Lydia's Cafe

Nancy Donnelly
2025-03-21 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Nancy Donnelly – vocals
Johnny D ‘Agostino – guitar
Vincent Leggire – bass
Phil Nestor – drums

Jones Factor Lite
2025-04-05 19:00 - 22:00
A Power House of Jazz, Soul & Serious Funk!
The Lite, Sextet Version, of The Popular 10 Piece the Jones Factor! Performing The Hottest Jazz With A Serious R&B, Soul And Funk Edge. Same Full Flavor With Only 1/2 The Calories!
Featuring:
John Fumasoli, Trombone, Composer, Arranger, Bandleader (Tony Bennett, Gerry Mulligan, Diana Ross, John Tropea)
Bill Harris – Saxophones, Flute (Paul Shaffer, The Temptations, Patti Labelle, Sam Moore),
John Martin-Trumpet, Flugelhorn (Darlene Love, Gino Vinelli, Aretha Franklin, The Nelson Riddle Orchestra)
Bill Pernice-Piano(Adam Nussbaum, Cameron Brown, Sheila Jordon)
Rich Zurkowski-Bass(Greg Wall, David Morgan, Martin Sexton, Joe Louis Walker)
Karl Latham-Drums(Dave Samuels, Slide Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie Latin Jazz Experience, Ed Cherry)

Watch the video “When He Calls” https://youtu.be/ZzHHVO_jDHw
Record Reviews:
The Time Is Now…a palette of colorful arrangements, tasteful solos and engineered beautifully. Scott Wenzel Mosaic Records 4/14/22
“Even though the Jones Gang describe themselves as “the little big band”. For a “little” band, they make a big sound!” Soul and Jazz and Funk, 7/15/22 Bill Buckley UK
arrangements and orchestrations of quality that can remind us of the great ensembles (without the strings) of Oliver Nelson, Lalo Schifrin or Issac Eyes. The album, easy listening, is rich with blues, funk and jazz influences.” Thomas Houbron, for Couleurs Jazz Radio 8/22

Pete Levin Trio
2025-04-12 19:00 - 22:00
Pete Levin – organ
Mike DeMicco – guitar
Jeff Siegel – drums

In a diverse music career spanning several decades, keyboardist/arranger Pete Levin has performed and recorded with hundreds of Jazz and Pop artists – including Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Lenny White, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Robbie Robertson and John Scofield – receiving critical accolades for his work during a 15 year association with the legendary Gil Evans, and his 8 year stint with jazz icon Jimmy Giuffre.
Since the 70s, Pete has been part of New York’s jazz, pop, and electronic music scene. In 1974 he got a call to play French horn with legendary jazz arranger Gil Evans, and Gil made him a regular. As an experiment, Pete brought a Moog synthesizer to an Evans gig. Gil loved it and Pete’s role was permanently changed, beginning the transformation of the band into the electronic/acoustic hybrid sound that won 2 Grammy awards. Among the first to explore synthesizers during the 70s, Pete became a sought-after sideman for studio and live gigs. As an arranger and musician he worked on dozens of film scores, hundreds of jazz and pop records, and countless TV and radio commercials. Over the years, interspersed with Gil Evans, Paul Simon, Annie Lennox and Jimmy Giuffre tours, Pete has done arranging and electronic music for feature films including MISSING IN ACTION, THE COLOR OF MONEY and STAR TREK. He composed the orchestral score for the independent film ZELIMO, composed an original music score for a stage production of THE DYBBUK, did the official band/chorus arrangement of the U.S. Infantry song and composed the anthem for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit, performing it in the U.N. General Assembly. But his favorite collaboration was “THE CLAMS” with his brother, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Steve Gadd, a Spike Jones tribute band that produced the top-40 hit single “CLOSE TO YOU” that’s now a cult classic.
Between 1964 and 2017, Pete has recorded and/or performed live with artists and ensembles including …
Michael Allman, Aztec Two Step, Joe Beck, Jeff Berlin, Marc Black, Terrance Blanchard, Carla Bley, Blood Sweat & Tears, Broadside Brass Bed Band, Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Hiram Bullock, Butterfield Blues Band, Donald Byrd, Don Byron, Jay Chattaway, Tommy Chong, The Clams, John Clark, Jimmy Cobb, Judy Collins, Commander Cody, Gene Cornish, Albert Cummings, David Darling, Kal David, Bettye Davis, Miles Davis, Robbie Dupree, Don Elliott, Gil Evans, Fania All-Stars, Rachelle Farelle, Bryan Ferry, Letizia Gambi, Jimmy Giuffre, Leila Gobi, Government Mule, Gregory Hines, Freddie Hubbard, Kathy Ingraham, Howard Johnson, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Band, Mamadou Kelly, Annie Lennox, Tony Levin, Levin Brothers, Rod MacDonald, Al MacDowell, Mike Mainieri, Melissa Manchester, Chuck Mangione, Liza Minnelli, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Ola Onabule, Rob Paparozzi, Jaco Pastorius, Simon Phillips, Lorenza Ponce, Genya Ravan, Nicki Richards, Robbie Robertson, Teri Roiger, Ali Ryerson, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Wayne Shorter, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, Lew Soloff, Vaneese Thomas, John Tropea, Joe Lynn Turner, Michal Urbaniak, Jimmy Vivino, Joe Louis Walker, Jim Weider, Peter Welker, Lenny White & Vanessa Williams.
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Mike DeMicco’s expansive embrace of music has led him to work with prominent artists in many genres. He’s toured the world extensively since 1980, performing and recording with a diverse cross-section of jazz, blues and popular artists, including Dave Brubeck, The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Jack DeJohnette, Nick Brignola, Warren Bernhardt, Lee Shaw, Rory Block, James & Livingston Taylor, Professor “Louie” and The Crowmatix, and many others. Mike’s selected performance highlights include appearances on PBS and NPR; at the major European and North American jazz festivals; and at prestigious clubs and venues such as The Kennedy Center, Ronnie Scott’s, LA’s Jazz Bakery, The Blue Note, Birdland, The Five Spot, The Bottom Line, Wolf Trap, Great American Music Hall, and BB King’s.
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JEFF “SIEGE” SIEGEL
Drummer/Composer Jeff “Siege” Siegel is a veteran of the New York Jazz scene and has worked with a virtual “who’s who” of artists. A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio from 1994-’99, Siegel’s diverse career has also led him to perform and/or record with legends such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, John Medeski, Arthur Rhames, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Lee Shaw, Levin Brothers, John Medeski, Dena DeRose, Lee Shaw and many others. He has worked in the avant garde world as well with Wadada Leo Smith, Baikida Carroll. He’s performed over 30 European tours including four as leader of the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet and several others as co-leader. The Jeff “Siege” Siegel Sextet performed a 3 week tour of Africa in the summer of 2019. Other recent tours include The Levin Brothers Japan, Mexico, Canada and the US west coast and Midwest as well as South & Central America. His 2017 CD release “King of Xhosa” features South African trumpeter Feya Faku and is on the ARC label. His most recent release with his quartet is the 2018 release on ARC entitled “London Live” and “When You Were There” (2019) with Hetko, Syracuse & Siegel.
Siegel teaches Jazz drumming and jazz ensembles at The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music, SUNY New Paltz as well as at Western Connecticut State University. He’s performed clinics throughout Europe, United States, China, South America and South Africa.

Jimmy Madison & Friends
2025-04-19 19:00 - 22:00
Jimmy Madison – drums
Tim Regusis – keys
Tarik Shah – bass
Awan Rashad – saxophone
Drummer Jimmy Madison has performed with the greats of Jazz and Funk for over six decades, from Lionel Hampton, Roland Kirk, Chet Baker and Quincy Jones to James Brown, Maceo Parker and George Benson, among many others. But this trio format allows he and his compatriots to do what they do best, improvising on themes both familiar and new. It’s pure Jazz at its best.
Tim Regusis is a Hudson Valley-based pianist who has been active in the jazz scene of the NYC region, as well as in the fields of R&B, Latin and various world musics for many years.
He has played and/or recorded with Patti Austin, Ruben Blades, David Byrne, Celia Cruz, Chuck Mangione, Johnny Pacheco, Daniel Ponce, Rick Margitza, Cindy Blackman, Jeff Williams, Akira Ohmori, Najee, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Jonathan Butler, Ofra Haza and others.
Tarik Shah is an African American Muslim with a career as a professional jazz musician. As the sole student of Slam Stewart, Shah began playing the upright bass at age 12 and went on to play with Betty Carter, Ahmad Jamal, Abbey Lincoln and Art Taylor among others. He is a composer, a jazz educator, and lyricist.
Awan Rashad – In his early years he was a member of the ESYO Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble, as well as the NYSSMA All-State Jazz Band. More recently he has performed at many well-known jazz clubs in NYC such as Birdland, Dizzy’s, Smalls, Ornithology, Jazz Forum, and other smaller venues.

David Lopato & Global Coolant
2025-04-26 19:00 - 22:00
David Lopato – piano, compositions
Ed Neumeister – trombone
Peyton Pleninger – saxophone
Ratzo Harris – bass
Jeff Siegel – drums

Special Guest: Daniel Villegas – political rapper

A concert of original compositions spanning the wide range of jazz improvisation.

Hudson Valley-based pianist/composer David Lopato has performed as a leader and sideman throughout the world. As a composer he has received multiple grants from the N.E.A., New York Foundation for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and the Beards Fund, as well as a Fulbright Fellowship to study Javanese Gamelan in Surakarta, Indonesia, where he lived for a year. Lopato has toured his own music in configurations ranging from solo piano to 10-piece ensembles, having performed with Dave Liebman, Dewey Redman, Joe Lovano, Mark Helias, Ray Anderson, Wadada Leo Smith, Jane Ira Bloom, Steve Gorn and numerous others. His most recent recording, Gendhing for a Spirit Rising (Global Coolant-02), a Gamelan-influenced work for large ensemble, was hailed by Downbeat Magazine as one of the “Best Albums of 2017”…“unlike anything you are likely to hear this year (or any year).

