Discover Jazz Festival: Burlington Bands at Their Best

By Amber Older

This year’s discover jazz festival, June 6-11, showcases not only some of the wor;d’s best jazz, but also some of Burlington’s best. A glance at the program guide confirms that the Queen City is home to some of the hottest jazz artists this side of New Orleans. 

Consider, for example, the headline events at this year’s festival: on Wednesday, June 7, The New Fusions Concert at the Contois Club in City Hall features not only Slideride, the nation’s smoothest trombone quartet, but also the funky improvs of Burlington’s Jazz Mandolin Project; The Queen City’s own Gordon Stone Sextet will open for internationally acclaimed sax man Joshua Redman at the Flynn Theatre; and The Grippo/Sklar Sextet co-hosts the festival’s official “Jam Session” with cosmic trumpet player Michae; Ray at the Contois Club. Saturday, June 10 at 7PM, audiences waiting to hear legendary jazz vocalist Besst Carter will be warmed up by the New Blood Sextet; at 9pm, local heroes Belizbeha bring new meaning to acid jazz when they perform with Groove Collective at Memorial Auditorium. 

If your jhazz appetite is craving more culture, indulge in the smorgasbord of live music happening at many of Burlington’s clubs, bars, restaurants and coffeehouses. Throughout the weekend jazz will fill Clubs Toast and Metronome; Nectars, Ake’s Place, Vermont Pub & Brewery, Halvorson’s, Tuackaway’s and the Chickenbone Cafe will also gosy a wealth of local talent. Fine dining takes on a whole new meaning when being serenaded by fine music, so take you hunger to Vermont Pasta, Five Spice Cafe, Parima Thai Restaurant, Sweetwaters, Waterworks, Bourbon Street Grill, Sneakers, City Market, Trattoria Delia, The Windjammer and the Dockside Cafe. Even a cup of coffee becomes a cultural experience during the Discover Jazz festival: The Last Elm Car and Muddy Waters both showcase great jazz throughout the week. 

If all these choices feel more intimidating than incredible, fear not; A few simple tips can help you discover the best of the festiva;. First and foremost, pick up your program guide, and read it. Available at many downtown locations, the program guide is easy to find and easy to use. You’ll fins a day by day, hour by hour breakdown of events that explains who’s doing what, where, when and for how much. The best way to make the most of the festival is to plan realistically and plan ahead.

Once you’ve decided how and where to spend the festival, get yourself over to the Flynn Box office. Ticketed events are expected to sell out fast, so buy yours early. If you’re going to attend three events during the weekend, consider purchasing a Weekend Pass. Planning to fill your week with jazz? A Festival Pass will save you cash.

With 3,000 parking spaces in downtown Burlington, parking during the festival should be close and convenient. Don’t forget, once the vehicle is parked, you can take the complimentary College Street Shuttled, which run every 10 minutes from 11AM to 6PM, from the top of College Street down to the Waterfront. Between 6 PM and PM, the shuttles run every 20 minutes. 

As you begin to explore the festival, you’ll quickly discover that jazz no longer revolved around dark coffeehouses and smoky bars. In fact, jazz influences almost every kind of music heard today, from the funkiest hip hop to the smoothest saxophone. Discover jazz with the whole family at a number of all-age events: the New Orleans Picnic at the Vermont Teddy Bear Common on Shelburne Road on Saturday, June 10; Jazz in Burlington City Hall Park that same afternoon; the Gospel Tent at North Beach on Sunday; and Jazz at Noon on the Marketplace every day throughout the week. 

The Discover Jazz Festival also offers the opportunity to meet the artist themselves. Before they take the stage, headline performers will be available to chat and answer questions. Discovering more about the artists means you’ll better understand, and enjoy, their performances.

From June 6-11, jazz in all its incredible rhythms, times and harmonies will fill the Queen City. The 12th Annual Discover Jazz Festival brings the chance to drink, dine and dance to some of the best jazz around. That so much of the talent lives and plays year round in Burlington makes the discovery of ja even sweeter.

Amber Older is the program coordinator for Burlington City Arts and a free-lance writer. She hosts and produces Artbeat Sunday, a magazine style showcase of local arts and culture. Tune in June 4th at 10AM on WEXP (105 fm) for a preview of the Discover Jazz Festivals headline performers