2024 Performer Bios

The name Killdeer Trio comes from the “Killdeer” bird, commonly found in the Upstate NY — the region each member was raised, and now currently resides. Their music is deeply influenced by the rural environment in which it was conceived, reflecting both its quiet serenity, and constant invitation to explore the surrounding unknown. Killdeer Trio blends deep grooves, folk-like melodies, searing electric guitar, and free improvisation into a unique sound that rides the line between Modern Jazz, and popular music.

Killdeer Trio released their debut self-titled album on May 11th, 2023, which is available on all streaming platforms.

In February 2024 Killdeer Trio opened for the legendary saxophonist Joel Frahm at the Alias Winter Jazz Festival in Troy NY.

Members:

Evan Jagels is a versatile electric and acoustic bassist who has performed with artists such as Jerry Weldon, John Stowell, Arlen Roth, and Martin Bisi. He is a member of Blake Fleming’s (The Mars Volta, Sean Lennon) Shatter on Impact, and performs with NYC based free-improviser Nicole Brancato in Duo Extempore. Jagels has toured in Germany with Paul Berberich and Andreas “Scotty” Böttcher, the latter with whom he released “Night Service” in 2021 and “Acoustic Field” in 2023. www.evanjagelsmusic.com

Sebastian Green has recorded, performed, and toured with a variety of successful indie artists throughout the US and beyond. He is an in-demand sideman, having with toured with artists such as Palehound, Leafing, and The Currys. Green’s deep pocket and creative approach make him equally at home in rock, punk, jazz, experimental, and improvised music styles.

Wyatt Ambrose is a guitarist, composer, and educator based in Oneonta NY. He performs frequently in trio, duo, and solo formats. In 2019 Wyatt performed with Lucy Wijnands in Tokyo, Japan and opened for the Ari Hoenig Trio at the New Haven Underground Jazz Festival. He recorded his debut solo guitar album in January of 2024, which is set to release later this year. www.wyattambrosemusic.com

Cliff Brucker: Drummer-Percussionist, Pianist, Keyboardist, Composer, Producer, Arranger and Educator.

Cliff has a B.M. in Music from The Crane School of Music at Potsdam State College and a M.S. in Music from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. He has been performing as a professional musician for over 50 years!  As a well-respected musician by his peers, Cliff has worked with some of the finest talent in the Capital District including the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Capital Region Wind Ensemble, and the Empire Jazz Orchestra. 

He has also performed with a variety of internationally known jazz and pop artists including Aretha Franklin, Buddy Greco, Rex Richardson, Bob Mintzer, Ray Vega, Claudio Roditti and Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack.

Cliff is also an award-winning composer and producer of advertising jingles and multimedia production. His credits include Avis, National Hobby, and is the music behind New York State’s “C.S.E.A., We’re your Work Force!” He has written and produced the new official song of Schenectady called “Schenectady’s the Place”.

Now retired, Cliff has been a member of the music faculty at Schenectady County Community College for 22 years and previously The College of Saint Rose for 14 years. He has written and implemented the curriculum for an on-line SUNY course  called “Rock Music Styles and Development” He is the 2015 recipient of the SUNY Chancellors Award for excellence in adjunct teaching.

Cliff is an experienced lecturer in the fields of classical, jazz and rock music in addition to teaching theory, history, music appreciation, songwriting, improv methods and ensemble classes.

Cliff released his 2nd CD entitled Cliff Brucker Full Circle Featuring Leo Russo Vol 2. In 2019. It has been getting much attention and airplay on most notably PRI’s Jazz After Hours w’ Jeff Hanley.

Cliff’s new musical adventure is his BWC- Jazz Orchestra. Along with partners Steve Weisse and Dylan Canterbury, he has assembled the premier 18 piece big band in the region. They have performed at WAMC’s performance hall The Linda, Freedom Park in Scotia and in the prestigious A Place For Jazz lineup last fall that also included world class jazz artists from around the world. His website is https://cliffbruckermusic.com/

Chris Pasin: Trumpet

A graduate of the New England Conservatory, spent two years playing with the Buddy Rich band in the early 80’s, touring with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, and many others. Then he relocated to New York City.

Much of the next decade was spent playing jazz with various groups, including the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin big band. There was also work with Jack McDuff, many Salsa bands like Johnny Rodriguez and Brazilian bands like Amazon, and various other jazz ensembles, including the Lee Shaw quintet in recent years.

Recently, he released the CDs “Detour Ahead,” and “Random Acts of Kindness,” comprised largely of his own diverse compositions, and has a release, “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” of reimagined holiday music, to critical acclaim, and his recent album “Ornettiquette,” playing the music of and inspired by Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and Don Cherry.

