Schenectady-native Matt Steckler’s Janus Quartet @ Alias Coffee in Troy 1/14/24

Saxophonist-composer-teacher Matt Steckler will join some usual suspects Sunday at Alias Coffee in Troy. Now based in Vermont, the Schenectady native calls his new band the Janus Quartet, and it features Alias regulars drummer Joe Barna, bassist Otto Gardner and pianist John Esposito.

Steckler brands this crew with the name Janus because, as he points out in his show announcement, the two-faced Roman god represents “beginnings, transitions, looking back and forward.” The quartet comprises experienced area jazz stalwarts who are both trained in the tradition and operating as inventive creative forces.

“I know Joe as the central figure behind the Troy jazz scene,” said Steckler by email from his home in Manchester. “He has connected me with Otto and John for the first time, based on our stylistic intersections as individuals.”

Barna earned his bachelor’s of fine arts at SUNY Purchase in 2004, training with Jon Faddis, Hal Galper, Todd Cooman and others. Leading his Sketches of Influence band and a regular trio at Alias, Barna often welcomes top guest stars including Joe Magnarelli, Dick Oatts, Joel Frahm (returning to Alias in February with his trio), Jerry Weldon and others. He has ambitiously toured Europe, Asia and as far as Australia, and recorded on 10 albums as a sideman and six as main composer and bandleader.

Esposito is the versatile master of Harlem stride, big-band swing, bebop and modern styles. He’s recorded and performed with an impressive roster of jazz stars including both area stars Nick Brignola and J.R. Monterose, and such national and international masters as Pharaoh Sanders, David “Fathead” Newman, Sam Rivers, Roswell Rudd and others. The Village Voice has praised Esposito’s playing for displaying “the lustrous clarity of a gamelan band using repetition so brilliantly that crystalline forms accrue from it.”

Otto Gardner is a founding member and 22-year player with the Empire Jazz Orchestra big band. Like Barna’s bands, the Orchestra welcomes guest stars including Jimmy Heath, Lou Soloff, Curtis Fuller and others. As a three-decade area star, Gardner has guested with local heroes Nick Brignola and Lee Shaw, also such national eminences as James Spalding, Randy Brecker and Lincoln Mayorga. Gardner also teaches at Bard College.

Steckler also teaches, including a multiyear stint at the University of Bradford in Manitoba. He trained at Wesleyan University (B.A.), New England Conservatory (M.M.) and NYU (Ph.D.) Even while training and teaching, he has formed and led numerous bands including Dead Cat Bounce, Persiflage, Matty Stecks & Musical Tramps. As composer of original and commissioned pieces, he has busily recorded on Ropeadope, Cuneiform and Innova labels, placing on Best CD lists in Downbeat and Jazz Times. As a performer, he has worked with Lonnie Plaxico, Gary Smulyan, Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton, Roswell Rudd, George Russell, Joe Lovano, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Sanabria, Gunther Schuller, Tony Lewis, Alex Blake, Jon Hendricks and others. In September, he introduced a new trio with pianist Yayoi Ikawa and bassist Lonnie Plaxico at Caffe Lena.

Sunday at Alias, Steckler said he, Barna, Gardner, Barna and Esposito will perform “an all-originals, extended 90-minute set.” He said the tunes will be “mostly mine, but there may be one of Joe’s as well.”

He also notes the players are well-equipped to improvise. Citing their ability to listen and respond, he said, “Everyone has big ears and is very open to adapting to the moment.” Steckler explained. “That’s a cliché in describing most jazz, but in this case, because we all have experience with ‘free playing,’ it will inform how we play over changes as well.”

Asked about how the jazz scene has evolved during and since his time in Manitoba, Steckler answered that he would never have imagined it.

“Not in a million years, if I’m honest,” he said. “Luckily, a lot has changed for the better since my days growing up here,” added the Schenectady High School grad. 

SOME JAZZ SHORTS (like Erroll Garner, or our own Lee Shaw):

• Thursday, Jan. 11: Brad Brose and His Bad Bros (Brad Rose, guitar; Adrien Chevalier, violin; Uri Zelig, drums; Abe Pollack, bass) at Caffe Lena (47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs) 7 p.m. $19.17.
• Sunday, Jan. 15: Art D’echo Trio (David Gleason, piano; Mike Lawrence, bass; Pete Sweeney, drums) at Margarita City Mexican Grill (1118 Central Ave., Albany) 1 p.m.  $15, students $5. Jam session follows. A presentation of the Swingtime Jazz Society, this afternoon show could be the first event for any jazz fan seeking a doubleheader, with Matt Steckler’s Janus Quartet at 6 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 8: “Winter Jazz Fest” at Alias Coffee
• 6 p.m.: The Killdeer Trio (Wyatt Ambrose, guitar; Evan Jagels, bass and Sebastian Green, drums)
• 7:15 p.m.: Joe Barna Standards Trio (Barna, drums; Ian MacDonald, piano; Tarik Shah, bass; with guest vocalist Shannon Rafferty)
• 8:30 p.m. Joel Frahm Trio