LIVE MUSIC – Duos with Dave Marck: New York City Jazz Pianist | UWL Truman T. Lowe Center

The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse Department of Music is proud to present “Duos with Dave Marck” on Friday, September 12, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in Annett Recital Hall, located in the Truman T. Lowe Center for the Arts. This free concert is open to the public and promises an evening of intimate, spontaneous jazz improvisation featuring world-class musicianship.

The program will spotlight Dave Marck, a jazz pianist with 45 years of experience in New York City’s vibrant music scene, performing in duo settings with UWL Jazz Program Director Jon Ailabouni (trumpet) and Ailabouni’s immediate predecessor Dr. Jeff Erickson (saxophone), along with select jazz emphasis students from the university.

Each performance will unfold as a unique musical conversation. While the repertoire will be chosen in advance, the arrangements and interpretations will emerge organically in the moment. This improvisational approach—particularly in the duo format—allows for maximum flexibility, deep listening, and an exchange of ideas between the performers. “Think of it as a real-time musical dialogue,” says Ailabouni. “In a duo, every choice matters. There’s both a responsibility and opportunity to spontaneously shape the music. When the musicians are both daring and selfless in this context the effect is electric!”

For the participating students, the concert offers an invaluable mentor/mentee experience: performing side-by-side with a seasoned veteran of the New York jazz community. This tradition of learning by doing—sharing the “bandstand” with master musicians—is a hallmark of jazz culture and pedagogy.

About Dave Marck: a native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Dave Marck has built an extraordinary career in New York City, performing extensively as a jazz pianist and collaborating with artists across the performing arts. For nearly 30 years, he worked with Jacque D’Amboise’s National Dance Institute, bringing live music to thousands of young dancers. He has served as an accompanist for the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at New York University and has worked with an eclectic range of performers, from comedians Joan Rivers and Cloris Leachman to Broadway luminaries Charolette D’Amboise, Terrence Mann, and Tony Yazbeck.

Despite his decades in New York, Marck returns to the Coulee Region annually, where his performances have become highly anticipated events. His quartet concert on the Viterbo Fine Arts Main Stage has drawn loyal audiences year after year; this season’s performance will take place just two days before the UWL recital, on Wednesday, September 10.

HOW TO ATTEND

What: Duos with Dave Marck
When: Friday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Annett Recital Hall, Lowe Center for the Arts
Admission: Free and open to the public.
More Info: Contact the music department at 608.785.8409