In his 55-year professional career, Paul Asbell has played gigs and recorded with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Paul Butterfield, Magic Sam, Earl Hooker, David Bromberg, Sonny Stitt, Jon Hendricks, Bobby McFerrin, and many others.  

His jazz-fusion group Kilimanjaro has released several award-winning recordings, and performed at jazz festivals worldwide, including Montreux, Montreal, Atlanta, and Roskilde, in Copenhagen. Their latest, Homecoming, was picked by Jazziz magazine for their Best of 2009 CD, along with tracks by Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Branford Marsalis, and other heavyweights. He was a founding member of The Unknown Blues Band, featuring Big Joe Burrell, which played in the Northeast for 25 years.

Paul’s 2019 recording, Burmese Panther, features his original compositions in diverse mainstream jazz flavors, from classic Blue Note-era to fiery latin-jazz to New Orleans funk to  fingerpoppin' blues. One reviewer called them “flat-out gorgeous songs with the potential to become standards themselves,” and noted they were “performed by genuinely world-class players.”

Paul has taught guitar for over 50 years, including positions at Dartmouth, Skidmore, and other colleges. He presently teaches at Middlebury College and the University of Vermont. 

2024 City Hall Park programming is underwritten by the Pomerleau Family Foundation and the WaterWheel Foundation. Media sponsor, Seven Days. Twilight Series is presented by VSECU.