Ed Neumeister is a musician’s musician, as his elders and peers are glad to tell you. Influential trombonist arranger and educator Bob Brookmeyer hailed him early on as “a gifted improviser,” while composer arranger Manny Albam, co-founder of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, extolled Neumeister as “the perfect mixture as a musician. He knows Ellington as well as Bartok.” Saxophone star Joe Lovano has valued Neumeister as a colleague for some four decades, praising him as a conductor of “infectious flair” as well as “a soloist of deep expressive passion.” Another renowned saxophonist, Dave Leibman, simply dubbed him “one of the best trombonists in the business.” And veteran pianist Jim McNeely has said about Neumeister: “Whenever I play a gig with Ed, I know the music will be interesting. By the end of the evening, I will have asked myself a couple dozen times: ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ ” Then there are the critics, with DownBeat calling Neumeister “a highly distinctive solo voice” and JazzTimes admiring his “compelling” compositions.

Peyton Pleniger is a saxophonist, improviser, bandleader, astrologer and guerilla contractor, forging a personal path that challenges the boundaries of what it means to be a musician. Pleninger’s experience involves a variety of disciplines centered around music, which also includes astrology, painting and sculpture, botany, construction, massage and medical inquiry.
In early 2022, Pleninger pruchased The Tavern, a defunct roadhouse in upstate New York, which he is rebuilding into an arts research center. The Tavern presents a variety of concerts, music theory/improvisation workshops, plus astrology forecasts, sound baths, and artist residents.
Pleninger also works as a dedicated side-person with multiple music projects. He performed with Henry Threadgill as part of the multimedia work “One” and “The Other One.” He plays in John Benitez’ Latin-Bop, a modern latin-jazz group, performing weekly at Terraza 7 in Queens and monthly at Fat Cat in Manhattan. He plays with Roy Ben Yosef’s Moringa trio, an Israel-based group focused on improvisation, which released its debut record Moringa and the Watershed in February 2021. Pleninger plays in drummer/composer Colin Hinton’s Glassbath, an electric band straddling post rock and free jazz, which released its self-titled inaugural album February 2018. Pleninger performs with drummer/composer Michel Maurer’s Meridian, a forward-thinking jazz-rooted quartet, which released its debut record The Shape of Noon in 2019. In summer 2017, Pleninger toured Canada for 5 weeks with guitarist Quinn Bachand’s Brishen, an acoustic band honoring the tradition of gypsy jazz and the roots of rock n roll. Highlight performances include the Toronto Jazz Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, and CBC Canada.

Bassist Ratzo B. Harris has recorded with Mose Allison, Denny Zeitlin, Kenny Werner, Tom Rainey, Joe Lovano, Mark Feldman, Eric Friedlander, Connie Crothers, Gary Bartz, Randy Brecker, Vincent Herring, David Darling, Paul McCandless, Jane Ira Bloom, John Scofield, and Paul Motian, and performed frequently with Joe Henderson, Cal Tjader, John Handy, Charles Lloyd, Jon Hendricks, Ted Curson, Tim Berne, Betty Carter, Helen Merrill, Les Paul, Joanne Brackeen, and Jim Pepper.He has also been active as an educator, and has taught at Purdue University, Indiana University, University of Massachusetts, Berklee College, New England Conservatory, Rotterdam Conservatory, University of Ludwigsburg, the Music High Schools of Wurztburg and Cologne, the New School for Social Research, the Manhattan School of Music and New York University.
He has appeared here on three occasions with the Roberta Piket Trio with Billy Mintz, and twice with his own trios.

Drummer/Composer Jeff “Siege” Siegel is a veteran of the New York Jazz scene and has worked with a virtual “who’s who” of artists. A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio from 1994-’99, Siegel’s diverse career has also led him to perform and/or record with legends such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, John Medeski, Arthur Rhames, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Lee Shaw, Levin Brothers, John Medeski, Dena DeRose, Lee Shaw and many others. He has worked in the avant garde world as well with Wadada Leo Smith, Baikida Carroll. He’s performed over 30 European tours including four as leader of the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet and several others as co-leader. The Jeff “Siege” Siegel Sextet performed a 3 week tour of Africa in the summer of 2019. Other recent tours include The Levin Brothers Japan, Mexico, Canada and the US west coast and Midwest as well as South & Central America. His 2017 CD release “King of Xhosa” features South African trumpeter Feya Faku and is on the ARC label. His most recent release with his quartet is the 2018 release on ARC entitled “London Live” and “When You Were There” (2019) with Hetko, Syracuse & Siegel.
Siegel teaches Jazz drumming and jazz ensembles at The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music, SUNY New Paltz as well as at Western Connecticut State University. He’s performed clinics throughout Europe, United States, China, South America and South Africa.

Rhythm Rising
2025-05-03 19:00 - 22:00
Rhythm Rising Quartet is a talented ensemble of Hudson Valley musicians, led by Grammy-nominated percussionist Tomas Martin Lopez. Their music blends Afro-Caribbean Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova, and Samba, with the vibraphone adding a smooth yet fiery drive.
The quartet includes Victor Catanzaro on Vibraphone, Doug Correllus on Piano, Ron Figueroa on Bass, and Tomas Martin Lopez on Percussion.
The Rhythm Rising Quartet masterfully honors traditional Latin Jazz artists such as Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, and Mongo Santamaria. In addition to paying homage to these legends, they also infuse their setlists with a blend of original compositions and beloved standards. Whether you’re a jazz enthusiast or simply appreciate soulful rhythms, the Rhythm Rising Quartet promises an engaging musical experience.
https://youtu.be/4ahplKTRrTk?si=9NgYy5aP3bNuaQcN

Lisa Markley Four-Tête + One
2025-05-10 19:00 - 22:00
After studying composition and vocal jazz at North Texas State, Lisa devoted the last 40 years in pursuit of song: original songs, folk songs, art songs, friends’ songs, and American Songbook.

Her co-conspirators in this show will be:
Pete Levin-keys
Jeff Siegel-drums
Rich Syracuse-bass
and special guest:
Paul Duffy-keys & vocals
(More surprise guests may happen as Miz Markley schemes and dreams…)
QUOTES
“…a remarkable ability to interpret new songs, an adroit rarity. I’m awe struck and teary eyed.” —Dick Crockett, 88.7FM “The Voice”, Sacramento
“Lisa Markley has more depth, control, and beauty to her voice in a live concert setting than most vocalists get in the studio.
Driving that voice is a soul of wit and intelligence and a heart of gold.” —Paul Slavens, KERA/KXT Dallas
Lennie’s Pennies (arrangement and lyrics by Lisa Markley “Hundred in a Dollar”) https://youtu.be/T1Z6M-s1-wI?si=zUPisWP4ezY__JKI
Stars Rained Down (lyrics/music Lisa Markley) https://youtu.be/9EsEFUCLbJs?si=p1mYbRbFFubxO5Ij
Velvet Divan https://youtu.be/Y03gy3ABgnU?si=Ha3vJ57iVO7jkKsT
MORE INFO (and Lisa’s back catalgue from the Soona Songs record label):

Closed
2025-05-17 19:00 - 22:00
S.O.L.

The Decompressors (3/4 Professors)
2025-05-24 19:00 - 22:00
Vinnie Martucci – keys
Mark Dziuba – guitar
Rich Syracuse – bass
Peter O’Brien – drums

SUNY music professors come together on this special night to perform original works, jazz, world music and other musical gems.
Vinnie Martucci has had an exciting and diverse career as a performer, composer, arranger, producer, and educator. He has toured extensively on the international stage as co-leader of the Jazz Fusion Quartet “The Dolphins” with Dan Brubeck, as arranger, accompanist for Laurel Masse (Manhattan Transfer), arranger and performer for Blues artist Rory Block. He has recorded and toured with Graham Parker, Livingston Taylor, and others. He co-composed the off-broadway play “Clue, The Musical” as well as numerous cable network TV themes for Lifetime, the Travel Channel, CNN and underscores for daytime TV dramas “As the World Turns”, Guiding Light”. As a producer and recording engineer, he has worked with composer Baikida Carroll on recordings and productions for several theatrical and television projects, most notably the Tony award winning play “Having Our Say”. He has also given clinics in Jazz and improvisation in Europe, South America, as well as the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China. Currently, Vinnie is the chair of the music department at SUNY, New Paltz, where he also teaches jazz studies and recording technology courses.
Mark Dziuba has been a guitarist, improviser and composer for most of his life. He has performed with a who’s who of Jazz, Blues, Rock and Bluegrass musicians and has performed and taught at workshops and festivals internationally for over 40 years.
Mark is a tenured professor of music at the State University of New York at New Paltz where he directs the Jazz Studies program. He was a part of the internationally acclaimed National Guitar Workshop for 25 years and has been a part of the Crown of the Continent International Guitar Festival since its birth.
Mark is a published author and a featured soloist and composer on numerous recordings. He continues to explore the world of improvised live and virtual music and can be found performing often in the area and abroad. (dziubam@newpaltz.edu)
RICH SYRACUSE STRING BASSIST, ELECTRIC BASSIST, COMPOSER Rich Syracuse has been a mainstay on the New York area scene for more than three decades. While performing at an early age in New York City he was the winner of the prestigious Congress Of Strings Award. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Rich performed with The Group For Contemporary Music under the Conductor Charles Wournin and Harvey Solberger, The Hartford Ballet and the New Jersey Lyric Opera Co. During the early part of his career he performed in Jazz groups featuring pianists John Mehegan, Joey Calderazzo and Ted Rosenthal. After moving to New York State’s Hudson Valley in the mid 1980’s he began a long-standing stint in the Nick Brignola Quartet playing clubs, festivals, and recording sessions. Besides his years with Brignola, he has performed with Mose Allison, Kurt Elling, Dave Liebman, Brubeck Brothers, Warren Bernhardt, SumiTonoka, David Torn, Mike DeMicco, Peter Levin, Sam Morrison, Bernard Purdy, Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Chuck Lamb, Jeff “Siege” Siegel, Dena DeRose, John Medeski, Michael Musilliami and Ali Demogli, Rich had been the bassist for Jazz pianist Lee Shaw for over 25 years until her passing.
Born in Flushing, Queens, NY, drummer Peter O’Brien inherited his musical talents from his father, drummer Bill O’Brien, with whom he began his formal studies of the drums at age five. Peter toured the USA with organist Brother Jack McDuff and, from 1984-1985, performed all over the USA and Canada with the Edgar Winter Band. The band featured the legendary singer Jerry LaCroix (the original lead singer for White Trash) and performed the jazz-inflected fusion material from Edgar’s first ground-breaking record “Entrance,” as well as his rock and blues music. During this time, Peter also performed several dates with Roy Buchanan, including a sold-out show at the Beacon Theatre with Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells. From 1986-1987, he toured Europe with Mark McMillan. Peter moved to Woodstock, NY in early 1988 and became a member of John Hall’s band Orleans. He was the subject of a feature article published in Modern Drummer’s Rhythm and News (Japan)..

