Hometown ‘Bone

Review: The Alex Slomka Trio at the Van Dyck; Saturday, July 18, 2026

“The trouble with a hometown show is that you all know I don’t really sound like that,” said Alex Slomka in his regular voice, after first rasping in “jazz voice” imitating Miles Davis’s fierce whisper.

That seemed the only trouble in sight at the packed Van Dyck Saturday. The Schenectady-born trombonist, now a downstate resident who plays often in New York, Slomka led his trio – guitarist Wyatt Ambrose and bassist Lou Smaldone – in a two-set homecoming showcase of mostly standards, spiced with a few originals.

Full Disclosure: I met Alex the day he was born; his parents Joe and Claudia are old friends. Both were in the house Saturday among many longtime jazz-fan pals. I’ve watched Alex grow up in music, from Late Night Show that he cited in introducing a ska song, to Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble. He had played the Van Dyck with both. Saturday, he checked that nobody was still eating before confessing he’d taken off his shirt and pants to run around the room when Late Night Show opened for Monkey Gone Mad. He credited Pray with helping him learn big-band sight-reading and dynamics. Saturday, he showed off skills much advanced from those earlier gigs. 

The Alex Slomka Trio, above, from left Wyatt Ambrose, guitar; Alex Slomka, trombone; Lou Smaldone, bass. Below, Alex Slomka

As a fellow trombonist at our table noted, there’s nowhere to hide when playing trombone. Sound, intonation and phrasing must all be precise; and Slomka’s were. He also hosted in confident, amusing fashion, with plenty of the schtick dad Joe had suggested he bring to the stage. He encouraged generosity at the tip jar by lamenting heavy (losing) World Cup bets on Ireland, but he was all simple sincerity paying tribute to the late, great Tim Coakley – a Gazette work colleague of his dad – with the deeply felt ballad “Li’l Darlin’” late in the first set.

Unconventional with no drums, piano or second horn, Slomka’s trio applied a theme and variations approach to a mid-tempo romp through “September In The Rain” to open, varying the order and length of solos some from tune to tune. They usually launched from a unified melody statement, Slomka taking the lead; then, usually, Ambrose took the second solo, alternating chords and single-note runs with the always smooth Smaldone accompanying, steady and unobtrusive. They’d swap roles then, Smaldone leading, Ambrose comping. Then Slomka would bop to the top, sum up or simmer down.

Wyatt Ambrose, above; Lou Smaldone, below

In “If I Had You,” he started stretching out more, tone spanning from raspy to sweet, changing up his phrasing from long, smooth statements to more staccato runs. In “Yellow Moon” (from “Box of Socks,” his digital album on streaming services), a repeating bass figure blended with fluttering guitar before Slomka brought a droll, fun feel.

After Al Green’s soul classic “Let’s Stay Together” in straight-ahead smoothness and the spry, breezy “Out of Nowhere,” Slomka’s own “Bachwana” cruised easy, a cozy waltz carried on long trombone notes.

Dedicated to Tim Coakley, “Li’l Darlin’” built from delicate guitar shimmer via hesitation beat through raspy-to-sweet variations to a sincere, sparse unaccompanied trombone statement. Really nice; how “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” swelled from a slow unified opening, like the stately mood of “Li’l Darlin’,” into a swinging upshift.

Slomka used a plunger mute for wah-wah quaver to launch the Basie ballad “After Supper” after a break. Then they revved the energy in the fleet, fine swing of “Shiny Stockings” (a Frank Foster/Count Basie/Ella classic). Slomka’s own “Mammatus,” named for a cloud formation, felt tangible and ethereal by turns; impressionistic, then a happy bustle.

After a song-choice discussion, they landed on “Without a Song” in Sonny Rollins’s bop style, an elegant, agile Ambrose single-note guitar solo resolving into chord strums.

Reaching back to Slomka’s Late Night Show ska days, they put a Caribbean bounce on the Specials’ “A Message to You, Rudy.” “Day In, Day Out” followed well with cool melodic cheerfulness. “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” eased the pace into stately lyricism, bop at its most soft-spoken.

Then, more adrenalin in the upbeat “After You’ve Gone.” Slomka joke-warned, “If you know the words, don’t sing it; I hate that!” This felt like a fond, flying good-bye, Slomka using his horn’s full range, Ambrose building energy in a fleet solo and Smaldone uncorking his best bass break all night.

Hearing young players mature, adding skills and confidence while developing a distinctive style, stands among the most satisfying possible fan experiences. Now in his mid-30s, Slomka gave that Saturday, to fine, fun effect.

Stay tuned: Slomka returns to his hometown Thursday, Aug. 20, playing Jazz on Jay.

The Songs

September In the Rain

If I Had You

Yellow Moon

Let’s Stay Together

From out of Nowhere

Bachnawa

Lil’ Darlin’

Never Been in Love

After Supper

Mammatus

Without a Song

A Message to You Rudy

Day In, Day Out

Polka Dots and Moonbeams

After You’ve Gone