BLUE HUES
The Larry Ham Trio

Saturday, February 17th, 2024, 7PM
Sunday, February 18th, 2024, 3PM
At the Historic Hand House, Elizabethtown, NY

Blue Hues, with the Larry Ham Trio, is a celebration of music that looks forward while staying firmly rooted in the tradition of the great piano trios of jazz. Famed jazz critic Nat Hentoff wrote: “Pianist Larry Ham is a master…in the legacy of Hank Jones and Jimmy Rowles.”

The concert will feature new music from bassist Matt Dunne as well as Larry Ham originals and creative arrangements of jazz classics. The concert has a special North Country connection, as the three musicians met at the Crane School of Music in the late 1970s, performing in a variety of groups during a particularly fertile and active period in that school’s history.

A LITTLE ABOUT OUR PERFORMERS

Larry Ham, Jazz Pianist 

Pianist, composer, and arranger Larry Ham has long been a noted New York-based jazz musician. Reviewing a recent CD, David Dupont of Cadence Jazz Magazine writes, “He glides over the keys, with every note articulated cleanly…his playing is masterful.” Larry’s professional career began in the late ‘80s with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He then joined the Illinois Jacquet Big Band 1990-95, and has worked extensively with countless other jazz legends including Junior Cook and Dakota Staton. He has performed at jazz festivals, in concerts, and nightclubs throughout the USA, Europe, West Africa, Canada, India, Brazil, and Japan. Larry has performed for three US Presidents, and he was a US State Department Jazz Ambassador to West Africa in 2001 and 2002. He has a BA in Musical Studies from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, and an MA in Jazz Performance from Queens College in New York City. He currently teaches Jazz Studies at Bard College and Dutchess Community College. https://larryham.com/

Larry Ham

Tom Melito, Drums

Tom Melito has been a mainstay on the NY jazz scene for many years. His drumming has been heard behind such varied artists as Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Wess, Harry Allen, “Sweets” Edison, Lew Soloff, Herb Ellis, Warren Vache, John Bunch, and Bill Watrous. Tom’s talents have been in demand internationally, including numerous tours of Japan, Europe, and South America. He has also performed at most of the world’s largest jazz events, including the JVC, Montreal, and Berne Jazz Festivals. His numerous television appearances include the CBS Early Show, Entertainment Tonight, and CNN World Beat. Melito has also toured with many singers including the late Etta Jones and Kenny Rankin. He has been featured with Stacy Kent and continues to perform regularly in New York City jazz clubs. Active in jazz education he is an adjunct professor of music at Central Connecticut University. He also plays on Jerry Bergonzi’s CD play along method, and is recording a series of jazz educational CDs for “Windplayer” magazine.

Tom Melito

Matt Dunne, Bass

Matt Dunne, guitarist, bassist, and composer, has had a distinguished career as a performer and composer in both jazz and classical music, playing at festivals, in concert halls, and in jazz clubs. He has recorded CDs of classical guitar music, original jazz, and orchestral film music. He has written jazz-influenced music for many classical guitar soloists and ensembles, including Grammy winners David Russell and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. He was a professor of music at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he directed the guitar program and taught jazz studies for 27 years. He has a DMA from UT Austin, an MM from Florida State University, and a BM from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Matt moved permanently to Keene, NY in 2020 and since then has continued to perform, compose, and contribute to the area’s thriving arts scene, playing double bass in a variety of settings around the region. He is the president of East Branch Friends of the Arts and serves on the board of directors for the Essex County Arts Council.

Matt Dunne

CONCERT INFO

Piano by Nature is so fortunate to host these three masterful jazz musicians—Larry Ham, Matt Dunne, and Tom Melito—and as a special treat, we are looking forward to hearing them debut some brand new compositions from Keene resident and bassist Matt Dunn. Make sure to save the date for these extraordinary performances Saturday, February 17th at 7PM and Sunday, February 18th at 3PM—both at the Historic Hand House in Elizabethtown, NY.

The Hand House parlor will open half an hour prior to performance time, and we encourage attendees to arrive early to avoid lines at check-in.

Admission to each of the concerts at the Historic Hand House is $20 each with a special $5 price for children 15 years of age and under. All seating is available in a first-come-first-served capacity and reservations are requested and may be made through email at pianobynature@gmail.com or by phone at 518-962-8899.

Please consider sending a donation to Piano by Nature to help us continue to support our artists and deliver exceptional live music to the North Country and beyond. You can mail a check to Piano by Nature, 32 Champlain Ave., Westport, NY 12993. Or donate online through the Donate button below (using your Paypal account or credit card). If you have questions or ideas, feel free to call Rose at 518.962.8899. I’d love to hear from you.

Piano By Nature’s programs are made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts. We are also supported by the Essex County Arts Council’s Cultural Assistance Program Grant with funding provided by Essex County. And we’d also like to thank our many patrons and donors for their generous contributions over the past 16 years—you are keeping live music ‘alive’ in the North Country!

See the full schedule of concerts in Piano by Nature’s 16th Season: The Sound of Color.