My Year in 2025
Here we go for another amazing turn around the Sun! Time to reflect on new realities and focus on my abilities to accept and stay calm through all the possibilities on the horizon! To see all the challenges of modern life and renew my sense of wonder at this amazing thing called life! It is cathartic for me to review the many activities and events that I was part of in 2025 and I am grateful to all the friends, family and colleagues that shared them with me!
January was a month filled with Spiritual pursuits: a time to reflect on the busy Fall season just past and time to recoup my Energies to be stronger & more flexible for what would come! Taking time to ponder about where I am now in the cycle of life, how far I’ve come in the past year and about all the Blessings that I am so grateful for!
February brought both sadness and hope to my close circle. Our friend Claire Daly was celebrated for her powerful spirit and musical passion in a Memorial gathering at St Peter’s, the “jazz Church” in NYC. Claire had an ebullient personality and brought joy to whatever situation that she was part of. I remembered that I had invited her to be part of several of my Bands through the years both in Greenwich Village clubs and in the Hudson Valley’s Falcon Art Center, and I particularly miss her whenever I do a Thelonious Monk Birthday celebration in early October! She added a special dimension and brought her powerful and the deep sound of her Baritone Saxophone to the proceedings.
I also Mastered the album of music I had wisely arranged to record just before my Knee Replacement Surgery the previous August in 2024. I was great to hear the sounds of my new “Garden Winds” ensemble with great speakers!!! Featuring flautist Haruna Fukazawa and bassoonist Claire de Brunner along with my vocal and percussion contributions, all of the music was improvised and spontaneously composed among the 3 of us as if it were written ahead of time! Our combined studies as trained musicians and experience as interactive improvisers enabled us to bring a high level of sensitivity and listening to the recording session. Mastering our sounds with David Darlington was a pleasure and he brought out the nuanced sounds of our 3 wind instruments in a natural and beautiful way! Thank you!
March and April were extremely busy for me. On the personal side of things, I continued regular Physical Therapy as part of my recuperation from the knee replacement surgery in August 2024. Working at 7-months- Post-Op to strengthen and stretch all the muscles, tendons and ligaments from years of deterioration and pain from arthritis was challenging to my energy level and required a lot of Patience as part of this very gradual process. I had been a dancer for many years, so I was used to injuries and pain – but the problem was that I was also used to “bouncing back” quickly. And that was not the case here…. I also started swimming which is a great way to exercise without bearing the weight of your whole body on the joints! This has been a big Focus in my life for quite a while.,… so I did not paint or write music of book gigs very much at this point… I had to give my “all” to returning my physical self to better condition in order to be able to function as a musician and artist.
I also began scouting new locations as possible Venues for my 3rd Annual Season as Curator for the Wallkill River Center for the Arts’ Music Series. Our funding through Grants and private Donations and Sponsorships helped defray the costs of renting a venue and paying the Musicians and Dancers that I chose to bring to our Orange County NY audiences! Each season is a challenge to find an appealing place that would not charge us a lot to rent for a concert, as well as be an appropriate space for the artistic event that I envisioned, and be available during the time frame that my chosen artists were able to schedule a date that also did not conflict with other Art Openings or events of our organization – THIS was a jig-saw puzzle of numerous considerations that had to be figured out. The Series began at the end of May and continued to the beginning of September! (See concert details below).
On a personal note, March 23 marked the Launch of the Family Geneology Book of my Ancestors called “Intertwining Generations”. The research was initiated by my mother in the 1980’s with her groundbreaking research and study done from her NYC apartment and continued in the ongoing years mostly with the help of my first cousin, archaeologist Dvorah Netzer and with graphic layout and publishing guidance from my sister Nita Goodgal. It was beyond anyone’s imagination, as it evolved into an extensive Geneology of 11 families emanating from my own direct ancestors. No wonder it needed 4 Volumes! Nita organized distant cousins to travel to the East Coast from as far away as Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts, Toronto and Israel as well as the NY/NJ/CT/PA area in order to pick up their copies and meet each other in person for the first time. The book is written as far back as 9 generations of history. It was an amazing culmination of 2 generations of researchers with census reports, ship manifests, family trees and over 2,000 photographs gathered from around the world and brought together into one collection! Bravo, Well done!!! I still have a lot of reading to do….
On another note…. I am pleased to say that after months of exploring various possible collaborations I researched and produced for the 2025 Concert Series on behalf of the Wallkill River Center for the Arts, I was able to pull together 4 concerts with Venues in different communities in Orange County, NY with Musicians, Dancers and Painters collaborating together in unique and fascinating ways!
The series of Music Concerts in 2025 that I put together were presented Free of Charge to the Community (with a suggested donation) and ran from May through September!
#1 Saturday, May 31: Christopher Dean Sullivan SuWaSa Trio, featuring Mala Waldron on piano, Christopher on Bass and Bobby Sanabria on drums and percussion with special guest Poet Daniel Villegas playing Congas and delivering his original Spoken Word in his very dynamic and unique way! This was held at the beautiful Calvary Presbyterian Church in Newburgh, NY. Free to the Public.
#2 Sunday, June 22: Connection Works Ensemble, featuring Michel Gentile on flutes, Daniel Kelly on piano, and Rob Garcia on drums. They presented original and improvised musical compositions. In addition we invited some painters to join the ensemble for part of their program, and they painted something NEW as the music was Live, so were they! This was presented at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Middletown, NY on a sudden Heat Advisory day! The concert was Free to the Public and although it was HOT, our audience stuck with us for the duration of the entire concert, mesmerized!
#3 Sunday, August 17: Reknowned Bansuri Indian Flute Master Steve Gorn brought an amazing Ensemble for his concert at the Galleries of Wallkill River Center for the Arts and performed in our intimate space in Air Conditioned comfort. He brought Tabla player Mir Naqibulislam and I am thrilled that he invited the wonderful dancer Savia Berger from Woodstock to join him, which was my request. The powerful addition of Poet and Singer Ingrid Sertso lent a deep presence and mysterious overlay to the group’s music and dance pieces.