Interspace
2025-05-31 19:00 - 22:00
Interspace
Arnold Hammerschlag – trumpet
Peyton Pleninger – saxophone
Adam Siegel – saxophone
Jim Yanda – guitar
Will Mcevoy – bass
Aaron Yanda – drums
Interspace is a Hudson Valley-based improvisational band exploring interval theory through original composition and performance. Spanning more than forty years in age, the musicians draw from a broad spectrum of disciplines, experience, genres, and histories across the worlds of music, as they mine new sonic language via tone-clock theory and other post-tonal music composition techniques.

Shiri Zorn
2025-06-07 19:00 - 22:00
Shiri Zorn – vocals
Mark Dziuba – guitar
Brian Melick – percussion
Shiri Zorn is an innovative jazz vocalist whose fresh and intercultural sound reinvents standard jazz repertoire as we know it. She layers American Songbook tunes with Middle Eastern influences and unexpected time signatures, and reharmonizes Latin and Samba classics to evoke feelings of transcendence, temporarily rendering the listener lost to time and space.
“Zorn’s voice is cool, calm and cerebral, her tone pure. She articulates lyrics with perfect diction and scalpel-like precision,”
~ Allen Morrison, DownBeat Magazine
Shiri Zorn’s pure tone and insightful phrasing were nurtured at Israel’s leading school for the arts, Thelma Yelin, where she was first drawn to the music of Gershwin, Cleo Laine, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen Mc Rae and subsequently at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England, where she studied voice and piano.

Mark Dziuba has been a guitarist, improviser and composer for most of his life. He has performed with a who’s who of Jazz, Blues, Rock and Bluegrass musicians and has performed and taught at workshops and festivals internationally for over 40 years.
Mark is a tenured professor of music at the State University of New York at New Paltz where he directs the Jazz Studies program. He was a part of the internationally acclaimed National Guitar Workshop for 25 years and has been a part of the Crown of the Continent International Guitar Festival since its birth.
Mark is a published author and a featured soloist and composer on numerous recordings. He continues to explore the world of improvised live and virtual music and can be found performing often in the area and abroad. (dziubam@newpaltz.edu)
Percussionist Brian Melnick started his professional career in music at the age of 13, have developed a wide range of experience as a drummer, multi hand percussionist, and as an educator.
Featured artist on over 450 commercially recorded works and have been produced by major as well as independent record companies. His drumming and percussion activities have included recording and performing along with several independent, as well as major, artists and producers.

Yvonnick Prene Trio
2025-06-14 19:00 - 22:00
Yvonnick Prene – harmonica
Radam Schwartz on organ b3
Gordon Kuba – drums
Get ready for an unforgettable evening of music as Yvonnick Prene and his trio bring jazz harmonica to life. The concert will feature a vibrant mix of timeless jazz standards and beautifully arranged French songs, blending soulful melodies, intricate improvisations, and a touch of Parisian charm. Expect a captivating performance that highlights the harmonica’s versatility and elegance, delivered with energy, emotion, and exceptional artistry.

Yvonnick Prené is a celebrated jazz harmonicist, bandleader, composer, and educator based in New York City. Known for his innovative artistry, he has released five highly praised albums as a leader, including *Listen!* (2023) and *Jobim’s World* (2024) on Sunnyside Records. Prené has collaborated with jazz greats such as Peter Bernstein, Rick Margitza, Bill Stewart, and Geoffrey Keezer.
An active performer on the global stage, he has appeared at renowned festivals like the Jersey City Jazz Fest, Winter Jazz Fest, and Bern Jazz Festival, as well as iconic New York venues including the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club, Smalls, and Birdland. With over 100 performances annually, he is a leading figure in today’s jazz scene.
In addition to performing, Prené is a dedicated educator and founder of the New York Harmonica School and My Harmonica Studio, where he has taught over 1,000 students. As a Hohner ambassador, he represents their flagship Xpression chromatic harmonica. Originally from Massy, France, Prené holds degrees from Sorbonne University and the New School, having studied under jazz legends like Lee Konitz and Reggie Workman.

Hammond B3 Organist and Jazz pianist, Radam Schwartz, has built his reputation over the last 35 years playing with such great musicians as Arthur and Red Prysock, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Al Hibler, David Fathead Newman, Russell Malone, Cecil Brooks III and Jimmy Ford. He continues to make music history today playing with renowned artists, Bill Saxton, Iron City, The Spirit of Life Ensemble and many others.
Gordon Kuba is a versatile jazz drummer based in the NJ/NY area, known for his dynamic performances and deep groove. A graduate of the Montclair Jazz Program, Gordon has developed a unique sound that seamlessly blends traditional jazz with modern fusion elements. He leads First Mountain, his original fusion band, showcasing his versatility and creative vision. Over the years, Gordon has had the pleasure of performing with notable artists such as Charlie Apicella & Iron City, guitarist Dave Stryker, and Hal Gaper, building a reputation as a dedicated and talented musician in the jazz scene.

Ben Holmes and Naked Lore
2025-06-21 19:00 - 22:00
Band: Ben Holmes and Naked Lore

Musicians: Ben Holmes (trumpet), Brad Shepik (guitar) and Shane Shanahan (percussion).

Links:
Song for the Weekend
$43, a Smile and Bupkis
First We Were Sad, Then We Danced
ben-holmes.com

Brief Blurb:
“A soundtrack to the folktales your great-grandparents vowed to forget,” Naked Lore is a trio dedicated to new music with ancient origins presented in a chamber jazz format. Led by trumpeter Ben Holmes, the group features Brad Shepik on guitar and Shane Shanahan on percussion. The wordless stories they tell are by turns sinister, sweet, majestic, mischievous, rampaging and ruminative.

Bios:
Trumpeter/composer Ben Holmes lives in the Hudson Valley. His current projects as a leader or co-leader include Naked Lore (a trio w/ percussionist Shane Shanahan and guitarist Brad Shepik) and the Ben Holmes/Patrick Farrell Duo (for trumpet and accordion). Ben’s background is in jazz, but he has long been interested in traditional music from around the world. He has recorded three albums as a leader, 2020’s Naked Lore, 2015’s Anvil of the Lord and 2012’s Ben Holmes Trio, as well as co-producing two recordings with Tarras Band (a six-piece ensemble dedicated to the music of klezmer legend Dave Tarras), and three recordings of the Ben Holmes & Patrick Farrell Duo. He’s recorded with Slavic Soul Party!, Romashka, Gogol Bordello, Cynthia Hopkins, and many others.
Guitarist, composer, educator Brad Shepik has recorded 9 albums as a leader and performed at major festivals and clubs across Europe and North America including The North Sea Jazz Festival, Garda Jazz Festival, Cologne Biennale Jazz Festival, Toulouse Jazz Festival, Bell Atlantic Festival, Verizon, Earshot, Caramoor Jazz Festival, Langnau Jazz Festival, Groningen, Salzburg, Jerez, Cadiz, Sevilla, American Guitar Festival, Leeds, Rochester Jazz Festival, Cork, Brussels, Edgefest and others. He can currently be seen and heard performing with the Brad Shepik Organ Trio, the Brad Shepik Quartet, Jamie Baum’s Septet+, Ben Holmes’ Naked Lore, Pachora, Combo Nuvo, Believers, the Tom Beckham/Brad Shepik Duo, Balkan Peppers, , Matt Darriau’s Paradox Trio, George Schuller’s Circle Wide, the Arthur Kell Quartet and many others.
As a sideman, Brad Shepik has appeared on more than 70 recordings and has performed and recorded with Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band, Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio, Combo Nuvo, Yuri Yunakov’s Bulgarian Wedding Band, Pachora, Paradox Trio, Jamie Baum, George Schuller, Jeff Dingler and others. He has also performed with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Carla Bley’s Escalator Over the Hill, Bob Brookmeyer and Joey Baron. He has taught Theory, Improvisation, World Ensemble, Jazz Combo, Chicago Blues, Balkan Music and private guitar at New York University and private guitar at City College of New York.

Percussionist Shane Shanahan has combined his studies of drumming traditions from around the world with his background in jazz, rock and Western art music to create his own unique, highly sought-after style. Since 2000 he has been touring around the globe performing with Yo-Yo Ma as a founding member of the genre defying, Grammy-Award Winning Silkroad Ensemble and served as Co-Artistic Director (2017-2020) and Learning Programs Advisor (2012-2020) for the organization. In addition to his playing, his arrangements and compositions are featured on several of the group’s seven recordings and he can be heard and seen on Mr. Ma’s Grammy Award Winning holiday CD/DVD release, “Songs of Joy And Peace.” Shane has performed and/or recorded with Bobby McFerrin, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Philip Glass, Alison Krauss, Deep Purple, Jordi Savall, Sonny Fortune, Chaka Khan, Bill Frisell and Glen Velez, among others. Shane’s dynamic performances have brought people to their feet in the greatest concert halls of the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Concertgebouw, Santory Hall, Disney Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl. He has also performed twice for President and First Lady Obama, once at the White House and once at the Kennedy Center Honors.
A strong believer in the transformative power of education, Shane frequently presents workshops and clinics at the world’s leading universities, including Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, The Eastman School of Music, Juilliard, and the University of Michigan. He is currently on faculty at the Hartt School and was also the Lead Teaching Artist for Silkroad’s arts-integrated education initiative, Silk Road Connect, which brought music, dance, and visual arts into NYC public schools. In 2017 he was a Blodgett Distinguished Artist at Harvard University, where he co-taught a course with Ethnomusicology faculty. For the last several years Shane has been engaged in intensive work with students of all ages at the Lame Deer School on an Indian American Reservation in Montana. He collaborates actively with the dance, theatre and yoga communities in the New York area and while not on tour, he teaches drumming classes and lessons out of his studio in Brooklyn to students from seven to seventy years old. Shane has also played in the pit orchestras of several Broadway musicals including Caroline, or Change, The Color Purple, Shrek, Spider-Man, Fun Home, Tuck Everlasting, and Mean Girls.

