The 28th annual Burlington Discover Jazz Festival officially kicks off tonight at The Flynn with "Bitches Brew Revisited", and once again VPR staff will be on the scene.VPR Classical Director Cheryl Willoughby and VPR jazz host George Thomas dropped by Vermont Edition to share their thoughts on the festival, including the acts they're most looking forward to seeing and hearing. George is particularly looking forward to hearing Italian vocalist Roberta Gambarini, while Cheryl is excited about the appearance of Myra Melford and the Be Bread Sextet (just to name a couple). Interviewer Steve Zind shared that he's a fan of Catherine Russell, who he discovered listening NPR.
It's not all about the headliners and national acts, though. There are tons of local musicians performing 'Round Town, from accomplished local musicians to high school jazz bands. As Cheryl said, "some of the best stuff that happens at the festival is the stuff that's not on the calendar... memorable moments happen after hours when somebody wanders in with a saxophone, and someone else has a guitar, and the next thing you know there's an impromptu jazz session happening with a bunch of local folks."
As we have the past few years, we'll share the occasional blog posts and photos from the festival: check back here at the VPR Blog as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
And of course, for the best jazz throughout the festival and year-round, listen to George Thomas weeknights on VPR.
(pictured: Jennifer Hartswick, Anthony Santor, and Nic Cassarino perform at the opening reception at Halvorson's in Burlington, VT)
That's so cool. You have the high school and local bands at this event. Then you have the amazing vocalist Roberta Gambarini. I can't wait to see more pictures of this jazz festival.
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