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VJC Big Band
July 22, 2023 @ 6:30 pm
Music Under the Stars
Presented by BMC and Retreat Farm
The Vermont Jazz Center’s Big Band will play Saturday, July 22nd at 6:30 PM; rain date will be July 23rd at 6:30. This year the band will feature vocalist Mark Anagnostopulos in a tribute to one of America’s most important composers, Duke Edward Kennedy Ellington.
Duke Ellington’s music is widely loved; a small portion of his immense catalog are jazz standards, performed by jazz bands around the world. But Ellington’s imprint goes way deeper –his impact on the history of modern music cannot be overemphasized. According to music historian Gunther Schuller Ellington was “the most significant composer of his genre.” Some of Ellington’s more familiar compositions include “Satin Doll,” “Do Nothing ‘till You Hear From Me,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing, if it Ain’t Got that Swing,” and “Mood Indigo.” He also composed major symphonic works, movie soundtracks, music for ballet and opera, and three sacred concerts.
The VJC Big Band is a group of area music-professionals that has was formed in 2005 by the late Howard Brofsky and band manager Sherm Fox. Trumpeter Rob Freeberg has been the band’s music director since 2013. Members of the VJC Big band performing at this concert will be guest vocalist, Mark Anagnostopulos; trumpeters Don Anderson, Rick Anderson, Haneef Nelson and Rob Freeberg; woodwind players Michael Zsoldos, Sherm Fox, Matt Steckler, Carl Clements, and Donna Morse; trombonists Tim Atherton, Dave Sporny and Amaranth Cole; and rhythm section members Eugene Uman (piano), Wes Brown (bass), and Steve Rice (drums).
—Gunther Schuller, music historian
