Top musicians to lead big band dance at St. Mark’s

Dancing in the parish hall at St. Mark’s. DAVID MCKAY WILSON PHOTO

Mark Pekowsky will lead a 20-piece orchestra at the big band dance at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Mount Kisco on Oct. 22. DAVID MCKAY WILSON PHOTO

By DAVID MCKAY WILSON 

Over my decades in the social dance world, I’ve discovered one fact to be true: there’s nothing like dancing to a live band, and if that band is a 20-piece jazz orchestra, all the better. 

You’ll have a chance to dance — or just listen — on Wednesday, Oct. 22, when Private Stock, in its debut performance under the direction of Marc Pekowsky, plays in the parish hall at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mount Kisco. Pekowsky, a regular in the woodwind section of several big bands over the years, will lead the ensemble, which will include a slew of top players from the Hudson Valley.  

Pekowsky said he’s launching the band to provide performance opportunities for local musicians and to serve the social dance community in Westchester County, which has seen an upswing in swing dance among younger dancers, and a growing involvement in ballroom dance by the older generation.  

“There are so many great talented musicians in our area, and a dearth of opportunities with venues where we can stretch out and exercise our musical chops,” said Pekowsky, who retired in 2023 from the Yonkers Public Schools, where he taught music and led student bands for 30 years. “We’re hoping to create something for our audience’s listening and dancing pleasure.” 

The big band dance at St. Mark’s, produced in association with Westchester Ballroom, marks an expansion of the church’s social dance program. It began a year ago with monthly ballroom dances, many of them on Sunday afternoon in the historic parish house with its spacious wood dance floor. Upcoming afternoon ballroom dances with DJ Rich Barnett are scheduled for Oct. 12, Nov. 9, and New Year’s Day. 

A word of disclosure: I worship at St. Mark’s and lead the church’s dance program. For the past 40 years, I’ve experienced the joy of partner dancing at swing events in the metro region. Recently I’ve discovered great fun at ballroom dances at the American Legion in Mount Kisco on the fourth Sunday of the month and on certain Wednesday nights at Addie-tude Cultural Arts Center in Pleasantville. Dance instructor Brook Diamond will teach an introductory lesson in swing Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m.

Pekowsky began his musical journey studying classical piano at age 6. By the time he entered Woodlands Junior High, he was fluent in the language of music. There, he ventured into the music room one day to meet the man who would become his musical mentor, Bill Ellington, a cousin of jazz legend Duke Ellington, and a recording artist in his own right with such greats as Eric Dolphy and Pharoah Sanders. 

Bill Ellington introduced Pekowsky to the alto clarinet, which led to Pekowsky’s  love of numerous woodwinds — the baritone and tenor saxophones and bass clarinet. The name of Pekowsky’s band, Private Stock, is an homage to Bill, who called his young jazz students his “private stock.” 

Pekowsky remained close to Bill Ellington until his death in 2000. He inherited a box full of his musical charts, which lay scattered on the floor of Pekowsky’s studio, by a photo of Pekowsky hosting trumpeter Wynton Marsalis at Woodlands High when he taught there. 

Pekowsky took classes at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester while pursuing a degree in English literature. He later performed in a 40-city national tour for the musical “Cabaret” in the late 1980s and played in the backup band for Pete Seeger’s group in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. In recent years, he has played with Westchester Symphonic Winds, Bob January Orchestra, Bensen-Scott Big Band and the Sonny Carroll Orchestra, which had a decade-long gig for a swing dance at Sciortino’s Restaurant in Brewster in the early 2000s. 

“Sonny was composing, arranging charts and leading a band until the day of his death at age 100,” said Pekowsky. “He’s such an inspiration.”

Joining Pekowsky in Private Stock on the alto saxophone will be Keith Gurland, of Patterson, who toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Artie Shaw Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, including the revival of the Dorsey ensemble in May. 

Gurland, who played extensively in Manhattan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, loves playing with a full jazz orchestra that finds its groove. 

“There are so many textural possibilities, and when everybody is pulling on their oars with perfect synchrony, it becomes something very special,” he said. 

Playing for dancers adds to the magic. 

“Much of this music was written for dancers,” he said. “So playing for a dance fulfills the music’s original purpose. We love seeing people physically enjoying the music. It’s a lot more fun than having them anchored in their seats.” 

The dance, from 7:30 to 10 p.m., will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, located at 85 East Main St., Mount Kisco. Intro dance lesson at 7:30 p.m., with music at 8 p.m. Admission is $25 at the door. For optional table reservations, call 914-602-6194. 

David McKay Wilson has written on dance for The New York Times, Dance Magazine and The Journal News.