Howard Brofsky should turn 80 more often.
A large and warm-hearted crowd turned out the Vermont Jazz Center Saturday night to help VJC President Dr. Bebop, aka Howard Brofsky celebrate his 80th birthday and to hear some great jazz - in that order. Joined by the Charles Davis Quartet, Brofsky was in fine form, playing a mix of standards and compositions of his and arrangements by Davis. It was particularly thrilling to hear saxophonist Davis and Brofsky doubling each other a la Bird and Diz in the early days of bebop. It was not neat to catch a glimmer of what that sounded like from two men who were there, or nearly there, at the beginning. Brofsky sounded good - we should all play so well when we're 80 - both on cornet and mellophone. Mellophone? I hear you ask. My theory is that the mellophone is the product of a one-night stand between a trumpet and a French horn. It has the sweet mellow sound of a French horn but the same valves as a trumpet, and it's a nice sound. Anyhow, the music was great, but people had really come there to express their love for Howard. All that and cake, too.
Saturday's concert kicked off a busy month for the VJC, which also has its annual Big Band gala the Friday night of Heifer weekend (June 1) and its annual concert honoring the memory of VJC founder Attila Zoller on what would have been his 80th birthday.
If you haven't checked out the VJC, why not do it. If you have, I'll see you there.