Jazz and blues vocalists Patty Carpenter, Melissa Shetler and the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band will perform live on the Homegrown Cable Show at 6PM on Monday, January 27th. The mother-daughter vocal team will be backed by a dynamic quartet, featuring Scott Shetler on saxophone and clarinet; Draa Hobbs on guitar; Dave Shapiro on bass; and Claire Arenius on drums. The program will feature an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, Latin and R&B songs.and many selections from their recently released CD, Under My Hat,.
The Homegrown Show airs live in six Franklin County communities and is on taped delay in six other western Massachusetts and southern Vermont towns. The performance is free and takes place at the Greenfield Community Television Studios, at 393 Main Street in Greenfield. Since it is a live show the audience is requested to arrive by 5:45.
The following night, Tuesday, January 28th, Patty and Melissa will be appearing with the Chris Bakridge Trio beginning at 8:30PM at the Mo' Jazz Cafe, South Main Street in Wilmington, Vermont.
"Patty Carpenter is a versatile singer who can perform jazz, blues, rock, gospel, ballads, Latin and Brazilian beats with a classic lyrical sophistication and a funky, sultry swing" says jazz writer and historian Marty Jezer. "She has," Jezer continues, "a strong, clear and wonderfully buoyant trumpet-like voice and an affinity for long, swinging straight-ahead lines. She has an ear for the emotional content of the lyrics and sings to tell a story and find meaning in the words. Whether you swooned to Sinatra or jitterbugged to Goodman, Miller, the Dorseys, and Count Basie, whether you are a twenty or thirty something, a teenage slacker, a generation 'X-er", or a baby boomer you are sure to be touched by the marvelous, lyrical singing of Patty Carpenter."
David Dupont, in Cadence Magazine, writes: "Patty Carpenter displays the casual professionalism that one would expect from someone who's worked the woods as a singer. She has an approach that clearly lets her shift from style to style without violating the essence of what she does. She knows and loves these songs. She's comfortable with them, and treats them all as good friends, taking them as they are and enlivening them gently."
The new CD, Under My Hat, was recorded at a studio in the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania. The two day session grew out of a long standing desire by Carpenter and Shetler to record some of the songs that they had been performing together for years. Melissa's father, Scott Shetler, a talented session player and mainstay of the Boston music scene, quickly signed up to record on this family jazz album.
Carpenter said, "I loved making this album. It was magic in a Pennsylvania farm house. These tracks offer a wide variety of songs "we love to sing," backed by a killer band and set in a bluesy jazz style unique to our own 'dysfunctional jazz family'."Tracks on the CD include unique and eclectic versions of "Careless Love", "Satellites", "Watch What Happens", "Rico Vacilón", "Glory of Love", "Ponta De Areia", "Moanin'", "They Can't Take That Away from Me", "Under My Hat", "All the Things You Are", "Another Star", and "Angel From Montgomery".
In addition to Under My Hat, Carpenter has released the albums This Time It's Love, Memories of Love's Refrain and No Regrets. A resident of Greenfield, Massachusetts, she performs regularly at clubs, colleges, restaurants and resorts throughout New York and New England.
Melissa Shetler grew up immersed in music. As the child of two working musicians, she was exposed to a wide variety of musical styles, especially jazz and blues. At 12, she began publicly singing with her mom and dad and their various bands. Now a singer in her own right, her voice has matured into a sultry, smoky, bluesy style that is equally at home singing swing tunes or salsa. She delivers blues numbers in a husky growl, rich with double meanings and sly inferences. Since moving to New York in 1995, Melissa has played at Arturo's, Windows of the World, Swing 46, The Supper Club, The Waterfront, 11th Street Bar, the Detour, and the Jazz Standard. She's sung at weddings, parties, and done studio work. Famous with her fellow musicians for her rock solid sense of rhythm and innovative phrasing, Melissa has developed a strong repertoire in jazz, blues, Latin, and R&B and has become a favorite of the lower Manhattan crowd.
Scott Shetler is one of Boston's busiest jazz saxophonists. He's played with Gene Pitney, Johnny Adams, Harry van Walls, and Walter "Wolfman" Washington. These days he also does a bunch of writing and arranging. He's a lean, mean saxophone player and a staple of Michelle Willson's Evil Gal Festival Orchestra, the Hot Tamale Brass Band, and the C'mon Man Trio.
Guitarist Draa Hobbs studied with jazz greats Attila Zoller and Jimmy Raney. He went on to perform with Attila in a variety of settings, ranging from a unique quartet appearance with noted classical composer David Amram, to a duo performance broadcast live on radio. Draa has performed in clubs and concerts with many of the great artists in jazz; among them Jimmy Cobb, George Mraz, Lee Konitz, Armen Donellian, Don Friedman, and Valery Ponomarov.
Before settling in Vermont in 1987, Dave Shapiro was a busy New York freelancer, playing bass regularly with such jazz legends as Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Howard McGee, and singers Anita O'Day, Chris Connor, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral. He proved his versatility as a member of the house band at Eddie Condon's (where Dixieland reigned) and the aptly-named Metropolitan Bopera House.
Drummer Claire Arenius has played with Melba Liston, Attila Zoller, Archie Shepp, Ray Copland, Evelyn Blakey, Celebration, and more. She has her own trio which has performed at the Iron Horse and Burlington's Discover Jazz Festival. The recipient of a National Endowment grant, she studied with jazz great, drummer Charli Persip. An accomplished drummer, she has developed a strong individual sound that blends Be-Bop, Blues and shuffles with sensitivity, power, and creativity.

Under My Hat and other CDs by Patty Carpenter can be purchased at our web site