NATIVE AMERICAN ANNUAL GREEN CORN FESTIVAL

Corn has long been an integral part of the annual cycle of life for many Native American people.  A festival is always planned to celebrate the first tender ears of corn that are ripe for picking...and enjoying.

Join IAIS staff and friends at the 13th Annual Green Corn Festival on August 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. l as they welcome the first corn of the season with music, food, family & fun.

This year's performers will be the Eastern Suns  they are honored to welcome back the Native Nation Dancers, Sdrum group and the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancer. ! 

This fascinating cultural event highlights fun-filled activities for the whole family including drumming, dancing, kids' crafts, storytelling, powwow style food,  the sale of arts and crafts and much more! Admission for this event, held rain or shine is $10 for Adults; $8 Seniors; and $6  for Children. 

The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut. For more information 860-868-0518 or www.iaismuseum.org

The Glass House presents COLUMBUS WITH FRANCES ANDERTON + KOGONADA

On Sunday, July 30 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. join Frances Anderton, renowned host of KCRW's DnA: Design and Architecture, and filmmaker Kogonada in the SANAA-designed River building at Grace Farms for an advanced screening of Kogonada's Columbus, a new film that centers around the small Midwestern city celebrated for its many significant modernist buildings by Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, and Deborah Berke, among others. The screening will be followed by a conversation between Anderton and Kogonada as well as a light reception.

In the film, when his architecture expert father falls ill in Columbus, Indiana, Jin (John Cho) flies in from South Korea to be with him. Jin strikes up a friendship with Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), a young architecture enthusiast who works at the local library. As their intimacy develops, Jin and Casey explore both the town and their conflicted emotions: Jin's estranged relationship with his father, and Casey's reluctance to leave Columbus and her mother. With its naturalistic rhythms and empathy for the complexities of families, debut director Kogonada's Columbus unfolds as a gently drifting, deeply absorbing conversation. With strong supporting turns from Parker Posey, Rory Culkin, and Michelle Forbes, Columbus is also a showcase for its director's striking eye for the way physical space can affect emotions.

This program is presented in collaboration with Grace Farms Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing nature, arts, justice, community, and faith initiatives. For more information, please visit gracefarms.org.

“Magical Thinking” Art Exhibit at Westport Historical Society

The Westport Historical Society, located on 25 Avery Place in the center of Westport is presenting an art show, Magical Thinking through September 2. This exhibit showcases the work of Westport artist Trace Burroughs, who sold over 300 of his abstract expressionistic paintings by age 15. One of Burroughs’s early works is part of the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection, alongside works by internationally renowned artists including Picasso, Matisse, Calder, Motherwell, and others. His new collection of digital art is exhibited in galleries and art shows throughout Fairfield County.

“The subject matter in my new show, ‘Magical Thinking,’ is varied in theme and style,” Burroughs says. “The works are created utilizing digital art, retouching, and enhancement, and are then composited to create a single image. I try to create each work so that it is different from the others in the way it elicits a response from the viewer. In general, I try to create art that engages the mind and the eye, and that is thought-provoking, visually appealing, and sometimes with a mystical nuance.”

A former drummer with the two popular Westport bands, The Rogues and Styx, Burroughs broke the Guinness World Record for marathon drum soloing in his 20s, garnering national attention and an interview with David Frost. Since then, in addition to creating art, he has worked as an author, radio-show host, and animator whose work has been shown on television and in film. Learn more about Trace Burroughs and his work at traceburroughs.com/Artworks.com. 

Jazz Concert in the Garden @ Torrington Historical Society

On Saturday July 29^th  from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Torrington Historical Society will host a jazz concert and fundraiser with the Litchfield Jazz Camp Faculty All Stars on the grounds of the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum located on 192 Main Street. The  tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at the Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street or on-line at http://www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org

In the event of inclement weather the concert will move indoors to the Carriage House gallery behind the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum. Although outdoor seating will be available, concert attendees are encouraged to bring a comfortable lawn chair and a picnic basket. 

