SUNY Fredonia to host master classes, performances by acclaimed jazz saxophonist Leali

Renowned saxophonist Brad Leali will visit SUNY Fredonia on Thursday and Friday, March 31 and April 1, to lead master classes, direct rehearsal sessions with students and perform, both on campus and in the community, with the Fredonia Jazz Faculty Collective and Fredonia Jazz Orchestra.

"Brad Leali is without a doubt one of the most celebrated saxophonists of today,” remarked Adjunct Lecturer Elliot Scozzaro. “He will offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students at SUNY Fredonia to learn from someone who has spent decades performing with some of the greatest musicians in the world.”

Leali toured and recorded with the Harry Connick Jr. Orchestra as its lead alto saxophonist and musical director after earning a B.A. in Music Education from the University of North Texas. He also played in the Count Basie Orchestra and, since 2013, has toured with Lyle Lovett and His Large Band. Leali was a standing member of the Kennedy Center Honors Band, performed at President Barack Obama’s inaugural celebration and has recorded with acclaimed GRAMMY-winning singer Michael Bublé.

Performances by Leali will provide an opportunity for students and audience members to hear what Mr. Scozzaro describes as Leali’s virtuosic musicianship. “The master classes will allow for students to engage with Brad in an informal environment and learn about his experiences playing music around the world as well as his thoughts on practicing, performing and working as a professional musician,” Scozzaro added.

A reviewer for The New York Times hailed Leali as “among the most soulful and exciting I’ve heard recently.”

A master class for students enrolled in the Jazz Area will be held in Diers Recital Hall on campus on Thursday, March 31, from 11:20 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Leali will perform with the Fredonia Jazz Faculty Collective at Jazz at Domus Fare, 41 W. Main St., Fredonia, at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Domus Fare performance information is available online

Fredonia High School will host a master class with Leali on Friday, April 1, from 8 to 9 a.m. A master class for saxophone and woodwinds in the School of Music will be held at 2019 Mason Hall from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Leali will also be the featured artist with the Fredonia Jazz Orchestra in a Rosch Recital Hall concert on Friday at 8 p.m.

All events on campus are free and open to the public.

Scozzaro has known Leali since 2014, having met him shortly before beginning his master’s degree at the University of North Texas.

“From the very beginning he had this amazing energy. He’s a lifelong student of the music – he often showed me ideas in our lessons that he himself was practicing and really pushed me beyond what I thought was possible. He has been an outstanding role model, not only as a musician, but in the way he treats others and lives his life,” Scozzaro explained.

“He has been an incredible mentor for me over the last eight years,” Scozzaro said.

Leali, who’s also a composer and educator, is a professor of jazz saxophone at the University of North Texas, where he directs small group ensembles and teaches jazz performance fundamentals and jazz saxophone. Leali has a M.M. from Rutgers University and also continues to perform, tour and record and serve as a guest artist, clinician and adjudicator at educational institutions.

Leali’s visit is primarily funded by the Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities of the Fredonia College Foundation, with additional support by the Fredonia School of Music, Fredonia Jazz Society, Fredonia Jazz Workshop and Fredonia High School.