Chris is now playing jazz frequently with various musicians in and around the New York area, writing music to record for several current projects. And Chris has recorded with the likes of Gunther Schuller, George Russell, and Toshiko Akiyoshi. His flugelhorn on the soundtrack has been called the best thing about the movie, “Ishtar,” and he appears as a sideman on numerous jazz albums.

He has recorded on dozens of albums for a myriad of artists, often with The North Country Horns co-led by saxophonist/arranger Jay Collins. #NorthCountryHorns He’s performed at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, the Royal Albert Hall, the Village Vanguard, Ronnie Scott’s, and the Blue Note, among others, and toured Europe and Asia many times.

Cliff Lyons: Saxophonist

Cliff Lyons is a local legend who has lived downstate for many years. Currently performing all around the world with The Average White Band, Cliff has played with  numerous jazz and soul artists throughout his career. Starting out in Albany, Cliff was with the local favorite, Downtime. He has performed with the Ed Palermo Big Band and most recently, The BWC-JO for the celebrated series, A Place for Jazz.

 Larry Ham: Jazz Pianist 

Pianist, composer and arranger Larry Ham has long been a noted New York based jazz musician. David Dupont of Cadence Jazz Magazine writes, “He glides over the keys, with every note articulated cleanly…his playing is masterful.” And Mike Neely in AllAboutJazz calls him “…a pianist well on his way to becoming a jazz master.”

Larry’s professional career began in the late ‘80s with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He was pianist in the Illinois Jacquet Big Band 1990-95, and has worked extensively with countless other jazz legends including Junior Cook and Dakota Staton. He has appeared at jazz festivals, concerts and nightclubs throughout the United States, Europe, West Africa, Canada, India and Japan. 

Larry has performed for three US Presidents, and 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.

Rich Syracuse: String Bassist, Electronic Bassist and Composer

Rich Syracuse has been a mainstay on the New York area scene for more than four decades. While Performing at an early age in New York City, he was the winner of the prestigious Congress Of Strings Award.

Going on to receive Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Rich performed with The Group For Contemporary Music under the Conductors Charles Wournin and Harvey Solberger, The Hartford Ballet and the New Jersey Lyric Opera co. Early Jazz groups include Pianist’s John Mehegan, Joey Calderazzo, Ted Rosenthal, and Bruce Barth. After Moving to New York State’s Hudson Valley in the mid 1980’s he began a long-standing position in the Nick Brignola Quartet playing clubs, festivals, and recording sessions.  Besides his years with Brignola, he has performed with Mose Allison, Kurt Elling, Brubeck Brothers, Michael and Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Warren Bernhardt, Vinnie Martucci, Sumi Tonoka, David Torn, Mike DeMicco, Mark Djuzba, Peter Levin, Sam Morrison, John Esposito, Steve Raleigh, Jimmy Cobb, Bernard Purdy, Adam Nussbaum, Jeff “siege” Siegel, Eddie Henderson, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Dena DeRose, John Medeski, Michael Musilliami and Ali Demogli.

Rich had been the Bassist for Pianist Lee Shaw for over 22 years. He is the Professor for String and Electric Bass Studies at Skidmore College in Saratoga, New York; Hotchkiss School in Lakeville Connecticut, Bard College in New York and SUNY New Paltz college in New Paltz New York.

Rich is an Individual member of the International Association Schools of Jazz. Rich has toured throughout Europe, South America and Southern Africa.  As well as touring, Rich is an in demand Bassist throughout the northeast region of the USA.

Percussionist Michael Benedict received a Bachelor’s degree in music education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from Rutgers University.

In JAZZ VIBES, Michael plays the vibraphone, playing original compositions, jazz standards and Brazilian influenced jazz. Michael has toured the United States extensively and has performed in Europe. In 2012, Michael was sponsored by the US State Department for a tour of Tunisia, Africa where he taught and performed with the Planet Arts Trio.

Michael has released six recordings to date. His album, CIRCULATION, was an Editor’s pick in Downbeat Magazine and listed as one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2015 by National Public Radio. His newest album, “1-2-3 GO”, earned him the Local Hero Award for Best Local/Regional Release by J. Hunter for www.nippertown.com. Michael recently won an award for the Best Jazz Musician of the Year for 2023 given by WCDB Radio, SUNY Albany, 90.9FM. He has been nominated twice for “Jazz Musician of the Year” by the Thomas Edison Music Awards (The Eddies).