Amy London feat. Ron Horton
2025-06-28 19:00 - 22:00
Amy London – vocals
Ron Horton – trumpet/flugelhorn
Tim Regusis – piano
Lew Scott – bass
Tony Jefferson – drums

Amy London is known and loved in New York City jazz and Broadway circles for her effortless sound, impeccable musicianship and depth of emotion. Her two critically acclaimed Motema CD’s as a leader, ‘Let’s Fly’ and ‘When I Look In Your Eyes’ feature some of the world’s top jazz musicians, and have led her to engagements in Russia, Italy, Turkey, France, Brazil, England, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Canada, as well as cities across the US. London’s fully seasoned career also includes three years in the 6 Tony award winning Broadway hit ‘City of Angels’ (singing on its Grammy nominated original cast album), and City Center’s production of ‘Promises Promises’ starring Martin Short, plus tours with Charles Aznavour, Larry Elgart and Tom Browne. Ms London has enjoyed more than 25 years of performing at New York’s top rooms, such as Dizzy’s, The Rainbow Room, Lincoln Center, Birdland, Blue Note and others.
Tim Regusis is a Hudson Valley-based pianist who has been active in the jazz scene of the NYC region, as well as in the fields of R&B, Latin and various world musics for many years.
He has played and/or recorded with Patti Austin, Ruben Blades, David Byrne, Celia Cruz, Chuck Mangione, Johnny Pacheco, Daniel Ponce, Rick Margitza, Cindy Blackman, Jeff Williams, Akira Ohmori, Najee, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Jonathan Butler, Ofra Haza and others.
Ron Horton has perform and/or record with such artists as Lee Konitz, Will Holshouser, Neil Kirkwood, Rez Abbasi, Phillip Johnston, Andy Laster, Mick Rossi, Matt Wilson, Bill Gerhardt, Bill Mays, Peggy Stern, Allan Chase, Andy Biskin, Ted Nash, Jon Gordon, John McKenna, Walter Thompson, Diana Perez, Billy Newman, Mario Pavone, Tina Marsh, Maryanne DeProphetis, Landon Knoblock, Sam Bardfeld, Maria Guida, Abigail Riccards, Angie Sanchez, Kris Davis, Darcy James Argue.
Lew Scott, bassist, has been performing in the New York area and throughout the country for many years. He has performed with many notable musicians, including Clark Terry, Conti Condoli, Frank Rosolino, Joe Lavano, Herb Ellis, George Coleman, Dave Liebman, Jack Sheldon, Peggy Stern and John Abercrombie, as well as many others. He has toured with vocalists Melba Morre, Lainie Kazan, Nnena Frelon and Michael Amante. Lew has worked with Anita O’Day, Mark Murphy and many other singers, including Robert Goulet, Vic Damone, Sergio Franchi, Jerry Vale, Al Martino, Eddie Fisher, Florence Henderson, Julie Budd and Lucie Arnaz. He has also performed with many groups, including the Four Aces and the Fifth Dimension. In the past, Lew was a competition cyclist, but now, he rides his bicycle around the county for enjoyment.
Tony Jefferson, a New York native, attended the Berklee College of Music on scholarship in 1984
and placed third in the Thelonious Monk International Drum Competition in 1992. Tony has
performed and recorded with many jazz artists including: Kenny Drew Jr., Lonnie Smith,
Lou Donaldson, Frank Wess, Eddie Harris, Don Friedman, Cyrus Chestnut, Mark Whitfield,
Jerry Bergonzi, Joey Calderazzo, Freddy Cole, Hank Jones, Benny Golson, Cedar Walton,
Nancy King, Ernestine Anderson, Annie Ross and the Westchester Jazz Orchestra.

Tribute to Rene Bailey with the Saints of Swing
2025-07-05 16:00 - 19:00
The great Rene Bailey passed earlier this year and her long-time band members & friends, along with several guest vocalists (feat. Marty Elkins) will be paying tribute on Saturday afternoon, July 5 from 4-7pm. Outdoors, weather permitting.
The Saints of Swing, featuring Peter Tomlinson, piano; David Winograd, bass/tuba; Larry Balestra, drums; Dale DeMarco, saxes/clarinet/vocals; Barry Bryson, trumpet/vocals; Ken Foy, trombone/vocals; and Miss Marty Elkins on vocals.
MANY GUEST ARTISTS EXPECTED TO JOIN IN THIS TRIBUTE/MEMORIAL!
Today is a tribute to the late Miss RENE BAILEY, who passed on February 28, 2025. Rene was the REAL THING, as she sang with Louis Armstrong and Sam Cooke, among many others!. At Lydia’s Cafe, a wonderful restaurant in Stone Ridge, NY. Come and eat, drink and listen! Great fun! Swing, Jazz, Romantic Ballads, Motown, Gospel. Come join us! & GET REAL HAPPY!

Pleninger/McEvoy/Kincheloe
2025-07-12 19:00 - 22:00
Peyton Pleninger – saxophone
Will McEvoy – bass
Bram Kincheloe – drums
Jazz improvisation with some of the freshest voices on the scene today.
Peyton Pleninger is a saxophonist, improviser, bandleader, astrologer and guerilla contractor, forging a personal path that challenges the boundaries of what it means to be a musician. Pleninger’s experience involves a variety of disciplines centered around music, which also includes astrology, painting and sculpture, botany, construction, massage and medical inquiry.
In early 2022, Pleninger pruchased The Tavern, a defunct roadhouse in upstate New York, which he is rebuilding into an arts research center. The Tavern presents a variety of concerts, music theory/improvisation workshops, plus astrology forecasts, sound baths, and artist residents. The Tavern is the orignal test space for Anatomy Avant Garde, a performance Pleninger developed which involves improvsing in response to a participants heartbeat along with a live painting element.
Pleninger also works as a dedicated side-person with multiple music projects. He performed with Henry Threadgill as part of the multimedia work “One” and “The Other One.” He plays in John Benitez’ Latin-Bop, a modern latin-jazz group, performing weekly at Terraza 7 in Queens and monthly at Fat Cat in Manhattan. He plays with Roy Ben Yosef’s Moringa trio, an Israel-based group focused on improvisation, which released its debut record Moringa and the Watershed in February 2021. Pleninger plays in drummer/composer Colin Hinton’s Glassbath, an electric band straddling post rock and free jazz, which released its self-titled inaugural album February 2018. Pleninger performs with drummer/composer Michel Maurer’s Meridian, a forward-thinking jazz-rooted quartet, which released its debut record The Shape of Noon in 2019. In summer 2017, Pleninger toured Canada for 5 weeks with guitarist Quinn Bachand’s Brishen, an acoustic band honoring the tradition of gypsy jazz and the roots of rock n roll. Highlight performances include the Toronto Jazz Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, and CBC Canada.
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Bassist Will McEvoy is a graduate of the Sarah Lawrence College music department. Only twenty-four and McEvoy has already previously performed Lincoln Center and the BlueNote however McEvoy makes it a point to perform live once at month Tribes Gallery in the East Village of Manhattan. Heavily influenced by artist such as Jimmy Hendrix, Duke Ellington, and Hank Williams, McEvoy’s style of music is rather mystifying an cannot be put into just one one classification; it’s a custom sound in the making and anything but tame. It maybe considered chamber music with a fusion jazz twist and often improved with something little extra.
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Drummer Bram Kincheloe is a professional musician, writer, and small business owner. He started studying drums with renowned teacher Barbara Borden at the age of four. At eleven, he graduated to her teacher, Chuck Brown, who had also taught Terry Bozzio, Will Kennedy, and Dave Garibaldi. He was the youngest student ever accepted into Chuck Brown’s studio. In 2002, Bram, then aged sixteen, moved to New York City on his own to pursue a career in jazz drumming. He attended Laguardia School of Performing Arts for one year before being accepted into Manhattan School of Music. While at Manhattan, attending on a Zildjian scholarship, he studied with Justin DiCioccio. Through the years playing jazz, he has been honored to play with Lee Konitz, Branford Marsalis, Ambrose Akinmusire, Wynton Marsalis, Ben Street, Steve Cardenas and many others.
In 2005, Bram moved to Amsterdam to study abroad through a sister program at the Conservatorium Van Amsterdam, where he was involved in the creative music scene in Holland. Around this time, he also started seriously pursuing a parallel career in writing.
Bram is an accomplished singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and plays piano, keyboards, guitar, and bass in addition to drums. He also has a degree from the Institute of Audio Research, having studied production techniques and ProTools. He is the owner/operator of Semperviren Studios, a full-service professional production studio with 26 channels of inputs, a full backline of world class instruments, and more, in the Hudson Valley.
His debut novel, Hitchhiking in the Graveyard, was recently named the runner-up winner in the 2018 Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing competition. In early 2015, Bram was hired by SB Nation to cover the Golden State Warriors for the popular site Golden State of Mind, a subsidiary of Vox Media. He was a staff writer for the site from 2015-2020, as well as a contributor to SB Nation’s national site.

Teri Roiger Quartet
2025-07-19 19:30 - 22:00
TERI ROIGER (vocals)
BILL WARE (vibes)
JOHN MENEGON (bass)
MATT GARRITY (drums)

TERI ROIGER
VOCALIST, PIANIST, SONGWRITER
“Teri has an intuitive laid back sense of time reminiscent of Abbey Lincoln and Betty Carter but with her own uniqueness.” JACK DEJOHNETTE (legendary jazz drummer & NEA Jazz Master)
An American jazz musician vocalist, pianist, songwriter, educator, and producer, Teri lives in New York City and also spends time in New York’s Hudson Valley. She began playing piano at age 5, and played church organ throughout her teens. When she discovered jazz in her early 20s – and shortly after made her first demo with the legendary stride pianist Butch Thompson – her musical path was set.
Throughout the years, her music has taken many exciting twists and turns. She has performed as a DUO with her husband, bassist John Menegon, throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and they have been featured artists at the San Miguel Jazz Festival (Mexico), Panama Jazz Festival (Panama), and Bolzano Jazz Festival (Italy), where they presented concerts and masterclasses. The depth of her experiences and love of jazz is apparent when she brings all their talents to live performances, the recording studio, and through her moving lyrics and compositions.

