Legendary Jazz Guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli Swings into Potsdam

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Legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli will present a Community Performance Series concert at March 24 at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music.

POTSDAM, NY (03/10/2011)(readMedia)-- Community Performance Series in Potsdam is pleased to present renowned jazz guitarist John "Bucky" Pizzarelli in an upcoming Guest Artist Series concert.

The Bucky Pizzarelli & Friends performance will take place on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. A free pre-concert lecture will be given by Crane alumnus Russ Kassoff at 6:30 p.m. before the show begins.

Legendary guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli will perform in the master swing style along with renowned jazz musicians Russ Kassoff on piano, Ken Peplowski on clarinet and saxophone, Jay Leonhart on bass and Dennis Mackrel on percussion. The evening will showcase the artistry of these veteran musicians, who are all virtuosos on their respective instruments and have worldwide experience performing swing jazz -- considered to be a truly American art form.

The band will perform in the great traditions of American swing jazz, stemming from the 1920s forward.

"Bucky Pizzarelli is a true guitar legend sought after by everyone involved in the celebration of traditional American jazz," said pianist Russ Kassoff. "His career spans from time spent with Vaughn Monroe and Benny Goodman, to his time as a featured soloist and member of the Tonight Show Band in NYC with Johnny Carson, and currently as a recording artist in the greatest demand worldwide. His youthful exuberance is demonstrated by the joy with which every fiber of his being is attached to every note and chord that he plays."

For more than six decades, Bucky Pizzarelli has been a celebrated jazz musician, performing on some of America's greatest stages. He performed as a staff musician with NBC and ABC, and has had appearances with the Les Paul and George Barnes at Carnegie Hall. He has also performed at the White House alongside such greats as Benny Goodman, Claude "Fiddler" Williams and Frank Sinatra.

In addition to performing on world tours, Pizzarelli has recorded his own solo albums, as well as with musicians such as Eddie Daniels, Zoot Sims, Joe Venuti, Bud Freeman, Slam Stewart, Butch Miles, John Bunch, Stephane Grappelli and his son, previous CPS guest artist John Pizzarelli.

Bucky Pizzarelli and the members of the band will also conduct masterclasses at The Crane School of Music on Thursday, March 24, with topics ranging from jazz history to guitar technique. Visit www.cpspotsdam.org for more information.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting the CPS Box Office, located in the lobby of the Sara M. Snell Music Theater on the SUNY Potsdam campus, or at Northern Music & Video in downtown Potsdam.

A special student rate of $10 is available for K-12 and college students with a valid ID. Tickets start at $20 for seniors and $22 for adults. Tickets are available by calling the CPS Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or by purchasing online at www.cpspotsdam.org.

The Community Performance Series Bucky Pizzarelli & Friends performance is sponsored in part by SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, the E.J. Noble Foundation, the Maresca Family Endowment for the Arts and the Sweetgrass Foundation. Media sponsors include WWNY TV-7 News and WNYF FOX 28.

Established in 1989, CPS at SUNY Potsdam is a college-community partnership presenting world-class performing artists and arts education opportunities in northern New York. A rich mixture of programs links community, classroom and audiences of all ages while preserving access to the performing arts for future generations.

For more information, please visit www.cpspotsdam.org.

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Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution, and is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2011.

-www.potsdam.edu/crane-