Jazz in Germantown This Weekend

  |  April 24, 2015
johncoltrane

John Coltrane (photograph by Chuck Stewart)

As you drive up Route 9G in Columbia County and pass through Germantown, the quaint village may not strike you as a jazz mecca. But for decades it was the home of saxophone legend Sonny Rollins. So how about that? And this weekend Germantown’s jazz connection will live on via two exceptional events at the town’s historic Central House Hotel.On Saturday, it’s “Jazz in G’Town,” a special intimate performance by vibraphone great Joe Locke. One of today’s absolute masters of the instrument, Locke has made several fine albums as a leader and lent his lyrical chops to recordings by such figures as Kenny Barron, Freddy Cole, Eddie Henderson, and Grover Washington, Jr. His trio features drummer Jaimeo Brown and bassist Ricky Rodriguez. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance.

Here’s Locke live in 2012:


Sunday features the opening of “Masters of Jazz,” an exhibition of the work of photographer Chuck Stewart. The protégé of legendary jazz lensman Herman Leonard, Stewart worked the New York City music scene in the early fifties capturing notable jazz luminaries representing Latin jazz, big band, bebop, cool jazz, and more, as well as bands and vocalists representing rock n’ roll, rhythm and blues, pop, Broadway, film, and television. His evocative portraits include iconic images of John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaugh, and many others. The exhibit will run through May 2.

Both events are being presented by Planet Arts in conjunction with the Jazz in G’Town Project, ARTspace, and Art & Collaboration. For more information, call (518) 945-2669 or visit www.planetarts.org.

About Peter Aaron

In addition to being the assistant editor of Upstate House, Peter Aaron has been the music editor of Chronogram magazine since 2006 and is the author of If You Like the Ramones..., which was published last year by Backbeat Books. His writing has also appeared in the Village Voice, the Boston Herald, the Daily Freeman, and other publications. Photograph by Jennifer May.

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