PUTNEY — Twilight Music kicks off its 20th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of folk, world beat, jazz, folk rock, pop, and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, May 28, with the Vermont Jazz Center Sextet.
The series of seven concerts continues every other Sunday through Aug. 20. All concerts begin at 6 p.m. in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or, in case of rain, at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill.
The sextet is the community outreach ensemble for the Vermont Jazz Center (VJC). Rob Freeberg (trumpet), Bill Ballard (alto saxophone), Ron Kelley (tenor saxophone), Cathy Martin (piano), Wim Auer (bass), and Steve Rice (drums) have developed programs which are performed in schools, assisted living homes, and libraries, bringing live jazz into less formal settings.
Through these performances and clinics, people who might not attend concerts at the VJC are given the opportunity to hear and learn about the music of Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and others, with original music and arrangements often written by members of the ensemble.
The other concerts in the Twilight on the Tavern Lawn concert series are: June 11, The Stockwell Brothers; June 25, Wyld Nightz Band; July 9, DiTrani Brothers; July 23, The Gaslight Tinkers; Aug. 6, The Woodpeckers, and Aug. 20, Beaucoup Blue.
Co-presented with Next Stage Arts Project, the series is sponsored by the Town of Putney, Green Mountain Well, Soundview Paper Company, Rod's, and many other Putney area businesses and organizations. The concerts are free to the public (donations are accepted) and food will be available. For more information, call 802-387-5772 or visit (1)twilightmusic.org.