Friday, February 14, 2025
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Dr. Dan Puccio takes an in-depth look at the lives and careers of the singer-songwriters whose catalogs are featured in this year’s concert season! We’ll get to hear some of the inside stories and legends surrounding Neil Diamond, America, Billy Joel, Elton John, and Lyle Lovett, along with guided listening example to some of their greatest songs. Along the way, we’ll try to answer some of the great Rock & Roll mysteries like “Why didn’t they name the horse?”, “Was Billy Joel really that angry as a young man?”, and “Can you really ride a pony on a boat?” (Honestly, it depends on the size of the boat, and how rough the seas are.)
New York City native Paul Simon is widely considered to be one of the greatest songwriters in music history. From his humble beginnings as one half of the duo “Tom and Jerry” to his legendary collaboration with childhood friend Art Garfunkel, Simon has remained a cultural touchstone until his “retirement” from performing in 2018. We will dive into his vast catalogue with songs like “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Sound of Silence”, and “Mrs. Robinson”, along with discussing his approach to World Music with his landmark album Graceland, and its effect on global politics. We will also attempt to discover if there really are 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, and there may be a cameo by fellow SNL Five-Timer’s Club Member Chevy Chase. Come join in the fun on Valentine’s Day, show someone that you Love Them Like A Rock, and find out if we’re Still Crazy After All These Years.
Getting Here
Music Alive! Studio
7950 E. Thompson Peak Parkway
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
7950 East Thompson Peak Parkway
7950 East Thompson Peak Parkway, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Instructor
Dr. Dan Puccio
Dr. Daniel Puccio is a Phoenix based composer/arranger, multi-instrumentalist and educator. A musician comfortable in multiple genres, he has performed with such notable artists as the Temptations, the Four Tops, Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Jerry Lewis, Bernard Purdie, Jay and the Americans, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and The Doo Wop Project. He is one of the original members of the Bobby Streng Saxomble, and is a prominently featured soloist on the group’s premier recording, “Live At The Firefly”. Most recently, Dr. Puccio was a featured performer at the 2019 Amigos de Jazz festival in Santiago de Cuba. He is the founder of the Positivity Project—a series of mixed media collaborations using music, live video and dance. Additionally, Dr. Puccio has taken part in several shows at Phoenix Theatre, most notably performing on Tenor Banjo for 2017’s production of The Scottsboro Boys.
As an educator, he has served as Faculty Instructor of Saxophone at the Interlochen Arts Camp, and as a clinician for the University of Michigan Jazz Festival, the Highland Jazz Festival and the Crystal City Jazz Festival in Corning, NY. He has also been a featured guest artist and clinician with the University of Richmond’s Cuban music ensemble and was recently invited to give a guest lecture Arizona MusicFest’s series, “Music Alive in Suite A-5” on the history of the banjo.
Dr. Puccio is currently a member of the music faculty at both Mesa and Chandler-Gilbert Community Colleges, and teaches privately at Desert Ridge Music Academy in Phoenix, AZ. He has previously served as the director of Sound and Recording for the Arizona State University School of Music, instructor of Woodwinds with Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Marching Band, and was the Director of the widely acclaimed ASU Dixie Devils.
He holds degrees in Improvisation, Music Education, and Saxophone Performance from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, the University of Michigan, and Arizona State University.
Dr. Puccio exclusively plays Deering Banjos, Shubb Capos, and Kazoobie Kazoos