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The Lee Shaw Scholarship
Fund
At our next concert (July 14, 2024):
MICHAEL BENEDICT JAZZ VIBES
Percussionist Michael
Benedict received a bachelor’s degree in music education from
the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a master’s degree in
jazz studies from Rutgers University.
In Jazz Vibes, Michael plays the vibraphone. His band plays
original compositions, jazz standards and Brazilian-influenced jazz.
He has toured the United States extensively and has performed in
Europe. In 2012, Michael went on a US State Department tour of
Tunisia, Africa, where he taught and performed with the Planet Arts
Trio.
Michael has released six recordings to date. His album,
Circulation, was an
editor’s pick in Downbeat Magazine and listed as one of the Best
Jazz Albums of 2015 by National Public Radio. His newest album,
1-2-3 Go, earned him the
Local Hero Award for Best Local/Regional Release by J. Hunter for
www.nippertown.com.
Michael recently won an award for the Best Jazz Musician of the Year
for 2023 given by WCDB Radio, SUNY Albany, 90.9FM.
Kaitlyn Fay
is a multi-faceted vocalist and instrumentalist with a background
in classical, jazz, and musical theater repertoires. Following the
release of her debut jazz standards album, Curiosity (2013),
Fay was a featured vocalist in the 2014 Hudson Valley Jazz Festival.
Since relocating to New York’s Capital Region in 2015, she has
continued to hone her style and interpretations of the Great
American Songbook while collaborating with a variety of musicians.
After her critically acclaimed performance in the 2022 Jazz on Jay
concert series, she is now a highly sought-after vocalist in the
area. In addition to leading her own group, Fay plays baritone
saxophone with Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble and the BWC Jazz
Orchestra. Fay holds a Masters of Music in Jazz Voice Performance
from William Paterson University, and she has studied with Kim
Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge (New York
Voices), and Pete McGuinness (The Royal Bopsters).
David Gleason
is a music educator, pianist and composer living in New York's
Capital Region. He received an M.A. from Tufts University where he
studied ethnomusicology and composition. He has researched folk and
popular music in Puerto Rico and Cuba and is a contributing
ethnomusicologist to the Museo Del Barrio’s permanent collection
online. As a jazz and Latin pianist, he has performed with ensembles
such as RumbaNaMa, The Boston Latin Band, The Either/Orchestra,
Bopitude, The Big Soul Ensemble, and The Empire Jazz Orchestra. He
has also performed with Lee Konitz, Laurel Massé, Fred Wesley, Gary
Smulyan, Danilo Perez, Rufus Reid, Antonio Hart, John Fedchock and
others. He also led the critically acclaimed Latin jazz ensemble
Sensemayá and recorded two albums - Shake It! in 2010, and La
Madrugada Habanera/Havana Before Dawn in 2011. Mr. Gleason
studied music education and jazz studies at the Crane School of
Music in Potsdam, New York. He has taught at the John Sayles School
of Fine Arts, SHS@Proctors, SUNY Schenectady, and Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. David Gleason is also the author of Alfred
Publishing’s "The Total Blues Keyboardist."
Mike Lawrence
is a Capital Region bassist and educator. He has recorded with
the Gary McFarland Legacy Ensemble alongside Joe Locke, Sharel
Cassity, Bruce Barth and Michael Benedict on the album
Circulation: The Music of Gary
McFarland (one of NPR’s Best Jazz Albums of 2015). He has also
recorded with Michael Benedict's Bopitude on
Five and One featuring Gary Smulyan. Mr. Lawrence has performed live
in concert with Gary Smulyan, Chris Pasin, Brian Patneaude, Harry
Allen, Paul Meyers, Dick Oatts, Sharel Cassity, Steve Nelson, Gene
Bertoncini, Claire Daly, Bruce Johnstone, Richard Lanham, Jeanne
O'Connor, Keith Pray, Chuck Lamb, Mark Vinci, Jerry Weldon, Ray
Vega, Wycliffe Gordon, Blue Lou Marini, Sonny Turner's Platters,
Bobby Rydell, Tas Cru, and Charlie Smith Blues Band among many
others. Mike teaches orchestra and string lessons for the
Schenectady City School District as well private upright and
electric bass lessons. He has also been a clinician at numerous jazz
festivals and workshops around the region.
Pete Sweeney is
a drummer, author, and educator living in Troy, NY. Pete studied
with Dave Calarco and Joe Morello. He has performed, toured, and
recorded with many great musicians such as Pat Metheny, Larry
Coryell, Lee Ritenour, John Abercrombie, Robben Ford, Andy Summers
(The Police), Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, Ed Mann (Frank Zappa),
Frank Gambale, Lorne Lofsky, “Dangerous” Dan Toler, Johnny “Clyde”
Copeland, Mick Goodrick, and Steve Bailey. He has written 20
instructional books for the Alfred Publishing Company including the
30 Day
Drum Workout, The Versatile Drummer,
and
the Drum Atlas
books on Cuba, Jamaica, Salsa, and Brazil. Pete currently teaches at
the Berkshire Music School, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, the Troy
Music Academy, Union College, and the Crown of the Continent Guitar
Foundation. He is a member of the Latin jazz group Sensemaya, as
well as the leader of his own groups. He is an endorser of Mapex
drums, Sabian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, and Aquarian drum heads.
Gleason, Lawrence and Sweeney often perform together as Art D’echo
Trio.
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