Berkshires Jazz continues to be behind the resurgence of jazz in Berkshire County by hosting an exciting new concept. During the weekend of November 18-20, they will be presenting what they’re calling the Berkshires Jazz Fall Sprawl. At the center of the event, Brandon Goldberg, the 16-year-old piano phenom, will be making his debut Berkshire County appearance with his trio at Ventfort Hall in Lenox on November 20 at 4 p.m. The three-day event will range from small, local groups to the 17-piece Amherst Jazz Orchestra in venues from Pittsfield to Lenox. More information regarding the Berkshires Jazz Fall Sprawl and its full schedule can be found here. For Berkshires Jazz to present this amazing music filled weekend, the Mill Town Foundation stepped up, as they have previously, by subsidizing the concert by the Brandon Goldberg Trio while allowing all other events to be presented free of charge.
Headlining the main event is Brandon Goldberg, who was just 12 when he first came to the attention of the board at Berkshires Jazz. Brandon had already been playing piano and making music since he was, three finding his passion for jazz by listening to the masters including Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. He’s presently working on his highly anticipated third album after his first two albums, 2019’s “Let’s Play!” (released when he was 13), and 2021’s “In Good Time.” Both albums received four-star reviews from Downbeat Magazine. Each was listed as one of the top albums of the year in the magazine’s annual review.
Jazz standards and original compositions can be heard on both his albums which have elicited enthusiastic quotes from jazz critics. Gary Fukushima from Downbeat Magazine in November 2021 wrote, “… [His] unassailable technique, advanced harmonic understanding, a deep sense of swing and, most impressively, a clarity and plethora of ideas [are] executed to near perfection.” In September 2021, Leonard Weinreich from London Jazz News had this to say about “In Good Time,” “…this album takes a further step … [it’s] an emphatic statement to indicate that [his] artistic development has rendered his lack of years irrelevant.”
I’ve listened to a good bit of Brandon’s playing, and after reading many reviews gushing over the young man’s talent, I found it’s generally agreed that Brandon possesses Mozartian precociousness, while demonstrating the nuanced facility of a seasoned pro defying any characterization of him as a cheeky young curiosity. However, I’m much more inclined to put it plainly: Forget his age, Brandon Goldberg is the real deal.
He’s performed at numerous prestigious jazz festivals including those at Newport, Monterey, and Litchfield. Click here to see Brandon playing at the 2021 Litchfield Jazz Fest. His resumé includes playing on the stages of some of the world’s most renowned jazz clubs in New York and beyond, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, Birdland Theatre, and Dizzy’s Club where he’s scheduled to perform on January 17 and 18 next year.
The Goldberg family calls Miami, Fla. home, where Brandon has performed with the Miami Symphony Orchestra which recognized his talent early. In 2018, when Brandon was 12, and a year later in 2019, he was commissioned by the orchestra to write two original compositions for piano and orchestra. The compositions, “Surroundings” and “Rhapsody in F Minor” received resounding praise. Although Brandon and his family call Miami their home, they have Berkshire County connections. His family owns a home in Pittsfield where they hope to spend more time in the future.
The concert will take place in the library of the 28,000 square foot, 28 room Ventfort Hall mansion built for Sarah Morgan, the sister of the industrialist J.P. Morgan, and her husband George Morgan when Lenox was the center of the social season during the Gilded Age. Interestingly, the Morgans had the same last name before they were married but were apparently only distantly related. Construction on the Jacobean Revival-style mansion was completed in 1893 and was one of more than 70 “cottages” built by the absurdly rich in Lenox and its environs during the era. The interior of Ventfort Hall is especially distinguished and generally considered the most elaborate of the Gilded Age mansions in the area. The mansion was rescued by a group of local concerned citizens just days before its scheduled demolition in 1997 as it was slowly being swallowed whole by the surrounding woods. The 1999 Academy Award winning film “The Cider House Rules” contributed to its early restoration when the exterior of the mansion was used by the film as the St. Cloud’s orphanage. Since then, Ventfort Hall has been beautifully restored, is the home of the Museum of the Gilded Age and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Brandon will be performing on the long-lost Steinway purchased directly from the factory by the Morgans in 1895 specifically for Ventfort Hall. Sadly, Sarah Morgan died the following year cutting short her enjoyment of listening to the unparalleled elegant tone for which a Steinway is celebrated. After George died in 1911, all the furnishings for Ventfort Hall were sold at auction when the Morgan children assumed ownership. All, that is, except the Morgans’ Steinway, which was moved to a family home in New York City. It remained in the family for the next generations before ending up in Portland, Ore. from where the magnificent, rosewood, six-foot piano was finally returned to its original home in September of 2021 through a donation by the Morgans’ great, great, great grandson.
Brandon will be joined by two superb musicians, bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Aaron Kimmel, who both regularly play with Brandon as the Brandon Goldberg Trio. Ben Wolfe is on the teaching faculty at the Juilliard School and has performed in groups led by Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, and Wynton Marsalis. Wynton Marsalis had this to say about Ben’s playing, “Ben Wolfe swings with authority.” Aaron Kimmel is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Kenny Washington and Billy Drummond and regularly freelances at Smalls and Dizzy’s Club in New York City. He’s played with such jazz luminaries as Harry Allen, Ann Hampton Callaway, and Jon Faddis.
A cash bar including beer and wine will be available before and after the concert and audience members are invited to meet Brandon after the concert. Tickets can be purchased for $35 on the Berkshires Jazz home page. Berkshires Jazz President Ed Bride says tickets are selling quickly for this limited seating concert and suggests buying tickets as soon as possible.