The Concert

The jazz performed will be rhythmic, forward leaning and exciting. The musicians have shared the stage with many of the important figures of the jazz idiom in their long careers and this is an opportunity to hear these players performing some new compositions as well as some of their previous work.

This ensemble of well-known jazz artists includes:  Mario Pavone, bass; Peter McEachern, trombone; Dave Ballou, trumpet and Mike Sarin, drums will include special guest Oscar Noriega, on saxophone. Noriega has just won the rising star category in the 2017 Down Beat critics poll.  Oscar Noriega is also on Mario Pavone's recent CD "Vertical" along with Dave Ballou, Peter McEachern and Mike Sarin.

 The concert will feature music from Mario Pavone’s recent CD Vertical on Clean Feed Records and Peter McEachern’s upcoming CD Double Helix. The concert will be held in the garden of the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum 192 Main Street, Torrington.  Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at the Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street or on-line at www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org

Musician’s Bios   

Mario Pavone: Bass

Bassist/composer Mario Pavone has collaborated with both legendary innovators and today's most respected young musicians to consistently define the cutting edge of jazz for the past 40 years. He has anchored the trios of Paul Bley (1968-72), Bill Dixon (1980's), and the late Thomas Chapin (1990-97), and co-led a variety of notable ensembles with Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, and Marty Ehrlich. Unlike most artists whose careers span five decades, his most recent recordings are his most widely acclaimed, appearing on best-of-the-year lists from Slate.com, AllAboutJazz.com, All AboutJazz-New York, Coda, the Village Voice , and the New York Times among others.

Dave Ballou: Trumpet

 Trumpeter/Composer Dave Ballou has released nine internationally recognized CD’s as a leader or co-leader. He has performed or recorded with ensembles led by Rabih Abou-Kahlil, Steely Dan, Michael Formanek, Woody Herman, Andrew Hill, John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble, Sheila Jordan, Oliver Lake, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Dewey Redman, and Maria Schneider . Ballou has performed Bach's Brandenberg Concerto #2 with the Bella Musica Orchestra of New York, Larry Austin's Improvisations with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Gunther Schuller's Journey into Jazz with the Spokane Symphony and Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

Mike Sarin: Drums

Since moving to New York in 1989, Mike Sarin’s unique style and approach to the drum set has been highly sought after by NYC and European musicians looking to expand the definitions of jazz and improvised music. He has contributed to recordings of  Thomas Chapin, Frank Carlberg, Anthony Coleman, Mark Dresser, Marty Ehrlich, Mark Helias, Denman Maroney, Simon Nabatov, Mario Pavone, Ned Rothenberg, and Fred Wesley--recordings found on numerous music critics’ Top Ten CD year-end lists. Sarin performs all over the world--in major and minor festivals.  He is currently on staff of the Count Basie Theatre Performing Arts Academy and is a member of the teaching faculty of the New York Jazz Workshop.

Peter McEachern: Trombone

Peter McEachern, has toured and recorded three CDs for Polygram with Blues legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown; has worked and recorded with minimalist composer Lamonte Young, and is featured on several important CDs: "Insomnia" with the Thomas Chapin Trio on Knitting Factory Works and "Song for Septet" with the Mario Pavone Septet on the New World Countercurrents label. Peter has been a teaching artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp since 1998. He has released 3 CD's in the past year "No Chordtet" featuring Dave Santoro, George Sovak and Hamir Atwal,”Shockwave" featuring the late Thomas Chapin, Steve Johns, Mario Pavone and Jamie Finegan, and No Chordet’s 2nd CD “Subconscious Love” on Truth Revolution Records.

Oscar Noriega: Saxophone

Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Oscar Noriega has lived in Brooklyn since 1992.
He has worked with Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton, Gerry Hemingway, Dewey Redman and Paul Motion. He is currently performing with Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, Endangered Blood (Chris Speed, Jim Black, Trevor Dunn) and is co-leader of the Mexico-inspired Banda De Los Muertos. He plays alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet and drums.