BELLOWS FALLS — WOOL-FM, Black Sheep Radio, welcomes back guitar duo John Stowell and Draa Hobbs for a return engagement of world-class jazz at Stage 33 Live. A musician's master class on improvisation will precede the show.
John Stowell, based on the West Coast, is influenced as much by pianists and horn players as by guitar players, and his original take on harmony, chords, and improvisation sets him apart, according to a news release. He tours, records, and teaches internationally, and he has been a contributing columnist for Downbeat, Guitar Player, Soundcheck (Germany), Guitar Club (Italy), and other influential publications.
In 1983, along with David Friesen and Paul and Robin Horn, Stowell toured the Soviet Union in the first American jazz group invited to play public performances in Russia in 40 years.
Hobbs grew up in Chicago and has made his home in Southern Vermont. He studied with the legendary Jimmy Raney, Attila Zoller, Gene Bertoncini, and Peter Lietch, performing in New York City and around New England with notable musicians including Don Friedman, Ron McClure, Eliot Zigmund, and Vic Juris.
The concert begins at 4 p.m. at 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls; only 40 chairs are available. Admission to the performance is $12 in advance, which also reserves a chair up front - or $15 at the door, when any remaining chairs are first-come, first-served. Attendees are allowed to bring their own portable seating to set up behind the house chairs, or to use in place of their reserved chair if they wish.
Before the concert, there will be an intimate master class for guitarists and other string players addressing melodic and harmonic minor modes, triads, voicings, comping, and other techniques to further develop improvisational skills.
The class is limited to 10 students; advance registration is recommended. Attendees will receive a 70-page PDF with helpful articles by John Stowell, charts for some of his original tunes, and more. The master class begins at 2 p.m., and costs $30, which includes concert admission.