Hot Fun in the Language of Swing
Review: Hot Club of Saratoga in Jazz on Jay Finale; Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026 Hot Club of Saratoga bassist/leader Dylan Perillo introduced a song Thursday in a multi-lingual pun-fest: “The Bear Missed His Train,” he deadpanned. Unfazed, singer Julia Posin jumped into the uptempo “Bei Mir Bistu Schein.” (That’s the original Yiddish spelling; Schoen or…
Jazz on Jay Closes Thursday after the Hot Club of Saratoga Concert
The Hot Club of Saratoga closes the curtain on Jazz on Jay Thursday, just days after Music Haven presented its final concert this season: the Lost Bayou Ramblers, and Cecilia, last Sunday. Music Haven presents its final film offering Friday: “Song Sung Blue.” But we digress When the Hot Club of Saratoga plays gypsy jazz,…
Cajun (plus!) Finale at Music Haven
Review: Lost Bayou Ramblers, and Cecilia, at Music Haven; Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026 What Cajun band rocks the Who’s “My Generation” – in French – and quotes Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”? Just one: The Lost Bayou Ramblers; south Louisiana’s deep-rooted, gloriously noisy, electro-acoustic crew. They rang down the curtain at Music Haven Sunday in a happy haze…
Encore, Sort Of…
Review: Alex Slomka and Friends at Jazz on Jay; Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 See an artist twice in a short time and we notice different things. Seeing trombonist Alex Slomka at Jazz on Jay Thursday felt objectively different from his July show at the Van Dyck: different players except for bassist Lou Smaldpne who played…
Sliding Into Jazz on Jay
Preview: Alex Slomka & Friends at Jazz on Jay, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 Trombonist Alex Slomka reunites Thursday with bandmates from pre-COVID Albany shows. Alex Slomka “We often played at the Speakeasy 518 in Albany years ago,” he says, listing bandmates bassist Lou Smaldone, guitarist Shaun McCarthy and drummer Eric Binder. (Now sadly closed, the…
Birthday, 2 and 3
“Surprise!” tells of my surprise birthday party; but that was just part 1. My actual birthday Saturday began on son Zak-and-Charlotte’s nearby porch, holding their daughter/our first grand-baby Ophelia. She was eight days old the day I turned 80; the day between the birthdays of NRBQ founders Terry Adams and Joey Spampinato. That afternoon, I…
Elegant Voice, Fine and Flexible Trio
Review: The Kaitlyn Fay Quartet at Jazz on Jay; Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 Thursday at Jazz on Jay, Kaitlyn Fay said jazz-ified Broadway show tunes constitute her comfort zone, her bread and butter as a singer; and that songwriting is her scary frontier. She sounded confident in both, however, relying on her elegant, usually understated…
Thursday’s Schenectady Jazz Two-Fer; Both Free
Preview: The Kaitlyn Fay Quartet at Jazz on Jay at noon; and the SUNY Schenectady Faculty Jazz Combo with featured guest Jon Faddis at Music Haven at 7 p.m. Yeah, you can do both. Kaitlyn Fay Quartet: Vocals with Rhythm Section Kaitlyn Fay’s music celebrates connection; to family in childhood productions, to area players, and…
Blues BBQ Cooks at Music Haven
Review: Ronnie Baker Brooks, Misty Blues, and Mulebone Sunday Ronnie Baker Brooks claimed “I’ve got blues in my DNA” Sunday at Music Haven and made us believe. His blues DNA came from father Lonnie Brooks who brought the younger Brooks onstage at nine. Brooks also claimed B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy…
Surprise!
I’ll be writing “thank you”s until Thanksgiving. “Thank you for adding a few days onto your visit from Atlanta to be in town for this.” “Thank you for driving from Nazareth, PA with your wife and year-old baby.” “Thank you for smoke-screening/distracting me with a road trip to a terrific photo show at the Center…
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