PUTNEY, Vt. – Twilight Music and Next Stage Arts Project launch the 23rd Twilight on the Tavern Lawn series of folk, world, jazz, zydeco, bluegrass, pop, and Americana music summer concerts on Sunday, May 31, with the Vermont Jazz Center Sextet. The seven-concert series continues every other Sunday through Aug. 23. All concerts begin at 6 p.m., in downtown Putney, on the Putney Tavern lawn – bring a lawn chair or blanket – or at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill, in case of rain. The series is sponsored by Next Stage, the Town of Putney, and many Putney-area businesses and organizations. The concerts are free to the public, donations are accepted, and food will be available. For more information, call 802-387-5772 or visit www.nextstagearts.org.
The Vermont Jazz Center Sextet is the Vermont Jazz Center’s (VJC) community outreach ensemble. Through weekly rehearsals, the group has developed programs which are performed in schools, assisted-living homes, and libraries, bringing live jazz into less formal settings. Through these performances and clinics, people who might not attend concerts at the VJC are given the opportunity to hear and learn about the music of Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and others, with original music and arrangements often written by members of the ensemble. The VJC Sextet is Rob Freeberg (trumpet), Bill Ballard (alto saxophone), Ron Kelley (tenor saxophone), Cathy Martin (piano), Wim Auer (bass), and Steve Rice (drums).