The Jeanine Ouderkirk Trio Jazz at the Spring at Spring Street Gallery

Jazz at the Spring rings in 2019 with the fabulous Jeanine Ouderkirk Trio featuring Scott Bassison and Lou Smaldone. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Jeanine Ouderkirk began her musical journey with the study of piano and clarinet. Then ten years ago she realized it was singing that allowed her to connect with audiences most personally, and vocal improvisation was the vehicle for that connection. Jeanine Odenkirks passion for Jazz and her love of using improvisation for the connection it provides to both musician and audience led her to hone her skills studying with world renowned vocalist Bobby McFerrin. Using McFerrins methods of scat singing and circle singing, she developed her own practice of exploring vocal improvisation and storytelling. Jeanine and her bandmates use jazz improvisation to realize their vision of connection, relation, and expression of the truth of melody and lyric. Ouderkirk is an alum of Saratoga Springs High School and the Crane School of Music, and has been fortunate to study and perform with amazing teachers and become a teacher of music herself. Jeanine Ouderkirk is a generous musician, and her joy of singing is infectious as is her desire to share the songs and the improvisations they inspire....

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Jazz at the Spring rings in 2019 with the fabulous Jeanine Ouderkirk Trio featuring Scott Bassison and Lou Smaldone. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Jeanine Ouderkirk began her musical journey with the study of piano and clarinet. Then ten years ago she realized it was singing that allowed her to connect with audiences most personally, and vocal improvisation was the vehicle for that connection. Jeanine Odenkirks passion for Jazz and her love of using improvisation for the connection it provides to both musician and audience led her to hone her skills studying with world renowned vocalist Bobby McFerrin. Using McFerrins methods of scat singing and circle singing, she developed her own practice of exploring vocal improvisation and storytelling. Jeanine and her bandmates use jazz improvisation to realize their vision of connection, relation, and expression of the truth of melody and lyric. Ouderkirk is an alum of Saratoga Springs High School and the Crane School of Music, and has been fortunate to study and perform with amazing teachers and become a teacher of music herself. Jeanine Ouderkirk is a generous musician, and her joy of singing is infectious as is her desire to share the songs and the improvisations they inspire.

Scott Bassinson is a pianist who plays with impeccable taste and whose listening skills are equal to his impressive chops. He has a rare sense of placing just the right chord or melodic fill to suit each moment on the bandstand. Bassinson began classical piano study at the age of 4 at the St. Louis Institute of Music, and later attended Berklee College of Music. Since moving to the Capital Region, Scott has performed in a variety of contexts and genres including solo piano, jazz trios, as a multi-keyboardist with jazz, funk, folk and pop groups. But it is his experience as an accompanist for folk and jazz vocalists that make him the perfect collaborator for Jeanine Ouderkirk as she deftly reinterprets material from the Great American Songbook and explores works by modern artists like Joni Mitchell, Sam Cooke, and Joan As Police Woman.

Lou Smaldone is a seasoned bassist and in demand sideman in the Albany Area and beyond. His formal education included time at Schenectady County Community College and The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Inspired by the bass stylings of greats Paul Chambers & Charles Mingus, Smaldone relishes the opportunity to provide the foundation for the trios forays into musical storytelling. Smaldones effortless time keeping and always in the pocket propulsion is the hallmark of this active listener and inspired sideman.

CDJ is offering a number of free tickets for youth age 17 and under. If you are interested in obtaining a free ticket please inquire via email info@cdjazz.org.

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