Arcadia Jazz Trio to Perform at Rye Town Park

Jazz lovers in the area will be treated to a special concert when the Arcadia Jazz Trio performs at the pavilion at Rye Town Park this Tuesday, one of six outdoor summer concerts sponsored by the Friends of Rye Town Park.

The Arcadia Jazz Trio, a band formed 10 years ago, performs mainly classic standards from the 1920s through 1950s, and pieces from masters like Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington. They have played the Rye Town Park concert series for the past two summers.

The Trio's saxophone player, Scott Wenzel, a lifetime Rye resident and producer at Mosaic Records, also performed with the Dragon Coasters, another local band, at Rye Town Park's concert on July 6.

Members of the Trio, who have performed at a variety of venues, including Rye cocktail parties and a cruise ship traveling from Florida to Portugal, said performing outdoors is one of their favorite ways to engage with the audience.

"When we play a cocktail party, we are great background music," said trio leader and guitarist Patrick Corcoran. "But at an actual concert, people are actually paying attention to the music instead of drinking and talking."

Corcoran, a resident of Norwalk who grew up in Yonkers, has owned Rye's Arcade Booksellers for 28 years. His bookstore has become a cultural center of sorts, with customers coming in seeking books and seeking to hire Corcoran's trio for their parties and weddings.

Before he bought the bookstore, Corcoran played rock n' roll professionally as part of the Lost Highway Ramblers, a popular local band. Once he became a storeowner, he would meet up casually with musician friends to play music.

"The bass player started putting jazz charts in front of us," Corcoran recalled. "We started playing jazz and just kept playing it."

Corcoran called jazz "the greatest music I've ever been exposed to," but also believes it is a difficult style to play, more demanding than rock n' roll and requiring physical dexterity from its performers. 

"I've been playing [jazz] for 10, 11 years—and I'm just getting to the point where I'm starting to be able to play it."

Wenzel said he finds a silver lining in the complexity of the genre, saying, "It is a music that, because of its improvisational nature, there is always something new and fresh to each performance."

For the jazz neophyte, Corcoran suggests starting with albums like Kind of Blue by Miles Davis or the Ken Burns jazz collection dedicated to Charlie Parker or the music of "unbelievable" guitarist Johnny Smith.

Although jazz is a difficult style, Corcoran believes that Arcadia Jazz Trio's performance on July 13 will appeal to a broad audience. 

"The music we play is of an era where an older crowd, it would be like their pop hits," he said.

Corcoran encouraged parents to bring their children and introduce them to the genre.

"Kids love live music. When they're exposed to new things like that, they just love it. Really young kids usually go nuts."

Corcoran is speaking from experience, saying he first fell in love with live music in elementary school.

"I remember second grade, watching some kids play at a little school thing. I was like, wow—normal people can actually play music! I've got to learn how to do that."

Wenzel became a music buff even earlier.

"I started collecting records—and I have pictures to back this up—when I was around 3 years old!"

He continued collecting from antique shops, garage sales, friends and family. But Wenzel maintains that there's something special about listening to a live performance.

"[Live music] is where the interaction of listener and performer is keenly felt," he said. "You can almost equate it to a sports team who's playing in front of the home crowd. They feed off of their enthusiasm."

Both Corcoran and Wenzel are hoping for an enthusiastic crowd this Tuesday, inviting the audience at Rye Town Park to come, listen and dance.

"It's a beautiful setting right there on the water, hopefully we'll have a lovely evening with the weather," Corcoran said.

"The concerts offer a great opportunity to see some live music for free," Wenzel added. "Bring a blanket, some food and refreshments and enjoy the views."

For the full schedule of Rye Town Park performances, click here.