BILL WARE – VIBRAPHONE
Harkening back to a violinist whose freedom from slavery was bought in performance, Bill Ware’s place within American music is best described as a proud lineage. Vibraphonist, bassist, composer, pianist, educator and creative adventurer, Ware’s genre-bending career, well into its fourth decade, has been nothing short of riveting. A founding member of the Jazz Passengers and Groove Collective, he’s also collaborated with Steely Dan, John Zorn, JD Parran, Marc Ribot, Bobby Sanabria, Deborah Harry, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Chico Mendoza, Bobby Previte, Joe Henderson, Jerome Harris, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Minnesota Symphony, Elvis Costello, Arturo O’Farrill, Andy Summers, Marshall Crenshaw, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmore and many more.

JOHN MENEGON – BASS
New York City bassist John Menegon started his career playing bass in Montreal. After having worked for several years on the Canadian jazz scene with the great guitarists Sonny Greenwich, Mike Gauthier & Nelson Simons, and saxophonists Steve Grossman & Pat LaBarbara, he went on to hone his skills in NYC in the mid-80s. Since moving to New York to study Jazz at Long Island University on a full scholarship, John has performed/recorded with Dewey Redman, David “Fathead” Newman, Matt Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, John Hicks, Yoron Israel, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Burrell, Joel Frahm, Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, Paul Bley, Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Orchestra, Nick Brignola, Jimmy Cobb, Al Foster, Slide Hampton, Sheila Jordan, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, and many others. In addition to touring, recording, and composing, he has created and taught Jazz Workshops on the music of Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus at Williams College (Williamstown, MA). He has also taught master classes at Jazz Festivals around the world, including the Panama Jazz Festival, Bolzano, (Italy) and San Miguel de Allende.
MATT GARRITY – DRUMS
Drummer, Matt Garrity has been on the New York music scene since 1994. He has performed and recorded with some of the best in the business, including Grammy winners: Joe Lovano, Vincent Herring and Steve Slagle, as well as David Williams, Teri Thornton, Peter Bernstein, David Amram, Eric Alexander, Judi Silvano, Gary Versace, Ron McLure, Ed Cherry, Joel Forrester, Jeremy Pelt and Jerome Richardson.

Jimmy Madison & Friends
2025-07-26 19:00 - 22:00
Jimmy Madison – drums
Tim Regusis – keys
Gregg August – bass
Drummer Jimmy Madison has performed with the greats of Jazz and Funk for over six decades, from Lionel Hampton, Roland Kirk, Chet Baker and Quincy Jones to James Brown, Maceo Parker and George Benson, among many others. But this trio format allows he and his compatriots to do what they do best, improvising on themes both familiar and new. It’s pure Jazz at its best.
Tim Regusis is a Hudson Valley-based pianist who has been active in the jazz scene of the NYC region, as well as in the fields of R&B, Latin and various world musics for many years.
He has played and/or recorded with Patti Austin, Ruben Blades, David Byrne, Celia Cruz, Chuck Mangione, Johnny Pacheco, Daniel Ponce, Rick Margitza, Cindy Blackman, Jeff Williams, Akira Ohmori, Najee, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Jonathan Butler, Ofra Haza and others.
Bassist and composer Gregg August spans the classical, avant-garde, jazz and Latin jazz worlds making him one of the most versatile musicians on the scene today.
Gregg has performed and/ or recorded with The New York Philharmonic, Steve Reich, The Bang on a Can All Stars, Alarm Will Sound, as well as Ornette Coleman, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis and Ray Barretto. Gregg was on the Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Rising Star Poll in 2017, 2015 and 2013.
In 2020 Gregg released his album Dialogues on Race (Iacuessa Records) for which he received a GRAMMY nomination in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble category.

Peter Einhorn Quartet
2025-08-02 19:00 - 22:00
Peter Einhorn – guitar
Scott Neumann – drums
Lou Pappas – bass
Special guest; Emily Kate Einhorn -vocals
EMILY KATE EINHORN

Emily is a jazz vocalist and composer born and raised in Woodstock, NY. Trained on the violin and piano from an early age, they grew up performing with their family and friends across the Hudson Valley. Throughout their childhood and adult life, they have composed and arranged music with acoustic, soul, jazz, and pop influence.
In their years since graduating, they have continued jazz performance throughout NYC and the Hudson Valley, while writing, arranging, and recording original music.
PETER EINHORN
Guitarist / composer Peter Einhorn’s most recent recording is “Seems Like Old Times”.
His recordings can be sampled at www.petereinhorn.com .
Among them are Karl Berger’s “StillPoint” (Sunny Moon Records), Ira Sullivan’s “Strings Attached”(Pausa Records), as well as recordings as a leader. [see www.petereinhorn.com]
He has performed and / or recorded with Joe Lovano, Plácido Domingo, Jimmy Cobb, Steve Swallow, David Amram, John Abercrombie, Steve Kuhn, Eddie Daniels, Roland Hanna, and others.
He has been a performer on ethnic stringed instruments with the Metropolitan Opera.
Peter Einhorn is an award winning composer who has scored dozens of films and videos. His invention, the SpiderCapo, has expanded the sonic palette of fretted stringed instruments. He holds advanced degrees in music and mathematics. He is a resident of Woodstock, N.Y.
SCOTT NEUMANN, a Bartlesville Oklahoma native, began playing drums professionally at the age of thirteen. His first major work was with The Woody Herman Orchestra, which he joined in 1988. Since moving to New York City in 1988, Scott has established himself as one of New York’s most creative and versatile drummers.
Scott’s touring credits include David Liebman, Madeleine Peyroux, Ben Allison, Tony Trischka, Jazz Mandolin Project, NYNDK, Makoto Ozone, Woody Herman, and Brother Jack McDuff. While in New York City, Scott has worked with such jazz luminaries as Grady Tate, Rufus Reid and Kenny Barron Recent sideman projects include the three-plus year Monday night tenure with Bill Mobley’s Big Band at the NYC jazz club Smoke. Performing and recording with Glafkos Kontemetios’s Trio, Bill Warfield’s New York Jazz Octet, Dan Wilensky and Chris Roger’s Quintet. Other large Ensemble associations include the Grammy nominated orchestra of Pete McGuiness and Diane Moser’s Composers Big Band. Scott has played on over 50 CDs and has recorded with artists including Kenny Werner, David Liebman, Eddie Gomez and Claudio Roditi. Working with vocalists, Scott’s accompanimental talent has supported the artistry of, among others, Ann Hampton Calloway, Lesley Gore, Marilyn Maye, Billy Stritch and Vicki Carr.
Bassist LOU PAPPAS’ career encompasses both Jazz and Classical music. After beginning with orchestras in Colorado and Oklahoma, he moved to New York to accept the position as bassist with the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, from which he retired in 2006. Since then, Mr. Pappas has kept a steady pace of performance with many groups in the New York area, such as the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Taconic Opera Company, and the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. His jazz work includes freelancing with a number of groups from Albany to Woodstock, New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey; including performances with such jazz greats as David Liebman, Byron Stripling, Randy Brecker, Steve Turre, James Williams, Claire Fischer, Chris Flory, Dennis Mackrel, Billy Cobham, and fellow bassist John Clayton. In addition to his playing schedule, he has been teaching private and college level bass for over 40 years, just recently retiring from Vassar College and the State University of New York at New Paltz.

John Menegon Quartet
2025-08-16 19:00 - 22:00
Birthday Bash Quartet!!
John Menegon (bass)
Pete Smith (guitar)
Steve Einerson (piano)
Matt Garrity (drums)
Musicians invited to sit in and help celebrate!

New York City bassist John Menegon started his career playing bass in Montreal. After having worked for several years on the Canadian jazz scene with the great guitarists Sonny Greenwich, Mike Gauthier & Nelson Simons, and saxophonists Steve Grossman & Pat LaBarbara, he went on to hone his skills in NYC in the mid-80s. Since moving to New York to study Jazz at Long Island University on a full scholarship, John has performed/recorded with Dewey Redman, David “Fathead” Newman, Matt Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, John Hicks, Yoron Israel, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Burrell, Joel Frahm, Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, Paul Bley, Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Orchestra, Nick Brignola, Jimmy Cobb, Al Foster, Slide Hampton, Sheila Jordan, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, and many others. In addition to touring, recording, and composing, he has created and taught Jazz Workshops on the music of Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus at Williams College.
Pete Smith is a New York City-based guitarist who performs in a wide range of musical settings. As a founding member of Santos4tet (aka Grupo los Santos), a vanguard Afro-Cuban and Brazilian-style quartet, he has played New York’s Town Hall, concerts throughout the U.S., Cuba & Austria and was a Fall 2024 JazzRoad performing arts grant recipient. He has performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival and Montreal Jazz Festival, as well as concerts in thirty countries throughout Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. He has worked with Norah Jones, trumpeter Donald Byrd, Cuban trombone master Juan Pablo Torres, Andrew Hill, Kat Edmonson, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, the Moonlighters, Madeline Peyroux, Natalie Merchant and Huun-Huur-Tu, and is a member of Michael Feinstein’s Carnegie Hall Big Band. In 2023 he traveled to Congo-Kinshasa as a member of the band Opius Bliss—as cultural ambassadors for the US Embassy—to perform for and teach, play and dialogue with local musicians in Kinshasa and Kisangani. 2023 also saw the release of Santos4tet’s 4th album “Santos 4”. Pete will be recording a new album with bassist Sean Smith (The Smith Duo) in 2025.
Pianist Steve Einerson originally hails from Milwaukee, WI, where he spent three formative years studying with David Hazeltine. After freelancing in the Milwaukee/Chicago circuit for several years, he relocated to New York City in 2004, fresh off the heels of being selected as a finalist to compete in the national jazz piano competition sponsored by the American Pianists Association. Whether it’s solo piano, small groups or big bands, Steve now finds his services in NYC in high demand and has performed at venues and jazz festivals across the country and around the world. A sampling of some of the musicians he’s had the privilege of working with include Marlena Shaw, Joe Farnsworth, Philip Harper, Killer Ray Appleton, Slide Hampton, Ian Hendrickson-Smith, John Dokes, Hilary Gardner, the George Gee Orchestra, and the Cab Calloway Orchestra.
Drummer Matt Garrity has been on the New York City music scene since 1994. He has performed with some of the best in the business, including Vincent Herring, David Williams, Teri Thornton, Gary Versace, Ron McLure, Ben Monder, Ratzo Harris, Jeremy Pelt and Jerome Richardson, among others.
Matt attended William Paterson College’s jazz studies program in the early nineties. He has studied with renowned performers/ educators John Riley, Horacee Arnold, Rufus Reid, Harold Mabern, Carl Allen, Bill Goodwin, and Ed Shaughnessy, among others.

