By Peter Lyons Hall
When the word went out to its customers on Instagram to dress in the style of the 1920s, the Drowned Lands Brewery, the spectacular farm brewery founded as an homage to the famous soil in eponymous Black Dirt Region and now located on State School Road in the Warwick Corporate Park, was filled with dozens of patrons waiting to hear the melodious jazz standards performed by the Chris Persad quartet on New Year’s Eve, Dec 31, 2023.
Persad, Facebook.com/ChrisPersad, now a retired music teacher at Warwick High School who taught jazz band students for over 30 years, has always been an accomplished trumpet and flugelhorn player. Accompanied by bassist Clayton Thompson, keyboard artists Tim Regusis, and vocalist Gabriele Tranchina, the group thrilled the crowd with many popular jazz standards during the evening, including their own renditions of tunes from the American song book by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Pablo Beltran Ruiz, and Richard Rodgers. One of the pieces that evoked one of the strongest reactions from the crowd was a great bluesy treatment of the song “At Last,” written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren. Regusis’s background to Tranchina’s soulful performance of the lyrics was one of the many memorable events of the evening.
Tim Regusis is a New York City-based pianist who has been active in the jazz scene as well as the fields of R&B, Latin and various world musics for many years. He has played and/or recorded with Ruben Blades, Celia Cruz, Patti Austin, Jonathan Butler, Johnny Pacheco, Charlie Palmieri, Daniel Ponce, David Byrne, Ralph LaLama, Rick Margitza, Tommy Turrentine, Cindy Blackman, Cameron Brown, Jeff Williams, Akira Omori, Najee, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Ofra Haza and others.
Clayton Thompson began playing electric bass in middle school, and upright bass while attending Warwick Valley High School. Within a year of playing the upright bass, he successfully auditioned into the NYSSMA All State Jazz Ensemble, and continued to gig with his rock band throughout the Hudson Valley. Clayton then attended the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase to study jazz bass, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 2020. While attending Purchase, he began playing jazz professionally in New York City and the tri-state area. He continues to work as a professional musician, playing in several jazz, Latin and rock bands.
Gabriele Tranchina is musically at home in many styles. With a strong background in jazz, she moves between Jazz, Latin and World Fusion, making her a perfect crossover artist. Gabriele has her roots in Germany, where she was born, but her love for other cultures inspired her extended travels throughout Europe and Asia. These experiences bring a unique sensibility to her work, matching her one-of-a-kind voice. Settling in Greenwood Lake, New York, Ms. Tranchina took advantage of its multi-cultural environment, giving her further inspiration for her work as an artist. She has been described as “a German-born, Parisian chanteuse, with Brazilian stylings, who is a cross between Ute Lemper, Mireille Mathieu and Tania Maria.”
The Drowned Lands Brewery, [Drownedlands.beer] has become a prominent draw for entertainment, in addition to its breathtaking menu of home brews. Their philosophy includes a strong belief that the next generation of breweries will be the ones that best connect the drinker to the agriculture, the seasons, and the distinct area in which the beer is brewed.
