HVCC Presents The Peg Delaney Big Band on Thursday, Oct. 26

September 13, 2023

Jazz pianist brings 17 of the region’s top musicians to the Troy campus.

Schenectady-native Peg Delaney, who has greatly enriched the Capital Region’s music scene during five decades of playing, arranging and composing sophisticated jazz piano, finally has fulfilled a long-time goal to compose music for a big band. The result will be showcased in a free (reservations required*) concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26, in the Maureen Stapleton Theatre at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.

Always performing – solo, as an accompanist, or with a trio that includes her husband, bassist Bill Delaney – Delaney hoped one day to turn all the melodies in her head into scores for a big band. The pandemic shutdown provided the free time she needed to compose or rework nearly 20 compositions that were premiered at a sold-out concert at SUNY Schenectady in fall 2022.

Music Journalist Michael Hochanadel summed up the epic event: “Peg Delaney led a black-clad crew of local heroes in two sets of her original tunes, then lit up ‘Seven Steps to Heaven’ ” [by Miles Davis and Victor Feldman]. “The show had a warm, family feel,” Hochanadel wrote on Nippertown.com, recognizing that these musicians have supported each other for years. Many of them perform together in other groups. Now, Delaney is thrilled to bring her original works that often depict family and other memorable events to HVCC, where she’ll lead a line-up of stellar musicians. Alto Sax: Awan Jenkins, Jim Corigliano (Delaney’s big band composition mentor); Tenor Sax: Brian Patneaude, Dave Fisk; Baritone Sax and Vocals: Jeanine Ouderkirk; Flute: Patty Fusco; Trumpet: Scott Thompson, Dylan Canterbury, Steve Lambert, Steve Horowitz; Trombone: Ken Olsen, Elias Assimakopolis, Mark Giordano; Bass Trombone: Shaun Bazylewicz; Acoustic Bass: Gregg August (Grammy winner and Delaney’s nephew); Drums: Gene Garone; Percussion: Brian Melick.

*Required reservations for The Peg Delaney Big Band concert may be made at www.hvcc.edu/culture.

Two additional jazz concerts are part of the Fall 2023 cultural events schedule:

Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes with special guest vocalist Kaitlyn Fay
Thursday, Sept. 21 at noon in the BTC Auditorium
Michael Benedict, named 2023 Best Jazz Musician by WCDB Radio (SUNY Albany), plays the vibraphone, a melding of a xylophone and marimba. Jazz Vibes, one of several jazz ensembles led by Benedict, features three of the region’s most sought-after musicians: Jon LeRoy, organ; Pete Sweeney, drums, and Brian Melick, percussion. Guest vocalist Kaitlyn Fay is “swinging and sweet; a joy and a natural” says Peter Eldridge of New York Voices. The group performs original compositions, jazz standards and Brazilian-influenced jazz, aka Bossa Nova.

Jazz Vocalist Shiri Zorn with George Muscatello & Mauricio Zottarelli
Thursday, Sept. 28 at noon in the BTC Auditorium
Shiri means “Sing!” in Hebrew and Israeli-born Shiri Zorn discovered her natural talent at a young age. Over the past decade, Zorn’s enduring collaboration with guitar and improvisation virtuoso George Muscatello continues to amaze and delight audiences. The two take standard jazz repertoire to new heights with unusual time signatures and Latin or Middle Eastern influences. Nine-time Grammy nominee Tierney Sutton co-produced Zorn’s 2023 debut album, “Into Another Land,” that is showcased in Downbeat (July 2023). In addition to Muscatello, NYC-based Brazilian percussionist Mauricio Zottarelli joins Zorn at HVCC.

The Fall 2023 schedule also includes:

• Fiesta del Norte, a Connecticut-based Mariachi band that performs traditional Mexican folk and popular music
  Thursday, Oct. 12 at noon in the BTC Auditorium
• The McKrells, perennial favorites and first-class musicians perform original Celtic-infused bluegrass music
  Thursday, Nov. 16 at noon in the BTC Auditorium

All events are offered free by HVCC’s Cultural Affairs Program. Reservations, required only for The Peg Delaney Big Band, may be made at www.hvcc.edu/culture. For additional information, contact Debby Gardner at d.gardner@hvcc.edu or (518) 629-8071.