The University at Albany Department of Music is pleased to present the Lee Shaw Trio on Wednesday, October
17, 2007 at 7pm in the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts
Center on the uptown campus. Pianist
and Jazz-Hall-of-Famer Lee Shaw will perform with bassist Rich Syracuse and
drummer Jeff Siegel in a program of jazz standards and original compositions of
the virtuosic “bop” genre.
Lee Shaw was born
in Ada, Oklahoma. She began
studying piano at the age of five. After graduating from high school, she
attended the Oklahoma College for Women where
she earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano. She earned her Master's degree in
piano at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. She also studied
privately with concert pianist, Jesus Maria Sanroma in Puerto Rico. When she began
playing piano in nightclubs in Chicago, she was sharing
bills with the likes of Anita O'Day, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan.
Shaw has had her
own trio for more than 40 years during which time she has performed in clubs,
concerts and festivals in the United States, Canada and Europe. Making the Albany region her home for
the last three decades, Shaw has been a guest on Marian McPartland's NPR
program "Piano Jazz" and appears frequently on WAMC's Roundtable. She
was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1993. She is also an
inductee of the Alumni Hall of Fame from the college from which she graduated. In 2002, she was given an Honorary Doctorate
by the College of Saint Rose.
Rich Syracuse has
been a mainstay on the New York area scene for
more than two decades. For several years, he performed in the Nick
Brignola Quartet playing clubs, festivals, and recording sessions.
Besides his years with Brignola, he has performed with Mose Allison, Brubeck
Brothers, Randy Brecker, Warren Bernhardt, Sumi Tonoka, David Torn, Mike
DeMicco,
Peter Levin, Sam
Morrison, Jimmy Cobb, Bernard Purdy, Adam
Nussbaum, Jeff Siegel, Eddie Henderson, Jeff
"Tain" Watts and several others. He has toured throughout Europe and Southern Africa. Syracuse has been with the Lee
Shaw Trio for the ten years. He is also an Adjunct Professor for String
and Electric Bass Studies at Skidmore College in Saratoga.
Jeff Siegel has
performed and/or recorded with a diverse group of jazz artists ranging from
veteran performers such as Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Lee Shaw,
Wadada Leo Smith, Jack DeJohnette, Baikida Carroll and Mose Allison to those a
generation below such as Dave Douglas, Ravi Coltrane, Stefon Harris, Kurt
Elling, Graham Haynes and Steve Turre. He was a member of the Sir Roland Hanna
Trio from 1994-1999. He is the leader of The Jeff "Siege"
Siegel Quartet. He has been described by Jazz World Magazine as a "brilliant drummer".
His 2005 debut CD as a bandleader, "Magical Spaces" on the CAP label,
was critically acclaimed by several publications including Cadence, All Music Guide and Jazz
Improv. A sampling of his discography includes: Ryan Kisor's “Minor
Mutiny” (Columbia) and Arthur Rhames
Trio “Live From Soundscape” (DIW). Jeff is also on the faculties of
S.U.N.Y. at New Paltz as well as Western Connecticut State University. He is an
endorsing artist for Vic Firth Drumsticks.
Tickets are $8 for the general public and $4 for students and
may be purchased through the Performing Arts Center Box Office. For further information, contact the Box Office
at (518) 442-3997 or visit the Performing Arts Center website at www.albany.edu/pac.
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