The Konrad Paszkudski Jazz Trio will perform works from the Great American Songbook at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 11, at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

This is the sixth concert of the 2021-2022 Friends of Good Music performance season.

Although he was raised in Western Australia by Polish parents, Paszkudski’s musical affinity and passion for swingin’ American jazz revealed itself early on. He was accepted into university at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth at the tender age of 15, studying jazz piano and finishing his undergraduate degree a few weeks after turning 19. The precocious instrumentalist swiftly established a reputation as a leading jazzman in Australia, playing with his mentor, jazz trumpeter James Morrison.

He relocated to the United States, receiving his master’s degree in 2011 from the University of Miami at the age of 22. Upon graduation, he spent a year in Los Angeles playing piano with the likes of the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Jeff Hamilton Trio. Paszkudski returned to the East Coast in 2012 after accepting an offer to lead the house trio at the coveted New York venue 54 Below. He joined the John Pizzarelli Quartet in November of 2013, leading to more than 1,000 performances worldwide in the following four years.

He formed his own Trio with Pasquale Grasso, guitar, and Dylan Shamat, bass, and in 2016 began working for Venus Records in Japan. Between 2016 and 2017, the Konrad Paszkudzki Trio recorded seven albums for the label. Aside from touring and recording, in 2017 Paszkudski began his role as artistic director of the Ballroom, an organization committed to delivering the highest caliber of swinging American jazz across the West Coast. 

The trio’s focus is on standards — tunes collectively known as the Great American Songbook. Without imposing trite gimmicks or relying on overt displays of flash and technical wizardry, the trio stays true to the original musical and lyrical content of the material, with an emphasis on melodic elegance and swinging verve. The influence of Nelson Riddle, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner and Ahmad Jamal can be felt and heard, but is never blatantly mimicked.

This concert is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

Given the fluid nature of COVID-19 protocols, please check SBU’s COVID-19 website for the university’s latest policy for campus visitors, including ticketholders for Quick Center performances, or call the Quick Center at (716) 375-2494.

Single ticket prices for this concert are $20 at full price, $16 for senior citizens and St. Bonaventure employees, and $5 for students. For tickets and information, call The Quick Center at (716) 375-2494.

For each Friends of Good Music performance, The Quick Center will open its galleries one hour before the performance and keep them open throughout the intermission. Regular gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Museum admission is free and open to the public year round. For more information, visit www.sbu.edu/quickcenter.  

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