The University of Vermont Lane Series has announced two new shows for March. The long-running UVM music series, established in 1955, typically holds about 25 events per season in its on-campus recital hall, featuring world-renowned names in classical, jazz, folk and choral music.
This year is no exception, as Friday, March 3, sees a performance by jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen and his trio. Cohen created the popular Masters Legacy Series, in which the former child prodigy plays and highlights the music of some of jazz’s greatest players, from Cole Porter to Tommy Dorsey.
“Jazz is enriched immeasurably by connecting and studying with jazz masters, forging backward to the very creation of the art form,” Cohen wrote in a press release for the Lane Series performance.
The following week, the series will host world-class cellist Zlatomir Fung. The 23-year-old Juilliard School grad is on the cusp of becoming known as one of the finest cellists on the planet, having won the 2018 Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition and become the first American in 40 years (as well as the youngest musician ever) to win first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Find more information and tickets to both shows at uvm.edu/laneseries.
Everyone’s favorite nautically inclined children’s musician, Rockin’ Ron the Friendly Pirate, is getting deserved praise. Rockin’ Ron, also known as Jeffersonville resident Ron Carter, has cut some great records in the past few years, including 2021’s Captains and Sea Monsters, and gained a reputation for writing fun, musically clever pirate-themed songs for kids. One such track from Captains and Sea Monsters, “Five Little Pirates,” was recognized as one of 2022’s top 10 children’s songs by the annual USA Songwriting Competition.
A former promoter who worked with everyone from Pat Benatar to Arrested Development, Carter is a Berklee College of Music-trained musician and composer who decided to make tunes for kids when he moved to Vermont more than three decades ago. He described “Five Little Pirates” as “one of several of my songs that reference numbers and math.”
The tune sounds a little like an Irish jig. Carter sings, “Five little fingers / five little toes / five little pirates sitting in rows,” helping all the little buccaneers out there get their numbers straight. Congrats to Rockin’ Ron and his educational songs. Before I heard his music, I always assumed educational pirate music was just someone screaming, “Eat lemons, avoid scurvy!” over and over.
Eye on the Scene
Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry
Aneken River at Foam Brewers in Burlington, Friday, February 24: New band alert! By the time I arrived, Foam had filled up and was bubbling over with excitement for the debut show of Aneken River’s new band, also called Aneken River. The area in front of the stage was a frothy mess in the best way, filled to the brim with people dancing and sloshing around. The lull between songs afforded a brief moment to catch your breath, but the energy quickly rose to match Aneken’s effervescence as they burst into dance when the beat dropped. What else can I say? Foam was poppin’.
On the Air
Where to tune in to Vermont music this week:
- “Wave Cave Radio Show,” Wednesday, March 1, 2 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: DJs Flywlkr and Gingervitus spin the best of local (and nonlocal) hip-hop.
- “Exposure,” Wednesday, March 1, 6 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Psychedelic garage trio Ruminations play live in studio.
- “Rocket Shop Radio Hour,” Wednesday, March 1, 8 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: Folk-punk band Content Clown play live in studio.
- “The Sounds of Burlington,” Thursday, March 2, 9 p.m., at wbkm.org: Host Tim Lewis plays the best of local music.
- “Cultural Bunker,” Friday, March 3, 6 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Host Melo Grant plays local and nonlocal hip-hop selections.
- “All the Traditions,” Sunday, March 5, 7 p.m., on Vermont Public: Host Robert Resnik plays an assortment of folk music with a focus on Vermont artists.
Listening In
(Spotify mix of local jams)
This article appears in Mar 1-7, 2023.
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