HARRY ALLEN​

Mr. Allen is generally acclaimed as one of the leading swing players in jazz today. While other saxophone players have adopted the contemporary sound of John Coltrane, Mr. Allen has remained true to swing with a sound reminiscent of Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster.

He has over 40 recordings under his own name, including three that have won Gold Disc Awards from Swing Journal Magazine. He has appeared on countless other recordings with jazz and pop legends such as Tony Bennett, Dave McKenna, John Pizzarelli, James Taylor, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, Sheryl Crow, and Kenny Barron. Pianist Mike Renzi won seven Emmy awards for his music direction and composition on Sesame Street and One Life to Live. He has performed with jazz stars Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Gerry Mulligan and Frank Sinatra over his decades long career. Bassist Paul Del Nero is a full Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has performed with a wide range of stars including Mel Torme, Dave McKenna, Mose Allison, Vic Damone, Robert Goulet and many others.

DONNA BYRNE

Over her distinguished three-decade career Ms. Byrne has performed at top jazz venues including Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., and the Blue Note in New York. She has eight solo CDs and has recorded with top jazz artists such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Scott Hamilton, Harry Allen, Dave McKenna and Herb Pomeroy.

Ms. Byrne’s return to Falmouth is made even more special because she is bringing her quartet of stellar musicians – Tim Ray on piano, Marshall Wood on bass, and Jim Gwin on drums, each a jazz star in his own right. All three have most recently been working with Tony Bennett.Tim Ray, country star Lyle Lovett’s long-time pianist, has appeared on over 70 recordings with artists as diverse as pop stars Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, and Soul Asylum, jazz luminaries Phil Woods, Scott Hamilton and Esperanza Spaulding. He has performed as a solo artist with Gunther Schuller, the Boston Pops and the Boston Classical Orchestra. Mr. Ray has performed at Carnegie Hall, the White House and the Kennedy Center. Bassist Marshall Wood, who is also Byrne’s husband, has toured, recorded and appeared on countless television programs with jazz legend Tony Bennett. His work with Bennett includes two Grammy-winning albums. Wood’s thirty-five year career has included performances with jazz legends Anita O’Day, Big Joe Turner, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Nelson Riddle, Tommy Flanagan, Marion McPartland, Phil Woods and pop star Lady Gaga.

Kate McGarry and Keith Ganz

With 7 critically acclaimed albums and 3 GRAMMY™ nominations, vocalist Kate McGarry is recognized as a jazz artist who brings authenticity and vitality to every song regardless of genre. The Wall St. Journal calls her music, “austere and elegant, an exceptionally appealing blend of folk and jazz.” The New York Times pronounced her singing, “astute and sensitive.” She has toured and recorded with jazz illuminati Fred Hersch, Kurt Elling, Maria Schneider, John Hollenbeck, Billy Childs, Luciana Souza, Theo Bleckmann and TONY Award Winner Jason Robert Brown.

During her decade in NYC, McGarry served as a Lincoln Center Teaching Artist, U.S. State Department Jazz Ambassador, and Jazz Arts faculty member at The Manhattan School of Music. Downbeat’s 2016 Critics Poll named McGarry the #1 Rising Star Female Jazz Vocalist.

She has been featured on iconic NPR shows such as Jazz Set w/DeeDee Bridgwater, Piano Jazz w/Marion McPartland, All Things Considered, as well as a host of nationally syndicated radio shows.

Guitarist/arranger/producer Keith Ganz is a 2019 GRAMMY™ nominee known for his uniquely melodic voice on both electric and acoustic guitars. Lauded as a “sublime master of subtlety” by JazzTimes, Keith has performed extensively with major jazz artists including Harry Connick, Jr., Tierney Sutton, Luciana Souza, Kurt Elling, Gretchen Parlato, Gary Versace, and Jo Lawry. TV appearances include Oprah, Ellen, The Late Show with David Letterman, The View, and Australian Idol.

