The 22nd Annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival, hosted by L.A. Council member Curren D. Price, Jr., is upon us, and we hope you can join the party as we celebrate South L.A.’s rich cultural past, present and future!
The FREE event on Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., includes performances by dozens of highly talented and recognized Jazz musicians.
The two-day festival will feature prominent performers on three stages with live music, pavilions focused on arts, health, youth, business and employment resources along with food and merchandise available to purchase. For more information, including a complete schedule of performances,
Theo Saunders Keyboards with Juini Booth in background photo C. Koton
Robert J. Carmack Emcee/Spoken Word Poet photo A. Scott Galloway
A. Scott Galloway Music journalist
Re-posted from Facebook Post July 6th ..
Had the pleasure of taking in some smokin’ live jazz with fireworks as a backdrop for my 4th of July at a new REAL Jazz spot in Glendale named Zebulon. The quartet on deck equally featured saxophonist Azar Lawrence, drummer Roy McCurdy, keyboardist Theo Saunders and bassist Juini Booth paying homage to McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane and Elvin Jones. The emcee for the evening was Robert J. Carmack who also got in two powerful spoken word pieces with these giants at his back.
Try to make it out to this fine new venue which has a bar/lounge in front and a nice sized room for live music in the back. Also has valet parking and limited adjacent free parking on the streets behind it…on Fletcher Drive just north of Riverside Drive. Consider yourself hip tipped!
Jazz impresario Todd Barkan is returning to the scene of the Jazz Crime, San Francisco with two dates to remember. July 7 & 8.
The great pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams referred to Keystone Korner as “the Birdland of the Seventies.” Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and Stan Getz all agreed that Keystone Korner was “the best jazz club in the world.”
Band personnel: Azar Lawrence, Eddie Henderson, Mel Martin, Benito Gonzalez, Denny Zeitlin, Juini Booth,Roy McCurdy(just added) Akira Tana, Ray Drummond,Kenneth Nash, Charles McPherson, Gary Bartz & lots more!!
Friday, July 7, 7:00 pm
Kuumbwa Jazz Center
320 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz
831-427-2227
Tickets: $30/35
Saturday, July 8, 2:00 pm
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
311 Mirada Drive, Half Moon Bay
650-726-4143
Advance: Adults $45/35, Students $25 (25 & under with ID)
Door: Adults $50, Students $30
Saturday, July 8, 7:00-11:00 pm
Pier 23 Cafe
On the Embarcadero at the foot of Greenwich, San Francisco
415-362-5125
No advance tickets / $10 cover charge
Barkan has assembled a “heavyweight contending” lineup for our listening pleasure. Also, its sure to offer tons of surprises from musicians & friends from over the years. Be There!!
In our series on Keystone Klippins’ – a snapshot into the thoughts and ideas of some of the “Cats” that played the “Korner” over the years and back to help celebrate the 45th anniversary with Todd and Friends. Coming Next!! Wednesday June 21, Saxophonist Mel Martin and Bassist, Juini Booth.
Charles Mcpherson – alto sax /composer/husband/dad
One of my most challenging conversations because of the time restraints. I wanted so many questions answered and so little time. I was able to find out some “nuggets for the real jazz fans. such as, I did not know he went to high school with Roy Brooks and they played in his first jazz band together. Also, Brooks was a star athlete, especially basketball. Living and growing up in Detroit, you are bound to bump into or come up against some of the “most superb” musicians in the world. Sure enough, he played with a guy known as the Charlie Parker of the bass in Detroit. Non-other than James Jamerson of Motown fame.. Yes! he was a jazz bassist too. I was a student of the saxophone at the time I learned about Charlie Parker in early 1960s, My guys on alto at the time was Bird, Jackie Mclean, Cannonball and Charles Mcpherson(I called him that guy with Mingus band not Dolphy). He always looked so cool playing with Mingus and the rest of the band.. He was built for Mingus…kind of like Charlie Rouse was built for Monk. He was his own man not a Bird clone.
Another jazz hero of mine was Barry Harris, (pianist with Lee Morgan on the Sidewinder) Lee Morgan’s record introduced me to the bop sound of Harris, which led me to the records by Harris including Charles McPherson on Saxophones.
