Looking back, any area jazz Mt. Rushmore needs far more than just four faces. 

Bill McCann at the mic – his natural habitat – at A Place for Jazz. Michael Hochanadel photo

And one would be the bearded, most often smiling visage of Bill McCann who celebrates 40 years at the WCDB mic on Saturday, Apr. 5 in a free two-stage show. The day-long celebration features 16 bands comprising 80 of his closest friends, or more than a full day at SPAC’s Saratoga Jazz Festival presented by GE Vernova, this summer on June 28 and 29.

Who else might appear on that exalted area jazz pantheon? Glad you asked.

The players might start with Nick Brignola, Lee Shaw, Hal Miller, Leo Russo and George Mastrangelo. And those supporting the music from behind the bar, in print and on radio must include Marvin Friedman, Georgia Urban, Tim Coakley and McCann.

The latter two radio stalwarts are still with us though Coakley just hung up his microphone at WAMC after 38 years, a departure promoted by health concerns. 

Tim Coakley, left; and Bill McCann. Photo provided

McCann filled in for Coakley for several weeks before Coakley retired earlier this month; he’d present Coakley’s show on Friday night, then his own Saturday morning marathon.

That’s a lot, even for the energetic McCann.

“It’s hard for me to believe,” he exclaimed this week. “The 40 years feels like it has gone by in a flash.” Looking ahead to the Apr. 5 celebration concert, he predicted “an absolutely epic day of jazz here in the Capital District, the likes of which has never been seen, and likely may never be reproduced.” Looking even further ahead, he mused, “Who knows, we may have to do two days and 30 bands if I make it to 50 years on WCDB!”

The Jazz Journalists Association awarded McCann its “Jazz Hero” Award in 2012 (https://www.jjajazzawards.org/p/jazz-heroes.html), the recently revived Metroland (now “The Metroland”) has honored him several times as Best Jazz D.J., and he’s earned multiple nominations for The Eddies.

McCann is president and member of the board of directors of A Place For Jazz, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation promoting jazz in the Capital District with concerts and educational programs. (aplaceforjazz.org). He introduces AP4J performers with the same enthusiasm and knowledge as on radio, invoking jazz history with favored phrases. He cites deceased performers, for example, as “now playing in that great 52nd Street in the sky,” the long heralded New York City clubland address. 

He is also a board member of the Swingtime Jazz Society, a membership-based organization promoting concerts by regional jazz artists. (swingtimejazz.org).

McCann at WCDB

Every Saturday morning, McCann totes heaps of selected records into the WCDB studio, introduces and spins them with trademark improvised ease, essentially jamming with the greats and greats-in-the-making.

To honor area jazz artists, to celebrate four decades at the WCDB microphone, and to support Jazz Appreciation Month, McCann has assembled a two-stage showcase dubbed “The UAlbany Jazz Appreciation Month Festival, Celebrating Bill McCann’s 40th Anniversary on WCDB.” This 16-band, two stage show starts at noon on Saturday in the uptown Campus of UAlbany’s Campus Center West building (https://wcdb.org/jazz).

Each group will play for 50 minutes with a 10 minute changeover. 

Location and Parking map: https://wcdb.org/jazz/map.jpg

ORB STAGE

Noon: Bossamba (Maggie MacDougall, vocals; Wayne Hawkins, keyboards; Lou Pappas, bass; Mark Foster, drums)

1 p.m.: GNP Trio (Tyler Giroux, keyboards; Matt Niedbalski, drums; Dylan Perrillo, bass)

2 p.m.: The Arch Stanton Quartet (Roger Noyes, guitar; Terry Gordon, trumpet; Chris Macchia, bass; James Ketterer, drums)

3 p.m.: The Teresa Broadwell Quartet (Teresa Broadwell, vocals/violin; Leo Russo, sax; Michael Novakowski, guitar; Pete Toigo, bass)

4 p.m.: The Justin Henricks Trio (Justin Henricks, guitar; Ian MacDonald, organ; Nick Anderson, drums)

