The Swingtime Jazz Society will present the Tim Olsen Quintet in concert from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday at the Stockade Inn, 1 N. Church St.
The group features Tim Olsen, piano; Eric Walentowicz, sax; Steve Lambert, trumpet; Rick Rosoff, trombone and drums; and Pete Toigo, bass. They will play from 4 to 6 p.m., followed by an open jam session. Musicians who wish to play in the jam session are invited to bring their instruments. Food and drink will be for sale.
Olsen is active as a composer, performer and educator. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition from Washington University in St. Louis, a master of arts in music theory and composition from the University of Minnesota, and doctorate of musical arts in composition from Yale University.
Olsen joined the faculty of Union College in 1994, where he is currently associate professor of music. He teaches courses in the music and culture of the United States, Latin America, and Africa; music theory; and jazz improvisation. He is also director of the Union College Jazz Ensemble.
He also regularly collaborates with the Albany-based Joey Thomas Big Band, for whom he has produced more than 60 arrangements and original compositions. Olsen is also organist/choirmaster at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Clifton Park.
Saxophonist Eric Walentowicz started playing professionally at age 13 and won several scholarships to attend the famed Interlochen Arts summer programs in Michigan. He majored in studio music and jazz on scholarship at the University of Miami and North Texas State University. He has played with Laurel Massé, The Dallas Jazz Orchestra, The North Texas State One O’clock Jazz Lab Band, the Platters, Rick DellaRatta’s Jazz For Peace, and several Miami-based Latin bands. He has also recorded and performed locally with the New Regime, Dave Calarco’s Jazz Conclave, the Terry Gordon Quintet, the Jill Hughes Band, and with his own EW Trio/Quartet.
Born and raised in Schenectady, Steve Lambert has been playing trumpet professionally in the Capital Region for more than a decade. Early in his career he performed with and learned from some of the best musicians in the area including Nick Brignola, Mike Canonico, Rennie Crain, Mike Wicks, George Muscatello and Brian Patneaude. He moved to New York in 1999 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University, after which he worked in the office of Second Floor Music for two years as assistant to jazz trumpet player/arranger/producer Don Sickler. He returned to the Capital Region in 2003, where he plays in the show, commercial, and classical circuits. He released his first album as a leader, “May,” on the Planet Arts label.
Trombonist/drummer Rick Rosoff grew up in Syracuse, where his father, a trumpet player, introduced him to classical and jazz music. After playing in his high school jazz band, Rosoff attended SUNY-Binghamton before heading to Miami. He has played with Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble as well as a variety of other bands, and he leads his own quartet.
Bassist Pete Toigo has been a mainstay on the Capital Region music scene for several decades and works with a wide variety of jazz and pop artists.
Admission is $15, $5 for students. Reservations and further information are available at 584-3548.
Categories: Life and Arts
