A special Jazz Appreciation Month concert featuring the wonderful trio of Nick Hetko on piano, Rich Syracuse on bass and Jeff ‘Siege’ Siegel on drums, who will also be celebrating the release of their new cd - “When You Were There” – dedicated to their mentor,  the late great Lee Shaw.  This will be a concert that you will not want to miss! This concert will be held at the First Reformed Church, 8 N. Church St, Schenectady. Tickets are free for those who submit a membership form ($100 minimum) before March 31.

Benny Green was born in New York City. He grew up in Berkeley, California, and studied classical piano from the age of seven. He attended Berkeley High School, and participated in the school's jazz ensemble. In the later years of his high school career, he had a weekly trio gig at Yoshi's, which marked his entrance to the world of professional jazz. After high school he spent time in San Francisco, but became more successful on his return to New York.
Green joined Betty Carter's band in April, 1983, and since 1991 he has led his own trio. He has recorded for Blue Note Records, Telarc, and Criss Cross Jazz.
He frequently teaches in workshops across the United States, such as Jazz Camp West in California, and Centrum/Jazz Port Townsend in Washington. He tours globally with the Benny Green Trio. His 2018 studio album release Then and Now is available from Sunnyside Records.

Arranger/Composer/Valve Trombonist Phil Allen is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. His musical studies started with piano at age seven then trumpet at ten.
After a brief time at Hanover College, Indiana University and Indiana Central College (now University of Indianapolis - it was here that valve trombone became his primary instrument) majoring in music education, Phil left school and studied piano and theory with Steve Allee, composition and arranging with Alan Foust and jazz improvisation with Alan Kiger.
In the ‘70s and ‘80s he played with and wrote for the Von Ohlen/Allee Big Band. This was also a time of free-lancing as valve trombonist and pianist .
In 1996 Allen moved to the San Francisco Bay area. During his time there he played with and wrote for the College of San Mateo Monday Night Band and the Interplay Trio as well as serving on the worship team at 1st Presbyterian Church.
In 2014 Allen and his wife moved to Rensselaer, New York. Currently, he is part of the Blue Sky All-Stars and has performed with Skip Parsons’ Riverboat Jazz Band. In 2015, with the help of drummer Mike Benedict, he started the Concert Jazz Band, which now plays once a month at Renaissance Hall in Schenectady.