Pianist Peter Nero Excels Before Meager SPAC Audience

by Marilyn Nason, The Post-Star, June 14, 1971

Each time Peter Nero appears at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, it becomes more obvious why this man has to be considered one of the best jazz pianists performing today.

Yesterday afternoon he made his third appearance at SPAC before a disappointing crowd of less than 1,000. As always happens to those who avoid a concert like this, it will end up being one of the ones they’ll wish they had heard before the season is through in September, for Nero was magnificent.

What this man can do with a tune, especially in medleys, is a joy to hear and watch. His playing is effortless, his sense of rhythm (often to a point of verging on the deliberate discordant) is sheer mastery and his humorous introductions provide the added ingredient to create a full afternoon of entertainment.

Without Ormandy

At first it seemed as if Nero, with his bassist, David Troncoso, and drummer, Cecil Ricca, were lost on the stage with
out Maestro Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra as in past performances at SPAC. But once he began “For Once In My Life” it was obvious the trio would do very nicely on its own filling SPAC with exciting music. From there they did “We’ve Just Begun To Live,” “Raindrops,” “Love Story,” “My Way” and a host of similar popular tunes.

But Nero’s forte is definitely medleys. Apparently doing a single tune of three to four minute duration doesn’t really turn Nero on but medleys are a different story.

You can actually watch this professional come alive as he gets deeper and deeper into a medley, whether from “Hair” or Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” He’s sheer musical perfection then and this was es- pecially true yesterday with “West Side Story.”

For the several thousand who were so disappointed last August at SPAC when Nero was scheduled on the printed program to do a medley from this Bernstein classic, then was forced to alter the program at the last minute, yesterday was especially sweet satisfaction.

Left Over

“I’m going to do a request left over from last summer,” he said in introducing this and was it ever a tremendous rendition with or without the Philadelphia Orchestra as backing.

Nero offered no encores, although the audience obviously wanted some. He explained that they had less than an hour to catch a plane for an engagement in Las Vagas.

For the fashion-minded, Nero, handsome as ever with his graying curly hair and goatee, wore a white/blue floral shirt, blue pants and black soft-leather shoe boots.

A mainstay about this time each year in the SPAC audience to celebrate their wedding anniversary, June 14, were State Commerce Commissioner Neal Moylan and Mrs. Moylan.