Kate and Keith have been musical and life partners for 17 years, producing 6 critically acclaimed albums together and earning two GRAMMY™ nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album. After honing their craft on the NYC jazz scene for many years and a stint out west at the California Jazz Conservatory, the couple has made their home in Durham, NC. Their upcoming album What to Wear in the Dark features vibrant, jazzfueled rearrangements of songs by iconic songwriters of the 70’s that address the journey of darkness to light we’ve been traveling as a country and as individuals this year, with performances by jazz greats Ron Miles, Gary Versace, Obed Calvaire, Sean Smith, Clarence Penn, Becca Stevens, Erin Bentlage, Michelle Willis, Christian Euman, and James Shipp.

DONNA BYRNE

Over her distinguished three-decade career Ms. Byrne has performed at top jazz venues including Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., and the Blue Note in New York. She has eight solo CDs and has recorded with top jazz artists such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Scott Hamilton, Harry Allen, Dave McKenna and Herb Pomeroy.

Ms. Byrne’s return to Falmouth is made even more special because she is bringing her quartet of stellar musicians – Tim Ray on piano, Marshall Wood on bass, and Jim Gwin on drums, each a jazz star in his own right. All three have most recently been working with Tony Bennett.Tim Ray, country star Lyle Lovett’s long-time pianist, has appeared on over 70 recordings with artists as diverse as pop stars Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, and Soul Asylum, jazz luminaries Phil Woods, Scott Hamilton and Esperanza Spaulding. He has performed as a solo artist with Gunther Schuller, the Boston Pops and the Boston Classical Orchestra. Mr. Ray has performed at Carnegie Hall, the White House and the Kennedy Center. Bassist Marshall Wood, who is also Byrne’s husband, has toured, recorded and appeared on countless television programs with jazz legend Tony Bennett. His work with Bennett includes two Grammy-winning albums. Wood’s thirty-five year career has included performances with jazz legends Anita O’Day, Big Joe Turner, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Nelson Riddle, Tommy Flanagan, Marion McPartland, Phil Woods and pop star Lady Gaga.

JULIA KEEFE

Julia Keefe is a nationally acclaimed Native American jazz vocalist, actor, educator and activist currently based in New York City. Her musical mission is the celebration of fellow Coeur d’Alene tribe member Mildred Baily. Baily was a Native American blues singer and the first woman vocalist to sing in front of a big band in the early 30s. She was an inspiration for  contemporaries including Billie Holiday, Helen Ward and Ella Fitzgerald. A 1944 Time Magazine review of her show at Cafe’ Society in New York called Mildred Baily “just about the greatest song bird in the U.S.” Keefe is an honors graduate of the University of Miami majoring in jazz performance. She earned her Masters from the Manhattan School of Music. She has adopted vintage jazz, the music of the 30s, 40s and 50s including “Rocking Chair Blues”, Midred Baily’s signature song. Julia has performed at the Smithsonian and opened for Tony Bennett and Esperanza Spaulding.  In addition to her jazz career Julia has appeared in television and several films.

LASZLO GARDONY​

Internationally acclaimed Boston-based jazz pianist and composer Laszlo Gardony is one of the most expressive and technically skilled pianists working in jazz today. “A formidable improviser who lives in the moment” (JazzTimes), Laszlo Gardony has performed in 27 countries and released 13 albums on the Sunnyside, Antilles, Great American Jazz Piano Competition, Gardony has been noted for his “fluid pianism” by The New York Times, and the legendary Dave Brubeck called him “a great pianist.” aszlo Gardony’s recordings and performances convey the joy of inspired creation; they draw on a deep well of emotions, a prodigious technique, and a playful curiosity that thrives on creating music that is truly alive in each unique moment. Gardony’s critically acclaimed 2019 live solo piano album, “La Marseillaise” features his originals, his personal takes on standards and a classic Italian song, his re-imagination of an iconic French revolutionary song, and spontaneously created pieces. The New York City Jazz Record says of the album: “’La Marseillaise’s is a grand organic take on creating music in the moment.” JazzTimes states: “The improvised pieces are bright and majestic examples of on-the-fly creativity at its most developed.” Jazzwise, UK says: “[Gardony] mastered the sound of surprise. Laszlo’s previous solo album, “Serious Play” (Sunnyside) was named one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2017 by DownBeat Magazine: “Serious Play combines spontaneity and intent…there’s a stillness at the center of his music, a distinctive amalgam of central European folk strains, majestic classical piano and improvisational fearlessness.” “Serious Play,” and Gardony’s 2015 live sextet album “Life In Real Time” were named by the Boston Globe as one of the 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2017 and one of the 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2015 respectively.

