Time Remembered - screening, Q&A, and the Dave Thompson Trio

We will be screening Time Remembered, Bruce Spiegel’s acclaimed documentary about the life and music of Bill Evans, followed by Q&A, and live music with the Dave Thompson Trio, with Dave on piano, John Wiitala on bass, and David Rokeach on drums. The film covers Bill’s entire life, from early childhood with his brother Harry, to his days with Miles Davis, and his seminal trios with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian; Chuck Israels, Eddie Gomez, Marty Morell, and Eliot Zigmund; and finally with Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera. The film is filled with footage of Bill’s performances and interviews, and conversations with Bill’s friends and fellow musicians about their time with him.

Janet Klein's Hollywood Party
with Special Guest Frederick Hodges

Effervescent Hollywood songbird Janet Klein hosts a marvelous musical soiree of toe-taping songs from Hollywood musicals of the late 1920s and early 1930s, accompanied on the piano by the dazzling Frederick Hodges.

”Music for, by, and about Women”

Vocalist Sharmila G. Lash revisits her “Music for, by, and about Women” project with more friends and more music, including chamber pieces with vocal ensemble EQV, followed by a jazz set with pianist Anne Sajdera. They will present music by Melissa Dunphy, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Moira Smiley, and others, including originals by Anne and Sharmila. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

Marian McPartland & More: Women Compose Jazz!

Laura Klein (piano), Mary Fettig (sax, flute), Ruth Davies (bass), and Kelly Fasman (drums) came together last year at the piano store to celebrate Marian McPartland's 100th birthday. This all-star quartet of Bay Area jazz women will revisit some of Marian's tunes, and perform a wide range of captivating music by of a host of brilliant jazz composers, including Joanne Brackeen, Mary Lou Williams, Renee Rosnes, Alice Coltrane, Eliane Elias, and others. Not to be missed!

Following in the footsteps of his famed father Chucho Valdés and grandfather Bebo Valdés, piano master Chuchito Valdés continues the legacy of great piano players from Cuba. With influences of Caribbean rhythms and jazz, he creates an exciting and energetic blend of spicy music that drives audiences wild and captivates them with his sensitivity

Bossa meets the Blues

In the latest installment of the "Bossa meets the Blues" concert series, flutist Rebecca Kleinmann and vocalist Tiffany Austin debut their collaboration, melding jazz, bossa, and original compositions. Featuring an all-star rhythm section: Tammy Lynne Hall (piano), Jeff Chambers (bass), and Leon Joyce (drums), and special guest guitarist Ian Faquini. Don't miss these brilliant artists sharing music from Mozart to Charlie Parker and Herbie Hancock and new co-creations!

The Music of Bill Evans & Jim Hall

Pianist Larry Vuckovich and the talented young 24-year-old guitarist, Kai Lyons will pay homage to the jazz great Bill Evans and Jim Hall. Their memorable duets made a mark on jazz history, using spontaneous and creative interplay. Their musical conversations offered a strong sense of creative swing, lyrical and melodic jazz improvisation, and impressionistic harmony. Larry and Kai will recreate some of this exciting history, as well as some of their other diverse selections.

Novos Caminhos CD Release

The San-São Trio (SAN Francisco - SÃO Paulo) – Léa Freire (flute), Amilton Godoy (piano), and Harvey Wainapel (sax/clarinet) – release their CD Novos Caminhos. Combining the worlds of Brazilian music and jazz, in a chamber music type setting, these three instrumentalists have produced a body of work that blends the swinging exuberance and charm of the many different rhythms of Brazil along with that country's characteristic tender lyricism. Mix all this with the spontaneous discoveries of Jazz improvisation and you have a unique trio! 

Called for his “pianistic allure” (Gramophone), International FAZIOLI pianist Lucas Wong takes the audience on a musical journey across three centuries of French music, with works by Couperin, Rameau, Chabrier, and Debussy.

with Andrew Speight

An evening of "Straight Ahead" Be-Bop, featuring the compositions of John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Miles Davis, John Lewis, as well as Standards by Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.

Dick Whittington - piano
Andrew Speight - saxophone
Robb Fisher - bass
Akira Tana - drums

CD Release Party

Come and join S.E. Willis, Bobby Cochran, Ruth Davies, and Nancy Wright, as they celebrate the release of S.E. Willis and the Willing’s newest album, Too Much Love. They only have a few local performance dates this summer, so don’t miss this opportunity to hear this great band!

American vocalist and pianist Dena DeRose returns from Austria to perform with bassist Peter Barshay and drummer Akira Tana to present new material for Dena's new recording on HighNote due out later this year!  Come hear songs by Bob Dorough, Alan Broadbent, Al Cohn, and others, including a few penned by DeRose herself! Guaranteed to be swingin', fun, and intense as this trio has been together for over 15 years!

