Concert Review: Schenectady Jazz Super Sunday @ Robb Alley, 04/23/2023

Schenectady’s Sunday jazz scene was so busy that players rushed from gig to gig.

At noon, the opening event brought three bands to the Robb Alley stage at Proctors, a free show presented as part of Jazz Appreciation Month. I’m told the Wyatt Ambrose Trio fit there comfortably – I got there late and missed them – but I can attest that Matty Stecks and the 518 filled it edge to edge; then the Tim Olsen Big Band spilled off it onto the audience floor.

Noting his plaid flannel represented his area code 802 (Manchester, VT) more than the basic black of his 518 bandmates, saxophonist Matt Steckler (Matty Stecks onstage) nonetheless led the quartet in robust 10-minutes-long post-bop tunes that flowed smooth and strong.

Dexter Gordon’s “Fried Bananas” (also played by Michael Benedict’s Jazz Vibes last week in Schenectady’s first Jazz Appreciation Month free show at the Karen B. Johnson Main Library) was all drive and drollery, playful and punchy. Stecks led on tenor, cueing solos by pianist Wayne Hawkins and bassist Rich Syracuse. Drummer Bob Halek shrugged off the glanced invite for a full solo here (and in the Stecks original that followed) but swapped fours with Stecks and Hawkins. Loose right out of the box, Hawkins and Syracuse grinned through the recap and played with wit, too.

Stecks’ originals “I’d Know It If I Heard It,” a steady waltz, the sweet ballad “Chrysalis” with poignant repeats, and the tender bossa “Forgive” held their own among the late, great Wayne Shorter’s tempo-shifting “E.S.P” and the funk-vamp “Beauty and the Beast” – also the timeless “I Should Care.” “E.S.P.” generated a bluesy head of steam, Halek stepping up with his first solo of the set after playing hot stuff in “I’d Know It If I Heard It.“

Playing tenor, soprano and alto, Stecks stated themes, explored and expanded chords and generally ran things; everybody played confidently smooth and the set brought big energy and charm.

Watching the 16-piece Tim Olsen Big Band replace Stecks and the 518 quartet was a marvel of dynamic high-traffic set-up in a small space; reed-man Tom Gerbino toting what looked like an entire music store to his congested section of the main floor.

A scholar and (Union College) professor as much as a pianist, trumpeter/flugelhorn player, composer and arranger, Olsen commands an encyclopedic, expansive and very alive knowledge of big-band literature and lore. The antiques bore no dust or rust, whether in the straight-ahead blasts through the opening “King Porter Stomp” and the closing “Two O’Clock Jump” or Olsen’s own “Morning in Morocco,” a deconstruction of “A Night in Tunisia.”

As with Stecks’ crew, there was invention a’plenty, both as fresh ideas in these classics and original compositions. Olsen’s romantic “Ballade” bore strong Stravinsky echoes and the fervent “Fur Ellis” – its punned title didn’t detract at all from Olsen’s reverence for Ellis Marsalis in this sincere tribute – showcased an eloquent Kristina Johnson alto solo.

Olsen kindly sent his setlist and band roster after the show, so you can see below what they played and who soloed where.

In addition to Johnson’s beautiful work in “Fur Ellis,” highlight solos were Brian Patneaude’s lyrical soprano saxophone in “Ballade,” Dylan Canterbury’s scrambling trumpet break in the playful “Why I Fancy Nancy” (written by area drummer Matt Maguire and trumpeter Terry Gordon) and Patneatude again, on tenor, in “Morning in Morocco.”

Olsen himself took short, spry piano breaks only in his originals and played a fine flugelhorn solo in “I’m Tired,” sounding not a bit tired at all.

Just as impressive as these individual efforts were the massive sound they made together, everybody wailing at once or going soft and soothing. An ace arranger and energetic conductor, Olsen set up his piano facing his band, his back to the audience, except when he announced tunes and soloists or joked around in a relaxed, easy way. He cued the sections energetically, but they had clearly done their homework and read and played their parts smoothly and with spirit. The whole thing jumped, jived and wailed.

At the end, some players packed up in more haste than others. Patneaude toted his horns out the door to Jazz Vespers at First Reformed Church in the Stockade a few blocks away. Saxophonist Jim Corigliano, trumpeters Dylan Canterbury and Steve Lambert, and trombonists Elias Assimakopoulos and Shaun Bazylewicz headed uptown to the Hibernian Hall to play with the Brucker Weisse Canterbury Jazz Orchestra. Around me, fans were talking about following those players to their next gigs. Nice.

MATTY STECKS AND THE 518

Setlist
Fried Bananas
I’d Know It If I Heard It
E.S.P.
Chrysalis
I Should Care
Beauty and the Beast
Forgive

Personnel
Matt Steckler – tenor, alto and soprano saxophones
Wayne Hawkins – piano
Rich Syracuse – bass
Bob Halek – drums

Setlist (soloists identified by initials, see Personnel)
King Porter Stomp DL—clarinet
Portnoy’s Complaint JC—alto; SL—trumpet
Ballade BP—soprano
Always
I’m Tired [TO—solo flugelhorn]
Satan Takes a Holiday
Why I Fancy Nancy DC—trumpet; EA—trombone
Für Ellis KJ—alto
Morning in Morocco BP—tenor
Two O’Clock Jump

Personnel:
Jim Corigliano – alto saxophone
Kristina Johnson – alto saxophone and flute
Brian Patneaude – tenor and soprano saxophone
Dave Lambert – tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute
Tom Gerbino – baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet and flute

Steve Lambert – trumpet
Dylan Canterbury – trumpet
Nathaniel McKeever – trumpet
Jon Bronk – trumpet

Elias Assimakopoulos – trombone
Sean Bazylowicz – trombone
Mike Blostein – trombone
Dan Cordell – bass trombone

Lou Smaldone – bass
Rick Rosoff – drums
Tim Olsen – piano, flugelhorn and leader