HMC Presents: Adam Kolker & Gary Versace Quartet

Hamilton Music Collective Presents:

Adam Kolker & Gary Versace Quartet

Thursday April 9, 2026

Following standout performances in 2024 and 2025, we welcome back Grammy-nominated NYC players Adam Kolker on sax/bass clarinet (Village Vanguard Orchestra, NYC) and Gary Versace on piano. Joined by Neil Swainson on upright bass and Terry Clarke on drums.

Adam Kolker (saxophone/bass clarinet)

Gary Versace (piano)

Neil Swainson (bass)

Terry Clarke (drums)

Series Tickets on sale Thursday January 8 2026 9:00am

Individual Tickets on sale Thursday January 15 2026 9:00am

Tickets: $45 / $25 (student)

Purchase a Series Ticket and save 15% on each show here.

Check out the rest of the winter series here.

Please choose your seats at check out!

Doors at 7:00PM, show at 8:00PM (two sets).

About Adam Kolker:

Adam Kolker is a multi-talented performer, composer and arranger. He performed and recorded with latin-jazz artist Ray Barretto from 1994 through 2002 (with whom he received two GRAMMY nominations). He also appears in New York City with groups including the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Fred Hersch's "My Coma Dreams," the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Bruce Barth, Judi Silvano, Lucia Pulido, and his own groups with John Abercombie and Billy Hart. He has recorded with Bruce Barth, John Hébert, Marty Ehrlich, The Story, Bobby Previte, Gunther Schuller, Bruce Saunders, Frank Carlberg, among others.

About Gary Versace:

Based in NYC, originally hailing from Cos Cob, CT., jazz pianist, organist and accordionist Gary Versace is one of the busiest and most versatile musicians on the international jazz scene, working with musicians such as John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Maria Schneider, Kurt Elling, Rudy Royston, Rich Perry, Mike Rodriguez, Regina Carter, Ellery Eskelin and Ray Anderson. Versace, along with bandmates vocalist Kate McGarry and guitarist Keith Ganz, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2019 for his work on ‘The Subject Tonight is Love,’ the band’s latest trio recording, and has performed on several other Grammy-winning and nominated recordings by composers John Hollenbeck and Maria Schneider. Currently Versace is the pianist in Schneider’s orchestra, and has appeared on dozens of recordings as a sideman on various labels over the years with nationally and internationally known jazz artists. Versace won the Jazz Journalists' Association's "Best Instrumentalist – Instruments Rare In Jazz (accordion)" award in 2018, the “Organist of the Year’ award in 2012, and is mentioned yearly in both the readers and critics polls in Downbeat and JazzTimes magazines. Before embarking on his performing career, Versace spent eight years as a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Oregon, and currently teaches in the jazz studies department at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.

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Join Hamilton Music Collective for our winter jazz concert series, showcasing top Canadian and international musicians in jazz, blues, and improvised music since 2014. Step into our cozy jazz lounge at 141 Park Street, featuring a top notch sound system (brand new in 2020), wine selections, and an attentive audience. It all comes together in the perfect venue to hear world-class jazz in downtown Hamilton!

All proceeds from ticket sales support the An Instrument For Every Child (AIFEC) program.

For more information about the Hamilton Music Collective and An Instrument For Every Child visit: hamiltonmusiccollective.ca

Parking is available in the parking lots. Read more here: https://www.thegasworks.ca/parking/