#4 Saturday, September 6: Our final concert of the year was a smash hit! I had been researching all Spring to find a Native American Indian group and went to check out the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers present their Spring Pow-Wow at the Riverside Church in NYC. I was struck with the power of their historical and integrated presentation of Music, Dance, Historical Re-enactment and Explanation of the meaning of each piece and was thrilled that I could contact their director Mr. Mofsie and arrange for them to perform as the final concert. It was held at the fantastic Goshen Green Farm, which is a flower and organic farm, in their historic and beautiful Barn. Thanks to Susan Hito, who is an Attorney for Native American clients, and Artist herself and the Proprietor of many events there at her farm. The program included costumes, descriptions of the history of each dance, a storyteller sharing ancient tales and the Tribes of each of the members’ descendants. It was FUN and MAGIC!
Thanks to all the people who contributed their time and contributions that enabled me to produce and present this 3rd Annual Music CONCERT SERIES!!! The Staff and Board of Directors and the many Volunteers of the Wallkill River Center for the Arts headquartered in Montgomery NY helped in so many ways to publicize and spread the word about these wonderful Concerts which are FREE to the public! We were able to raise enough Grants and Private Donations that helped us continue our Adult Art Classes, Free Programs for Senior Citizens, Scholarships for Children’s Classes and Free Art Receptions many times a year when we present New Art Exhibits by talented Hudson Valley Artists!
The Wallkill River Center for the Arts is 10 miles West of Newburgh NY in a beautiful historic brick building., where we offer classes and special events. I hope you will come to one of our Art Receptions (every two months) when a new exhibit is mounted, where we offer food, soft drinks and wines! Check out our website www.Wallkill.art for more information about the schedule of Events and I hope to see you this coming year and share the joys of creative spirit many times with you! Or you can become a Member if you desire! There are many categories of Donations that you can choose from that will be so gratefully accepted to help us continue our work all year long!
April also gave me the chance to Sing in public again, having taken some time off from public appearances during my knee recuperation! This first time back singing live was April 20th with seasoned pianist David Haney, who is also the publisher of Cadence Magazine, which features the work of many creative composers and improvisers since the 1980‘s! He invited me and my partner Joe Lovano to be part of one of his “New York Stories” events at the famed Joe’s Pub in NYC, interspersing his readings and our own stories with improvised music by a hand-picked Ensemble that he loves to play with. It was really fun musically and we had a very enthusiastic audience!
During this same time, in March and April, I continued visiting new possible venues to complete booking my concert series. Most notably the ”Trestle Farm” had recently been built not far from where I live. It was a beautiful big space that had just been built under the Moodna Viaduct, which now supports the New Jersey Transit line from Penn Station NYC all the way to Port Jervis. I had seen this new structure quite often and found that one of my friends knew the owners. When we visited, I found that they envisioned creating a Brewery and had built a stage with a great sound system, hoping to host musical events. But they weren’t quite ready to create a Public Space, so my hope to present a concert there fell through after two visits… I had to move onward to find other locations for my concerts.
April 26th was WRCA’s Annual Fundraising PARTY, once again this year at the amazing UAP facility, which is a Foundry for internationally known Sculptors which is usually closed to the public. However, we were given permission for two years in a row, to use their space and make it our own for an evening of celebration and fundraising. We had to create our own lighting, build our own Stage for music and speeches and bring in catering and an Auction, all to raise funds to continue the amazing activities of our Art Center. I hired 3 different musical groups to alternate with Board Members giving their Testimonials and Pitch for Donations! It was exhausting work to do all that setup and yet so very well-received that we had a successful Event. Fundraising is a huge team effort! And it continues All Year Long!
MAY is always a magical month because it’s not only my Birthday, but also Mother’s Day and it’s the month when Spring Flowers begin to emerge! Yay, Flowers! I am ecstatic when I discover a new one emerging! This year was also busy with a Photo Session I arranged for my “Garden Winds” ensemble for the release of my very first LP album. Also, I finally got an “Enhanced License” at the DMV which are now required for domestic air-travel and also began the process of upgrading and choosing Stone for a new kitchen Countertop for our aging country kitchen! Some of these are very long processes! Creating new music, recording, mastering, working on Packaging and Pressing the LP then distribution and booking live performances – wow! The Kitchen Countertops were chosen and installed and we are enjoying them greatly, and we even have a new Hood over the Stove which we’ve never had before. The work of bringing new music into the world keeps moving along too, but sometimes slowly.
Then on May 24th we drove to the MidWest to visit family and as we got closer our beloved Nissan Juke started lurching forward and we didn’t know what was going on…. We brought it to a nearby Nissan dealer the next day and had to leave it there for the Memorial Day holiday! Wow…. When they looked at it, the car needed 2 front brakes, 4 Sparkplugs (which made it lurch) and 3 new Cylinders! Wow… that was a shock and yet it was SUPER that we made it to our destination and could have the work done quickly so we could drive home a few days later! CAR TROUBLE!
The following weekend May 31 was my first Concert of the Series! Bassist Christopher Dean Sullivan and the Calvary Church were a great pairing of Artist and Venue and there was a great turnout of the local audience! The band included Pianist and Vocalist Mala Waldron, Latin Percussion Master Bobby Sanabria on drums and Poet and Conga Player Daniel Villegas. It was a great start for our Music Series! It was fantastic and I am so grateful to all the musicians who made it so special.
Early June saw a few Arts On Main Town of Cornwall concerts and art exhibits that I was going to bring a band but were rained out, my first No Kings Rally in New Windsor with great local spirit, a few spider bites as we were back out cleaning the gardens, a great experience with early Voting, the completion of our new Kitchen Countertops being installed (YAY) and of course my Birthday and Mother’s Day which are always in tandem!
I also finally finished a new composition for the Composer’s Concordance concert on June 21 at Beacon’s Howland Center. My piece called “Wissahickon Memories”, was scored for Voice, Guitar, Percussion and Narrator with my Original Poem. This place just outside of Philadelphia is a beautiful natural valley that I remember so fondly from visiting often during my high school years. It was a inspiring concert with new works by 10 composers and I was thrilled to have been able to complete mine in time, given how busy I had been on so many other fronts!
