An Evening With: Pete Malinverni

We're excited to host the first show in our 'An Evening With' series, bringing in virtuoso musicians from around the globe right here to the Van Dyck in Schenectady! Our first guest perfromer is pianst, composer, and educator Pete Malinverni, a fixure in the NYC Jazz scene since the 1980's. Since moving to the city, Pete has recorded sixteen times as a leader - including in solo piano, piano/violin duet, trio, quartet, quintet, big band and choral contexts.

Throughout his time in NYC, Pete has established performing, recording and inspirational contact with a host of masters on the scene there, including Joe Lovano, Vernel Fournier, Charles Davis, Mel Lewis, Dennis Irwin, Karrin Allyson, Steve Wilson and many, many others. These collaborations have happened in studios and on stages like the Carnegie Recital Hall, the Caramoor Festival, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the Rome Music and Image Festival, the Santiago (Chile) Jazz Festival and others, as well as in New York's great clubs, such as the Village Vanguard, Birdland, the Blue Note, the Village Gate, Bradley's, Smalls and Mezzrow.

These experiences, along with his work in inspirational settings such as the Devoe Street Baptist Church in Brooklyn (Minister of Music for eighteen years), the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY (Pianist and Conductor) and the Pound Ridge Community Church (Director of Music), have convinced him that music must be treated as a sacred gift, to be passed on freely to fellow musicians and listeners, with passionate control. Pete is proud of his work in education, too. After tenures at William Paterson University and New York University, he now serves as Chair of Jazz Studies at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, State University of New York, just a few miles north of the City.
Pete will be joined by three well known Capital Region jazz musicians, all three featured in the Van Dyck's sold-out 'Jazz is Back!' show which marked the return of live Jazz to our historic venue - Drummer Michael Benedict went to college with Pete from 1975-79 at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam where they played together frequently, Awan Rashad was a recent student of Pete’s at SUNY Purchase, and rounding out the group is well known upstate NY bassist & eductaor, Mike Lawrence.

Host or Publisher Van Dyck Music Club