Jazz on Jay Launches New Season of Free Shows June 1 with Young Artists of the ESYO Jazz Combo

Upcoming ShowsYourSchenectady
By Michael Hochanadel

The 2023 Jazz on Jay season opens by giving top young players their chance to shine: The Empire State Youth Orchestra’s Jazz Combo.

This all-star ensemble comprises Bohdan Kinal, alto saxophone; Angelo Delaney and Nathan Yan, tenor saxophones; Landon Kinal and Conor Costello, trumpets; Luyanda Pieterse, trombone; Sam Wagner, guitar; Ben Quist, bass; and Keimon Knoel, drums.

These young players are the ESYO’s most advanced jazz students, with high-level technical skills, extensive improvisation experience, and honed musical smarts. They play music spanning all eras of jazz, from 1920s swing to 1980s electric fusion and more modern forms, and they perform in area jazz clubs and on more formal concert stages. Collaborating with top professionals, they have played with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, “Blue” Lou Marini and Allen Vizzutti, Grammy-winning pianist/composer Bill Cunliffe, and trumpeter Michael Rodriquez.

Trumpeter-teacher Peter Bellino conducts both the ESYO Jazz Combo and its larger Jazz Orchestra. Bellino holds degrees from the University of Miami, the University of Kentucky, the Eastman School of Music, and Stony Brook University. He has taught at Schenectady County Community College (now SUNY Schenectady), Dutchess County Community College, SUNY Geneseo, and the University of Illinois, and also at the American Festival for the Arts. Bellino now teaches at Union College, Bard College, and the College of St. Rose and is also Regional Manager/Music Director for the Paul Effman Music Service.

All Jazz on Jay concerts are free through support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Schenectady County, the Upstate Coalition for a Fairgame, the Schenectady Foundation, and the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation. Nippertown.com is the series media sponsor.

Showtime is at noon at the Jay Street Marketplace, where Jay Street meets State Street. Rain site: Robb Alley at Proctors adjacent to Apostrophe.

Michael Hochanadel184 posts

Michael Hochanadel has written on music since before Bruce Springsteen played the Union College Memorial Chapel (1974), publishing a weekly column and as many as 100 concert reviews annually in the Gazette (Schenectady/Capital Region) newspapers. He’s also written and photographed for Kite, Metroland, the New York Post and Vermont Vanguard newspapers; and for magazines including Capital Region, American Farmland, the Conservationist, Boston, and Wilderness Camping where he was photography editor and production manager. He has also worked on the dark side, in public relations and advertising as writer, photographer, researcher and producer of slide shows, video, radio and TV spots, print publications and reports. He was Music Haven Music Maven of the Year (2017), first-ever winner (2019) of the Eddy Award as Music Journalist of the Year and a repeat winner in 2023. He blogs at www.hokesjukebox.com.

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