the ensemble playing is civilized, sophisticated and clean.” The Boston Phoenix’s Jon Garelick adds, “Musillami sounds familiar – this is swinging jazz guitar, after all – but not quite like anyone else.”Born and raised in California, Musillami was inspired early on by musicians including Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Bill Evans. He studied with renowned guitarist Joe Diorio before moving permanently to the East coast in the early 1980′s, working primarily in organ trios led by Richard “Groove” Holmes and Bobby Buster among others. In addition to paying his dues as a sideman performing with musicians such as Junior Cook, Dewey Redman, and Curtis Fuller, he became a part of the circle of musicians connected to the Hillside Club in Waterbury, Connecticut, including frequent future collaborators Thomas Chapin and Mario Pavone.
He has since led and co-led a variety of ensembles, releasing 15 CDs as a leader and touring in the United States, Canada and Western Europe. Along with his longstanding flagship trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, he has earned critical notice as the leader of groups ranging from duo to octet featuring such prominent collaborators as Cameron Brown, Thomas Chapin, Drew Gress, Mario Pavone, Michael Sarin and Matt Wilson.
In 1999, Musillami founded the Playscape Recordings label to give himself more control over his recording career, and to provide other musicians with a supportive environment for creative music. Built around a cadre of frequent collaborators, the label has garnered extensive critical praise and a catalog of more than 40 diverse releases. “Like Blue Note or CTI in their prime,” writes Signal to Noise reviewer John Chacona, “Michael Musillami’s Playscape label has a signature sound.”
In addition to his work as a performer, and overseeing the daily operations of Playscape Recordings, Musillami is also the longtime Director of Jazz Studies at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT.

Reservations suggested: credit cards accepted here / not at the door

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The Buttonwood Tree is located at 605 Main Street, Middletown  860-347-4957

NEAR is nonprofit arts organization sponsored by the City of Middletown's Commission on the Arts, The State of CT/COA/DECD, the Community Foundation of Middlesex County and others. Donations are tax-deductible.