5 p.m.: The Awan Rashad Quartet (Awan Rashad, saxophone; Luke Franco, guitar; Tarik Shah, bass; Matt Niedbalski, drums)

6 p.m.: The Pete Levin Organ Trio (Pete Levin, organ; Steve Raleigh, guitar; Cliff Brucker, drums)

7 p.m.: The Chuck Lamb Trio (Chuck Lamb, keyboards; Rich Syracuse, bass; Jeff “Siege” Siegel, drums)

MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM STAGE

12:45 p.m.: The Steel Pier Jazz Band (Woody Strobeck, trombone; Dave Lambert, clarinet; Steve Lambert, trumpet; Glenn Hankle, banjo; Ernie Belanger, tuba; Jeff McRae, drums)

1:45 p.m.: The Linda Brown Jazz Project (Linda Brown, bass; Jody Shayne, vocals; Larry Ham, keyboards; Laura Andrea Leguia, saxophone; Peter O’Brien, drums)

2:45 p.m.: Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes with the Art D’echo Trio (Michael Benedict, vibraphone; David Gleason, keyboards;  Mike Lawrence, bass; Pete Sweeney, drums; plus Joe Finn, guitar; and Brian Melick, percussion)

3:45 p.m.: The Keith Pray Soul Jazz Revival (Keith Pray, saxophone; Pat Perkinson, bass; Vinnie Martucci, keyboards; Doug Bierend, guitar; Bob Halek, drums)

4:45 p.m.: Colleen Pratt/Peg Delaney Ensemble (Colleen Pratt, vocals; Peg Delaney, keyboards; Bill Delaney, bass; Gene Garone, drums; Jim Corigliano, saxophone; Steve Lambert, trumpet and flugelhorn)

5:45 p.m.: Joe Barna and Sketches of Influence (Joe Barna, drums; Stacy Dillard, saxophone; Greg Glassman, trumpet; Fima Chupahkin, keyboards and Malik McLaurine, bass)

6:45 p.m.: The Brian Patneaude Quintet (Brian Patneaude, saxophone; Rob Lindquist, keyboards; Justin Henricks, guitar; Jarod Grieco, bass; Danny Whelchel, drums)

7:45 p.m. The B.W.C. Jazz Orchestra: (18 piece big band led by Cliff Brucker, Steve Weisse and Dylan Canterbury featuring Jim Corigliano, Paul Evoskevich, Dave Fisk, Kevin Barcomb, Kaitlyn Fay (+ vocals), Wally Johnson, saxophones; Steve Weisse, Chris Pasin, Kathleen Ehlinger, Nikola Tomic, trumpets; Ben O’Shea, Rick Rosoff, Travis Malone, Shaun Bazylewicz, trombones; Jon LeRoy, piano; Dave Shoudy, bass; Cliff Brucker, drums; Dylan Canterbury, trumpet and conductor)

The day-long event is free to the public through the support of sponsors: The UAlbany Alumni Association; The UAlbany Foundation; The University Auxiliary Services at Albany (UAS); The UAlbany Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment; The Albany Musicians Union, Local 14 of the American Federation of Musicians; The Schenectady-Amsterdam Musical Union, Local 85-133 of the American Federation of Musicians; The Music Performance Trust Fund; The Nania Family – In Memory of Sheldon and Carol Pitkin; Canon Kay C. Hotaling; A Place for Jazz; and WCDB.

In addition, commemorative T-shirts will be available free while supplies last. And pairs of tickets to the Saratoga Jazz Festival, presented by GE Vernova, will be given away through support by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

McCann hosts “The Saturday Morning Edition of Jazz” Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and the program is re-broadcast Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On air at 90.9 FM, online at wcdbfm.com.

WAIT, THERE’S MORE

Bill McCann presents plenty of jazz to appreciate in just one huge bash; but Jazz Appreciation Month also happens in other venues as this menu suggests. (This list is likely to be only partial, produced partly in a post-insomniac fog…)

The Albany Musicians Association Free Jazz Appreciation Month Concerts

Apr. 4: Nancy Donnelly Quartet – Albany Institute of History and Art 5:30 p.m.

