Submitted by Anne-Marie Cannata McEwen
(October 1, 2022) —The Buttonwood Tree at 605 Main Street in Middletown announces the following events. See www.Buttonwood.org for all show details or call (860) 347-4957 or email TheButtonwoodTree@gmail.com
Friday, November 11, 2022: Knox Chandler & Bobo Lavorgna Present Soundribbons: Sessions In The Barn, An Evening of String Improvisations. This is the first in a series of collaborative performances featuring Knox and Bobo. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10. Chandler’s career has spanned over four decades, including performing, recording, arranging and producing, with such acts as REM, Depeche Mode, Grace Jones, Marianne Faithful, Natalie Merchant, Tricky, The Creatures, Dave Gahan Paper Monsters and The Golden Palominos. His long stints as a member of The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Eric Mingus, and Cyndi Lauper’s band has given Knox the experience of a worldwide recording and touring musician. For the past ten years knox resided in Berlin Germany, deepening his exploration of sonic soundscapes (soundribbons), and applying it to different genres and mediums. Bobo Lavorgna has performed and recorded with regional and national folk, rock, blues and jazz groups for fifty years, most recently with Brian Larney, The Bargain, 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Mark Naftalin, Jake & the Family Jewels, Ebin-Rose Trio, The Modeans, Robert Silverman, Tommy Cosmo, The Mojomatics, and Bobo and the Unusuals. He toured the U.S. in the mid-1970s as a member of the Stormin’ Norman and Suzy Band when they opened for Manhattan Transfer at Carnegie Hall.
Saturday, November 26, 2022: Joey Wit & The Definition. Show starts at 8:00 p.m.. Admission is $15. With a story as unique as his sound, Joey Wit’s journey has been one of unrivaled adventure. After a tragic injury derailed his professional baseball career, Joey turned his focus to his greatest passion, music. Drawing on influences from classic rock ‘n’ roll to modern alternative, Wit’s songwriting skills are steeped in story with timeless stops and lyrical journey. For the American singer/songwriter there is no greater thrill than performing his songs to a live audience. Featuring the single, “Reconsider,” his debut record, “Eastern Standard,” has garnered extensive radio play on the indie rock circuit. Wit’s anticipated sophomore effort will be released in the Fall of 2022.
Saturday, December 3, 2022: Dixieland Jazz Band French 75 Show starts 7:00 p.m. Admission $15..The French 75 Dixieland Jazz Band formed in 2016 and has quickly taken the early jazz scene by storm. Performing hits from the 1900s-1940s, the ensemble embraces the sounds of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, and many of the mavericks of American jazz, performing hits like “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Basin Street Blues,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Expect to dance like you’re in New Orleans when the sounds of trumpet, clarinet, tuba, banjo, drums, and vocals take stage. Perfect for concerts (outdoors and indoors), dances, private events, weddings, breweries/distilleries, and much more. This quintet is based in Hartford, and its members include Seth Bailey on trumpet, John Birt on tenor banjo/vocals, Alex Kollias on clarinet, Allison Lazur on tuba, and Mark Macksoud on drums/vocals.
Friday, December 9, 2022: Jazz Pianist Laszlo Gardony and His Trio. Show starts 7:00 p.m. Admission is $20. Joining him will be bassist John Lockwood and drummer Yoron Israel. An internationally acclaimed Boston-based jazz pianist and composer, Laszlo Gardony is one of the most expressive and technically skilled pianists working in jazz today. “A formidable improviser who lives in the moment” (JazzTimes), Laszlo Gardony has performed in 27 countries and released 13 albums on the Sunnyside, Antilles and Avenue Jazz labels during his distinguished decades-long career. His 14th album as a leader, “Close Connection” (Sunnyside Records), which features his trio, Yoron Israel (drums) and John Lockwood (bass), will be released on December 2, 2022.
Saturday, December 17, 2022: Drummer Ryan Sands and His Trio. Show starts at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $15. Born and raised in Connecticut, Ryan Sands began his musical journey in 2012 and is working to become one of the top on-call musicians in his area. Growing up between New Haven and Orange, Ryan received his formal training at Neighborhood Music School and Educational of the Arts. Later he would study at Manhattan School of Music’s Pre-College Division. It was at these institutions that he learned his fundamental musical values. Those values would follow him through his time at New England Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music. At New England Conservatory, Ryan led the drum chair for NEC’s Jazz Orchestra and multiple ensembles. In 2016 he was selected to participate in the Panama Jazz Festival as a performer and educator.
Saturday, January 7, 2023: Giosa-Varela Blues Band. Show starts at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $15.Morgan Giosa is a blues guitarist and visual artist from Windsor. From an early age, Morgan was raised around music and the arts. His brother Alex is a professional drummer and a skilled visual artist. A self-described “old soul,” Morgan feels his music is most rooted in inspiration from the electric psychedelic blues of the 1960’s (artists such as Michael Bloomfield and Jimi Hendrix are among his favorites), as well as influenced by the greatest electric bluesmen of all time (particularly B.B. King and Albert King, two of his favorite musicians). Morgan has been composing original music with the guidance and collaborative input of his mentor and friend and guitar teacher, Frank Varela. The two, alongside drummer Alex Giosa and bassist Bob Laramie and some special guests, recorded an album under the name Fake News Blues Band in late 2017. Their debut self-titled album was released on June 6th, 2019 and is available on all major streaming platforms. Frank Varela has dazzled audiences for many years with his guitar prowess. He is known among his peers as a unique master guitarist who ignites the interest of every listener. His imaginative compositions, arrangements of standards and numerous recording engagements have brought years of recognition, including favorable reviews in the nationally renowned publications such as “Jazz Improv” magazine.
