Will Patton Trio     Will Patton, David Gusakov and Dono Schabner have been playing their spirited stew of world music around the Northeast for over three years.  Drawing from Gypsy jazz and Brasilian choro styles, they create an improvisatory dialogue rich in melodic and harmonic invention.  Mandolin Magazine has described the music as "elegant, memorable lines . . . powerful and sophisticated, perfectly capturing the essence of the style."

Will Patton has played his music all over the world, from Key West to Fairbanks, Alaska and from Paris to Rio .  His collaborations with the manouche guitarist Ninine Garcia from Paris, documented in the cds "Peripherique" and "String Theory" have been enthusiastically reviewed both in the U.S. and abroad. He teaches jazz mandolin at Jay Ungar and Molly Mason's Ashokan Camp and the Django in June Festival at Smith College . He has performed with Mose Allison and his bands have opened for such acts as Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison.

Violinist David Gusakov's lifetime career has ranged from classical, as a member of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra since 1973, to hard driving Bluegrass performing with such luminaries as Vassar Clemens, Emmylou Harris, Peter Rowan and John Denver. Born in the heartland of America , Gusakov has travelled the world with his fiddle as his passport.

Dono Schabner was born in Germany and grew up in Pennsylvania and New York . He started playing professionally at age 12 with Italian wedding bands. At 17 he hit the road, playing R & B all over the U.S. and the Caribbean . After many years of travel, he settled near Stowe, Vt. with his photographer wife, Lauren. For the last 3 years he and Will have been making music in many contexts, and also work as a duo. He has been studying the demanding 7 string guitar of late, using all 10 fingers.

“Al Berard Cajun Combo”, a string-style Cajun music trio, featuring Grammy Nominee and CFMA Fiddler of the Year, Al Berard, from Louisiana. Putney, Vermont residents Lisa Brande and Mark Trichka round out the ensemble. The trio will perform the heart and soul of Cajun music’s two-steps and waltzes, played string-style featuring twin fiddles, twin mandolins, and authentic French vocals. The stringed family combinations, lets listeners taste the flavor and fully hear the beauty of these timeless songs that come from a people of living history in Southwest Louisiana.  Al Berard, a Cajun native, has been playing traditional French Cajun music all his life and enjoys sharing both the music, and anecdotal stories of his home and his culture with his audiences, as he has done all over the world for 30 years. Mark Trichka (mandolins, guitar)  and Lisa Brande (fiddle, octave mandolin, guitar, vocals), full time touring musicians for over 20 years, and disciples of Cajun music, add texture and depth to Al’s musical expressions. More information about the group can be found on their cajuncombo.com website.

Generating a warm, lively pub-music sound, Jim Flynn plays everything from Country to Celtic, Bluegrass to Tropical, and a little Rock and Roll in between. Born in Liverpool, England, and having lived throughout the United States, he’s as natural performing in an Irish pub as he is in a Florida beach bar or a Western cantina.

Originally inspired by the Beatles and the British Invasion, Jim was equally awestruck by the raw and haunting sounds of such American legends as Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and John Prine, who symbolize the free-spirited, country influenced side of American music.

Performing throughout Southern Vermont, Jim Flynn brings a captivating mix of roots influenced music to countless venues throughout the area, including ski resorts, taverns and quaint country inns. Jim can be seen as a solo artist, or with accompaniment of guitar, fiddle, bass and mandolin.

In the fall of 1976 Andy Davis walked into a small dance hall in Unity, New Hampshire. A contra dance was in progress and, having recently moved to New England from Virginia, Andy was looking for a way to “fit in.” Finding the musicians friendly, he volunteered to play piano to back up the fiddle and concertina. This joyful evening of traditional dance music —plus an entirely unexpected twelve dollars! — led to a steady schedule of dances for the next twenty-five years.

Andy now plays accordion and calls dances as well as playing banjo and piano. He teaches in the public schools of Dover and Brattleboro, Vermont, and as a visiting artist-in-residence. He specializes in teaching traditional dance and music. His work with young people led to his participation on two trips to Novosibirsk, Russia in 1988 and 1989. Andy has appeared as a dance musician, teacher and song leader at many well-known traditional music and dance camps throughout the United States.

Andy’s calling of square and contra dances is often for the benefit of small community dances where dancers of all ages and levels of experience are encouraged to join in. His commitment to promoting traditional dance in schools and communities led him to start, along with Peter and Mary Alice Amidon and Mary Cay Brass, New England Dancing Masters, publishers of books, recordings and a video for teachers and recreation leaders.

Each December since 1987 Andy performs throughout new England with Nowell Sing We Clear, a concert of mid-winter carols, with Tony Barrand, John Roberts and Fred Breunig. The group specializes in traditional songs, shape-note hymns and instrumental dance music and customs from Christian and pagan traditions.

Andy makes his home in Brattleboro, Vermont. In addition to maintaining a schedule of concerts, residencies and community dances, Andy teaches young people how to get involved in playing traditional contra dance music. “It gives me a warm feeling when I see how accessible this music is to young musicians. I’m trying in my own way to see these musical traditions continue to flourish.”

For more information contact: Andy Davis 41 West Street Brattleboro, VT 05301        802-257-1819 andy@dancingmasters.com