Posted By Dan Bolles on Fri, May 22, 2020 at 5:26 AM

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Courtesy of the Vermont Jazz Center

Attila Zoller

Earlier this month, the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro was granted nearly $41,000 from the Virginia-based Council on Library and Information Resources to preserve a special chapter in jazz — the Attila Zoller Collection of Historical Audio Recordings: 1955-1996.

That cache contains hundreds of hours of largely unheard recordings featuring Zoller, the legendary guitarist and Vermont Jazz Center founder, as well as many of his equally notable pals from the New York City jazz scene. These include hepcats such as drummer Bob Moses, saxophonist Joe Farrell, trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, pianist Don Friedman, guitarist Jimmy Raney and saxophonist Lew Tabackin, to namedrop a few.

Those are just some of the celebrated players found on Zoller's 200 reel-to-reel recordings of which the Jazz Center is aware. Even more tantalizing are the performances still to be unearthed. Recently, a recording was discovered of what appears to be an undocumented concert with the Oscar Peterson Trio.

Tags: Attila Zoller , Vermont Jazz Center , jazz , music history , Web Only , Image

Posted By Jordan Adams on Mon, May 18, 2020 at 3:02 PM

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Screenshot of "Home School"

From left: Ty, Sam and Clint Bierman

The pandemic has proven that Vermont musicians' creativity while in quarantine knows no bounds. From tunes about proper sanitation to social distancing, local artists have been dropping COVID-19-related music videos left and right. Now, a Middlebury family has put out a quadrilogy of comedic coronavirus-related music videos.

Middlebury musician Clint Bierman, of funk-rock band the Grift and Lion Tone Studio, got about a week into quarantine before he started working on the first of his family's four vids.

"I write songs all the time," said Bierman in a phone call with Seven Days. "I thought immediately about doing comedy, because everybody needs comedy."

Tags: Clint Bierman , the Grift , music videos , Web Only , Image

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, May 7, 2020 at 2:38 PM

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Courtesy of the Rachel Bissex White Light Fund

Rachel Bissex

In most years, the Rachel Bissex White Light Fund teams up with Advance Music and 104.7 FM the Point to provide the cash prize for the annual Advance Music Singer/Songwriter Contest. But since the pandemic has put the kibosh on large public gatherings, this year the organization is taking a different tack.

Recently, the White Light Fund invited songwriters to write and record songs about or inspired by mothers, or that have a motherhood theme, and post them to the In Love and Memory of Rachel Bissex Facebook group. Submissions will be accepted through Sunday, May 10 — that's Mother's Day, BTW,  in case you'd forgotten. On Monday, May 11,  10 submissions will be drawn at random, and each of those songsters will receive a $100 cash prize — or "gig money," as a flyer detailing the giveaway calls it.

Tags: Rachel Bissex , Rachel Bissex White Light Fund , Emma Sky , Web Only , Image

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Apr 16, 2020 at 2:59 PM

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Screenshot of "Dirty Hands" by A2VT

Please, do not press "play" on the video two paragraphs down. You're going to anyway, of course, and, well, that's up to you. But don't say we didn't warn you: You will not get "Dirty Hands" by A2VT out of your head for the rest of the day, and maybe the week.

Then again, that's exactly the point of the song. (And we're kidding. You should absolutely watch the video, earworm-y hooks and all. Go ahead, we'll wait… )

Tags: A2VT , Rhino Foods , COVID-19 , Web Only , Image , Video

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Apr 13, 2020 at 12:54 PM

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File: Brian MacDonald

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

The 2020 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival "will not happen as planned," due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.

That's according to an email sent Monday from BDJF managing director Chelsea Lafayette informing patrons that, for the first time in its 37-year history, the annual 10-day festival is postponed indefinitely. The festival was scheduled to run from June 5 to 14 and feature headliners Pharoah Sanders, Fantastic Negrito and others.

Tags: Burlington Discover Jazz Festival , the Flynn , Chelsea Lafayette , Steve MacQueen , Web Only , Image

Posted By Kristen Ravin on Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 12:01 PM

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Courtesy of Will Overman

Erin Cassels-Brown

In this strange new era of social distancing and isolation, going out to see live music and comedy is , at least for the time being, no longer an option. So musicians and comedians are bringing the shows to us through a variety of online streaming platforms such as Zoom and Facebook Live.

