The Buskers
Sackets Harbor Historical Society’s Concerts on the Waterfront will present alternative folk/pop/jazz artists THE BUSKERS, Sunday, July 25th, from 3-5 pm. THE BUSKERS are on a summer tour in NYS, and will also be performing in Rochester, Schroon Lake, Norwood, and Inlet, to mention a few. This is the Buskers only scheduled time in northern NYS this year so doesn’t miss this opportunity to catch this amazingly eclectic and seasoned group of musicians.
With more or less old school instruments, THE BUSKERS tap the street music tradition for which they are named, then go much farther, with serious musicianship, a sense of humor, and energy to burn. Their kitchen sink approach ignores traditional boundaries between jazz, folk, pop and rock and their sound is defined only by deep respect for the craft of songwriting and arranging, and a shared love for the inventive possibilities of improvisation. A 2007 review in Fourth Coast Entertainment magazine describes THE BUSKERS, “Spunky, energetic, fabulously talented…see this band if you get a chance. I’d even call them luminescent. As well as versatile, passionate, and funny.” New Hampshire’s Union Leader described the band like this: “The Buskers tap the street musician tradition for which they are named, and then go much farther in several musical directions…a folk aspect…traditional roots music and old tunes…and an affinity for jazz”. Their versatility is apparent in their performances, which include jazz standards to folk ballads – all with a “killer fiddle”.
The original group formed in 1993 after meeting at an open mic night in Bristol, NH. Since then they have produced three recordings, gone on to represent New Hampshire at the Eastern States Expo, as well as playing at historic venues like Canterbury Shaker Village and at town bandstands, music festivals, and opera houses in the northeast. In performance, they play a lively fusion of their original acoustic folk/pop, New Orleans-influenced R&B, jazz, and they always throw fiddle tunes somewhere in the mix as well.
Kathy Sommer (nee Zimpfer) fronts the band with a kinetic, genre-blurring approach to the violin (electric and acoustic violins, mandolin and vocals). She first became familiar to New Hampshire audiences as a member of the all-women swing band Sweet, Hot & Sassy. She has studied with latin jazz maestro Eddie Palmieri, the Turtle Island String Quartet, national fiddlers Matt Glaser, Mark O’Connor, Jay Ungar, and mandolinist Peter Ostroushko. A longtime resident of New Hampshire, she moved to northern New York State in 2004. In addition to touring with THE BUSKERS, she plays freelance with a number of area bluegrass and jazz musicians and continues to run a popular weekend-long acoustic music camp every September called Fiddleheads Acoustic Music Camp.
Washington, D.C. native Craig Jaster (piano, bass, accordion and vocals) taught jazz piano at Plymouth State College from 1999-2004, and has played with jazz artists that include Delfeayo Marsalis, Tiger Okoshi, and the late Big Joe Burrell. He is currently performing arts department head at the Sant Bani School in New Hampshire. Mr. Jaster’s playing can be heard on albums by Rik Pfenninger, Sweet, Hot & Sassy, and The Parlour Band, and in a CBS TV production of the play On Golden Pond.
Guitarist Paul Hubert joined the group in 2004, just in time to play on the band’s second album, “Ray’s Vacation,”, which David Colburn of the Vintage Fret Shop called “sexy…romantic…an eclectic tour de force of original material…with a nod to tradition in the voodoo/gumbo arrangement of Tommy’s Tarbukas by…fiddle wizard Alasdair Fraser.” Hubert brings extensive experiences both as a singer-songwriter and as a guitarist ready to play flamenco, fingerpicking, or pedal-to-the-metal blues at the drop of a hat. He has an ongoing relationship with New Hampshire’s Very Special Arts program, and plays trombone in The Baker Valley Band, a central New Hampshire wind band.
THE BUSKERS will be joined by one of their touring drummers, Kyle Tupper of Canton, NY. Kyle is a percussion major at Crane School of Music in Potsdam.
For serious BUSKERS fans, more information about this energetic band and their 2010 schedule can be viewed on their website and blog at www.thebuskers.com.
Come Join Us!
All concerts are held from three to five o’clock on Sunday afternoons at the Battlefield
State Park in the village. Bring a blanket or lawn chair, picnics welcomed. Rain site is the United Presbyterian Church.
Sponsoring the series this year is the Watertown Savings Bank. Additional funding is received from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, administered by the St. Lawrence County Arts Council; the Village of Sackets Harbor; and the Town of Hounsfield’s Committee for the Advancement of Tourism. Contributions from area businesses and organizations, and a weekly “Passing of the Hat” at the concerts also provide financial support. View the full concert schedule here.