Harrison/Dziuba Quartet
2025-08-23 19:00 - 22:00
Joel Harrison – guitar
Mark Dziuba – guitar
Rich Syracuse – bass
Jeff Siegel – drums

Guitarist, composer, arranger, lyricist, writer, educator, and vocalist Joel Harrison has “created a new blueprint for jazz” (New Orleans Times-Picayune). A Guggenheim Fellow (2010) whose compositions have been commissioned by Chamber Music America, Meet the Composer, New Music USA, the Jerome Foundation, NYSCA, and the Mary Flagler Cary Trust., he has released 25 CDs as a leader on seven different labels. Harrison’s music may be founded on jazz but veers into classical, rock, country, and all manner of American roots music. Succinctly described by the New York Times as “protean… brilliant.”
Harrison is the founder and director of the Alternative Guitar Summit, a yearly festival devoted to new and unusual guitar music. Pat Metheny has called the Summit “one of the most interesting and distinguished forums for guitar on the planet. Harrison is the author of “Guitar Talk: conversations with visionary players” as well as “Modern Jazz Standards for Guitar.”
Mark Dziuba has been a guitarist, improviser and composer for most of his life. He has performed with a who’s who of Jazz, Blues, Rock and Bluegrass musicians and has performed and taught at workshops and festivals internationally for over 40 years.
Mark is a tenured professor of music at the State University of New York at New Paltz where he directs the Jazz Studies program. He was a part of the internationally acclaimed National Guitar Workshop for 25 years and has been a part of the Crown of the Continent International Guitar Festival since its birth.
Mark is a published author and a featured soloist and composer on numerous recordings. He continues to explore the world of improvised live and virtual music and can be found performing often in the area and abroad. (dziubam@newpaltz.edu)
RICH SYRACUSE STRING BASSIST, ELECTRIC BASSIST, COMPOSER Rich Syracuse has been a mainstay on the New York area scene for more than three decades. While performing at an early age in New York City he was the winner of the prestigious Congress Of Strings Award. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Rich performed with The Group For Contemporary Music under the Conductor Charles Wournin and Harvey Solberger, The Hartford Ballet and the New Jersey Lyric Opera Co. During the early part of his career he performed in Jazz groups featuring pianists John Mehegan, Joey Calderazzo and Ted Rosenthal. After moving to New York State’s Hudson Valley in the mid 1980’s he began a long-standing stint in the Nick Brignola Quartet playing clubs, festivals, and recording sessions. Besides his years with Brignola, he has performed with Mose Allison, Kurt Elling, Dave Liebman, Brubeck Brothers, Warren Bernhardt, SumiTonoka, David Torn, Mike DeMicco, Peter Levin, Sam Morrison, Bernard Purdy, Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Chuck Lamb, Jeff “Siege” Siegel, Dena DeRose, John Medeski, Michael Musilliami and Ali Demogli, Rich had been the bassist for Jazz pianist Lee Shaw for over 25 years until her passing.
Drummer/Composer Jeff “Siege” Siegel is a veteran of the New York Jazz scene and has worked with a virtual “who’s who” of artists. A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio from 1994-’99, Siegel’s diverse career has also led him to perform and/or record with legends such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, John Medeski, Arthur Rhames, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Lee Shaw, Levin Brothers, John Medeski, Dena DeRose, Lee Shaw and many others. He has worked in the avant garde world as well with Wadada Leo Smith, Baikida Carroll. He’s performed over 30 European tours including four as leader of the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet and several others as co-leader. The Jeff “Siege” Siegel Sextet performed a 3 week tour of Africa in the summer of 2019. Other recent tours include The Levin Brothers Japan, Mexico, Canada and the US west coast and Midwest as well as South & Central America. His 2017 CD release “King of Xhosa” features South African trumpeter Feya Faku and is on the ARC label. His most recent release with his quartet is the 2018 release on ARC entitled “London Live” and “When You Were There” (2019) with Hetko, Syracuse & Siegel.

David Gilmore Quartet feat. Don Byron
2025-08-30 19:00 - 22:00
David Gilmore – guitar
Don Byron – clarinet, sax
Rich Syracuse – bass
Jeff Siegel – drums
Gilmore studied at New York University with Joe Lovano and Jim McNeely. In 1987, he began working professionally with the M-Base Collective and Ronald Shannon Jackson. In the 1990s, he was a member of the jazz fusion band Lost Tribe.[2] In 1995, he became a member of Wayne Shorter‘s band. With his brother Marque Gilmore, Matt Garrison, and Aref Durvesh, he recorded Ritualism in 2001. With Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Ravi Coltrane he recorded Unified Presence. Gilmore was the sole composer on all but one song and also served as the producer of the album.[3]
He has worked with Muhal Richard Abrams, Geri Allen, Cindy Blackman Santana, Ron Blake, Randy Brecker, Don Byron, Uri Caine, Steve Coleman, Alice Coltrane, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Douglas, Melissa Etheridge, Robin Eubanks, Rachelle Ferrell, Trilok Gurtu, Isaac Hayes, Graham Haynes, Cyndi Lauper, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joan Osborne, Greg Osby, Lonnie Plaxico, Dianne Reeves, Sam Rivers, David Sanborn, Boz Scaggs, Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, Steve Williamson, and Cassandra Wilson.
DON BYRON – For well over a decade, Don Byron has been a singular voice in an astounding range of musical contexts, exploring widely divergent traditions while continually striving for what he calls “a sound above genre.” As clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and social critic, he redefines every genre of music he plays, be it classical, salsa, hip-hop, funk, rhythm & blues, klezmer, or any jazz style from swing and bop to cutting-edge downtown improvisation. He has been consistently voted best clarinetist by critics and readers alike in leading international music journals since being named “Jazz Artist of the Year” by Down Beat in 1992. Acclaimed as much for his restless creativity as for his unsurpassed virtuosity as a player, Byron has presented a multitude of projects at major music festivals around the world, including recent performances in Vienna, San Francisco, Hong Kong, London, Monterey, New Zealand, and on New York’s Broadway.
His artistic collaborations include performances and recordings with Mario Bauza, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, John Hicks, Tom Cora, Bill Frisell, Vernon Reid, Marc Ribot, Cassandra Wilson, Hamiet Bluiett, Anthony Braxton, Geri Allen, Hal Willner, Marilyn Crispell, Reggie Workman, Craig Harris, David Murray, Leroy Jenkins, Bobby Previte, Gerry Hemingway, DD Jackson, Douglas Ewart, Brandon Ross, Ed Neumeister, Tom Pierson, Steve Coleman, Living Colour, Ralph Peterson, Uri Caine, Mandy Patinkin, Steve Lacy, the Kansas City All-Stars, the Bang On A Can All-Stars, Medeski Martin & Wood, Angelique Kidjo, Carole King, Daniel Barenboim, Salif Keita, the Atlanta Symphony, Klangforum Wien, Joe Henry, Paul Auster, Meshell Ndegeocello, and many others.
RICH SYRACUSE STRING BASSIST, ELECTRIC BASSIST, COMPOSER Rich Syracuse has been a mainstay on the New York area scene for more than three decades. While performing at an early age in New York City he was the winner of the prestigious Congress Of Strings Award. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Rich performed with The Group For Contemporary Music under the Conductor Charles Wournin and Harvey Solberger, The Hartford Ballet and the New Jersey Lyric Opera Co. During the early part of his career he performed in Jazz groups featuring pianists John Mehegan, Joey Calderazzo and Ted Rosenthal. After moving to New York State’s Hudson Valley in the mid 1980’s he began a long-standing stint in the Nick Brignola Quartet playing clubs, festivals, and recording sessions. Besides his years with Brignola, he has performed with Mose Allison, Kurt Elling, Dave Liebman, Brubeck Brothers, Warren Bernhardt, SumiTonoka, David Torn, Mike DeMicco, Peter Levin, Sam Morrison, Bernard Purdy, Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Chuck Lamb, Jeff “Siege” Siegel, Dena DeRose, John Medeski, Michael Musilliami and Ali Demogli, Rich had been the bassist for Jazz pianist Lee Shaw for over 25 years until her passing.
Drummer/Composer Jeff “Siege” Siegel is a veteran of the New York Jazz scene and has worked with a virtual “who’s who” of artists. A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio from 1994-’99, Siegel’s diverse career has also led him to perform and/or record with legends such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, John Medeski, Arthur Rhames, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Lee Shaw, Levin Brothers, John Medeski, Dena DeRose, Lee Shaw and many others. He has worked in the avant garde world as well with Wadada Leo Smith, Baikida Carroll. He’s performed over 30 European tours including four as leader of the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet and several others as co-leader. The Jeff “Siege” Siegel Sextet performed a 3 week tour of Africa in the summer of 2019. Other recent tours include The Levin Brothers Japan, Mexico, Canada and the US west coast and Midwest as well as South & Central America. His 2017 CD release “King of Xhosa” features South African trumpeter Feya Faku and is on the ARC label. His most recent release with his quartet is the 2018 release on ARC entitled “London Live” and “When You Were There” (2019) with Hetko, Syracuse & Siegel.

