Friday March 8th at 7pm : Join us for our monthly Dinner & Live Music event at the JCCS!
A Homecoming: The Ali Ryerson & Larry Ham Jazz Duo Internationally renowned jazz artists, flutist Ali Ryerson and pianist Larry Ham, team up to perform a beautiful and exciting program of jazz standards, selections from the Great American Songbook, and some Brazilian favorites. A sweet "homecoming" for Ali - the Ryerson family lived at Holiday Point in the 1960's - it is sure to be a special evening!
All tickets include: buffet dinner, dessert, and live music! *BYOB
This month’s dinner theme is Irish : St Patrick’s Day!
Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage with Potatoes
Irish Soda Bread / Butter
Garden Salad
Assorted St. Paddy’s Day Cupcakes
ALI RYERSON
With a career spanning over five decades, jazz flutist Ali Ryerson consistently ranks among the top flutists in the prestigious Downbeat Jazz Poll. Born in 1952 in New York, Ali grew up in a musical family. Her father, Art Ryerson, was a renowned jazz guitarist who got his start during the Big Band era with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, and later, became a top studio/session player in NYC, recording with everyone from Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Errol Garner, Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra, to Elvis Presley. He was also the first electric guitarist to perform and tour with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra of New York.
Ali has successfully carried on the family tradition, becoming an international touring and recording artist, with performances ranging from Carnegie Hall to the famed Blue Note jazz club (NY and Japan) to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., plus festival and club appearances worldwide. Ryerson has released over two dozen albums on major labels, including Concord Records, Capri Records, and Red Baron (for legendary jazz producer, Bob Thiele). Ryerson has worked with jazz greats such as Red Rodney, Hubert Laws, Roy Haynes, Kenny Barron, Frank Wess, Holly Hofmann, Stephane Grappelli, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, as well as classical artists Julius Baker and, while principal flutist with the Monterey Bay Symphony, with Luciano Pavarotti. Ryerson had a long-time collaboration with renowned guitarist, Joe Beck, with whom she toured and recorded for nearly a decade.
Ali, a classically trained musician, studied with Harold Bennett (principal flutist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) and John Wion (principal flutist with the New York City Opera Orchestra), and earned her performance degree from the Hartt College of Music (University of Hartford). She has served as Jazz Chair and Low Flutes Chair for the National Flute Association, was the founder of the NFA Jazz Flute Big Band, and is currently NFA Program Chair for the 2023 National Flute convention in Phoenix. As an educator, Ryerson published her widely acclaimed book, ‘Jazz Flute Practice Method’, conducts master classes worldwide, and teaches an online series for Lessonface. As a composer, Ryerson has received numerous commissions. Her flute works, ranging from solo to large flute ensemble, are published by Presser, Edition Kossack and ACR Music. Ms. Ryerson is a Gemeinhardt Artist with an autograph series of flutes.
LARRY HAM
Pianist, composer, and arranger Larry Ham is a veteran New York sideman, performing, touring, and recording with many great jazz artists. His own recordings have also received international critical acclaim: “Presence” a recent collaboration with saxophonist Woody Witt, “Carousel” featuring his own compositions and trio arrangements, and a solo piano release “Just Me, Just You…” on Arbors Jazz Records. All are available on the “CDs” page.
David Dupont of Cadence Jazz Magazine writes, “He glides over the keys with each note articulated cleanly…his playing is masterful.” And Mike Neely in All About Jazz calls him “…a pianist well on his way to becoming a master.”
Larry began his professional career in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra in the late ’80’s. He was pianist in the Illinois Jacquet Big Band 1990-95 and has worked extensively with countless other jazz legends, including the late Junior Cook and Dakota Staton. He has appeared at jazz festivals, concerts and nightclubs throughout the United States, Europe, West Africa, and Japan. His New York appearances include Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, Carnegie Hall, Iridium, The Village Vanguard, Birdland, Small’s, Mezzrow, and Harlem’s historic Lenox Lounge.
His jazz festival performances include the Grande Parade du Jazz in Nice, France, the North Sea Festival in The Hague, Holland, the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland, Jazz Yatra in Bombay, India, The Charlie Parker Festival in New York, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. He also performed at the White House for President Reagan and for President Clinton’s 1992 Inaugural Ball. Larry appeared in the jazz film “Texas Tenor” and has been a guest on TV programs including “The Today Show” (NBC) “Breakfast Time” (FX) and has been featured on NPR programs such as “Jazz Set with Dee Dee Bridgewater” and on Judy Carmichael’s “Jazz Inspired.”
As a United States Department of State Jazz Ambassador, Larry toured eleven West African nations in 2001-02 in a cultural exchange program, performing in concert, and conducting workshops on the art of playing jazz. From 2002-05 he was pianist and musical director for the New York Tapdance Festival, also touring the United States and Russia, Greece and Italy. In 2007, he appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and at Zankel Hall (Carnegie Hall) in New York.
More recently he has toured extensively in the US, and performed in Japan, Canada, Germany, Poland, England, Switzerland, Austria, France and The Czech Republic. Recent festival appearances include The Montreal Jazz Festival, The Rochester Jazz Festival, The Cape Cod Jazz Festival, the New Jersey JazzFest, and a performance for The West Texas Jazz Society.
Larry earned a BA in Musical Studies from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, and an MA in Jazz Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in New York City. He currently teaches at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, and at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, NY.