Press

- Favorite nursery rhymes and children's songs, colored by jazz and the blues, will be heard at the New York State Museum in July and August during a concert series presented by The Mother Goose Jazz Band.
Performances will be at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays from July 7 through August 15th, with the exception of Monday, July 14th. During that week there will be a concert on Tuesday, July 15th, as well as the Friday concert.

The 40-minute interactive performances introduce children, ages 2-10, to the world of jazz. There will be
music by jazz greats Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, as well as "This Old Man" and "Jack Be Nimble," in the
style of jazz great Sonny Rollins. The performances provide a fun way to teach children about steady beat and
syncopation, improvisation and the Afro-European roots of the blues.

Special guest vocalist Laurel Massé, founding member of the Manhattan Transfer, will join the musicians.
The band is directed by Josh Greenberg, a composer, educator and saxophonist whose jazz albums have won
awards from the National Library Association, Parents' Guide to Children's Media and Family Life magazine.
Also, four songs of the band have been selected for a children's jazz exhibition that will open in the Boston
Children's Museum in June and then travel nationally and internationally for the next five years.

The band also includes jazz pianist Lee Shaw, who has appeared on "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" show on National Public Radio; Rich Syracuse on bass, a former member of Nick Brignola's group; drummer Gene Garone of Doc Scanlon's Rhythm Boys and trombonist Ken Olsen of Alex Torres and The Latin Kings. A youth chorus of high school and college age girls round out the band.

Admission is $5 for children ages 2-12, $6 for adults, and children under two are free. Tickets may be purchased by calling (518) 869-4324 or visiting the band's website at www.mothergoosejazzband.com. A limited number of tickets will be available for purchase at the museum prior to each performance. Reservations are suggested for groups or families.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.