SCOTT HAMILTON

He moved to New York in 1976 at the age of twenty-two, and through Roy Eldridge, with whom he had played a year previously in Boston, got a six-week gig at Michael’s Pub. Eldridge also paved the way for him to work with Anita O’Day and Hank Jones. Although it was the tail-end of the old New York scene, a lot of the greats were still playing and he got to work and learn from people like Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet, Vic Dickenson and Jo Jones. Eldridge was Scott’s champion, but pulled no punches, and could be extremely critical, something for which Hamilton has always been grateful. In December of the same year John Bunch got Hamilton his first recording date, for Famous Door, and was also responsible for him joining Benny Goodman. He continued to work with Goodman at different times until the early 1980s.

In 1977 he formed his own quartet, which later became a quintet, with Bunch added to the group. The same year Carl Jefferson heard him, and began recording him for his Concord record label. More than forty albums later he is still recording for them, having made many under his own leadership, several with his regular British quartet of John Pearce, Dave Green and Steve Brown, including his latest, Nocturnes & Serenades. The Quartet plus two guests, Dave Cliff and Mark Nightingale recorded Our Delight! for Alan Barnes’ Woodville label. A new release, Across the Tracks on Concorde was released in 2009. Along the way he has made albums with Dave McKenna, Jake Hanna, Woody Herman, Tony Bennett, Gerry Mulligan, Flip Phillips, Maxine Sullivan, Buddy Tate, Warren Vache, many with Rosemary Clooney and a number with another of his mentors, Ruby Braff, with whom he played residencies at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, London in the mid-1980s. Over the years Scott has also performed and recorded with such touring bands as the Concord Jazz All Stars, the Concord Super Band and George Wein’s Newport Jazz Festival All Stars.

For some years he was based in London, where he first played in 1978, but now travels the world from Italy. Each year, in addition to two or three residencies with the quartet at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, British jazz club dates and festival work including Brecon, where he is one of the patrons, he regularly tours Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Japan, Spain and Italy. He returns to America three or four times a year to play at festivals, including in 2007, the New York JVC festival in June and Irvine, California in September, and in February 2008 for three nights at the Lincoln Centre New York.

His playing has best been described by fellow tenor saxophonist and writer, Dave Gelly: “Following a Scott Hamilton solo is like listening to a great conversationalist in full flow. First comes the voice, the inimitable, assured sound of his tenor saxophone, then the informal style and finally the amazing fluency and eloquent command of the jazz language.” Scott was awarded the ‘Ronnie’ for International Jazz Saxophonist of the Year in the 2007 inaugural Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Awards. It is no wonder that Scott Hamilton is in demand all over the world.

Carlos Odria

The Carlos Odria Trio is a high-energy fusion band that performs original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards and Latin American popular music. Peruvian-born guitarist Carlos Odria has been described as a “breathtakingly talented musician…with an immense technical skill” (Worcester Telegram) and as a “guitar wizard” (Gamble Rogers Fest). His original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards and Latin American tunes deliver an exciting blend of international styles such as bossanova, Afro-Peruvian festejo, rumba flamenca, and Afro-Caribbean vibes with an improvisational approach inspired by the rich tradition of American jazz. He holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Florida State University, where he also obtained a Certificate in Music of the Americas. He studied classical and Latin American folk guitar with acclaimed Peruvian guitarist Pepe Torres. Later on, he pursued advanced jazz studies with Richie Zellon, jazz guitar arranging with Leo Welch, and Venezuelan cuatro at the Jose Luis Paz Conservatory in Maracaibo, Venezuela. He is currently an asistant professor of Music and Interdisciplinary Art at Worcester State University. Joining Mr. Oria will be Tom Kubelczyk on bass and Thomas Spears on the drum set.