Apr. 3: The Musicats – Bach Library 6 p.m.

Apr. 10: Peg Delaney Trio – Pruyn House 7 p.m.

Apr. 10: Jeanne O’Connor and Azzaam Hameed – Opalka Gallery 5 p.m.

Apr. 12: Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes – Hudson Library 12 noon

Apr. 12: Most Jazzy Fellas – Arvilla Driver Library 12 noon

Apr. 13: Katalyst – The Linda 3 p.m.

Apr. 13: Art D’Echo Trio with Kaitlyn Fay – Shaker Heritage Society 2 p.m.

Apr. 19: MC2 – Lansingburgh Library 2 p.m.

Apr. 22: Winelight – Colonie Library 6:30 p.m.

Apr. 24: Teresa Broadwell Trio – King Thief Pavilion 5 p.m.

Apr. 26: MC2 – Pine Hills Library 2 p.m.

Apr. 27: Bronte Roman Band – Albany JCC 2 p.m. 

Caffe Lena (presented with admission charge)

Apr. 6: LOJOBROWN (Logan Richardson, Joe Sanders and Justin Brown) 7 p.m.

Apr. 8: The Chuck Lamb Trio with Wallace Roney Jr. 7 p.m.

Apr. 9: Skidmore Jazz Ensembles Community Concert 7 p.m.

Apr. 11: Richard Baratta Gotham City Latin Jazz Sextet 8 p.m.

Apr. 12: Roomful of Blues 4 and 8 p.m.

Van Dyck Music Club

Sara Caswell last June at the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival

Apr. 4: Sara Caswell 6 p.m.

Apr. 5: Allen & Azzaam 6 p.m.

Apr. 12: Chad McLoughlin Trio with Darren Lyons 6 p.m.

Apr. 16: SUNY Schenectady Jazz Showcase 7:30 p.m.

Apr. 17: Chad McLoughlin Trio 8 p.m.

Apr. 19: Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes Trio 6 p.m.

Preview: The Capital Region Vocal Jazz Vanguard on Saturday March 8 at the Van Dyck Music Club

ALSO, see MORE JAZZ, below

Three singers – Kaitlyn Fay, Jeanine Ouderkirk and Tyler Thomas – who blend their voices under an ambitious-sounding group name – perform a one-night-only show Saturday at the Van Dyck Music Club (237 State St., Schenectady). “Our voices work very well together,” Fay said by email over the weekend. “I sing soprano; Jeanine, alto and Tyler. tenor/baritone,”she said, then explained how their trio formed.

Kaitlyn Fay. Photo supplied

Fay and Thomas met in the NYSSMA All-State Vocal Jazz Ensemble, directed by Kim Nazarian of the New York Voices. In 2016, they added Ouderkirk: “I loved her sound,” said Fay. They played Speakeasy518 and One Caroline that year, but disbanded when Thomas left to continue his training at University of North Texas. They reunited when Thomas returned here in 2024 to teach at Galway CSD. 

Tyler Thomas. Photo provided

All the Capital Region Vocal Jazz Vanguard singers are also teachers: Fay at Waterford-Halfmoon Jr./Sr. High School and Ouderkirk at St. Gregory’s. Most of their rhythm section Saturday, too: pianist David Gleason teaches at Schenectady CSD while drummer Bob Halek is a retired teacher; bassist Dave Shoudy works at GE Global Research.

Jeanine Ouderkirk. Photo supplied

The singers are otherwise busy, too. Fay plays baritone saxophone with both the Keith Pray Big Soul Ensemble and the Brucker-Weisse-Canterbury Jazz Orchestra; she also guests with the Art D’Echo and Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes and released “Curiosity,” an album of jazz standards in 2013. Both Ouderkirk and Thomas play piano and Ouderkirk sings solo and in duos, while Thomas conducts jazz education workshops across the U.S. 

“Our show at the Van Dyck on March 8th is designed to be a celebration of vocal jazz,” said Fay. They’ll sing together at times, “but the majority of the event will feature each vocalist in solo sets with the rhythm section.” Fay said, “We are all multi-instrumentalists and vocalists, so we just might bring our horns along for this show.”

