BRATTLEBORO — There is little that jazz master Howard Brofsky has not experienced in his varied and lengthy musical career.
Due to his many years of living in Brattleboro, Brofsky's presence is familiar and welcome during his sojourns north. But in New York City, he is a venerated maestro with stellar connections. This year, he has mined one of the finest quintets imaginable, lifting them directly from New York's jazz scene to the Vermont Jazz Center on May 18.
The group will prominently feature a powerful bass and drum team: David Wong and Billy Drummond, along with VJC summer workshop pianist Ray Gallon and tenor sax titan Jed Levy.
It was after hearing the cutting-edge sounds of bebop legends Charlie Parker and Roy Eldridge in the 1940s that Brofsky started playing the trumpet. He went on to join the burgeoning worldwide jazz scene, playing and recording in Paris, before turning to classical music, earning a doctoral degree in 18th century Italian classical music, and building a career in academia.
Brofsky returned to jazz, picking up the trumpet again at age 46, and has not put it down in 40 years. Now at age 86, Brofsky, who has earned the moniker “Dr. Bebop,” brings his broad experience - in life, in jazz and in classical music - to the Vermont Jazz Center, where he will take the stage for his annual jazz celebration.
Brofsky is professor emeritus at Queens College, where he continues to teach jazz history and ensembles. He also performs regularly in Brooklyn and elsewhere.