Flute player Melanie Chirignan is a chamber musician at her core. She loves to collaborate with other musicians and media to be expressive. She believes in Groupmuse house concerts and performing in non-traditional spaces to build community, speak about music, tell stories, and make music accessible to all. 

Melanie believes strongly in innovation, commissioning and premiering new music, and is very grateful to have won grants from the Schenectady Community Arts Council, the Saratoga Community Arts Council, and the New York Women Composer’s Seed Money Grant to bring these projects to life. She has worked with a multitude of composers on projects that speak to her including: Alex Ford’s “Berus in the Woods” in collaboration with Electric City Puppets; Ralph Raymond Hays’ musicalization of the story “Keller’s Heart” by John Gray; she has premiered music by Sean Pallatroni, Kary Contreras Galindo, Joshua Hummel, and made world premiere recordings of music for Masatora Goya’s album, Dream Of Sailing, available on ITunes and Amazon; Nolan Stolz’s Princess Ka’iulani, released on SCI/ Parma Recordings and “Latinos Ni de Aqui Ni de Alla” on the Latin Heartbeat Orchestra album, El Regreso. Currently, she is recording an album of flute and guitar music by women composers with guitarist Scott Hill. As a member of the wind quintet Quintocracy, she premiered music for: the silent film Nosferatu by Sina Kiai, the silent film the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Brett Wery, the micro opera the Pedesterra Cycle by Brett Wery, and presented a program of music by women composers at SUNY PAC. Melanie has collaborated extensively with Stringwynde, jazz bass legend Nat Reeves, traditional Irish harpist Hailey Hewitt, Philadelphia Fife and Drum Corps, guitarist Oren Fader, pianist Max Caplan, and Alturas Duo.

 Melanie loves to work as an orchestral player as well. She has performed with: the New York Chamber Players Orchestra, Albany Pro Musica, Octavo Chamber Orchestra, Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra, Garden State Philharmonic, the Chelsea Symphony, Gateway Classical Music Society, S.E.M. Ensemble, and Hartt Independent Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, Melanie has been featured with the Chelsea Symphony, performing “Poem” by Charles Griffes. 

She has performed in a variety of inspiring venues including; Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Space, Opera America, the DiMenna Center, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Tenri Cultural Center, for Composer’s Voice Concert Series, the Connecticut Guitar Society, the Windsor Historical Society, the New Britain Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the Wadsworth Museum of Art.  

Melanie Chirignan is a teaching artist at heart. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in music performance and music education, graduating magna cum laude from SUNY Fredonia and a Master of Music in flute performance from the Hartt School. She has taught general music, chorus and orchestra to students ranging from elementary school to conservatory and college. She has taught workshops on the “Origins of South American Folk Music” with the Alturas Duo. Currently she is an adjunct faculty member at the College of Saint Rose and maintains a busy private teaching studio in Schenectady, NY in addition to her busy performance schedule.  As a member of Quintocracy she is an artist in residence at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and offers workshops for schools through BOCES.  She has co-taught with pianist Melanie Hardage Improvisation workshops at Big Picture Learning Schools this Fall thanks to a Schenectady Arts and Education grant.

Max Caplan is a classical and jazz composer and pianist based in the New York State Capital Region. He holds a Master of Music in Composition from the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Classics from Union College in Schenectady, NY. His compositional instructors have included Hilary Tann, Robert Carl, and Larry Alan Smith.

Max has performed with numerous Capital Region groups including the Musicians of Ma’alwyck, Quintocracy, the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, and Albany Pro Musica. He is a frequent guest on the Eddie-Award-winning “Jazz Vespers” series at the First Reformed Church in Schenectady.

Max’s compositional works have included several commissions by the Musicians of Ma’alwyck, including a one-act chamber opera, Aleda: The Flight of the Suff Birdwomen (2018), for which he wrote both the music and libretto. The opera’s score was praised in the Albany Times Union as “invigorating and inspiring” and the libretto as “highly effective.”

Max holds instructor and accompanist positions at several Capital Region institutions. He is an Affiliated Artist at Union College, providing piano instruction to undergraduate students, and an Adjunct Instructor of piano and composition at SUNY Schenectady. He is an accompanist at Union College, SUNY Schenectady, Congregation Gates of Heaven in Niskayuna, and First Reformed Church in Schenectady.

In his early years he was a member of the ESYO Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble, as well as the NYSSMA All-State Jazz Band. More recently he has performed at many well-known jazz clubs in NYC such as Birdland, Dizzy’s, Smalls, Ornithology, Jazz Forum, and other smaller venues. He also regularly performs in the capital region with various bands. He started teaching private lessons during college, both online and in person, and has continued to do so for students of all ages and levels. He is a very passionate musician/teacher who makes it his mission to help his students improve without forgetting to fuel their creativity and love of the instrument.