ROSSANO SPORTIELLO​

Italian-born pianist Rossano Sportiello started classical training at the age of nine, and graduated from the Conservatory in 1996. He began performing professionally in the Milan area at just 16 years old. He eventually joined the historic “Milano Jazz Gang” in 1992, touring with the group until 2000. Sportiello’s musical influences include Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Count Basie and other great jazz masters. A regular at Switzerland’s Ascona Jazz Festival, Sportiello received the 2009 Ascona Jazz award in recognition of his mastery of stride piano. Stride is a style rooted in Ragtime (think Fats Waller) – where the root note of a chord is played way down on the keys with the left hand then “ strides” up to play the rest of the chord – no easy task! Sportiello is touted by his friend and mentor, Barry Harris, as “the best stride piano player” he has ever heard. Sportiello’s musical influences include Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Count Basie and other great jazz masters. A regular at Switzerland’s Ascona Jazz Festival, Sportiello received the 2009 Ascona Jazz award in recognition of his mastery of stride piano. Stride is a style rooted in Ragtime (think Fats Waller) – where the root note of a chord is played way down on the keys with the left hand then “ strides” up to play the rest of the chord – no easy task! Sportiello is touted by his friend and mentor, Barry Harris, as “the best stride piano player” he has ever heard. Sportiello has played with many of the world’s finest jazz luminaries – Slide Hampton, Clark Terry, Bucky Pizzarelli, Harry Allen, Scott Hamilton, Houston Person, and Dick Hyman to name a few. He has performed at major venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the United Nations as well as jazz clubs like the Blue Note, Birdland, Feinstein’s, Café Carlyle, Smalls and Mezzrow. He appears at jazz festivals throughout the world. Sportiello’s prolific output tracks 40 albums to date, including both classical and jazz performances and six solo albums. That’s It!, his latest album, incorporates elements of bebop, stride piano, classical and swing into something entirely new and different. With warmth, charm and prodigious piano playing, Rossano Sportiello is a favorite of Falmouth Jazz. We are delighted to welcome him back.

LUCY YEGHIAZARYAN​​

Vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan grew up in post-Soviet Armenia and began listening to her father’s once-contraband collection of jazz records at a early age. Electricity was intermittent so these sessions listening to jazz standards were rare. Yet so captivated was the young girl that she meticulously mimicked the sounds and styles of the likes of Ella and Sarah Vaughan before she could even speak English. Economic hardships eventually forced her family to emigrate to the United States when Lucy was twelve. The talented young vocalist won a scholarship to NJPAC’s Jazz for Teens program and began performing while earning a college degree in world history. She also became a skilled a classical violinist. She was a top ten finalist in the 2015 Thelonious Monk Competition and She is now recognized as an up and coming vocalist in the world of straight ahead jazz. She is a recipient of grants from the Doris Duke Foundation, Chamber Music and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She has shared the stage with Grant Stewart, Harold Mabern, Houston Person, Bernadette Peters, Rodney Whitaker, Arto Tuncboyaijian, Steve Williams and many more. With the release of her debut album Blue Heaven ( Cellar Live Records, 2019), critics and musicians agree that a new vocal force has arrived on the scene.

Robert Wyatt

Mr. Wyatt has been a lecture/recitalist at the Smithsonian Institution for thirty years, and served for two years as an exhibition artist for the Smithsonian’s Piano 300 exhibitholds three degrees in piano performance, has also performed at the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Steinway Hall and the 92Y in New York, and Boston’s Jordan Hall and the Museum of Fine Arts.

Although blues music was spun by slaves on southern plantations as an oral tradition, classic female blues emerged early in the 20th century as a mixture of traditional folk blues and urban theater. Appearing onstage with pianists or small jazz combos, dazzling pioneers like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters catapulted the vocal form onto the world stage.

Known for his informative and entertaining presentations, Mr. Wyatt will trace the evolution of women blues singers using audio and video clips and a colorful PowerPoint presentation.