Preview: Jazz on Jay Presents Versatile Veteran Combo Winelight

Winelight takes its name from a Grover Washington Jr. tune that blends jazz with soul; a comfortable creative neighborhood for these five skilled players and singers: Azzaam Hameed, keyboards; Ben Rau, drums; Joe Finn, guitar; Michael Hurt, bass; and Allen Halstead, saxophones.

“Winelight is a collaborative effort,” stresses Halstead who organized the band in late 2024. 

Halstead started playing Catskills resorts while barely old enough to drive and graduated with a MA in Music from Florida State University. There, he also played with jazz and soul giants Stan Kenton, Ella Fitzgerald and Lou Rawls. Halstead cites Gato Barbieri, Stan Getz, Gene Ammons and Grover Washington as inspirations. With versatility in mind, he’s found like-minded colleagues on the local scene.

Allen Halstead, left; and Azzaam Hameed

Hameed first played in a Pentecostal church before classical training at Union College broadened his musical influences. Pianists McCoy Tyler, Ramsey Lewis, Joe Sample, George Duke and Lonnie Liston Smith inspired him, plus singers Johnny Hartman, Lou Rawls and Joe Williams. He has played locally in jazz, R&B, soul and pop groups for decades.

Rau’s broad musical and cultural background includes Ghanian, German and British influences, particularly the London and Berlin club scenes. Diverse and driving, his playing echoes house, techno and straight-ahead styles.

Connecticut-born Finn started playing – and giving lessons! – at ten. Earning a BA in Music at SUNY Plattsburgh, he trained with Roy Burns, James Spaulding, Jim Miller, Billy Hawkins and Kirk Nurock. His string of six albums began with “Straight Ahead” (1991) and his quartet won the BET network’s 1998 Jazz Discovery Showcase.

Hurt started playing trumpet in eighth grade and trained in voice, singing madrigals and other choral styles in high school. Moving to guitar, and then to bass – and from folk to classical to jazz – he studied music education at SUNY Buffalo. Like his bandmates in Winelight, Hurt values versatility. 

“The performance Thursday will not only include some Grover Washington tunes,” says Halstead, “but will also include tunes by other artists; no originals.” They’ll play Washington’s “Winelight,” of course, plus “Mr. Magic,” Bill Withers’s “Just the Two of Us,” “Sugar,” “Affirmation” and “Europa.”

“Each tune is open to improv by the members,” adds Halstead, who plays tenor, alto and soprano saxophones in Winelight. “There is no real leader,” he explains. “We all chime in.”

Jazz on Jay free concerts are noon to 1:30 p.m. at Jay Square, the new park space opposite Schenectady City Hall. The rain site is Robb Alley at Proctors, 432 State St. Seating is provided indoors at Robb Alley, but patrons are invited to bring their own seating and refreshments to Jay Square.

Jazz on Jay is presented by the ElectriCity Arts and Entertainment District and sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts, a Schenectady County Legislature Arts & Culture Grant, Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation, The Schenectady Foundation, Price Chopper/Market 32, MVP Health Care, Schenectady County, Schenectady City Hall, and Proctors Collaborative. This blog is a series media sponsor.

Jazz on Jay continues Thursday, July 10 with the Jeanine Ouderkirk Quartet.