A Place For Jazz Lee Shaw Tribute Concert
The APFJ Lee Shaw Centennial Tribute celebrating her life, legacy, and enduring influence as a jazz master composer, pianist and educator. The concert features performances by Mike DeMicco, Tedd Firth, Dave Gleason, Nick Hetko, Jeff “Siege” Siegel, and Rich Syracuse, all distinguished musicians, as well as former working members of the Lee Shaw Trio or students of Lee Shaw.
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.
Tedd Firth is a New York City based musical director, gifted and versatile pianist and arranger. as well as serving as musical director for Michael Feinstein's “Jazz and Popular Song” concert series at Jazz at Lincoln Center. New York appearances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, Birdland, the Iridium, the Algonquin, the Cafe Carlyle and Feinstein's at the Regency. Numerous national appearances include a performance at the White House. As an arranger and orchestrator, Tedd's work has been performed by all major American symphony orchestras.
Dave Gleason -is a music educator, pianist, and composer with an M.A. from Tufts University where he studied ethnomusicology and composition. As a jazz and Latin pianist he has led acclaimed Latin Jazz ensemble Sensemaya and performed with Lee Konitz, Laurel Masse, Fred Wesley, Gary Smulyan, Ray Vega, Danilo Perez, Rufus Reid, Evan Christopher, Antonio Hart, Bobby Previte, John Fedchock and others. He has taught music for over 20 years, is featured on a number of albums, and is also the author of Alfred Publishing’s "The Total Blues Keyboardist."
Nick Hetko is an award winning pianist and composer. He has shared the stage with the likes of James Moody, Matt Wilson, Chris Potter, Buddy Guy, and Dave Holland at countless clubs and concert halls around the world. He was the grand prize winner of the 2016 Six String Theory Competition, went on tour with Lee Ritenour, and recorded a track for Lee’s upcoming album. He holds two ASCAP Jazz Composer awards and three awards from Downbeat Magazine for his compositions and performances. He was a Grand Finalist in the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition and the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, and was a recipient of the prestigious Stamps Scholarship at the University of Miami. Residing in New York City, Nick is an in-demand pianist in the local music scene, performing at venues such as Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium The 55 Bar, Smalls Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, and the Cutting Room.
Jeff Siegel as a drummer, composer, and educator has worked with a virtual “who’s who” of artists. A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio, he has performed and recorded with legendary artists such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Frank Foster, Shiela Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Steve Turre, Arthur Rhames and John Esposito. An active educator, Siegel teaches Jazz drumming at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music as well as at Western Connecticut State University. He has performed clinics throughout world.
Rich Syracuse has been a mainstay on the New York area scene for more than four decades. Early Jazz groups include Pianist’s John Mehegan, Joey Calderazzo, Ted Rosenthal, and Bruce Barth. After Moving to New York State’s Hudson Valley in the mid 1980’s he began a long-standing position in the Nick Brignola Quartet playing clubs, festivals, and recording sessions. Besides his years with Brignola, he has performed with Mose Allison, Kurt Elling, Brubeck Brothers, Michael and Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Warren Bernhardt, Vinnie Martucci, Sumi Tonoka, David Torn, Mike DeMicco, Mark Djuzba, Peter Levin, Sam Morrison, John Esposito, Steve Raleigh, Jimmy Cobb, Bernard Purdy, Adam Nussbaum, Jeff “siege” Siegel, Eddie Henderson, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Dena DeRose, John Medeski, Michael Musilliami and Ali Demogli. He is the Professor for String and Electric Bass Studies at Skidmore College in Saratoga, New York; Hotchkiss School in Lakeville Connecticut, Bard College in New York and SUNY New Paltz college in New Paltz New York.
Highlights of the concert will include excerpts from the documentary Lee’s 88 Keys, produced by Susan Robbins and a dynamic 50-minute concert by award-winning recipients of the Lee Shaw Scholarship led by Dylan Canterbury, performing charts of a selection of Lee’s compositions by Peg Delaney. A jam session will close out the tribute.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3507910-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3507910-2
