LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
Roni Ben-Hur & Larry Vuckovich
Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur and pianist Larry Vuckovich have developed a close musical chemistry, both having an affinity for showcasing their prowess in bebop, as well as various styles within World Music. They will treat the audience to a wide-ranging and exciting set of tunes, including selections honoring the great Charlie Parker just two days after what would have been his 105th birthday.
General Admission
$25 in advance / $30 at the door
We are offering a limited number of seats for this performance. Advanced purchase is recommended. Masking is no longer required.
RONI BEN-HUR
“A formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.” –Time Out, New York
“A limber and inventive guitarist, Ben-Hur keeps the modernist flame alive and pure, with a low flame burning in every note." –Gary Giddins, The Village Voice
Jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur is renowned for his golden tone and improvisational brilliance; he plays straight-ahead jazz, Brazilian music, and other Latin styles with equal finesse. His talents were honed by his work with masters in each of those fields, notably bebop pianist Barry Harris, longtime Count Basie saxophonist and flutist Frank Wess, Brazilian jazz singer Leny Andrade, and composer-singer Marcos Valle. The eminent Village Voice jazz critic Gary Giddins called him “a limber and inventive guitarist” who “keeps the flame alive and pure, burning in every note.” The New York Times praised Roni’s “crisp, fluid style”; Time Out New York proclaimed him “a formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.”
Born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime U.S. citizen based in the New York area, Roni has recorded nearly 20 albums as leader or co-leader. Roni’s 2023 album Love Letters (Mighty Quinn Records), featuring the renowned Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, shows off his broad scope with a repertoire that includes bebop, bossa nova, standards, and his own originals. In Hot House, George Kanzler called Love Letters “a sonically sensuous, lyrically rich quartet album.” Joseph Lang of Jersey Jazz Magazine proclaimed it “a musical love letter to those who love jazz…. Roni Ben-Hur is such a fluid player that you feel like you could keep on listening for hours.” ronibenhur.com
LARRY VUCKOVICH
Larry Vuckovich is recognized as a pioneer, being the first in the US to fuse Balkan ethnic, Gypsy – Roma folk elements with American jazz. His 1980 LP, Blue Balkan, featuring Bobby Hutcherson, is a landmark recording in this genre. Here is a link to major reviews https://larryvuckovich.com/audio-blue_balkan_2002.htm ; just now, the landmark Blue Balkan recording has been remastered into an attractive CD digipak format with enhanced sound. The airplay starts on October 21.
Cited by piano legend Barry Harris as "one of the premier West Coast pianists", Mr. Vuckovich brought his Jazz-Latin Trio/Quartet, featured on his two piano trio/quartet CDs, to Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York. On the same tour, Marian McPartland invited him to interview and perform with her on her Piano Jazz show, broadcast to national and global NPR affiliates.
In 2019 Larry Vuckovich received a Lifetime Achievement Award from his former country Yugoslavia – this time being in Serbia at the Nišville Jazz Festival, where he also performed. He also holds the recognition for being one of the very few musicians on the scene today who for over a period of 6 decades has performed with such greats going back to the 30s and on: Red Norvo, Cab Calloway, Don Byas, Dexter Gordon, Tony Bennett, Jon Hendricks, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Joe Williams, Bobby McFerrin + many more. He has been selling out major venues such as the SF Jazz Festival – doing a tribute to Thelonious Monk, Bach Society in Half Moon Bay, Sonoma Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s and the Meyhouse Jazz Venue in Palo Alto. larryvuckovich.com