Q&A:Ron Corsaro
For jazz lover, the music goes ’round and around
NORTH TONAWANDA—In Italian, Corsaro means “a swift ship.” And this Corsaro sails on waves of great jazz.
Ron Corsaro is the award-winning artistic director of the Lewiston Jazz Festival, held at the end of every summer, and the Ontario House Reunion Jazz Festival in Niagara Falls, which takes place each September. He’s composed music for “The Tonight Show” and played piano for the Tommy Dorsey Band. The retired Niagara Wheatfield High School teacher’s music has been performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Holding two degrees in music, he’s also the leader of his own trio—with Dave Siegfried and Billy Thiele, once on the Janis Joplin road band—which has released CDs like “Happy Feet,” “You Do Something to Me,” and “Just My Luck.”
How did you get interested in jazz?
My father, Louis, had collected 1,000 jazz 78-rpm recordings. As a youngster, I was surrounded by the Big Band music of Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Also entertaining me was the piano trios of [Nat] King Cole. My family made sure I listened to the tenor sax.
Tell us more about your dad. My dad, for his enjoyment, played piano by ear. We had an old upright, so my family insisted that I take piano lessons when I was in the fourth grade.
One day, my dad came home from work with a couple of records and said, “Wait until you hear these.” One was by Charlie “Bird” Parker. These records were instrumental in my interest in being a jazz pianist.
Any more influences? While attending Fredonia State College, my summers were spent studying jazz piano with Wade Leggie, who had just moved back to Buffalo from the New York City jazz scene, where he had been playing and recording with Dizzy Gilles-
pie, Sonny Rollins and other noted jazz greats.
Any other interests? As a young man, my interests in life included family, sports as well as music. My father and mother, Geraldine, could always be counted on for support in my endeavors. At the old Trott Vocational High School in Niagara Falls, I played baseball, football and ran track. During my senior year, I received a letter from the New York Yankees inviting me to a tryout in Olean. I thought I had a very good show of my ability; obviously it wasn’t good enough.
What did you do after high school?
Upon graduating from high school, I toured with a rhythm-and- blues band. This helped me to develop a sense of swing and improvisation in my playing. I then decided to enroll in the Fredonia State College music department. At the same time, I tried out, and made, the baseball team. It was at Fredonia where I played with some pretty good jazz musicians. Then, just out of the Army came Don Menza, a great tenor saxophonist, [who] enrolled in the music program. Don, then and now, has had a profound influence on my jazz. Don went with the Maynard Ferguson band as tenor sax soloist and sometime arranger. I believe my love for jazz performing stems from a desire to compose my own music.
Will you define “improvisation?”
Improvisation is spontaneous composition.
All through school I had a strong interest in music theory and composition. This, combined with my strong interest in jazz, helped me develop into the pianist I am.
How did you meet your wife?
It was at Fredonia that I met the love of my life, my soul mate, Carol Sears. I was standing in the hallway waiting for class to start. This beautiful young lady passed by. A short time after, we started dating. We married in Fredonia, and had our first child while attending school. Carol is one special lady, my best friend, a fantastic wife and a very special mother. I believe my family to be the most important thing in my life. So rather than pursuing a career as a jazz pianist, I chose to teach school, and loved every minute of it.
Any regrets? I have no regrets. Tell us about teaching.
I taught music for the first six years of my career. I was relegated to teaching junior high classroom music, which did not tickle my fancy. Having a strong interest in politics and social sciences, I became certified in social studies. When a position in “social” opened up at the high school, I applied, and was appointed to the position. I spent the next 25 years teaching sociology and economics.
Let’s talk about musical talent.
It’s hard to say why someone may have talent in music, while someone else is lacking. While I believe that the Almighty gives us talent, whatever field, it’s up to us as free-willed individuals to work hard developing that talent.
Do you like any other music besides jazz?
I love classical music, authentic blues, bluegrass and swing vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, among others. My first love is, and will always be, jazz.
Have an idea about a Niagara County resident who’d make an interesting question-and-answer column, or an issue worth exploring? Write to: Louise Continelli, Q&A, The Buffalo News, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240, or e-maillcontinelli@buffnews.com
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