The very next day after my own composition was premiered, was the 2nd concert of my Series with the “Connection Works Ensemble” another lovely house of worship, St. Paul’s church in Middletown this time. After weeks of cool and breezy weather, it was a scorching day! And although it was uncomfortably hot, the audience was entranced, and nobody left because of the heat! I had hired 3 seasoned musicians who have played together for many years and then enlisted the help of 2 artist/painters to be part of the program by painting spontaneously while the music was playing. Everyone was captivated by watching musicians and artists respond to each other in the moment. I’d like to present more concerts like that!!!
July brought an opportunity for me to exhibit 4 of my paintings at Orange County Community College and I was thrilled to be able to bring some of my more recent Abstract paintings for a 2-month exhibit there. I loved so many of the other artists whose work was also hanging! This gallery is a wide-open space so I could bring larger works, as opposed to several other galleries where I frequently exhibit that have limited areas to exhibit.
August turned out to be a very busy month! We had family visits in August including some of our adorable grand-nieces who are amazingly entertaining and it’s always great to see how they’ve grown and some California cousins who’d never visited our Villa Paradiso before! We also had the Piano tuned, I came down with my first Sinus Infection in quite a while and had to take Antibiotics, celebrated my 1 Year anniversary of my Knee Replacement Surgery and brought a band to the Settler’s Inn in Pennsylvania’s Catskill mountains for the 9th summer! It’s a lovely “Jazz on the Deck” series amidst their Gardens and Stickley- style furniture and even in the summertime one can smell the seasoned wood burning fireplaces. Also I had 6 Paintings at the Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick NY along with the “Diverse Talents” exhibit of Goshen Art League Members.
Then I presented the 3rd concert on my series on August 17. It was Steve Gorn’s ensemble with Meditative Indian Flute and Tabla music, with the beautiful interpretive Dancer Savia Berger and her mother Ingrid Sertso Berger who is a powerful poet and vocal musician. This concert was held in our intimate galleries of the Wallkill River Center for the Arts and the A/C was much appreciated!
I was called for Jury Duty which I was prepared to serve on, however it was right before the Labor Day Holiday, so my instructions every time I called were that I was not needed to appear. So I got a week of unexpected time to work in my own house and gardens!
August 31 was the first time that I had been invited to join the Creative Music Studio’s “Improviser’s Orchestra” which has continually met and performed the last Sunday of each month, at Kingston NY’s Silk Factory building. I had sung with the founder and director Karl Berger the year before and this was a great experience to be in a large ensemble! I was one of 3 Vocalists, so we had our own section! There were 2 drummers, 2 percussionists, 4 string players, trumpet, trombone, 3 sax players, a vibes player and 2 different Conductors shaping the sounds all together. I was told that I was invited to join the group for any date that I was available, and that felt great to have that acknowledgement from other Improvising Musicians!
Autumn came quietly in… and surprised me with how many events I was part of!
Saturday September 6th was the final concert of my Music Series and it was a big event! I had worked so hard to book the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers and the time had finally come! They started arriving in the afternoon at the lush Goshen Green Farm and brought their costumes and headresses (lots of feathers and bead work!) into the back stalls of the Barn which they used as their dressing room. Their performance was exciting and powerful with descriptions of the meanings of each of the dances, storytelling of ancient tales, singing, music played on a drum and wood flute. It was a big celebration that no-one who attended will forget! People keep mentioning that concert to me!
September 21 would have been the Centennial Birthday of Joe Lovano’s father, Tony “Big T” Lovano. Joe created a birthday concert in his honor and held it at the famed Bop Stop Club in Cleveland, OH and Joe invited numerous hometown musicians to join him in a variety of ensembles and repertoire. He brought several generations of Jazz Musicians together in what was a joyous gathering! Joe decided to contribute all the proceeds of the evening to the 113-year-old Cleveland Music Settlement which is a music school and owner of The Bop Stop. He also created The Tony “Big T” Lovano Cleveland Jazz Legacy Scholarship, which is an endowed fund in memory of his father to support merit-based scholarships for students in the “J@MS” (Jazz at The Music Settlement). If you read this and are interested in donating something to this Scholarship Fund go to www.TheMusicSettlement.org. It is a 501C3 Non-Profit organization.
There were many losses of great musicians in the jazz community, losing some great inspirations including Sheila Jordan, Al Foster and Jack DeJohnette, to name a few of the many beautiful musicians and artists that passed on.
And there were joyous moments too. I went to Boston to visit my niece Eva for her 40th Birthday and we shared a lovely dinner with her family! Also, I was so happy to exhibit my new painting called “Monarch Caterpillar” at a Goshen Arts League show in the newly opened Goshen Library exhibit. (Please visit my website’s PAINTINGS page to see some of my Paintings old and new at www.judisilvano.com/paintings
October started on a sober reminder to be cautious about health so I got a Covid Booster and then a Flu Vaccine. Also, my first cousin Ziona brought some of her children and grandchildren to visit and it was especially fun to play some music with the little ones in our Music Room! Years go by when we are so busy and it was a blessing to host some of my beloved cousins in our home for an afternoon before they travelled up to VT.
One very special event that happened also in October, was that my big brother Dan invited my sister Nita and I and our husbands to a concert at The NY Philharmonic which was performing some of his favorite music. What a treat! It just happens that the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra and Stravinsky Octet for Winds are also some of my favorites, so it was a special opportunity to experience this incredible Orchestra and Hall together with those compositions! What made it extra special was that he got us all seats in the balcony overlooking stage Right so we were in the middle of the Orchestra and could see Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen’s face and arms as he guided every piece… wow. (Joe and I had seen him conduct the Octet for Winds many years ago in Helsinki.) There was also a piece by Luciano Berio with a huge setup of Gongs – fabulous and quite outrageous! We all stayed at our sister’s house in NJ and the next day drove caravan-style up to Vermont to visit the home of my brother (Trombone player and Jazz lover) and his wife Mary Beth for a few days before Winter set in.
