Greg Hester Jazz

Stars come out on Rio Nights

The stars came out  and the roof was almost blown off the Raven theater in Healdsburg last Saturday night when the Joyce - Dori Caymmi Brazilian jazz entourage  exploded onto the stage. These two guitarists - singers - songwriters put on a show that will not be quickly forgotten by those lucky audiences at the two sold-out performances.

Joyce is an uncannily gifted musician who has the ability to float you into an almost dreamlike trance with her silky, sensuous legato ballads. And when she's teaming with guitar master Dori, she can  bring you to your feet, swaying in her voluptuous rhythm to the bounce of a fiery bossa nova. She is, unquestionably, as Antonio Carlos Jobim, the father of Brazilian jazz has described her  'One of the greatest singers of all time'  which, when it comes to endorsements, is probably as good as it gets.

The crowds were as demographically diverse as one might expect to find on the edges of these metropolitan areas surrounding San Francisco. Some drove considerable distances to catch this one-time event. Julie and her two friends travelled all the way down from Mendocino, not an easy two or three hour drive. A day after the show, she felt compelled to email Jessica Felix ( who is, incidentally, the driving force behind this and practically every other jazz event taking place around this immediate area) to echo the sentiments of everybody else who attended: 'We picked up the tickets at Will Call and got to experience JOYCE and it was incredible!!!'

This concert was a prelude to more Rio Nights in Healdsburg, which are set to conclude on December 3rd and 4th as two days of Brazilian Music Appreciation classes will be presented by world-renown saxophonist and teacher, Harvey Wainapel. The curtain will come down on the evening of the 4th with a live performance of Brazilian jazz at the Hotel Healdsburg. Carlos Oliveira and his Brazilian Origins ensemble will headline a concert featuring a complete repetoire of Brazilian acoustic jazz , including bossas, sambas, choros and even the music of Northeastern Brazil.

These two days promise to be a virtual treasure-trove of information and enjoyment of this exciting jazz genre. Tickets may be scarce (as they were for the Joyce-Dori concerts) so it would behoove anyone who's interested to click here for more information and to place your order.

(Photos courtesy of Rick Tang)

Jazz on the North Coast

We invite readers of this modest little blog to share with us from time to time, some of their jazz related experiences in and around our tri-county area that might otherwise go unnoticed. That's how these pages come to be graced  with the article below which was contributed by Steve and Nancy Russell, prominent members and raconteurs of Santa Rosa's burgeoning jazz, wine and food culture. As active charter members of the Music, Epicurean And Libation Society (MEALS) Steve and Nancy are uniquely positioned to add a fresh, and offbeat  approach in helping us report on the jazz activity in places not usually covered by yours truly. With any luck, this is just the first of what we hope will be many more  jazz articles of interest to our readers.

L.A.

NORTH COAST JAZZ

Due to separate crises at our places of employment, Nancy and I found ourselves unable to take any sort of a vacation this summer. So we gritted our teeth, kept our spirits up by taking in some Greg Hester shows and survived. Finally, in the waning days of late October we managed to get away for a couple of days. Since we didn't have time to go far or money to splurge, we took a quick trip to Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg is one of our favorite spots for a quick getaway because of the Botanical Garden, the North Coast Brewing Company and the Pacific Ocean. Also, while Fort Bragg is undeniably a tourist destination, it has not yet become too precious. We expected to have a good time in general, but we were not anticipating anjoying any live jazz. Silly us.

Thursday, after a few invigorating hours wandering the Botanical Garden, we had lunch at North Coast Brewing and then went window shopping downtown. On Laurel Street we strolled by an establishment named the Headlands Coffee House. A hand lettered sign in the window caught my eye. 'Live Jazz' , it said. 'The John Gilmore Trio'. Tonight, 7 PM.

That evening, we disdained the free HBO and arrived at the Headlands just after seven. To our delight, the Headlands serves wine and beer as well as coffee. When the band slipped into a Thelonious  Monk number, we knew we had come to the right place.

At the break, I chatted briefly with John Gilmore. Like our own beloved Greg Hester, John is a piano man. The 'John Gilmore Trio' that evening consisted of John at the keyboard, Ben Wilmore on guitar, Nina Mera on bass, Tom Rickard on drums, Grey D'augelli on soprano sax and Chris Szejk percussion. (Hey, they're musicians, not mathemticians).

John told me this 'trio'  plays every Thursday at the Headlands. John can also be found Friday and Sunday evenings at the Ledford House in Albion with guitarist John Simcik. Saturdays he holds forth at the McCallum House with saxophonist Francis Vanek.

The Headlands Coffee House features a full calendar of music every night of the week. While not all of it is jazz, a significant portion of it is. It's a small, intimate venue (at its largest, the crowd swelled to 14). There is no table sevice but the staff is friendly and accomodating and the prices are very reasonable. (My glass of Bogle zinfandel was $4.50)

So if you are a Sonoma County jazz fan and you find yourself staying a while in our neighbor to the north, fear not. Jazz is alive and well there.

S.R.