Pianist and provocateur Connie Han has created an edgy blend of modern and traditional jazz with her incendiary Mack Avenue Records debut CRIME ZONE. At 23, this young lioness is on a fast-climbing trajectory to jazz stardom with rave reviews from The New York Times, Jazziz Magazine, Downbeat Magazine, and more. All About Jazz proclaims, “With this album she’s booking a place as a star in the jazz firmament of tomorrow. Watch out for Connie Han, the face (and shape) of jazz to come.”

New York-based pianist Peter Zak performs original compositions, jazz classics and standards, many from his acclaimed recent album releases, including his latest, One Mind. "Brilliant...quite startlingly so... underlines just how shrewd a musical mind Peter Zak has." -Brian Morton, Jazz Journal (UK). He’ll be joined by fellow New Yorker, drummer Sylvia Cuenca, and Michael Zisman on bass.

Larry Vuckovich celebrates his landmark recording Blue Balkan, featuring Bobby Hutcherson, which was the first to fuse Balkan ethnic music with American Jazz, and will celebrate the 40th anniversary next year.  He will be joined by Eric Golub (violin), Vince Delgado (Middle-Eastern percussion), Coralie Russo (oud), & Jeff Chambers (bass). The day after this show, he will leave for Serbia to perform at the Nišville Festival, where he will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from his former country, Yugoslavia, for being the only jazz musician from those parts who has performed in the US with numerous greats & received top reviews from the NY Times & other major publications. 

Jamie Davis Sings the Music of Johnny Hartman & John Coltrane

In a rare Oakland appearance, Grammy Nominated vocalist Jamie Davis will feature music from John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman, while blending in great jazz standards with his compelling full, deep baritone voice.  He will be backed by an All Star band: Larry Dunlap on piano, Roger Glenn on vibes/sax/flute, Chris Amberger on bass, and Leon Joyce, Jr. on drums.  Don't miss this fabulous show!

"There Is A Message In The Music"

Soul Music of the 70's expressed messages of hope, freedom, love, joy and racial unity. Vocalist Rhonda Benin will be performing the work of the most prolific black singer/songwriters, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway and the songwriting teams of Ashford and Simpson, Gamble and Huff, Bell and Creed. 

Soprano Mary Ellen Callahan & pianist Jerry Kuderna join in bringing you an hour of beautiful music from Vienna and Paris. Sensual, pure, charming, joyful, and heartbreaking songs expressed in Schubert’s style of pristine early romanticism and Debussy’s explorations in Impressionistic music paralleling the visual art of that period.

Complete information will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

Multi-award-winning Venezuelan pianist and composer Edward Simon plays an evening of music by Federico Mompou, Simón Díaz, and selections from his NAACP Image Award-winning album Latin American Songbook. Considered one of the strongest pianists on the jazz scene, he is part of a new generation of "multilingual" musicians who have studied classical, jazz, and Latin-American music and garnered a unique voice both as composer and instrumentalist.

Guitarist, producer, arranger, orchestrator, and multi-instrumentalist Diego Figueiredo performs his new concert “From Classical to Jazz.” It is a fusion between Jazz, Bossa Nova and Classical music. Diego offers a unique interpretation, with tremendous techniques and enormous emotion. With a variety of work already released, Diego is doing shows on the most important stages around the world enchanting and charming the public wherever he goes with his unique touch.

Drummer Akira Tana invites musicians from Osaka, Hammond B3 organist Atsuko Hashimoto, guitarist Yutaka Hashimoto, and tenor saxophonist Hideki Kawamura, to share the stage for an evening of swinging, unadulterated jazz organ music, in the spirit of jazz organ master Jimmy Smith. The group will celebrate the CD release of their October 2016 live performance in Kobe under the leadership of Mr. Kawamura. They will be joined by jazz vocalist virtuoso Nicolas Bearde.

Enjoy an elegant evening of music with vocalist Tammi Brown along with award winning pianist Dan Zemelman, as they join forces as the ‘Art of the Duo’ to celebrate and perform music by Nina Simone, original music by the award winning “Lost American Jazzbook” project, as well as their arrangements of notable jazz standards.  Special Guests include the internationally renowned vocalist Nicolas Bearde and Mr. Terence Kelly, director of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir.

Pianist Manuel Valera & saxophonist/clarinetist John Ellis, two versatile composers, come together to traverse and interact through music. They present their own compositions with this chamber music format in mind, as well as new refreshing arrangements on material from the great American songbook.