BRATTLEBORO-On Saturday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m., the Vermont Jazz Center (VJC) presents The Convergence Project at the VJC's second-floor home at 72 Cotton Mill Hill.
This year's iteration of the group, first created in 2009, features VJC Director Eugene Uman (piano and all compositions), Anabel Gil Díaz (flute), Michael Zsoldos (saxophone), Mimi Jones (bass), Samuel Torres (percussion), and Brian Shankar Adler (drums). French horn legend John Clark will also appear on a handful of compositions.
"Together," says a VJC release, "these artists will offer globally inspired melodies, including Colombian folk melodies, hard bop horn lines, gospel harmonies, and funk grooves."
With the Convergence Project, says Uman, "we're celebrating that we have a jazz center that promotes significant music that changes peoples' lives. We celebrate that we are part of jazz's 100-year legacy. We celebrate that the Jazz Center brings people together to enjoy each other's company, to listen to and create music together."
And through it all, for Uman and his wife, Elsa Borrero, who works as VJC's co-director, it's clear that at the core the Jazz Center's well-being is community - and that may be more important now than ever.
The Commons recently spoke with Uman, who leads the Project.
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Annie Landenberger: I've always wanted to dig deeper into the Convergence Project. Tell me -
Eugene Uman: I've been doing an annual concert at the end of [each spring] semester, because that's when my Jazz Center tasks start to slow down, [and] I'm able to focus a little bit on creating my music.
It feels like having an annual concert is having my own annual recital, where I get to play with musicians I like and change things up and feature the compositions that I've written during the year. It's another way to investigate music that interests me.
A.L.: Tell me about the name.
E.U.: [It's] The Convergence Project because it's an amalgamation of the music that I [have listened] to and enjoy and [have performed] with different musicians throughout my life.
I love, for example, gospel music. I grew up with rock music. I've played folk music. I've played blues. And when I met Elsa, I also got turned on to Latin music, especially Colombian.
So I get informed by the rhythms that I've heard when we lived down there or that I continue to investigate here. It has become a learning opportunity for me.
The Convergence Project is just a way to continue my musical muse, to develop my skills, and to present to the public - who I really feel is so supportive - the encapsulation of a year's work.
A.L.: When you start working with the others, do they have any influence on what's actually performed, or do you pretty much go in with set compositions?
E.U.: Well, the compositions are all prepared in advance. So I send out material [lead sheets and recordings of the pieces] for everybody to work on at home; then we're going to come together the day before the performance and rehearse what they've been working on.
And usually because people are such high-level musicians, it becomes just like, 'Oh, O.K., cool. Here's the form. Here's the way it works. Here's the rhythm.' But everybody brings their own flavor to it. Each person has a unique voice.
And that's one of the things that I love about the Convergence Project: You never know what to expect.
I'm going to be working with seven people, and each one is bringing something to the table that is unique and beautiful. And it's something that they're passionate about or that they've studied their whole lives. So to me, it's really exciting to see what other people are going to bring to the project.
A.L.: When you talk about convergence, when you think about where you come from as a composer and as a musician, how much does your other life - your earlier years, before you dedicated yourself to music - come in? Your work in nature, your education? Is there convergence there?
E.U.: Well, I feel that as artists - you know, composers, visual artists, whatever we do in the arts, you as a writer - we all bring our life experience to the forefront, and that's who we are as people.
And so, of course, my having lived and worked as a forester for 10 years really adds to my appreciation of life and of the natural world. And I feel like that infuses my music. For example, some of my tunes have names that reflect gardening, like "La Cosecha," which means "the harvest."
So, yes, that love of nature and hiking and being outdoors is something that seeps into my music, and it also enables me to go to a place of peace that I've experienced because of that.
A.L.: What about that rock band?
E.U.: When I was living in central Vermont in my 20s and early 30s, I was also playing in a rock band called Dr. Burma. And boy, that was so much fun, seeing people dance and getting into that deep groove that feels that we're connecting with people on a more visceral level. So that is something that I also like to emulate in my own music.
And I tend to go for pieces that have grooves rather than ones that are completely cerebral. I try to write music that goes to a place that makes you feel like dancing a little bit.
A.L.: So, after a season of giving everybody some beautifully curated concerts, you have a chance to take the limelight, and so well-deserved. And then, of course, you launch into the summer thing, right?
E.U.: Right. VJC's Summer Jazz Workshop, which is coming up in August. Elsa is on as the head administrator. Things are starting to fill up. We're still looking for a few instruments, especially horn players and vocalists, but most of the other instrument slots are full.
So for me, that's yet another example of building community. Much like the concert series, it feels like people keep coming because they have these positive experiences. Some of the people are the same people that have been coming for years and years, but others - especially the young ones - come and they add their expertise or their playfulness or their sound.
It's great to bring together this evolution of people and this community that has been gathering ever since Elsa and I started doing this [in 1996].
A.L.: Excellent. And I wouldn't underestimate the value of trust. During the season, people trust what you're going to bring them. And during the summer workshop, people trust that it's going to be worth it all.
E.U.: That's what we've built up to. And I feel very grateful that people trust [us] to be in that position where we can provide that. It feels a little overwhelming sometimes because we have to meet their expectations.
And it's not just the participants, but the faculty, who come because they enjoy being there. And so it becomes this sense of everybody's helping each other.
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For more information on the VJC, The Convergence Project, and its musicians - and for tickets - visit vtjazz.org.
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Editor's note: Columns that include interviews in this format are edited for clarity, readability, and space. Words not spoken by interview subjects appear in brackets, as do brief editorial clarifications.
Annie Landenberger is an arts writer and columnist for The Commons. She also is one half of the musical duo Bard Owl, with partner T. Breeze Verdant.
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.