Scene & Heard

+ Banjo Bravo
The Cynthia Sayer Hot Jazz Trio took up residence this weekend, at The Glenridge Performing Arts Center. Sitting in with the renowned jazz banjo player were regional music pros Allan Vache (clarinet) and Mark Neuenschwander (bass). The trio was effervescent and completely in sync musically and emotionally; they shared good-humored barbs, and organic improvisations passed with the musical acrobatics of a Harlem Globetrotters show. Sayer, above, Vache and Neuenschwander were definitely hot, and the sonic combination of Sayer’s brisk and bright banjo, Vache’s soothing and dulcet clarinet tones and Neuenschwander’s strong bass foundation created a whirlwind of pure jazz joy. The stage at the Glenridge transformed from a typical stage to a jazz club issuing the warm history of jazz musicians and songwriters of America’s past.

+ Stage Series: Master of the House
This week in the Observer’s ongoing video series examining different branches of the Asolo Repertory Theatre’s rotating repertory theater, we examine the role that interacts most immediately with patrons of the Asolo: the front of house. Led by the watchful eye of house services manager and volunteer coordinator Jay Poindexter, below, the box office staff and small army of hundreds of volunteer ushers escort thousands of theatergoers every season into Asolo Rep’s offerings.