Also in October, I was thrilled to have two paintings and one sound-piece accepted into the Arts Mid Hudson’s “Sound and Vision” exhibit which ran from September through October. They invited me to do a short live performance for their closing reception on October 19, so I brought my new “Garden Winds” ensemble, flautist Haruna Fukazawa, bassoonist Claire de Brunner and of course contributed my voice! It was an amazing environment for us to interact with the Visual Art we saw all around us and our spontaneous improvisations were well-received. Our Music related to the Visuals as “Abstract Sound Painting!” I’d like to do more of that too! To be continued….
Other big Events in October: I had a 14-month Post-Operative Checkup with my Surgeon about the progress of my knee. Knowing your recuperation is progressing within the boundaries of what is expected helps keep the slow process in perspective. It is a long haul and I’m getting stronger and have more energy month to month! It takes a lot of work and patience.
Another inspiration was that I attended a fantastic concert by Mala Waldron at Calvary Church in Newburgh, NY which was a tribute to her dad Mal Waldron (with whom I had recorded a very important musical moment in my life in 1999). Mala’s concert had projections of him performing through the years and she told stories of growing up and doing tours with him before I had ever met him or studied his music. Mala Waldron’s singing and playing piano were very spiritual. Brava!
I first met Mal at the Caramoor Festival where he played duo with the great Steve Lacy and when we spoke and I found out he lived in Brussels, we agreed to meet when I had plans to come a few months later to Belgium for some gigs. Instead of taking him out to Lunch as I had proposed, however, we went into the Belgium Radio studios and he played his favorite 9’ Grand piano for a session. Listening to that recording is amazing, even now! I feel so lucky that I had to courage to arrange that! We recorded both of our tunes and I wrote lyrics to some of his songs that I had researched and gotten approval for ahead of time. This was a major event in my young life as a composer with this giant figure of composition. I was struck with how generous he was with my structures and also with lyrics I had set to some of his pieces! He was almost 70 and when he played he was so relaxed and free, and I felt his deep respect. He made a very personal impact on my life. The album is called “Riding a Zephyr” and it came out on the Soul Note/ Black Saint label in 2000, and now distributed by the CAM JAZZ label. That brought a very impactful chapter of my life back to me in a big way.
Sunday October 26 was my 2nd Creative Music Studio “Improviser’s Orchestra” Event & Concert held every last Sunday In Kingston’s Shirt Factory building. A roomful of seasoned improvisers, many quite virtuosic with a Conductor guiding soundscape orchestrations to the delight of Performers and Audience members alike! Cmon by – Donations accepted – Share this totally unique and fun experience!
The next day, Monday October 27 I was invited to play with 2 of my favorite guitarists! Kenny Wessel organized a trio gig featuring yours truly on vocals and also Bruce Arnold on guitar, at Pasticci’s Restaurant, at the corner of Claremont and LaSalle Street up near Manhattan School of Music. It was really fun to play some of our favorite repertoire together again. I called standards plus some of my own Originals (which we had all recorded together on my “Lessons Learned” CD released in 2018 on Unit Records from Switzerland).
On October 30th I took advantage of early voting and lent my voice to bring my clarity into all of the political madness!
NOVEMBER continued to be chock full of challenges and celebrations! I helped clean out the basement of the WRCA (Wallkill River Center for the Arts) which was packed with artwork and supplies for various events, brought 4 paintings to the Arbor Gallery, Carmel, NY, and finally made the trip to have over 25 NEW Paintings from the last few years to have scanned professionally! I have felt since I started painting later in my life, that I wanted to document them well, in the hopes to be able to create a book of my music and artwork eventually…. One day… Maybe…
Also, I was pleased to attend the Orange County Arts Council’s November 8 “Art Affair” Fundraiser, where our outgoing Executive Director Sarah Fortner and President of our Board of Directors Gloria Bonelli both received awards for their many years of contributions to the Arts Council. In their honor and in gratitude also for all the work gone into supporting the arts in our area, I was moved to make a donation.
Then it was back to work figuring out the 2026 Concert Series puzzle for me! On November 15, I visited The Westinghouse Mansion in Goshen NY, as a possible concert Venue. Our Board of Directors Treasurer Catherine Lagoudakis lives closeby, so she arranged the visit. I am pleased that it is going to be the location for our first 2026 Concert! It’s a gem of a property, a building that is being restored that was once Zha Zha Gabor and her mother’s Spa Resort with a beautiful view of 14 acres!
I was quite emotional for the November 18th Memorial for legendary vocalist Sheila Jordan who was one of my Mentors as a vocal musician. I decided to not make the long trip to be in NYC in person and was fortunate that I could participate via Livestream. I sat there crying most of the time hearing so many friends and fellow vocalists who brought songs and stories about this internationally revered and beautiful spirit who lived her life of inspiration and shared it with generations of singers around the world.
Between Thanksgiving and The Holidays this year, I baked a whole lot of Cranberry Nut Breads! It was wonderful to be able to share and gift this delicious and healthy treat with so many folks! Then on Sunday November 30th I experienced my 2nd CMS Improviser’s Orchestra concert! And it was even better than the time before! And, December was a month of continuing my quest to re-organize my Desk Area and office. It is a long-standing challenge to stay close to the heart of the house, where I can multi-task between artistic pursuits, business and family communications! I always have at least 6 different projects in the works, so I struggle with keeping everything that’s “in progress” so I can find each one when I need to… This quest for office organization continues as I try to find the right system that will fill the needs of my diversified pursuits! Music, art, producing, home maintenance, etc…
I gratefully had more energy in December so went to hear a few friends, notably drummer Tani Tabbal’s group at the Lace Mill up in Kingston, which was a super afternoon of creative music with bassist Michael Bisio and some young saxophone players.
I had a few singing gigs, starting with Friday December 12th that I billed as the Judi Silvano Quintet featuring Joe Lovano, at a lovely club in Teaneck NJ called Brush Culture. It was a pleasure to be able to call a few musicians I haven’t played with in awhile and to share the space with them. Pianist Neil Alexander enjoyed the grand piano there and drummer Steve Johns was solid and fun to play with again. I was happy to feel bassist Yuriy Galkin’s energy too and since Steve had recommended him they played great together! Of course, playing and hearing Joe Lovano play is always a very deeply inspiring and grounding experience and THIS was one of those times! I felt so grateful I could share the space with him once again! He is a superstar of improvisation, form and melodic invention. It was a great gig.
