|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Jazz at Pearl's: Music Near the Bay in in May. |
|
|
|
Written by Ronaldo Oregano
|
|
Tuesday, 01 May 2007 |
 Bob Dorough  CJO Big Band
Tuesday Jazz Residency in May: Stirring young tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens settles into Pearl's Tuesday Residency chair beginning May 8 (Tammy Hall appears May 1) and throughout the rest of the month. Stephens has saxophone style that’s warm, heartfelt and direct. A graduate of Berklee School of Music and the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute, Stephens has long been a fixture on the Bay Area music scene, and for the past few years has been making his mark in New York City, as well. He recently release his first CD as a leader, The Timeless Now, featuring John Scofield and Eric Harland. Stephens will lead an organ trio with Dave Matthews (Hammond B3) and Jeff Marrs (drums) on May 8 and 22, and a straight-ahead quartet featuring pianist Adam Shulman, bassist Devon Hoff and Jeff Marrs on drums on May 15 and 29. Click here for tickets.
Thursday, May 3, Hal Stein Quartet: Veteran jazz saxophonist Hal Stein was front and center in New York's famed 56th Street jazz scene of the 1950's, playing with everyone from Gene Krupa to Artie Shaw to Charles Mingus. He's never stopped blowing, and he's been a warm and wonderful jazz force in the Bay Area since 1971. In 2006, Stein released Spirit! his first CD as a leader in years, and critics rushed to sing the praises of CD and musician alike. Click here for tickets.
Friday-Sunday, May 4-6, Bob Dorough Trio: Singer, pianist, composer Bob Dorough has been smiling out at audiences since his first LP, Devil May Care (1956) with witty, crowd pleasing songs like "You're the Dangerous Type." Jazz Times reviewer Joel Siegel called Dorough's 2000 CD, Too Much Coffee Man, "54 minutes of pure pleasure." Of course, many know Dorough best for his role with the beloved children's show "Schoolhouse Rock," for which he wrote and sang enduring favorites like, "Conjunction Junction" and "Three is a Magic Number." Click here for tickets.
Thursday, May 10, Laurent Fourgo: Did you know that the Tony Bennett hit "The Good Life" and the Bobby Darin swinger "Beyond the Sea" were originally written in French? Singer Laurent Fourgo does, but that's only natural: he lives in San Francisco now, but Fourgo was born and raised in the City of Lights. On his brand new CD, Moitié-Moitié, Half & Half, Fourgo salutes eight beloved tunes that had their origins in France, singing choruses both in French and English. His style is swinging, warm and serene, with a hint of Bennett and Darin. Fourgo's Pearl's show will be a CD release party for the new recording. Click here for tickets.
 Mark Murphy
Sunday, May 13, Cartoon Jazz Orchestra: The Jeff Sanford Orchestra plays Raymond Scott Raymond Scott was the composer whose madcap 1930s music -- a mix of classical music, Ellington, jungle jazz and Klezmer -- was a prime ingredient of the soundtracks for the classic Warner Brothers cartoons millions of us grew up with. Veteran Bay Area saxophonist and clarinetist Jeff Sanford fell under Scott's spell the watching Saturday morning cartoons, and spent years down charts of Scott's intricately arranged music and organizing a 13-piece band to play it. The result is a crowd-pleaser, ever time. Click here for more info from Jazz at Pearl's.
Thursday, May 17, Lua Hadar: Singer Lua Hadar moves from stage to cabaret to jazz club with effervescent ease, switching vocal genres or languages just as easily. A native New Yorker from a musical family, Lua Hadar has performed as an actor and singer all of her life. On her 2006 CD, It's About Time, Hadar finds her way around both jazz standards and show tunes with power and grace, taking her listeners on a terrific ride. Her voice is earthy, soulful, pure and rich, and her comic timing a delight. Click here for tickets.
Friday-Sunday, May 18-20, Ben Adams, Jeff Denson, Ziv Ravitz Trio: Ben Adams, Jeff Denson and Ziv Ravitz met at Berklee School of Music, and they have been making fascinating jazz, separately and together, ever since, and getting notice for it across the U.S and Europe. Adams is an exceptional young talent on the vibraphones. Bassist Jeff Denson and Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz make up two thirds of the trio Minsarah, a group that has been causing a sensation on two continents. Click here for tickets.
Thursday, May 24, Jonathan Alford: Jonathan Alford is a versatile, virtuo Oakland-based pianist who has performed or recorded with many of the Bay Area's best Latin bands including Avance, Los Compas and the Machete Ensemble. A fluid, versatile and highly inventive musician, Alford also shines in a straight-ahead jazz setting, performing in ensembles like the Sheldon Powell Quartet. Click here for more info or to order tickets.
Friday-Sunday, May 25-27, Alexa Weber Morales: Singer-songwriter Alexa Weber Morales combines clarion vocals, high-voltage rhythm and emotive power in one package. Fluent in four languages, she fearlessly crosses borders with lush, acoustic jazz, boleros, salsa and samba. During her May shows at Pearl's, Morales will be celebrating the release of her new CD, Vagabundeo/Wanderings. Click here for tickets.
Thursday, May 31, Monk's Music Trio plus Max Perkoff: The Monk's Music Trio wades into the tricky yet fantastically rewarding music of Thelonious Monk with joie de vivre, panache and a great deal of skill. The trio of drummer Chuck Bernstein, pianist Si Perkoff and bassist Sam Bevan interpret Monk's compositions with a ringing clarity, and interact on the bandstand with the sort of electric empathy. The addition of trombonist Max Perkoff adds additional fire to the proceedings. Click here to oder tickets.
Coming up in June at Jazz at Pearl's
- Rachel Z, the always fascinating pianist whose most recent projects finds her delivering jazz versions of Goth songs by bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Joy Division (Friday-Sunday, June 1-3)
- The poly-rhythmic fury of the Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Ensemble (Friday-Sunday, June 8-10)
- The wild New Orleans marching band craziness of the Brass Mafia (Friday-Sunday, June 15-17),
- Guitarist Ray Obiedo and his Urban Latin Jazz Project (June 29-July1)
- European flamenco guitarist Kaweh and his band display their Flamenco/ Latin/Middle Eastern jazz fusion on Thursday, June 7.
- Ernestine Anderson lights up Jazz at Pearl's on June 22-24.
- Hammond B3 star Dave Mathews will team with singing sensation Kenny Washington every Tuesday night in June.
|
|
 Friday, 04 July 2008
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
