Capital District Jazz presents: Who: Capital District Jazz Presents The Tri-Light Trio featuring vocalist extraordinaire TERI ROIGER, saxophonist JOEL FRAHM, a 2019 GRAMMY winning artist (“Back to Sunset” Album) known for his bold inventive tenor sound, and the incomparable bassist JOHN MENEGON, returns to Jazz at the Spring!! The Tri-Light Trio, a unique blend of voice-sax-bass, came together in 2018 specifically for a gig at Jazz @ the Spring. The music was so infectious and the response so encouraging that these three jazz masters continue to perform together whenever they get the chance. They are back with fresh explorations of the music of Abbey Lincoln, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone as well as the music of bassists Charlie Haden and Charles Mingus. Saratoga's Jazz at the Spring is proud of its growing reputation as an incubator for jazz, bringing musicians together and giving Saratoga audiences the opportunity to hear new groups and new music in the making!!! |
Joel Frahm, who The New York Times calls “…a post-bop tenor saxophonist with a deft and assertive command,” is an inventive and adventurous horn player. Frahm, while embracing the jazz tradition, is always striving to create something fresh and new. On the bandstand he readily shares his verve and enthusiasm for music with fellow musicians and audiences alike. Discussing Frahm’s playing, renowned pianist Brad Mehldau noted, “A beautiful sound on the instrument is something he (Frahm) obviously values….one thing I always hear in Joel’s playing is an unapologetic emotional outpouring.” Frahm is a regular on the New York City club circuit and has appeared alongside a vast array of jazz legends and musical peers including Maynard Ferguson, Kenny Barron, Betty Carter, Brad Mehldau, Matt Wilson, Dewey Redman, Lee Konitz, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Pat Martino, The Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and performed on the2019 Grammy award winning album Back to Sunset. In an interview with saxshed.com Frahm shared his playing philosophy, “...let the roots of the music, blues and swing, nourish what you do. Why not embrace the elements that make jazz fun and special in the first place?"
Teri Roiger is an American jazz musician, vocalist, pianist, songwriter, educator, and producer, who has been described as singing at the intersection of Abbey Lincoln, Billie Holiday, and Anita O’Day, which underscores her own breathtaking and unique talents as a vocalist and performer. The depth of her experiences and love of jazz is apparent in her live performances, the recording studio, and through her moving lyrics and compositions. Teri discovered jazz in her early 20s – and soon after made her first demo with the legendary stride pianist Butch Thompson. She has since performed throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and has been a featured artist at the San Miguel Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, and Bolzano Jazz Festival. Her performance and recording credits include Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Sheila Jordan, Frank Kimbrough, Kirk Lightsey, David “Fathead” Newman, Roswell Rudd, Steve Williams, Matt Wilson and many others. Roiger has shared her knowledge and inspiration with students in the SUNY New Paltz Jazz Program (New Paltz, NY), where she teaches Jazz Voice, History of Jazz, and Vocal Jazz Ensembles. In 2016, noted jazz critic Stanley Crouch said, “To hear Teri Roiger is to experience that peculiarly beautiful combination of improvisation, tone, feeling, and phrasing that are distinct elements of jazz freedom. She is made for those who still understand the meaning of the term ‘the real thing.’” Teri's latest recording is a heartfelt dedication to Billie Holiday. On this multi-dimensional project, Ms. Roiger shines a new light on the many facets of Billie, her rebellious spirit, her rich sensuality, and the depth of her blues.
John Menegon is a formidable bassist, composer, educator and painter who has shared the stage with some of the greats of modern jazz. He was an integral member of the Dewey Redman Quartet, as well as the David "Fathead" Newman Quintet, spending over a decade performing, touring, and recording with each of them. Additionally, John has played with many jazz luminaries including Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Barron, Slide Hampton, Sheila Jordan, and Matt Wilson to name but a few. Musicians who have performed with John feel that he makes everyone on the bandstand sound better by anticipating and intuiting where the music wants to go. Menegon’s playing is not only recognized by his peers, but by critics as well. Kirk Silsbee writes in his Downbeat magazine review of John’s cd, (I Remember You), “Canadian-bred John Menegon is in the line of George Mraz and Michael Moore; a harmonically sophisticated bassist with technical facility who swings hard when it’s called for.” Noted critic John Kelman (All About Jazz New York), says of John’s performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival with Pat Metheny & Dewey Redman, “…His solos were the perfect confluence of rhythmic invention and melodic conception.” Until 2017, Menegon was on the faculty of the SUNY New Paltz Jazz Program (New Paltz, NY) where he taught for 20 years. An accomplished painter, Menegon’s work can be seen at the Westbeth Gallery in New York City.
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