And Then for the last week of the year…. I was thrilled to be able to be part of the 40th Anniversary Performance of composer and librettist Anne Phillips’ A JAZZ NATIVITY: BENDING TOWARDS THE LIGHT. I had been in the chorus many years ago when Lionel Hampton was one of the Kings!!!! This year, the show was at St Paul/St Andrews Church at 86 & West End Avenue, NYC and was not only livestreamed but also Filmed for future release. The Cast was remarkable, with 3 Kings: Paquito D’Rivera (sax/clarinet) Ingrid Jensen (trumpet) and Maurice Chestnut (tap dancer), the gorgeous voices of the Archeangel and Mary, a stellar 7-piece jazz ensemble featuring Jon Gordon (Shephard & alto sax), Scott Robinson (Tenor & Bari Sax soloist), a great rhythm section, a dancer, the Royal Bopsters Jazz Vocal Quartet led by Amy London, and a 14-voice chorus in which I was a Soprano again this year!!! After singing Jazz for the past 30 years where my voice sits more in a lower speaking voice range than classical repertoire, I was thrilled that I could still hit the high A’s when needed! Wow, that was fun!
Well, that’s a very full life, sometimes it feels over-active, and I’m amazed writing it all down to see what a whirlwind my life has been. You should see what my calendar looks like! yikes! Living a life of Love and Music and Art is a beautiful thing! I wish you all a wonderful new year of health and happiness and gratitude! And that you will find Love, in whatever form it takes!
Please stay in touch and check out my website: www.judisilvano.com for musical events and artwork on my paintings page… and YouTube channel and FB and Instagram… I can’t update them all fast enough… so I hope to see you at some of my concerts and events in person!
Completed January 11, 2026
January 2023
Wow, another amazing year! And we have been the lucky ones to have survived the Pandemic and all the Uncertainty of these past years. To be a Creative Person! Time to reflect on new realities and focus on the possibilities and how to enjoy them!
January was a month filled with Spiritual pursuits: a New Moon Call, an Exhibit of 14 of my Original Paintings at Leo’s Italian Restaurant in Cornwall NY, a Livestream on the third Sunday of the month with a wonderful collaborative group of Improvising Musicians organized by flautist Cheryl Pyle and then hanging 3 of my Paintings at the Hudson St Café as part of the Cornwall Art Alliance exhibit!
February brought a wonderful and very special exhibit of “Self Portraits” at the Wallkill River School in which I showed my recent painting from a photo of a concert in Banff Canada that I sang with other faculty including Ken Werner, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and Ari Hoenig – WOW! What a great time we had! And it was amazingly challenging to paint myself! Yikes!
March and April were incredible months this year, because I was asked to show a SOLO ART EXHIBIT of my works, which is a rare opportunity. It was sponsored by the Wallkill River School of Art and Exhibited in a lovely space in the UUCRT (Unitarian Universalist Church of Rock Tavern) a local church in the Hudson Valley! I have been studying, drawing and then painting Musicians and Dancers for the past 30 years and this was an opportunity to show many of them – 52 all in all! Since it was during the Pandemic, everyone had to wear a mask for the beginning of the exhibit -but since it was happening over a two-month period, I decided to have 3 different public Receptions so people could be spread out over the 3 Receptions. It was a thrill to have a chance to show so many of my Original Paintings and to share my passion for the music and musicians and dancers that have inspired me through the years and from across the globe!
April also gave me the chance to hang yet another Solo Art Show in Goshen, New York – and since my other Solo Exhibit was all Musicians & Dancer subject matter, I could choose more representational and abstract paintings to show. So that was a fun opportunity to share some of my more adventurous works!
During this same time frame, I was asked to be a participant in the Westbury Arts special exhibit of “Musicians Who Paint”. It was a moment of “my cup runneth over”!because this offer was right up my alley, as they say, to share my love of both Musical and Visual view of my life’s passions! There were 8 musician/artists so we each had 4 paintings with the added Live Performance during the month which was great! I was happy to play for my concert with 2 of my favorite Improvisers – Joe Lovano and Bruce Arnold! We played some of my Originals plus a few favorite classic tunes! It was worth the long trip down to Long Island and I met quite a few wonderful musician/artists during that month that I know I’ll be in touch with, sharing inspiration of the magical space that is Improvisation!
MAY is always a magical month because it’s not only my Birthday month, but also because it’s the month when the cavalcade of Spring Flowers begins to emerge in earnest! A special treat this year was that we bought tickets and attended the NYC Ballet Stravinsky Festival on my actual birthday, for my first visit to Lincoln Center in a few years, given the Pandemic! I took advantage of the warmer weather to be outside, going to some friends’ outdoor gigs, meet others for lunch as well as painting at the Bashakill Wildlife Wetlands area which is located between the Shawangunk Mountains and the Catskills, for the first time after hearing about its beauty for years! I went to visit my teacher and friend Janet Campbell who is a fabulous and inspiring watercolor artist who lives nearby!!!! It was a great day!
Then on May 29th I had the thrill to be part of a Tribute and Fundraiser for Ukraine that was curated by John Zorn at Roulette, a fantastic arts venue in Brooklyn. Joe Lovano put together a band of Bill Frisell, Andrew Cyrille and to my pleasure I was invited to be part of this Quartet- Wow!! Each group Zorn put together had a 15-minute slot in the program and it was pure magic!
June rolled in and it was glorious! I presented a concert as part of the OC Live! Music series in a small Newburgh NY city park with outdoor seating on the grass! It was a delightful evening concert and the blue light that was projected on the band as we played in front of a brick wall of The Roxy Theater with large photos of local personalities, reflected the beautiful full moon up above us!!!!
The only problem was that summer… was that inspite of great caution for the past 2 ½ years in not attending public gatherings… I contracted COVID 19 for the first time! So the next month of so I stayed home trying to rest and shake the effects of the virus. Fortunately it didn’t hit me too hard, and I had my beautiful gardens to enjoy after cultivating the parade of flowers for many years! I could just relax as I recouped my strength.
The Autumn is a blur now… and somehow I made it into 2024!
