Pittsfield — The third annual Bousquet Jazz Festival features local jazz musicians Luke Franco and Peggy Stern, along with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet and Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils. The festival takes place on Saturday, August 17, from 4 to 8 p.m., at Pittsfield’s Bousquet ski area.
Brubeck? Yes, that Brubeck, of “Take Five” fame. Dave Brubeck’s sons, drummer Dan and bassist, trombonist, and composer Chris, make up the core of the Brubeck Brothers band, while guitarist Mike DeMicco and pianist Chuck Lamb make it a quartet.
The Brubeck Brothers have performed at concerts and festivals throughout North America and Europe, including the Newport, Detroit, Montreal, Playboy/Hollywood Bowl, and Monterey Jazz Festivals.
The Brubeck’s most recent CD “LifeTimes” made the Top Ten list as one of the most played jazz recordings of the year on the Jazz Week radio chart.
Imagine establishing yourself as a jazz singer in New Orleans, appearing for 15 consecutive years at the city’s Jazz and Heritage Festival, only to migrate to Brattleboro, Vt., where strains of the The Big Easy give way to the lowing of cows. It is a far cry from the birthplace of jazz, but that is where Samirah Evans moved to, only to discover that there is actually a thriving jazz scene in Brattleboro. And now she is a part of it, while making time for her job as artist associate in jazz voice at Williams College.
Evans has toured North and South America, Europe, and Asia, sharing stages with N’awlins types like Dr. John and Aaron and Charles Neville, as well as soul and blues artists like James Brown and B.B. King. She will appear on the 17th with a band of players whose names you may recognize: Ben Kohn on keyboards, Matt Dwonszyk on bass, Michael Zoldos on saxophone, and Conor Meehan on drums.
The Luke Franco Quartet appears regularly at Berkshire venues like Race Brook Lodge and The Egremont Barn. The Berklee-trained Franco has received favorable reviews of his work with bassist Tarik Shah and has worked with the Bob Meyer Trio and many others. He was a featured soloist with Grammy winner Jon Daversa’s Concert Jazz Band alongside Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Alan Ferber. As a student, Luke’s main influence was guitarist John Abercrombie. In addition to Franco on guitar, the quartet includes Awan Rashad on tenor saxophone, Tarik Shah on bass, and Nick Anderson on drums.
Following the Brubeck performance, the Peggy Stern Trio will play a set in Bousquet’s Drifters Bar & Restaurant. Seating will be limited. Peggy Stern has been putting on jazz festivals for over two decades. She founded the Wall Street Jazz Festival in Kingston, N.Y., calling it LuluFest when it moved to Austin, Texas. A year ago, I asked Peggy about her priorities as a composer. She said they are same as anyone else who is making art:
Let’s say I have a trio or quartet … Everything I have to say is in the piece of music itself … Traditionally in a jazz band, the melody will be stated … and you’ll go around all the instruments, and everyone takes a solo, and the audience claps after every solo, and then the head comes back. And I got real tired of that. So I started calling certain pieces ‘all play.’ In other words, we’re conversing as a group, and the focus may be on [one instrument], but everyone else is playing.
Hear the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, the Luke Franco Quartet, and the Peggy Stern Trio, along with Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils, at Pittsfield’s Bousquet ski area from 4 to 8 p.m., on Saturday, August 17. You can bring your own lawn chairs, blankets, and food, but food and beverage services will also be available. Tickets are available here.