She said, “For our solo sets, each singer has selected from their repertoire” and will include jazz standards, Great American Songbook favorites, bossa nova, and several originals. “For our group pieces, we bounce ideas off of each other and agree upon arrangements to try out or select.”

SUNY Schenectady County Community students will open Saturday’s Van Dyck Music Club’s show. Cami Sepulveda, Nat Mussman, Vinny Marotta, and Isaac Nokes will play 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. Doors at 6:30. And, Fay said, “We will have a special guest vocalist joining us for one of the full-group numbers. (It’s a surprise!”) Tickets are $15 in advance (online) and $20 at the door. 518-630-5173. http://www.stellapastabar.com

Kaitlyn Fay Upcoming Shows

April 5: 7:45–9:00 p.m (vocals and baritone sax) with the BWC Jazz Orchestra at the “UAlbany Jazz Appreciation Month Festival,” celebrating Bill McCann’s 40th Anniversary on WCDB at the Campus Center West Extension of the UAlbany Uptown Campus

April 13: 2–3 p.m.(vocals) with the Art D’Echo Trio at the Shaker Heritage Society Meeting House, Latham (Jazz Appreciation Month concert, sponsored by MPTF and AFM Local 14)

April 19: 6–9 p.m. (vocals) with Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes at Stella Pasta Bar and Bistro, Schenectady (dining room downstairs from the Van Dyck Music Club)

Jeanine Ouderkirk Upcoming Shows

March 14: 9 p.m. (vocals) with bassist Evan Jagels at the Bourbon Room, Glens Falls

April 28: 5 p.m. (solo) at Duke’s at Rivers Casino, Schenectady

MORE JAZZ

Tarik Shah Headlines New UPH Series

Tarik Shah. Michael Hochanadel photo

Bassist Tarik Shah leads his quartet Sunday at Universal Preservation Hall, launching the new Sunday Jazz at UPH series. Since relocating from New York, the protege of Slam Stewart and veteran of numerous jazz and R&B groups has become both bandleader and sideman here and is now polishing his debut solo album “Solitary Refinement.” The Tarik Shah Quartet is Tarik Shah, bass; Luke Franco, guitar; Awan Rashad, saxophone; Matt Niedbalski, drums. They’ll play a mix of standards and originals. Note the early start time: 4 p.m. $25 advance, $30 day of show. 518-346-6204. www.proctors.org

New Orleans Masters Bring the Heat 

A long-tenured repertory company preserving New Orleans traditional jazz, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (PHJB) feels anything but antique when they swing vintage street-parade tunes, blues and vintage pop. Sousaphonist Ben Jaffe, son of the revered couple who founded it in 1961, leads the crew whose somewhat elastic lineup often features 92-year-clarinetist Charlie Gabriel, who released his debut solo album “89” at that venerable age. (Sun Ra Solar Arkestra saxophonist Marshall Allen released HIS solo debut album at 100, and guested with NRBQ at The Egg some years back. But we digress.) 

Preservation Hall Jazz Band, touring edition. Photo supplied

On the road, PHJB stars skilled younger keepers of the flame including trombonist Ronell Johnson, trumpeter Clint Maedgen and pianist Kyle Roussel. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band plays The Egg (Empire State Plaza, Albany) Saturday. 8 p.m. $59.50, $49,59, $39.50. 518-473-1845 www.theegg.org

Cliff Lyons Comes Home

Cliff Lyons. Photo from All About Jazz

Saxophonist Cliff Lyons played with every horn band hereabouts before moving to New York to play with national-caliber acts including the Ed Palermo Big Band (who played a fiery 2017 show in Proctors 2017 Party Horns series), numerous Broadway shows and the Average White Band, his current gig.

Tuesday, Lyons guests with the (pianist) Chuck Lamb Trio in the JAZZ at Caffe Lena (47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs) monthly series. 7 p.m., doors 6:30. $37.96, members $33.62, children and students $18.98. 518-583-0022. www.caffelena.org