For your listening and viewing pleasure, each week we're compiling as many livestream performances by Vermont artists as we can find. We'll do our best to update the below list as more and more livestreaming events are announced, so check back often.  And we'll post a fresh batch of shows every Thursday. Just click the links to each show's event page for relevant details, including where to stream and donate.

Highlights this week include an alt-country set by Erin Cassels-Brown supporting bartenders from Winooski's Monkey House, a family-friendly rave with kids' bops from DJ Craig Mitchell, and performances by Noah Kahan, Caitlin Canty and others benefiting the Vermont Foodbank's COVID-19 Hunger Relief Fund.

BTW, most of these shows are free, but the performers typically accept tips. So maybe donate some of what you would have spent on drinks at the bar, eh?

And if you are a Vermont artist performing livestream concerts who would like to be included in future editions of "Almost There," email us with details at [email protected]

Tags: Live-stream concerts , Web Only , Image

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 12:10 PM

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File: Luke Awtry

Lauren Costello, aka ouzkxqlzn

In this strange new era of social distancing and isolation, going out to see live music and comedy is , at least for the time being, no longer an option. So musicians and comedians are bringing the shows to us through a variety of online streaming platforms such as Zoom and Facebook Live.

For your listening and viewing pleasure, each week we're compiling as many livestream performances by Vermont artists as we can find. We'll do our best to update the below list as more and more livestreaming events are announced, so check back often.  And we'll post a fresh batch of shows every Thursday. Just click the links to each show's event page for relevant details, including where to stream and donate.

Highlights this week include a twice-weekly series of covers by avant-garde cellist and songwriter Lauren Costello (aka ouzkxqlzn), the virtual return of Vermont expat Gregory Douglass, a DJ set from the estimable DJ Disco Phantom, and varied comedy offerings from the Vermont Comedy Club and Revelry Theater. 

BTW, most of these shows are free, but the performers typically accept tips. So maybe donate some of what you would have spent on drinks at the bar, eh?

And if you are a Vermont artist performing livestreamed concerts who would like to be included in future editions of "Almost There," email us with details at [email protected]

Tags: Live-stream concerts , Web Only , Image

Posted By Amy Lilly on Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 4:50 PM

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Screenshot of "The Corona Virus Song (5 Feet)"

Edward Hall (left) and Adam Hall

When the music teacher at Edmunds Middle School in Burlington emailed parents to suggest that families make music videos together to pass the time, professional tenor Adam Hall got right to work with his daughter Ruby, 13, and son Edward, 9. The trio transformed the Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” into “The Corona Virus Song (5 Feet).”

The hilarious piece of work on YouTube  made it to the local evening news the same day Hall emailed it to the music teacher.

Tags: Music videos , Adam Hall , the Proclaimers , parody song , COVID-19 , Vermont , Web Only , Image , Video

Posted By Jordan Adams on Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 3:01 PM

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Urian Hackney

Rough Francis drummer Urian Hackney's parodic cover of Nirvana's "Stay Away" has gone viral. On Saturday, the multi-instrumentalist and producer unveiled "Stay Inside," a humorous reimagining of the Seattle grunge group's 1991 tune. Hackney wrote new lyrics that nod to social distancing and other society-wide efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.

Tags: Rough Francis , Nirvana , Urian Hackney , Stay Inside , Web Only , Image , Video

Posted By Jordan Adams on Thu, Mar 19, 2020 at 2:35 PM

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Courtesy of Kayhl Cooper

Francesca Blanchard

Normally, Seven Days provides an ongoing, comprehensive list of local nightlife events for our readers. But, because of the recent closures and cancellations due to concerns about COVID-19, there quite literally are no live events to list — that you can attend in person, that is.

In our brave new social distancing world, virtual shows are popping up all over the place. Whether through Facebook, Instagram, Zoom or many other digital platforms, live-streaming concerts and open mics are an elegant solution to stay  connected with the local music and comedy scenes. So we're rolling out a weekly roundup of live-stream concerts by local artists — and maybe a few select expats — called "Almost There."

Below, you'll find this week's edition. We'll do our best to update it as more and more live-streaming events are announced and post a fresh batch every Thursday. Just click the links to each show's event page for relevant details, including where to stream and donate.

And if you are a Vermont artist performing live-stream concerts who would like to be included in future editions of "Almost There," email Jordan Adams at [email protected].

Tags: Live-stream concerts , listings , Web Only , Image