November 2022
It has been another amazing year to be a Creative! With so many challenges it’s been a wonderful opportunity for taking more time at home than usual to reflect on new realities and focus on the possibilities! One of my most positive experiences during the pandemic is that I was able to stay home more often to witness each and every plant and flower that has been landscaped into our yard through the years, emerge into blooming splendor!
A few highlights of my musical life this year were several LIVE Concerts outdoors this summer and fall: The Settler’s Inn “Jazz on the Deck” Series (Hawley, PA) with Bruce Arnold (guitar), Tony Marino (bass) and Joe Lovano (drums); the first annual “OC Live!” Series with my Zephyr Band (Newburgh, Orange County, NY) with Fred Jacobs (trumpet), Bruce Arnold (guitar), John Menegon (bass) and Bob Meyer (drums); and a delightful breezy afternoon outdoor gig at The Brewery at Orange County Hops “Sunday Jazz” Series (Walden, NY) with Teri Roiger (keyboard), Fred Jacobs (trumpet), Bruce Arnold (guitar), John Menegon (bass) and Lamy Istrefi (drums) that as we were packing up, turned into a mad dash out of the first Much-Needed Rain in months!!!!
Musically, the whole year has been restorative thanks in part to flutist Cheryl Pyle’s “Beyond Group” with monthly 3rd Sunday LiveStreams on Zoom from the comfort of our homes. Our Sequential Improvisations revealed a healing energy with Musical Ideas shared among the 4-6 of us, depending who was available in the core group! And in summer we resumed live concerts at the lovely “6BC Gardens” in lower Manhattan. This Winter into 2023 we will continue the monthly Zoom sessions so if you are interested in tuning in to hear an hour of free-flowing improvisations from 4 -5 pm, check my EVENTS page and contact me for the Zoom link!
During the month of April, both the Musical and Visual aspects of my work came together when I was curated into an Exhibit & Performance Series called “Musicians Who Paint” at Westbury Arts, a NY non-profit. During the month of April, 8 Artists were curated into this Exhibit and Performance Series. There was a group discussion about our processes and each displayed 4 paintings relating to music in their Gallery space for the month. Plus each Musician/Artist presented a Music Concert to share our musical expression and concepts. I brought a Trio to share some of my favorite classics and original songs, two musicians with whom I feel very comfortable: Bruce Arnold on guitar and Joe Lovano on woodwinds. It was a blast!
In August I braved the airports for the first time in a few years… and had the honor to be part of the Faculty of the “Jazz Denmark Summer Workshop” outside of Copenhagen. This historical gathering of some of Scandinavia’s most talented and accomplished jazz musicians is an intensely productive week of master classes, rehearsals and performances for all involved. I loved working with and hearing all the talented and open-minded musicians who were so receptive to new approaches and perspectives of rehearsing and arranging original charts within each group. Other faculty this year included Teri Lynne Carrington, Carlos Enriquez, Kris Davis, Keyon Harold and Joe Lovano and it was great to play with them for the Faculty Concert and then see how each worked with and shaped their ensembles. The Staff and Organizers did a super job to make sure everyone was happy and everything ran smoothly. Thank you!
Alongside all these musical events, I had 3 different SOLO ART EXHIBITS this Spring and Summer! That was quite amazing and very fulfilling!!! My visual art includes paintings and mixed media works of Musicians, Dancers, Musical Instruments, Landscapes and Abstracts inspired by music or dance. Since I’ve been so influenced by all of the arts, it made sense to create an inter-disciplinary event. So I hired a group of musicians to enhance a few of the Receptions with music composed by some of the Jazz Personalities in my portraits! It was a delight! Now I am working to finalize a Virtual Tour to post online, in case you could not attend. So stay in touch and I hope to get that up shortly!
Some of the JAZZ MUSICIANS I have sketched in live concert settings and subsequently painted include: McCoy Tyner, Sheila Jordan, Jaco Pastorius, Abbey Lincoln, Michael Abene, John Scofield, Dave Douglas, Joey Baron, Dewey Redman, Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Marilyn Crispell, Joe Lovano, Idris Mohammed, Dwayne Burno, Linda Mayhan Oh and Kenny Werner. This Winter I’m preparing to work on new paintings of Elvin Jones, Carla Bley, Dianne Reeves, Chucho Valdez and the many lesser-known yet wonderful musicians I have been inspired by through the years.
I spent many years studying and performing as a dancer so that has always been an important part of my vibe, scoping out the movement of life. Some of the DANCERS I have painted include: Isadora Duncan, NY modern interpretive dancer Maria Mitchell, Mexican flamenco dancer Natalia Loza and several dance companies and I continue to work on studies of the human body. Many of my Original Paintings (not all) are available for purchase and I have Archival Quality Prints of many of them as well. Please inquire about availability if anything interests you.
I am now accepting commissions and have really enjoyed documenting people and pets this past year! So if you have an idea for which you’d like to have in an original piece of art, as a gift perhaps, let me know.
So, please check THIS WEBSITE’S PAINTINGS PAGE in addition to my ETSY SHOP which features many other items like Blank Greeting Cards of my paintings, Prints, Painted Rocks and Original Paintings in Oil, Watercolor, Acrylic, Pastel and Encaustic Wax at www.etsy.com/shop/JudiSilvanoArtnCards . Yes, I’ve been busy!
On the Musical Horizon…. My collaborations with guitarist Bruce Arnold continue and we have begun releasing a NEW SONIC TWIST ALBUM! We recorded these Improvised Music Sessions at Studio 66 this past summer with selected guest artists and every week a new track is being released and posted on YouTube until the Full Album will be released in Spring of 2023, “Sonic Twist & Friends”. We have also recorded another Duo Album, title to be determined, which will be released later in 2023, where Bruce & I played with a percussion perspective. More to come… I will post details on my Facebook Page and if you’d like to receive my NEWSLETTER, please do so on the first page of this website.
