Hudson Valley Jazzwomen Jazz Ensemble from Newburgh, NY

Hudson Valley Jazzwomen perform in ensembles of varying sizes, specializing in standards from the Great American Songbook, time-honored show tunes and works by women composers. The quartet features pianist Francesca Tanksley, saxophonist Laura Andrea Leguia, double bassist Linda Ellen Brown and drummer Kim Peralta. Francesca Tanksley, described as “a vivid presence” by jazz critic Nat Hentoff, performs and records with the Billy Harper Quintet, the Francesca Tanksley Trio, the Jeff Siegel Quintet, and the Erica Lindsay Quartet. She was featured on Marian McPartland's NPR series, Piano Jazz, and is noted in several books including All Music Guide to Jazz. Laura Andrea Leguia plays with the Elizabeth Woodbury Kasius HEARD World Music Band and the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet.  She was ISC semi-finalist in 2016, and 2011 Latin Jazz Corner Saxophonist of the Year. Linda Ellen Brown played with "Airwaves" jazz quintet and was a mainstay at 9 Maple Ave, Saratoga for two decades. She is leader of the "Linda Brown Jazz Project" and as a guest in the Hal Miller Band has shared the bandstand with J.R. Monterose, Sal Amico, Erica Lindsay, Francesca Tanksley and many others. Kim Peralta is a life-long musician who began drumming in 2017 as a student of Alejandro Aguiar in Cuba from 2017 - 2020. From 2021 - 2024 she played with the SUNY Jazz Ensemble. Kim also plays in the jazz quartet “Hudson Valley Blue Hearts” and Latin Jazz Quintet “Corazón Azul.” She describes herself as “drummer at large!”