He's Baaaaack

I had to take some time off recently while trying to recover from some kind of a debilitating illness (not sure exactly what it was) but, with the help of some miracle outpatient treatments at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa, I'm back and I've haven't felt this good in years.

So this is a good time to jump back in, because there's gonna be some jazz happening this Sunday (August 6) 1:00 to 4:30 PM over at the Rodney Strong Winery and Vineyards, and I need to tell you about it.

(Greg Hester)

It's being called 'A Summer Celebration' , a festival of jazz, first by Greg and his quartet - Don Olivet, tenor saxophone; Rob Wright, bass; Kendrick Freeman, drums and of course Greg on acoustic piano. But a number of local jazz musicians have been alerted, and we expect many of them will be dropping by (with their axes, of course) and I imagine it won't be too long before a good ol' jam session gets underway.

Already it looks like Yancie Taylor, Bay Area vibesmaster, will be there. Ditto, tenorman Chuck Peterson and jazz flautist George Husaruk. We won't be too surprised if drummer Lee Charlton, bassist Steve Webber, vibist Herb Gibson, trumpet / flugelhorn player  Graham Bruce and his wife, vocalist Marty Blackard and Kent Cohea - a great reed player - all put in an appearance at some point, because they've all been alerted.

We expect a lot of folks to show up for this one. Greg's using this get-together as an opportunity to celebrate Don Olivet's birthday, so there may be cake involved. There will be a lot of other goodies too. Everyone is being encouraged to bring picnic stuff, and that usually means we can expect people like Dave Kinney, among others and in keeping with the competitive spirit of these events,  to show up with  linen tablecloth and napkins, crystal stemware, silver flatware and a whole basketful of exotic treats One time, to everyone's delight, he set up a candleabra centerpiece!. The man is nothing if not pure  class.

Of course Rodney Strong's world renowned wines will be poured, and the winery is graciously making its huge stage (think headline acts at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival) and lush lawn with picnic tables and umbrellas available for our dining comfort and listening pleasure. Leave it to Rodney Strong Winery to support jazz in just about any way they can.

There will be no admission charge and everyone is invited. Come on out and hear some real jazz music being played by real jazz musicians.

Oh - and one more thing. We'll be passing the hat.

Comments

[Adam Kalsey]

Glad you're back and feeling better.

[Adam Kalsey]

Glad you're back and feeling better.

[April Miranda]

Hi Greg! Great to see you're out there doing what you love the most! Robben Ford's in town this weekend and I was thinking of you and thought I'd do a little surfin to see if I could find you ... em me soon xoxo April (in Nevada City)

p.s. I have an internet radio show on www.openmindradio.com featuring original songwriters and musicians of Northern California ... would love to have you on!