Context: 2022 is the 20 year Anniversary of the Release of my RIDING A ZEPHYR Duo Recording with the late-great Mal Waldron who was Billie Holiday’s last accompanist. It was released on Soul Note/ Black Saint Records in 2002! Wow! Our collaboration received a wonderful reception with the combination of Mal’s Compositions, some with my New Lyrics which he embraced, and some of my own Originals. What a gift for me to spend that moment in time with him in a Brussels studio on that one day and then countless trans-Atlantic phone calls sharing his stories and jokes. It was like a dream, and I realize that we had met on a spirit level. I miss him and am so grateful for that chance in my development, to have connected with this generous giant within the musical universe.
Also, it is the Anniversary of the recording of my Landmark Release CLEOME. This was a 5-year band project with my quartet of George Garzone (tenor sax and clarinet), Michael Formanek (bass) and Gerry Hemingway (drums and percussion) from several Live Sessions at the Knitting Factory and Studio 66, released on JSL Records.
So there is a lot going on, even though I often feel that I’m not doing very much. So, THANK YOU for listening and looking!!!!
Wishing you and yours an expansive and joyous season of reflection into the renewal of springtime. Best JUDI SILVANO
January 2022
What a year it’s been – 2021 was a real challenge for all of us, being at home and staying away from large groups to prevent getting the Omicron Covid virus!!! We have so many friends and colleagues who weren’t as lucky as we’ve been and have lost many friends and colleagues due to the dangerous complications it causes.
On the Happy side of things… 2022 is a year of Possibilities!!!!
In 2022, it is the 20 year Anniversary of release of my RIDING A ZEPHYR DUO recording with the late-great Mal Waldron who was Billie Holiday’s last accompanist, which was released on Soul Note/Black Saint Records! It received a wonderful reception of our collaboration, a combination of Mals’ compositions, some with my new Lyrics, and some of my own originals. What a gift to spend time in the studio in Brussels with him and then to share countless phone calls sharing jokes with him.
Also, it is the Anniversary of the recording of my Landmark Release CLEOME. This was a 5-year band project with my quartet of George Garzone (tenor sax and clarinet), Michael Formanek (bass) and Gerry Hemingway (drums and percussion) from several Live Sessions at the Knitting Factory and Studio 66, released on JSL Records ….
And NOW for the coming year 2022…
I am grateful for Flutist Cheryl Pyle’s foresight in organizing a monthly LiveStream on Zoom on the 3rd Sunday of every month the whole year in 2021! What used to be live concerts every month in the “6BC Gardens” in lower Manhattan became a refuge for me from the comfort of my home, to share the fun of playing with 5 or 6 virtuosic musicians. Our Sequential Improvisations revealed a new kind of energy that was truly healing for me, with the beauty of Musical Ideas taking center stage in sometimes surprising ways! We continue into 2022 so if interested to watch and share the fun, contact me for the Zoom link! It will be Feb ??? , March ???, April ??? etc….
I am thrilled to announce that this Spring and Summer I have 3 different SOLO ART EXHIBITS to share my work with you. Physically, they are all in the Hudson Valley and I am working to make a Virtual Exhibit Tour to post in case you cannot attend in person. Please consult my EVENTS page for details.
Announcing a new Music Release of SONIC TWIST’s New Album: SONIC TWIST & FRIENDS
Every week a new track will be released until the Full Album is released in Sept. 2022
Sessions as Studio 66 of Master Improvisers on multiple instruments include Judi Silvano on Voice and Percussion, Bruce Arnold on Guitar and Gezung (Koto) with Guest Artists Joe Lovano on C-Soprano, C-Melody, Gongs, Drum, Gezung (Koto) and Alto Flute, John Menegon on Bass and Teri Roiger on Voice and Michal Shapiro Voice. See our website SONIC-TWIST.com
September 2021
Hello friends of Music and Art and the good life!
Has it been such a long year that I haven't sent you my updates? Well, I guess all the challenges of the World Events and the Pandemic have been so involved that I haven't updated this page since last December! Yikes! So here we go!
I hope you and your dear ones have been safe and healthy in spite of everything around us... and that you have found ways to be Creative! Here is a re-cap of what has happened in My World and I am sure our paths have crossed in one way or another ---
January saw me playing some LiveStream concerts and how lucky am I that my partner for the Panama Jazz Festival was with the always amazing Joe Lovano - we fashioned a flowing concert of Music and added me painting in Real Time - in between musical pieces, sometimes I would paint on a blank canvas while Joe played a solo piece! It was magic!
I was soooo fortunate to have been invited by Cheryl Pyle to be part of her ""Beyond Flute" group, and that continued every month on the 3rd Sunday of each month! What fun to totally improvise solos in conjunction with musicians such as Cherly Pyle, Haruna Fukazawa and Gene Coleman on flutes, Michael Eaton and Sam Newsome on saxophones, Claire de Brunner on bassoon and myself on vocals. I started adding some percussion to my solos and had a great time listening to everyone!
I also did quite a few Livestreams on "MOTI - Music on the Inside" to celebrate the organization that has been teaching Music to incarcerated people as a mode of Healing and Emotional Health! Thanks especially to Alina Bloomgarten who founded the jgroup and to Antoinette Motague and Richard Miller who facilitated! There are so many wonderfully talented folks out here and it was lovely to SHARE and HEAR. When we weren't playing, we tuned in to support and enjoy the other musicians who were...
As a painter... I began my passion for fusing Music and Painting... having a blank Canvas set up behind the musical gear and created some Improvised Artwork during some of the ensuing Livestreams. Some of them were quite strong and clear! The month of February is usually the most difficult to endure in a winter, and I painted 5 different canvases in Black and White to document that feeling.
In March, film-maker Michael Kelly asked me to paint something for the packaging cover for his film about drummer Paul Motian that was nearing completion and release. What a thrill and a challenge! Having heard and seen Paul play for many years while my partner Joe Lovano was a part of his now-famous Trio (with Bill Frisell) and for countless other performances, I felt overwhelmed, and yet managed to compile several elements into one painting. I hope you will like not only my painting, but also Michael Kelly's film about this Giant of Jazz!
My painting "Spirit Walk" was accepted into a Juried Show at Wallkill River School of Art and Gallery for the month of April and I was thrilled! It is an Experimental Watercolor and measures 33 wide x 23 high.