Trumpeter/composer Terry Gordon is active in a wide variety of musical styles from jazz, Latin, and big
band, to rock, classical and contemporary Christian worship music. He performs regularly throughout the northeast and beyond with several groups, including Alex Torres y su Orquesta, the Terry Gordon Quintet, the Arch Stanton Quartet, the Joyful Noise Jazz Project, Brass-O-Mania and has appeared on numerous recordings including five adventurous collections of original music with the Terry Gordon
Quintet: Wakeup Call (Buttonhooks – 1996), Contemplations (Flying Gurnard – 2002), Homeward Bound
(WEPA – 2006), Tomorrow Calling (WEPA – 2013), and Tangents (Flying Gurnard – 2023), and three with
the Arch Stanton Quartet: Along For The Ride (WEPA – 2012), Live At The Cairo Jazz Festival (Swordpaw
– 2013), and Blues For Soli (WEPA – 2014).

He has appeared at major venues such as the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Cairo International Jazz Festival (Egypt), Lincoln Center, the Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival, Jazz In The Square (Syracuse, NY), Musikfest (Bethlehem, Pa.), and many other festivals around the country, and has also appeared in programs with Bobby Rydell, Leslie Gore, and The Temptations. With the award-winning salsa band Alex Torres y su Orquesta, whose music can be heard in several television shows and motion pictures including Walt Disney’s Old Dogs, he has recorded several acclaimed CDs on WEPA Records, and with the Empire Jazz Orchestra he has backed up such jazz luminaries as Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Randy Brecker, Slide Hampton, Rufus Reid, Lew Soloff, Wycliffe Gordon, The Four Freshmen, and David “Fathead” Newman.

Born in Hartford Connecticut, the son of an amateur pianist and composer, guitarist Joe Finn was surrounded by music from the very first day. By age ten he was playing his first guitar and giving lessons to kids in the neighborhood. After high school, he got a Bachelor’s Degree in Music at Plattsburgh State and had the good fortune to play and study with Roy Burns, James Spaulding, Jim Miller, Billy Hawkins and Kirk Nurock.

After college, he spent ten years traveling the United States and Canada playing the guitar in a wide variety of situations. Finn has now settled in upstate New York where he concentrates on local performances and teaching. He has been featured in various festival and concert settings for several years since the release of his initial CD as a leader in 1991. The album entitled “Straight Ahead” received critical acclaim as well as extensive national airplay. His quartet’s subsequent appearance on the BET network’s Jazz Discovery Showcase won their 1998 award in the jazz instrumental category. Six more independent CD releases “Guitar Signatures and Duets,” “Blue Tomorrow,” “Destiny Blue,” “String Theory,” “Generational Dynamics” and 2021’s “As Luck Would Have It” have helped to establish Joe’s reputation as one of today’s top players.

Joe spent his first 4 years of college focused on classical percussion and performance before transferring to the music conservatory at Purchase in 1999. While at Purchase, he had the privilege to study with jazz greats the likes of Jon Faddis, Hal Galper, Adam Nussbaum, John Riley, Todd Coolman and Ralph Lalama.  In 2004, he received his BFA in Jazz Studies with a focus on drumset performance & composition.

Some of the outstanding performers Barna has had the honor of playing with include: 3 time Grammy Award winners The Celtic Tenors, 7 time Grammy Award recipient Gary Smulyan, world renowned classical violinist Peter Fisher and 4 time Grammy Award recipient Ralph Lalama.Other notable performances have been with Joe Magnarelli, Dick Oatts, Joel Frahm, Jon Gordon, Lee Shaw, Grant Stewart, Jim Rotondi, Keith Pray, Charlie Sigler, George Muscatello, Jerry Weldon, Stacy Dillard, Jon Elbaz, Matt Garrison, Victor Gould, Lee Russo, Bryan Patneaude, The Big Soul Ensemble and his own original band Sketches Of Influence.

Joe has taken his passion and talent abroad to Canada, Australia, Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, New Zealand, Dubai UAE, Turkey and Egypt. In addition to performing in these destinations he has also traveled across the United States and through the Caribbean Islands. In 2013, Barna also performed around the coasts of Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti and New Caledonia.

In addition to his above credits, Joe has recorded on over 10 albums as a sideman and has 6 albums as a bandleader. His most recent effort, The Heights (2023), is dedicated to his daughter Savina Jewel Barna.