Brian Torff & Phantom Pluckers Play Westport

"This band mixes a power trio with spoken word, resulting in a free-wheeling, improvised and electric sound," said Torff, Fairfield's director of jazz and popular music, who has performed with jazz legends Erroll Garner, Cleo Laine, George Shearing and Mel Tormé. "This goes back to my blues-rock roots when I first started in music." In addition to some brand new originals debuting at this appearance, the trio will cover Stanley Turrentine's "Sugar" and Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son" and play some favorites by Torff, who was named the Town of Fairfield's Artist of the Year in 2008. Torff, who toured internationally with jazz violin virtuoso Stephane Grappelli, is the musical director for the Django Reinhardt New York Festival, which has appeared at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and New York City's famed Birdland. A sought-after sideman, soloist and leader, he has performed at Carnegie Hall for Fiddle Fest, where he appeared with Mark O'Connor, Dave Grusin, Regina Carter, Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, among others. He has also written scores performed by the Boston Pops, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony.