PAT BRAXTON JAZZ "The Lady of the Day"

March 22, 2012 at 8:00 PM
$15 Reservations Suggested (www.buttonwood.org)

Pat is quickly becoming a thrilling and engaging woman in jazz as a vocalist, composer, recording artist and entertainer. So much so that she has been nominated for The New England Music Awards, The London Urban Music Awards and for Boston Music awards in the Jazz category.

“As far a I can remember, I have always loved to entertain people and put a smile on their faces. I started singing and performing before I could read. It was a lot of fun and still is!” That’s how Pat Braxton describes the beginning of her interest in music. She was born in New Jersey and was raised in Boston, Ma. Showcasing her talent throughout the United States, Italy and Asia and has included performances at The Blues Alley in Washington DC, Scullers Jazz Club (Boston), Acton Jazz Café Acton Mass, private functions and a host of other venues. She captivates her audiences everywhere with her personal.

Pat has often been compared to Billie Holiday and her voice and facial features are strikingly similar. Pat was one of the vocalists chosen to perform at the Urban League’s 90th Anniversary Gala Event, which was held at the Boston Seaport Hotel. At that event, Pat was one of the opening acts for The Whispers and the following year, one of the openers for The Temptations Revue. Pat Braxton’s presence, and emotional appeal continues to thrill audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures. So, if you like Billie Holiday, you will love Pat. She brings you back in time like no other Jazz artist of this day and age.

Nominated for the 2010 Best Female Jazz The New England Urban Music Awards
Nominated for the 2010 Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll in Jazz! "Best Jazz Act Boston"
http://www.patbraxton.com/

Jeremiah Birnbaum's Middletown Show Rescheduled for Jan 26

Due to a rare musical "snow day", New York's Jeremiah Birnbaum was forced to postpone his holiday show (originally December 29) at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown. The show has been rescheduled for January 26, adding special guest, West Hartford's own Ben Rabb.

Jeremiah, formerly of heavy-duty Americana-rock band, The Ramblers, is a "rootsy, soulful troubadour" (Time Out, London) with his own brand of "raucous alt-country...a rabbi's son with a touch of whiskey burning his soul" (New York Magazine, Critic's Pick). This show will feature songs from Lucky, Jeremiah's recent solo acoustic album. Recorded stripped-down and mostly live in the studio in the tradition of early Dylan, Springsteen's Nebraska and Nick Drake, Jeremiah finished Lucky just before a vocal cord injury in 2012 that required surgery and more than a month of complete vocal rest. 

Since recovering in August, Jeremiah's been touring constantly in support of Lucky. By January, the record reached #31 on the Roots Music Report charts for New York artists, receiving spins coast-to-coast on many independent folk radio stations, including WFUV in New York, where he was featured by legendary DJ John Platt both on the air, and at Platt's monthly live showcase of up-and-coming artists, "On Your Radar."

Jeremiah has received several ASCAP songwriting awards, has been featured at prominent festivals including the Club Passim Campfire and CMJ, and has opened for many notable artists, including the late Levon Helm. This is Birnbaum’s first show in Middletown.
Ben Rabb is a classic story-weaver, and though a newcomer to the scene, his voice is one of experience, image and emotion. Whether it’s true, partially true, or completely false is for the listener to surmise. Fusing organic soul with folk melodies, Rabb’s fluid and distinguished passion absorbs audiences from coast to coast. He's been lauded as "resurrecting the art of musical storytelling" (7 Duckets), and regularly performs throughout the Northeast - from NYC to Providence, RI, as well as the Midwest - from Omaha, NE to Austin, TX. He has performed on WCCT-TV in Connecticut, and has received radio play in cities from St. Louis, MO to Charlotte, NC.

The Buttonwood Tree is located at 605 Main Street, Middletown, CT. Tickets are $10. The show is from 8-10 pm on Saturday, January 26. www.buttonwood.org

Middletown Comedy Night!

So You Think You Can't Dance

If you’ve ever thought there isn’t anything to do in central Connecticut, Vinnie’s Jump and Jive will prove you wrong. With all that this dance studio has going on, there is just no excuse for boredom around here. With different classes in different genres going on every night of the week and social dances just about every weekend, they’re just begging to show you that you can dance.

Started in 2000 by the Community Health Center in Middletown, and with space donated by Vinnie Amato, Vinnie’s opened its doors as a wellness and community building center. Their mission is to promote health and wellness in Middletown and to build community, and between the vast array of classes and their dance socials, they’re living up to that mission. With classes like tap, jazz, hip-hop, country line-dance, salsa, blues, swing, ballroom, belly-dance and yoga, there really is something for everyone.

Vinnie’s hosts dance socials most Friday evenings. Salsa social dances are typically on the second and fourth Friday evenings from 9:00-Midnight, while the blues and swing social dances are on the third Friday evening also from 9:00-Midnight.

At the beginning of each salsa social, they offer a free 15-minute crash course from 9:00-9:15 pm so if you’ve never danced salsa before, you can learn some basic steps to get you going. If you really want to know what you’re doing though, they also offer Beginner Salsa from 8:00-9:00 pm and Beginner/Intermediate Salsa from 7:00-8:00 pm just before the dances. These courses can serve to get you comfortably on the dance floor, or help you improve your skills that you learned at previous dances.

Prior to the Blues/Swing Social Dances, they offer Blues Dance 101 and 102. The 101 course, at 8:00 pm before the social, is a basic introduction to blue dancing so you can know what to expect and have a feel for the dance before the social begins. The 102 course, at 7:00 pm helps dancers who have either attended previous classes or dances before and just want to learn some new moves. Recently, Vinnie’s held a class on dips for example and they regularly consider which moves people might be most interested in learning.

Whichever social dance or dance class you attend though, you can rest assured that you’ll have a good time.

Program coordinator Josh Van Vliet says, “One of the things I love about it here, is that everyone is incredibly friendly – when you come to a dance here, people will ask you to dance. It won’t be like you come and sit in a corner all night because nobody has asked you to dance and you’re too shy to ask. It’s a very open and friendly community.”

So whether you just want to shake your groove thang or learn to bust a move on the dance floor, Vinnie’s has got you covered. Put your dancing shoes on and head over to Vinnie’s. Classes range between $9 and $13 with socials coming in between $5 and $8. Check their website at www.vinniesjumpandjive.com for specific prices and times or call at 860-347-6971 extension 3777.