Friday Feb 2, 2024 at 7Pm
Westbeth Community Room
155 Bank Street
enter through courtyard
NYC

Brenda Bufalino (Taps and Poetry)
Teri Roiger (Vocals and Piano)
John Menegon (Bass)

An evening of Jazz Music and Tap Dance featuring compositions by Billy Strayhorn, Charles Mingus and others, as well as original music and poetry by Brenda and Teri.

An excerpt of “Woodpecker”, a documentary that Tony Waag is creating on the artistic life of Brenda Bufalino, will be shown.

BRENDA BUFALINO
Brenda Bufalino is a mixed genre artist: Jazz tap dancer, vocalist, poet, Author, Ceramicist, and Choreographer. https://www.brendabufalino.com/
She was the creator, and director of highly acclaimed American
Tap Dance Orchestra, and the International Tap Dance Orchestra.
Performing her one-person shows internationally, she has also appeared
as a guest tap dance soloist at Town Hall, Carnegie Hall, The Joyce
Theater and Kennedy Center. She is the creator of numerous solo shows
performing with jazz duos and trios. Her collaborations have been with
bassist Joe Fonda on tour internationally and on his project and album
“From the Source,” reissued in 2023, with Teri Roiger and John
Manegon, Frank Kimbrough, and Jay Clayton with whom she created
the Tap Opera, “Gertrude’s Nose,” for voices and taps. With her mentor
and partner Charles “Honi” Coles, she toured internationally for
decades. Most recently in November 2023, Ms. Bufalino created a new
evenings work “Blue Heron Flies” performed at the Regent Theater in
Arlington, Mass.
Ms Bufalino’s book of poems “Circular Migrations” and her
memoir “Tapping the Source,” which is now in it’s third printing, are
both published by Codhill Press, and her novella “Song of the Split
Elm,” is published by Outskirts Press. Her many DVD’s, CD’s and
books are available on her website: brendabufalino.com
She has received several NEA fellowships, The Tap City Hall of
Fame Award, The Dance Magazine Award, and the prestigious
Bessie Award, for lifetime achievement.

JOHN MENEGON
(Bassist, Composer, Arranger) www.johnmenegon.com
“New York bassist John Menegon is in the line of George Mraz and Michael Moore; a
harmonically sophisticated bassist with technical facility who swings hard when it’s
called for.” Kirk Silsbee, Downbeat!
Menegon is a jazz bassist, but is also a guitarist, arranger, and composer. He began his
career as a musician in Montreal playing in groups with the great guitarist Nelson
Symonds, as well as pianist Vic Vogel and guitarist Sonny Greenwich. After relocating
to New York City, he played bass for over ten years with two legendary tenor
saxophonists, Dewey Redman and Texas Tenor David “Fathead” Newman. This
experience provided a solid foundation for Menegon to continue his explorations as a
bandleader, composer and arranger, and he has been composing and arranging music
throughout his career. Menegon has released five CDs as a bandleader featuring
Dewey Redman, Frank Kimbrough, Joel Frahm, Matt Wilson, David “Fathead” Newman,
Joe Lovano, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Teri Roiger, John Di Martino, John
Gunther, and many others. He currently plays with jazz legend Joe Lovano’s “Classic
Quartet” as well as numerous other stellar musicians. As an educator, he spent several
years teaching in the Jazz Departments of SUNY New Paltz, Williams College, Bard
and Bennington Colleges. Menegon has a new release coming out in April 2024 with his
band “Sound Embrace” featuring his original compositions with Jean-Michel Pilc on
piano, Chet Doxas on sax, and Jim Doxas on drums.

TERI ROIGER
(Jazz Vocalist, Pianist, Lyricist) www.teriroiger.com
“Teri has an intuitive laid back sense of time reminiscent of Abbey Lincoln and Betty
Carter but with her own uniqueness.” JACK DEJOHNETTE (legendary jazz drummer &
2012 NEA Jazz Master)
An American jazz musician, vocalist, pianist, songwriter, lyricist, educator, and
producer, Teri lives in New York City. Her first recording was made with the legendary
stride pianist Butch Thompson, and since then she has recorded with Jack DeJohnette,
Kenny Burrell, John Menegon, Frank Kimbrough, Gil Goldstein, Steve Williams, Matt
Wilson, Pete Levin, Joel Frahm, Jay Collins, Nanny Assis, and many others. The depth
of her experiences and love of jazz is apparent when she brings all her talents to live
performances, the recording studio, and through her moving lyrics and compositions.
Teri’s five recordings as a bandleader have all met with critical acclaim, as have her live
performances at festivals and top New York jazz spots. Her recordings showcase her
uncommon knowledge, appreciation, and deep love for the artistry of Billie Holiday,
Abbey Lincoln, and Thelonious Monk. The acclaimed critic Scott Yanow selected
“GHOST OF YESTERDAY: Shades of Lady Day,” as one of the top 30 Jazz CDs of
2017! Her composition “Still Life,” the title track of another album, won 3 rd prize in the
jazz category of the acclaimed songwriting competition ISC. In 2013 her recording of
Abbey Lincoln’s music was featured as one of the five best tribute releases in NYC Jazz
Record. Teri & John Menegon’s first collaboration, MISTERIOSO, includes jazz legends
Jack DeJohnette and Kenny Burrell, and Teri was given permission to publish her own
lyrics to Monk’s iconic composition “Misterioso.” They will be releasing a re-mixed and
mastered vinyl edition in 2024.
“Teri is made for those who still understand the meaning of the term the real thing.”
Stanley Crouch (Author & Cultural Critic)

Photo Credits:
Janis Wilkins for John Menegeon (left)
Neil Segal for Teri Roiger (right)
Steve Peterson for Brenda Bufalino (center)