PROVINCETOWN
A       R      T       S
2009/10


New York’s Finest Jazz Ensemble
By Cheryl Kain

It’s hard being a cop in the Big Apple. Now imagine eighteen, full-time, sworn-in New York City police officers who comprise New York’s Finest Jazz Ensemble.

After ten-hour days of varying shifts, when does the ensemble find time to rehearse? “Sometimes we have to get together at three in the morning, or whenever we all can find the time,” says Tony Stewart, the group’s musical director, who is a trumpeter, songwriter, and conductor. They practice as often as possible. Lieutenant Tony Giorgio, who has a Master’s Degree in Music from C.W. Post College, is the commanding officer of the NYPD Ceremonial Unit. “He is a very, very busy man, but he is absolutely the glue that holds our program together,” says Stewart.

In fact, many of the police officers who devote their “free time” to New York’s Finest are music alumni. I wondered how one makes the leap from studying music in college, to applying for work as an officer. Says Tony, “Many of us have music degrees. I always wanted to be a police officer, so after graduation, I figured, I’d take the police academy test.” Tony earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Long Island University. He plays trumpet and piano; he’s played in pit bands on Broadway, including How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and as backup trumpet for the musical 42nd Street.

The big band is proud of its charitable work as well as the performances for the children of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, and the Schneider Children's Hospital. They have opened for Wynton Marsalis at "Jazz at Lincoln Center," and performed with "The Police" at Madison Square Garden, Wyclef Jean, Bette Midler, Marc Anthony, Cyndi Lauper, and Joe Piscopo.

They have high musical standards. Everyone has to be auditioned. Dedication is a must. “After working a long day, I’ll ask to rehearse in the middle of the night to learn a few charts for a gig coming up. If their heart is in it, we take them,” says Tony.

They’ve toured Tokyo, Canada, Hong Kong, China, and the States. Especially enriching are their performances at veterans’ hospitals, children’s hospitals, and nursing homes. They enjoy appearances at New York City public schools, teaching young people about jazz, where they have the bonus of busting police stereotypes. Folks can be anxious about approaching a police officer in uniform on the streets. It’s easier if they have a trumpet in their hands, rather than a weapon. They become real people who love music, and Tony says “people can walk up to us and shake our hands. When we teach kids about jazz - a truly American art form – their faces and smiles and their dancing to our music warms our hearts.”

The inspirational power of jazz should not be underestimated. Most officers are assigned to the patrol bureau; some work in the transit bureau, counterterrorism, aviation, highway patrol, or housing bureau. A few teach at the Police Academy. “Most of our band members have worked at Ground Zero,” Tony says, “and when our vocalist sings ‘America the Beautiful,’ we swell with pride and humility. Each office is also a friend.”

This summer, August 14-16, the ensemble is performing at the Fifth Annual Provincetown Jazz Festival, the first big band to play at the Festival. The event also features musicians from the United States, Canada, UK, and Europe. Producer Bart Weisman will also lend a hand playing drums behind some of the unique and exciting acts.

CHERYL KAIN writes for numerous regional and national newspapers and magazines and is a jazz singer living on Cape Cod.