A Reflection Of Big Joe Burrell

The late singer and saxophone player Big Joe Burrell will be honored next month during Burlington's Discover Jazz Festival.  Friday, June 4^th a life-sized bronze statue will be unveiled on Church Street in the Queen City and Saturday, June 5^th has been proclaimed Big Joe Burrell Day.

Burrell was a familiar figure on the Vermont music scene for nearly 30 years, until his death at 81 in 2005.  But his arrival in Vermont came at the end of a long career that began in the 1940s, as a club performer in Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Canada.  Shortly after arriving in Burlington in the mid-1970s, Big Joe joined forces with the jazz group Kilimanjaro and formed the Unknown Blues Band.  Guitarist Paul Asbell and pianist Chuck Eller were two members of the Unknown Blues Band.  They reflect on those years with VPR's Jane Lindholm.