Pete McCann Quartet
2025-09-06 19:00 - 22:00
Pete McCann – guitar
Joe McCann – sax
Matt Pavolka – bass
Steve Johns – drums

Jazz guitarist Pete McCann has been an integral part of the New York City jazz scene for over 30 years. Pete has performed on over 100 CD’s and in every type of venue from jazz clubs to jazz festivals, schools to concert halls and even Carnegie Hall. He has traveled to more than 20 countries and has played in almost every state in the USA.
McCann has performed and/or recorded with Kenny Wheeler, Dave Liebman, Lee Konitz, The Manhattan Transfer, Patti Austin, Brian Blade, Bobby Previte, Grace Kelly, the Mahavishnu Project and the Maria Schneider Orchestra.
Joe McCann is Pete’s son and recent graduate of NYU with a master’s degree in jazz.
For twenty years bassist/composer Matt Pavolka has been a vital force in the New York Jazz and Creative Music scenes. A partial list of musicians and bands that he has performed with includes Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Guillermo Klein, Chris Cheek, Kevin Hayes, Ben Monder, House of Illusion, Josh Roseman’s Extended Constellations, Dave Binney, The Ryan Scott Orchestra, Magalie Souriou, Elysian Fields, Joe Beck, J. Geils, Tony Malaby, Bill McHenry, Matt Renzi and Ohad Talmor’s Newsreel. He has toured extensively in the United States, Europe and Japan and can be heard on many recordings, including releases from Magalie Souriou, Guillermo Klein, Marlon Browdon, Andre Fernandes, Nate Radley, Noah Preminger and House of Illusion. He has released two albums as a leader, “Something People Can Use,” on Tone Of A Pitch Records and “The Horns Band” on the Fresh Sounds, New Talent label.
For over three decades, drummer Steve Johns has been a major presence on the jazz scene, collaborating with many of the music’s most renowned practitioners. Artists from all points on the musical spectrum have consistently sought him out because they know his musicianship, versatility, deep commitment to his craft, and enthuaism will enrich any performance. Leaders such as Nat Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, Larry Coryell, Randy Brecker, Ronnie Cuber, Jimmy Owens, Dr. Billy Taylor, Benny Carter, Thomas Chapin and Sonny Fortune appreciated the fact that, no matter what the gig, from the world’s greatest concert stages to the smallest clubs, Steve brings the same total commitment, utmost professionalism, and pure joy at making music. He is also a total musician, who continues to expand his musical horizons by studying piano and trumpet.

Circular Jazz
2025-09-13 19:00 - 22:00
The Circular Jazz Trio:
Dan Blake, saxes
Bryan Copeland, bass
Bob Meyer, drums & cymbals
Playing music of members of the band, jazz standards, and the music of Bert Wilson.

Drummer Bob Meyer has performed and/or recorded with Joe Lovano, John Abercrombie, Ed Schuller, Ken Werner, Nina Sheldon, Judi Silvano, Perry Robinson, Glenn Moore, Cameron Brown, Andy Statman, Sheila Jordan, Ray Nance, Art Davis, Jaki Byard, Paul McCanless, Julian Priester, Gary Peacock, Peggy Stern, Bert Wilson, Diane Schurr, Stanley Cowell, Mal Waldron, David Friesen, Jim Pepper, Red Rodney, Itzhak Perlman, Arnie Lawrence, James Moody, Kirk Leitsey, Avishai Cohen, Wayne Horvitz, Drew Gress, Rob Scheps, Mike Bisio, Don Friedman, James Emery, Tony Malaby, Essiet Essiet, Santi Debriano, Vic Juris, Harvey Wainapel, Peter Barshay and Mel Martin, Eric Person, Travis Sullivan among many others.
Dan Blake
But for the Hudson Valley-based artist, whose ridiculously wide-ranging career has included significant work with great artists as different as avant guru Anthony Braxton and Grammy-winning jazz-pop star Esperanza Spalding, there are compelling reasons to also go in other directions.
The Boston Globe has said Blake “regards tradition as a welcoming playground best approached with a sense of wonder and adventure.” A frequent collaborator in this playground is the protean Argentine pianist Leo Genovese, whose recording Seeds (Palmetto) features Blake, who the New York Times called a “virtuoso.”
Bryan Copeland
Born in Abilene, TX.,bassist/composer/ bandleader Bryan Copeland spent the early part of his life growing up in the fertile farm lands of the north Texas panhandle. He lived his more formative years in Dallas and Austin, TX., surrounded by blues, folk, and country music. Currently, he resides in New York, where he uses his country roots, along with jazz and classical training, to influence his unique compositional styling.
He has toured and performed with several artist that include Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, Matt Wilson, Ingrid Jensen, Camila Meza, Tim Warfield, Marcus Belgrave, Aaron Parks, Fabian Almazan, Jon Cowherd, Dayna Stephens, Rudy Royston, Kenny Wollesen, Jamire Williams, Marcus Printup, Frank Locrasto, Donald Edwards, J.J. Johnson, Adam Nussbaum, Steve Houghton, Ernie Watts, Ashley Arrison (Kelly Clarkson), and Toby Goodshank (Moldy Peaches) He has recorded with Jon Brion, David Binney, Radney Foster, Andre Heyword, and Aben Eubanks (Kelly Clarkson)
Bryan has performed at Montreux Jazz Festival, Jazz a Juan in Antibes, Vienne Jazz Festival, Lion Jazz Festival, NYC Winter Jazz
Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center. As a student, he was named outstanding soloist at Addison Jazz Festival

Spin Cycle
2025-09-20 19:00 - 22:00
Tom Christensen- Saxophone
Pete McCann- Guitar
Matt Pavolka- Bass
Scott Neumann- Drums

Since 2014, contemporary jazz band Spin Cycle has been bringing their original music to clubs and concert halls across the US and Canada. Co-lead by Scott Neumann and Tom Christensen, the band highlights their flexibility, reach and capacity to surprise their audiences. On any given song, you might encounter the modal influence of John Coltrane, the second-line funk of New Orleans, or the edgy experimentation of free jazz.
Featuring guitarist Pete McCann and bassist Matt Pavolka, both bandleaders and well-respected artists in their own right, Spin Cycle has spent the last 7 years touring, recording, and providing educational workshops at colleges. The band’s fourth CD will be released soon on their label, Sound Footing Records.
There is, to be sure, plenty of musical variety provided by Spin Cycle, with compositions by Christensen, a consummate multi-instrumentalist who mostly plays tenor saxophone, and by Neumann a versatile and expressive drummer. Having performed in all kinds of settings including the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Jazz Mandolin Project, the Gil Evans Project, Madeleine Peyroux’s touring group, Broadway pit bands and with Cecile McLorin Salvant, Rufus Reid and Maria Schneider the co-leaders know how to bring out the intimacy of a ballad as well as the soulful feeling of swing.

Markley Vocal Showcase
2025-09-27 19:00 - 22:00

Rob Scheps Core-tet
2025-10-04 19:00 - 22:00
Rob Scheps – saxophone/ flute
Jamie Reynolds-piano
David Kingsnorth – bass
Matt Garrity – drums

Oregon native Rob Scheps began studying the tenor saxophone at age nine. He grew up on Long Island, New York. After graduating high school, he enrolled in the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. There he received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies with Honors in Performance.
​While living in the Boston area, Rob formed and led his own groups, including the True Colors Big Band. In 1988 he moved to New York, where he formed the Rob Scheps Core-tet and the Bartokking Heads, firmly establishing himself on the jazz scene.
​Not content to limit himself, Rob continued to take on new challenges. He formed new bands on both coasts. He served as a faculty member at the Mannes College of Music. He worked with contemporary music ensembles. All while performing with some of the most noted and influential big bands of our age, such as the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
​In addition to his jazz credentials, Rob been an active part of the classical, theater, and popular music communities. For 13 years, he served as the Principal Saxophone with the Oregon Symphony. He was part of the national tour of Porgy and Bess with the Charleston Symphony, and the New York City Opera orchestra for Wonderful Town. He has worked on Broadway on productions such as CATS and Miss Saigon. He has appeared with such legends as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, and Linda Ronstadt. His range is best shown by viewing his ‘Performances’ page, showing the diversity of those with whom he has worked.
Jamie Reynolds is a Canadian pianist, keyboardist and composer who has lived in New York City since 2005. He graduated with honors from the University of Toronto in 2004, where he studied with David Braid, Mike Murley, Phil Nimmons, and many others. Jamie moved to New York in 2005 when he was awarded multiple Canada Council grants to study privately with Fred Hersch and Craig Taborn. He has also received professional development grants for touring in 2012 and for recording his album Counterpart in 2013. Jamie has performed at New York’s top jazz clubs and has toured extensively in Canada, the U.S., and Europe, including a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. Jamie is also a longtime faculty member at the 92nd St. Y School of Music, where he teaches jazz piano, theory, and composition. He is also a staff accompanist at the Diller-Quaile School of Music and a former faculty member of the preparatory program at Queens College. Jamie released his debut album, “Time with People”, an acoustic piano trio recording of original music, in 2012. His second, “Counterpart”, features electric instruments and effects and was self-released in 2013. Jamie’s latest project, “Grey Mirror”, featured the guitarist Matthew Stevens and the improvising brass quartet the Westerlies. “Grey Mirror” was released in 2017 on the Fresh Sound label and received a 4.5 star review in Downbeat Magazine.
Bassist David Kingsnorth has performed with the John Abercrombie /Rob Scheps Quartet, Eliot Zigmund, Joshua Breakstone, Oscar Brown Jr., Richard Wyands, Frank Jackson, the New Jersey Ballet, and the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea. He is originally from California, where he studied with John Clayton and received degrees in math and music from the University of California, Berkeley.
Drummer Matt Garrity has been on the New York music scene since 1994. He has performed and recorded with some of the best in the business, including Grammy winners: Joe Lovano, Vincent Herring and Steve Slagle, as well as David Williams, Teri Thornton, Peter Bernstein, David Amram, Eric Alexander, Judi Silvano, Gary Versace, Ron McLure, Ed Cherry, Joel Forrester, Jeremy Pelt and Jerome Richardson.