We had our family party planned for Memorial Day at our house and our Grand-nieces Eleanor (7) and Zelda (3) were sooooo excited... but alas it RAINED all weekend so instead of doing outside fun activities all we could do was jump in puddles!!! So of course, we did inside art projects and music sessions, and it was a hoot to introduce the kids to different musical sounds and instruments!!!
JUNE was my first month of doing LIVE CONCERTS which was fabulous! Vibraphonist Stefan Bauer invited me to be part of his ensemble at the Settler's Inn (along with Tony Marino on Bass and Adam Nussbaum on drums) he had such a great sound and wonderful compositions that it was a delight! Also in June, our niece Gina married John and we were able to be there to share their LOVE! I also did a wonderful LiveStream concert with my Sonic-Twist partner, guitarist Bruce Arnold to ring out the month.
JULY was a busy month, as I had a gig again at the Settler's Inn with my "Family Band" of Teri Roiger on keys, John Menegon on bass and Joe Lovano on Drums for a rollicking evening of "Jazz on the Deck". When we got home I went and picked up my 18 paintings that had been hanging in the "Berkshire Bank" exhibit since January... and then rang out the month with another "Family Band" gig, this time adding Bruce Arnold on guitar at a great outdoor stage at "the Brewery at Orange County Hops" in Walden, NY! Proprietor Michael Antonelli sat in with us for some tunes and we had a ball!
In AUGUST my family and those adorable little girls came back for another visit and we had gorgeous weather! Lots of Fun out in Nature and more painting and Music! I finished my very first Pet Portrait commissioned by some folks whose daughter has an adorable doggie, just in time for a big wind storm which resulted in a TREE falling on our house... WOW, that was a shocker and I spent the next 4 days lining up our Insurance and Adjustors and Tree Service people to fix the damage. Luckily the tree didn't fall very far and didn't penetrate into the house very deep, so it was taken care of fairly easily. Still, it was a lot of dealing with all different ways the house had to be fixed! All done now!
Here we are in September already, and we had flooding in our entire back yard after Hurricane Ida dumped lots of rain up the East Coast. We had "lakefront property" for a few days but the water went down, gratefully, before it got to our house!!! Now we are here to celebrate another niece, Marrissa's marriage to Justin. I had a big challenge these past few weeks with feeling Vertigo but after my ENT Doctor did the "Epley Maneuver" on me, it has subsided and I hope it never comes back! yikes! So far so good....
So... this month, I have 2 paintings hanging in the “Still Life Exhibit” at the Wallkill River School of Art and Gallery, at 232 Ward Street (Route 17K), Montgomery NY 12549 which is open Fri-Sun from Noon - 5pm! Stop by to see all the wonderful exhibits in this historic building “The Patchett House”, which houses 4 different Gallery spaces! And, another 2 paintings in the Cornwall Artists Collective Exhibit. I hope you will come to see the wonderfully diverse artwork of these painters at Blooming Grove Antiques, 436 Blooming Grove Turnpike (Route 94), New Windsor, NY 12553. More details on my Paintings page.
Also, Sunday, OCTOBER 17, 2021 I'll be doing another Third Sunday Jazz Livestream with Cheryl Pyle’s BEYOND GROUP. This is ONLINE at 4pm-5pm. Musicians will be: Cheryl Pyle, Haruna Fukazawa, Gene Coleman: Flutes, Michael Eaton, Sam Newsome: Saxophones, Judi Silvano: Voice and Claire de Brunner: Bassoon. For the ZOOM LINK, contact me or one of the other musicians. I'm also thrilled to sing in Michael Eaton's Recording Session of his new compositions in NYC.
That's it for now - I hope you and yours are staying careful and healthy and happy! I am practicing Gratitude for all the beautiful spirits in the world we live in! Thank you for listening and watching and sharing the love! Judi Silvano
December 2020
Hello everyone and thank you for visiting my website! In fact, this is the New and Improved Design that was just completed over the summer and rolled out this Autumn! I have a lot to share about what I’ve been up to since my last update in July… but first…
I hope this note finds you and your loved ones staying safe and healthy. Here we are entering the Holiday Season already! I have many family members and friends who have gotten the Covid19 Virus, and thankfully most had a mild version and are recuperated. But there is much to be learned about possible longterm effects so I am following all the developing information to learn how to best protect ourselves. We have unfortunately lost many friends and musical figures on the scene and there is a lot to ponder about what’s going on in the world.
I have much to be grateful for and being a musician and artist has helped me to stay balanced and maintain my equilibrium when I feel frustrated and overwhelmed! Which is just about every day at some point! So here are a few things that stand out in my corner of the world.
First, I’m thrilled to announce that a long-term project of mine is in the process of being finally released! My frequent collaborator guitarist and composer Bruce Arnold and I have been releasing tracks every week since September and all through the autumn in preparation for the release of our 3rd album together in January 2021! It is called “UNITY” and the musical co-compositions of our Electro-Acoustic Duo is called “Sonic Twist”, continues my vision of bringing Music and Dance together as part of my life’s expression. I am thrilled that in addition to deep intuitive connection I have found with Mr. Arnold, I have had the good fortune to also have a working relationship with Videographer Michal Shapiro on this project. I invited dancers Maria Mitchell and Hilary Brown to interpret tracks of their choice for this album and their amazing movement choices brought a new dimension to our sounds, and then Ms. Shapiro brought her unique perspective to connecting all the elements to fashion a unique video for each composition. The result are a series of evocative musical videos that show a full artistic statement of music and dance and storytelling. Bravo to All and Thank you! For more information about The album and videos and music see: www.Sonic-Twist.com
Also I’m more than thrilled to be part of an album “Dancing On The Edge” on Dot Time Records, that was just released in October. It is a new recording from the Kaleidoscope Quintet, made up of saxophone legends Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano, vocalist Judi Silvano, bassist Tony Marino and drummer Michael Stephans. Recorded live at the Deer Head Inn in 2013, Dancing On The Edge is a striking live performance that showcases the boundless artistic possibilities when five distinctive musical voices come together as one. Also, an original painting by Judi Silvano’s was commissioned especially for this project and will grace the cover. https://www.dottimerecords.com/product/kaleidoscope-quintet-dancing-on-the-edge/
Best Wishes for your continued Happiness and Good Health! Judi Silvano