January 2025 Concerts at The Buttonwood Tree

Submitted by The Buttonwood Tree
(January 2, 2025) — The following programs will be presented in January 2025 at The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street in Middletown:
Friday, January 17, 2025/Soul Songstress Waberi Jordan & Friends. Concert begins at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $20.
 
Waberi Jordan is a vocalist and songwriter whose signature is rooted in the Leimert Park Jazz Community of Los Angeles. Raised on a steady diet of straight-ahead jazz, at a time when R&B dominated the airwaves, Waberi’s sound bridges two pivotal eras of artistic expression.

Waberi studied and played with Horace Tapscott along with The Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra and The Great Voice of UGMAA (Union of God’s Musicians and Artists’ Ascension), many notable performers and scholars like Dr. Art Hillary, McCoy Tyner, Azar Lawrence, Nate Morgan, Pharoah Sanders and many more.

Waberi has also performed around the world with various bands and ensembles, from SoulBop (an L.A. based collective of jazz musicians), R&B to West African Drum and Dance bands; 50-piece Jazz arkestras in L.A. and Europe to solo acapella sets. She has also been featured on numerous recordings, including the Jazz CD “Living Water” by extraordinary vocalist DWIGHT TRIBLE, and classic Reggae CD “Good’s Gonna Happen” Sahra Indio.

In 2009 Waberi released her debut album, The Trajectory of Starah. The accompanying video, Sunflowers in my Garden premiered the same year, to critical acclaim. The song has become beloved worldwide. Her second video release, Put it Right There was released in 2014, and as an added bonus, was co-directed and shot by Tim Russ, noted for his role as Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager.

2015 saw Waberi exchanging the West Coast for the East Coast and settling into playing shows in NYC with Grammy nominated artists and local artists alike.

An opportunity came to play in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2017, during the Sundance Film Festival. Two on Tour was born, as a duo with long-time friend and collaborator Shena Verrett. They met almost a decade ago in Los Angeles when Alt Rocker Shena performed there and later presented Jazz Songstress Waberi as a featured musical artist for a festival in NYC called The Urb Alt Festival.

Saturday, January 25, 2025/Shane Allessio Jazz Trio. Show begins at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $20. Admission link: https://buttonwood.networkforgood.com/events/79297-shane-allessio-jazz-trio

Shane Allessio plays hard hitting, heavy swinging, modern original jazz. Drawing from Mingus, George Russell, Stan Kenton, etc., boundaries are pushed while a respect for swing and the jazz tradition is upheld. Screaming, crashing dissonances, virtuosic bowed bass solos and foot stomping grooves are to be expected at every show.
Coming off of a bold and unique new quartet album release, Tripp City, Shane seeks to challenge the listener to explore a wide range of emotions, characters and personal stories. It’s a journey of highs, lows and even the psychedelic. Mixing through-composed forms with giving his band the freedom to improvise, Shane himself “plays strong backing to the horns, but is also a highly gifted soloist himself, playing like a saxophonist in terms of invention” (Jazz Journal International). “It’s a CD that belongs in every jazz lover’s collection” (Gary Karr).

Shane is a disciple of renowned educator Jim Stinnett. He traveled the country helping to present Mr. Stinnett’s Secret Chambers project, a book and presentation featuring and analyzing the walking and solo lines of the great Paul Chambers. Shane was also a faculty member of Mr. Stinnett’s long running New Hampshire Bass Fest, featuring artists such as Eddie Gomez, Rufus Reid, Gary Karr and more of the best bassists around the world. After Berklee, Shane moved to London for six years, working the scene there and touring Europe with his and others’ projects. He now resides in New York City, where he performs at venues such as The Django, Room 623, and more.

The concerts listed above, as well as and other TBT events, are brought to you by our generous donors and patrons, as well as the following organizations: Middletown Commission on the Arts, Community Foundation of Middlesex County, Department of Economic and Community Development.

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