Eric DiVito Trio
2025-10-11 19:00 - 22:00
Eric DiVito – guitar
Bob Gingery – bass
Ray Levier – drums

Eric DiVito is a New York-based guitarist, composer, and educator who has been performing professionally since 2003. He has led his own groups and appeared as a sideman at many of NYC’s premier jazz clubs and festivals, including Smalls, The Iridium, The Kitano, The 55 Bar, and international venues such as The Rex and The Jazz Room in Canada. His festival appearances include the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, AirTrain Jazz Festival, and Garner Arts Festival, among others.
​Eric is an Eastman Guitars artist and a recording artist with Pioneer Jazz Collective (PJC Records), with two acclaimed albums to his name: Breaking the Ice (2012) and The Second Time Around (2013). His writing has also been featured in DownBeat Magazine, RAE Magazine, and Play Jazz Guitar. Eric lives in Rockland County, NY with his wife and three children.

Bob Gingery began playing the saxophone at age 10 but the sounds of James Jamerson, Rocco Prestia, and Jaco Pastorius inspired him to pick up the bass guitar. He was soon gigging with local rock bands and playing in his high school’s jazz band. At age 18, he began studying the upright bass. Since his arrival to New York in 1999, he has been performing with some of the city’s top musicians including Eliot Zigmund, Joe Beck, Buddy Williams, Allan Harris, Ron Affif, Brad Shepik and Lou Volpe. He has played the Blue Note, Birdland, the Hartford International Jazz Festival, Joe’s Pub and the Knitting Factory. Maintaining a busy schedule as both a sideman and band leader, he is at home with many styles of music and has performed and recorded with jazz, rock, pop, R&B and Latin artists, musicals and symphony orchestras.
Gingery is also active as an educator. He is a faculty member at Concordia Conservatory in Bronxville, NY and the Brearley School in New York, NY. He holds undergraduate degrees in music from Berklee College of Music and California State University, Chico and a masters degree in music from the City College of New York where he studied with Ron Carter, John Patitucci, and Geri Allen.

Professional drummer Ray Levier is a veritable Swiss Army Knife on the kit, facile at finessing jazz-fusion grooves, swinging a jazz combo, laying down rugged hip-hop beats and nasty funk, accompanying singer-songwriters with subtle grace, and bashing away at rock beats with panache and precision.

Ray has also recorded with jazz fusion icons guitarists Mike Stern and John Abercrombie. Ray attended William Patterson College’s prestigious music program headed by legendary bassist Rufus Reid. .
Ray was born into a family of musicians—his father is a pianist and his mother was formerly a vocalist. On his own, he discovered an old beater drum kit in his grandmother’s basement and began thumping away. At age 12, Ray was very badly burned during a camping accident in a chicken coup when a fallen candle set the area ablaze with flames 3 to 4 stories high. Ray was sleeping at the time, and was in a dreamy state slowly sensing danger and oppressive heat as he came conscious. The accident left Ray burned from his head to one inch above his navel, and his recovery involved 6 months of excruciating skin grafts and hospital treatments. Through the accident he lost most of his digits as his hands fused together like fists.
Ray’s biggest immediate obstacle was figuring out how to hold drum sticks basically without fingers. That was a journey in itself that showed his steely determination. He improvised this feat first with duct tape, then a special martial arts glove that he found, and, finally, during college, Ray had a surgery that granted him access and use of his thumb. “Throughout it all, there was no doubt in mind that I could do it. My attitude was that I didn’t die—I will do anything to become a professional drummer,” Ray shares.

Nancy Donnelly Quartet
2025-10-18 19:00 - 22:00
Nancy Donnelly – vocals
Johnny D’Agostino – guitar
Vincent Leggire – bass
Phil Nestor – drums
Jazz standards, blues, Latin, pop
“Nancy Donnelly is an exciting singer whose voice is nestled nicely somewhere in between jazz and soul• a rich, warm and powerful sound” Peter Eldridge (New York Voices).
Nancy’s ability to blend a spectrum of musical styles is attributed to her wide array of musical influences and experiences. Nancy began training as a classical vocalist at a young age. Upon graduating from the “Crane School of Music”, Nancy moved to Boston to further pursue her musical studies. While in Boston, she had the opportunity to work with several Blues and R&B groups. Nancy realized her true passion for jazz when she performed with Russian saxophonist Igor Butman.
Nancy then moved to New York, where she played in many of the cities famous jazz clubs, such as the Blue Note, The Village Gate, Iridium, and Birdland numerous jazz festivals including the Rochester International Jazz Festival and the Wall St. Jazz Festival. Nancy’s critically acclaimed debut CD features Peggy Stern Jay Anderson and Matt Wilson.
Nancy has two critically acclaimed CD’s available on iTunes and Spotify.

Mark Usvolk Septet
2025-10-25 19:00 - 22:00
Bassist, composer and Lydia’s Café owner Mark Usvolk has the rare privilege of featuring some of the finest musicians in New York in this annual performance of his original works written over the past 30 years.
Jazz, Latin, R&B and Classical styles with memorable melodies and rich harmonies.
Mark Usvolk – bass/composer
Ron Horton – trumpet/flugelhorn
Tim Armacost – sax/flute
Mark Dziuba – guitar
Tim Regusis – keys
Jeff Siegel – drums
Amir Halfon – percussion

Mark Usvolk received his Bachelor of Music from The University of North Texas eons ago as a guitarist, majoring in composition and theory. He then went on for the next 20 years or so making a living playing guitar and bass in a variety of groups performing Jazz, R&B, Salsa, Funk along with shows, recording dates and performances with the Tucson Symphony.
Usvolk started designing and building homes in Ulster County in 1986 and along with wife, Roni bought the Country Deli in 2006 from Roni’s mom, Lydia, turning it into the cafe and music venue of today. Which is how he got this gig.
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Since 1982, trumpeter Ron Horton has been an integral part of New York’s flourishing jazz scene and he stands out both as an exemplary instrumentalist and as a highly progressive composer and arranger. Whether called upon as a sideman or as a leader of one of his own ensembles, he shows that he is committed to further expanding the existing perimeters of jazz.
Horton has had many long musical associations with leaders such as saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom (1983-2000) and pianist Andrew Hill. He was a member of Hill’s sextet from 1998 until 2003, and appears on the group’s critically acclaimed cd, Dusk (Palmetto 2000). He was also musical director and co-arranger for Hill’s big band, and is featured on the cd, A Beautiful Day(Palmetto 2002).
Ron Horton was born in 1960 in Bethesda, Maryland, and has been frequently called on as a sideman to perform and/or record with such artists as Lee Konitz, Will Holshouser, Rez Abbasi, Phillip Johnston, Andy Laster, Mick Rossi, Matt Wilson, Bill Gerhardt, Bill Mays, Peggy Stern, Allan Chase, Andy Biskin, Ted Nash, Jon Gordon, John McKenna, Walter Thompson, Diana Perez, Billy Newman, Mario Pavone, Tina Marsh, Maryanne DeProphetis, Landon Knoblock, Sam Bardfeld, Maria Guida, Abigail Riccards, Angie Sanchez, Kris Davis, Darcy James Argue and many others.
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Saxophonist Tim Armacost’s music is known for its balance of lyrical invention, harmonic sophistication and exciting interplay among top-tier band mates. His improvisations are brimming with ideas, but organized into a naturally flowing narrative
Touring regularly around the world both as a sideman and a leader, Armacost has worked with a phenomenal number of jazz greats, including Al Foster, Jimmy Cobb, Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, Victor Lewis, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Peter Erskine, Ray Drummond, Roy Hargrove, Don Friedman and Randy Brecker.
Armacost has recorded 14 critically acclaimed albums as a leader, performed on more than 60 as a sideman, and has recorded over 100 original songs and arrangements. His most recent leader outing, Time Being, featuring Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts and Bob Hurst received 4 stars in Downbeat magazine, and has met with critical acclaim around the world.
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Tim Regusis is a Hudson Valley-based pianist who has been active in the jazz scene of the NYC region, as well as in the fields of R&B, Latin and various world musics for many years.
He has played and/or recorded with Patti Austin, Ruben Blades, David Byrne, Celia Cruz, Chuck Mangione, Johnny Pacheco, Daniel Ponce, Rick Margitza, Cindy Blackman, Jeff Williams, Akira Ohmori, Najee, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Jonathan Butler, Ofra Haza and others.
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Mark Dziuba has been a guitarist, improviser and composer for most of his life. He has performed with a who’s who of Jazz, Blues, Rock and Bluegrass musicians and has performed and taught at workshops and festivals internationally for over 40 years.
Mark is a tenured professor of music at the State University of New York at New Paltz where he directs the Jazz Studies program. He was a part of the internationally acclaimed National Guitar Workshop for 25 years and has been a part of the Crown of the Continent International Guitar Festival since its birth.
Mark is a published author and a featured soloist and composer on numerous recordings. He continues to explore the world of improvised live and virtual music and can be found performing often in the area and abroad. (dziubam@newpaltz.edu)
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JEFF “SIEGE” SIEGEL
Drummer/Composer Jeff “Siege” Siegel is a veteran of the New York Jazz scene and has worked with a virtual “who’s who” of artists. A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio from 1994-’99, Siegel’s diverse career has also led him to perform and/or record with legends such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, John Medeski, Arthur Rhames, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Lee Shaw, Levin Brothers, John Medeski, Dena DeRose, Lee Shaw and many others. He has worked in the avant garde world as well with Wadada Leo Smith, Baikida Carroll. He’s performed over 30 European tours including four as leader of the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet and several others as co-leader. The Jeff “Siege” Siegel Sextet performed a 3 week tour of Africa in the summer of 2019. Other recent tours include The Levin Brothers Japan, Mexico, Canada and the US west coast and Midwest as well as South & Central America. His 2017 CD release “King of Xhosa” features South African trumpeter Feya Faku and is on the ARC label. His most recent release with his quartet is the 2018 release on ARC entitled “London Live” and “When You Were There” (2019) with Hetko, Syracuse & Siegel.
