FARMINGTON – The Novel Jazz Septet will be in concert at the Titcomb Mountain Ski Center on Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. (rain date is Sept. 26, same time and place). They will feature music of the iconic Duke Ellington and his equally iconic musical collaborator, Billy Strayhorn. Novel Jazz is a Maine-based group, now in their seventeenth year of concerts around Maine and New England. Their mission is to share the music and stories of these two giants of jazz who wrote some 3000 compositions over their musical careers, two percent of which represents the well-known standards and 98 percent of which most have never heard.
They’ll perform standard tunes from the Ellington/Strayhorn repertoire plus newly arranged compositions that they have unearthed in the Ellington Archives of the Smithsonian Museum of American History as well as the new Strayhorn Collection at the Library of Congress (both in Washington D.C.). Many of these tunes have not been heard in decades. Novel Jazz members have rearranged these pieces for the septet, dusted them off and given them a 21st century sound, all of their own.
Admission is $12 for adults and free for 18 and under as well as for UMF students. Tickets will be at the door. We encourage all to come early, bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the day. Desserts and non-alcoholic beverages will be served at intermission with contributions appreciated. For more information, call 207-778-6285 or consult the ArtsFarmington website: artsfarmington.org.
