November 2024: Friends of the Library Free Concert Series

This concert was originally scheduled for March 2024, and was postponed due to weather.

The Evans / Asbell / Stats Trio 
 A Day in the Life of Jazz:  Presenting  a Collection of Popular Music From The 30's thru the 60's. The trio includes Samirah Evans, jazz vocalist, accompanied by guitarist Paul Asbell and bassist Clyde Stats.

During her career as a performer and recording artist, Samirah Evans has become known for her dynamic and soulful approach to music, especially in the jazz and blues genres. Her musical style is heavily influenced by the New Orleans sound where she was one of the city’s most popular and in-demand singers for nearly 20 years. Her 1990 debut at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival began a run of 15 consecutive appearances, and she was a fixture in clubs and concert venues throughout the Crescent City. Hurricane Katrina caused Samirah to relocate to her husband’s hometown of Brattleboro, Vermont. She has since been performing in venues and festivals throughout the northeast with her band, Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils, and her classic New Orleans R&B choir, the NOLABratts.

The New Orleans Times Picayune named Evans’ debut CD, Give Me a Moment, the fifth best new release of 2002. She has recorded two other full-length CDs as a leader, My Little Bodhisattva (2007) and Hot Club: Live at the Vermont Jazz Center (2009), in addition to several downloadable singles. She has also appeared as a featured or supporting vocalist on other artist’s recordings in New Orleans and New England. 

From his early years playing blues on Chicago’s South Side, to his present multi-faceted career based out of northern Vermont, Paul Asbell’s professional career spans 50 years. In Chicago, Paul Asbell played and recorded with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Bobby McFerrin, and many more. Paul moved to Vermont in the heady “back-to-the-land” days of 1971, where he still lives. In 1978, seeking an outlet for more personal musical visions, he formed Kilimanjaro, and recorded 2 award-winning albums for Philo Records. In 1981, Paul and other members of Kilimanjaro joined forces with a legendary saxophonist and blues singer to form Big Joe Burrell and the Unknown Blues Band. Paul received Seven Days' Daisies for his music.

Clyde Stats cut his musical teeth performing with a variety of blues artists such as Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Otis Rush in Chicago in the 1960’s.  Since settling in Vermont, he has played every style of popular music from bluegrass to jazz with groups such as Banjo Dan and the Midnite Plowboys, the Sneakers Jazz Band, and the Unknown Blues Band.  He has studied with internationally known jazz bassists George Mraz and Santi Debriano, and has accompanied jazz legends Mose Allison, Bobby Watson, and James Carter in their Vermont appearances.  Currently, he performs regularly with Paul Asbell and the Will Patton Ensemble, and can be heard on CDs by these artists. Clyde has been teaching courses in the history of popular music at UVM since 1995, including History of Rock and Roll, Blues and Related Traditions, Introduction to Jazz History, and Music and Culture of New Orleans.

Listen to Samirah sing by clicking this link!

Concerts will be held in the Auditorium. 
Doors open at 11:45am.
No tickets or registration needed. This concert is free and open to all.