Dance to the Sounds of the VJC Big Band with
Special Guest Vocalist Carmen Bradford
VJC Big Band Scholarship Fundraiser
The VJC Big Band, under the leadership of musical director Rob Freeberg, is made up of area professional musicians who come together to enjoy the rewards of playing invigorating, challenging and historically significant repertoire while raising money for the VJC’s Scholarship Fund.
The Vermont Jazz Center welcomes you to our 2024 Big Band Dance Gala where we will raise resources for this season’s scholarship fund. Tonight, we gather to honor our ensemble’s 20th anniversary of making music together. And what better way to celebrate, than to swing to the music inspired by Count Basie, one of the most influential big band leaders in the history of our music. Tonight’s vocalist, Carmen Bradford, sang with the iconic pianist for 2 years (from 1982 until his passing in 1984). She continued to perform as a featured artist with his legacy band under the leadership of such greats as Frank Foster and Thad Jones. Bradford says: “when the Count Basie Orchestra calls me – I go!” She follows in the footsteps of other classic Basie vocalists including Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Bradford is a true jazzer – she embodies the music with lived history, her sets are impeccably paced, her intonation is spot on, and she swings like crazy.
Carmen Bradford is a third-generation vocalist who has ascended to jazz royalty through pedigree, talent, and hard work. Her parents are Bobby Bradford (who played trumpet with Ornette Coleman), and Melba Joyce (who sang with Basie and Louis Armstrong). Bradford received a Grammy Award for her contributions to Basie Swings the Blues with the Count Basie Orchestra and has been nominated five times for Grammy Awards. She is the recipient of the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Jazz Vocalist Award and was recently elected to the Austin Jazz Society’s Hall of Fame. A small sample of renowned artists with whom Bradford has performed and recorded include Patti Austin, Tony Bennett, George Benson, James Brown, Benny Carter, Lena Horne, Wynton Marsalis, David Murray, Willie Nelson, James Newton, Kenny Rankin, Lou Rawls, Doc Severinsen, Frank Sinatra, Tierney Sutton, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Liz Wright, and countless others. No stranger to larger ensembles, Ms. Bradford has also appeared with the Dallas Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Philadelphia Pops, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Vancouver Philharmonic, and many others.
Carmen Bradford will perform as guest artist with the VJC Big Band, an ensemble led by Rob Freeberg, comprised of area professional musicians who come together to enjoy the rewards of interpreting invigorating, challenging and historically significant repertoire.
The members of the 2024 VJC Big band are: trumpeters: Bunny Saranita, Don Anderson, Rick Anderson, Haneef Nelson and Rob Freeberg; woodwind players Michael Zsoldos, Sherm Fox, Bruce Diehl, Carl Clements, and Donna Morse; trombonists John Wheeler, Amaranth Cole, Dave Sporny, and Tim Atherton; and rhythm section members Eugene Uman (piano), Wes Brown (bass), and Steve Rice (drums).
We will be livestreaming here on our website and the VJC Facebook page
This event is the primary fundraiser for the VJC Scholarship Fund which grants an annual average of $27,000 in scholarships to students, offsetting fees for VJC ensembles, private lessons and its world-renowned summer jazz workshop.
This year each concert will have both a limited in-person audience as well as a livestream component. Although tickets are sold out for this performance, you can still donate to the livestream by clicking above. Please give generously to support our students. Tickets for this show are valued at $55 per seat. Your attendance and contributions will go directly towards benefitting students who otherwise would not be able to pursue their musical objectives.
Friday
December 6, 2024 at 7:30 pm EST
LIVE STREAM & IN PERSON
“Carmen, having had long associations with icons such as Count Basie and Nancy Wilson, is the rare example of a jazz artist at the top of her field…Her joy, artistry, and passion will inspire us all.”
~Simon Rowe, San Francisco Conservatory
This year the VJC Big Band celebrates its 20th year thanks to the decade-long leadership of musical director Rob Freeberg, and to the organizational persistence of baritone saxophonist, Sherm Fox. Freeberg is a seasoned trumpeter and big band conductor who leads with finesse and skill, drawing on his respect for the jazz legacy, an unerring ear, and decades of experience leading his own big band in the New York City region. The VJC’s longevity is thanks in great part to band manager and baritone saxophonist Sherm Fox. His continued persistence and organizational efforts have provided the glue that has held the band together since 2004. The VJC Big Band was originally a collaborative project initiated by Fox and Howard Brofsky (a.k.a Dr. Bebop), the VJC’s mentor and former board president who passed away in 2013.
The VJC also appreciates the support of the Vermont Arts Council, the Vermont Humanities Council, the New England Foundation of the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts. Thanks also to media support from The Commons and The Brattleboro Reformer.
Many thanks to our videographer Michael Hanish, sound engineer Alan Stockwell, photographer Jeff Starratt, to our many volunteers, and dedicated board members.
Thanks to our Sponsors
The VJC is especially grateful for sponsors Dianne and Steve Lieberman, medical professionals from Amherst, Massachusetts who have demonstrated their belief in the music and the VJC community by sponsoring this annual concert for many years. If you come to the show, you can thank them directly – you will find them kibbitzing with audiences in the lobby and at the concessions table. Dianne and Steve’s continued support and loving connection with the community is something the VJC is ever grateful for.