I asked Charles about, what it was like playing the Keystone Korner in the day? Mcpherson:” Man it was a delight playing there. Todd was a REAL JAZZ FAN, not just an owner. We had fun there always over the years and I wound up the very last booked act at the Keystone in 1983″. “my most memorable times was the Two- Biller Allstar bands with split sets. Man! Nobody was doing with jazz what Todd was doing to pack in the true jazz fans,added McPherson. Tony Williams – Barry Harris double bills!”
“I’m really looking forward to hooking up with cats I haven’t seen in a few and having that spirit of the old Keystone Korner days.”
A teenage friend of this writer who was studying saxophone also turned me on to this album in 1965.. a stellar lineup of great musicians . I still enjoy putting this one on.
Charles McPherson was born in Joplin, Missouri and moved to Detroit at age nine. After growing up in Detroit, he studied with the renowned pianist Barry Harris and started playing jazz professionally at age 19. He moved from Detroit to New York in 1959 and performed with Charles Mingus from 1960 to 1972. While performing with Mingus, he collaborated frequently with Harris, Lonnie Hillyer (trumpet), and George Coleman (tenor sax).
Charles McPherson was recently featured at Lincoln Center showcasing his original compositions and arrangements with a seven-piece ensemble. He has toured the U.S., Europe, Japan, Africa and South America with his own groups, as well as with jazz greats Barry Harris, Billy Eckstine, Lionel Hampton, Nat Adderley, Jay McShann, Phil Woods, Wynton Marsalis, Tom Harrell, Randy Brecker, James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others.
Over the years Charles has travelled as special guest artist with Charlie Mingus, Barry Harris, Art Farmer, Kenny Drew, Toshiko Akiyoshi, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. He has recorded as leader on Prestige, Fantasy, Mainstream, Discovery, Xanadu, and most recently Arabesque.His most recent recording is the highly acclaimed “Manhattan Nocturne.”
Charles was also the featured alto saxophonist in the Clint Eastwood film “Bird,” a biography about Charlie Parker.
McPherson remains a strong, viable force on the jazz scene today. He is at the height of his powers. His playing combines passionate feeling with intricate patterns of improvisation.
For more information and news of his collaboration with the San Diego Ballet featuring his daughter (see link below)
Joao Gilberto, Billy Hart, and Todd Barkan May 1976 pix: Tom Copi
posted #@blues2jazzguy Robert J.Carmack
If its one thing I can say about Todd Barkan, he’s one of the hardest working jazz presenters ,producer and all around good guy. Over the last few months I’ve spoken with various musicians that have either worked with, or for Todd. They all say to the man “He’s one of a kind, like family, and has his head on straight in knowing exactly where he wants to take the music” .
Among the best moves he ever made was establishing a club called The Keystone Korner..Jumping off right at a time when Jazz was waffling in the Bay area, particularly in San Francisco. With a head full of bright ideas and a few dollars, he was able to recruit some of the best musicians in the bay area at the time. He then grew that into a virtual “Who’s Who”. Its foolish to try to post a laundry list of legends who played the “Korner”.
In fact, It’s easier to say who didn’t. To name a few; Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Dexter Gordon, Bobby Hutcherson,Joe Henderson, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Michael White, McCoy Tyner and on and on. Some of these stints were recorded “LIVE” and later released as collector’s sessions at the Keystone Korner. (see Bright Moments and Atlantis)
So it’s no surprise when Todd organized this 45th anniversary celebration scheduled to take place in the San Francisco bay area .. You can join him and all his friends in the Bay area July 7 & 8 2017. (see venues and times below)
Three Exciting Dates of Electrifying Music for You
July 7th 2017 – KUUMBWA JAZZ CENTER 7:pm
Santa Cruz,CA.
July 8th 2017 – BACH DANCING & DYNAMITE SOCIETY
2:pm HALF MOON BAY,CA. call ahead for reservations are suggested
July 8th 2017 – PIER 23 on the EMBARCADERO -7:pm San Francisco, CA. reservations are suggested
The action gets started with legendary artists performing
Charles McPherson..Gary Bartz.. Azar Lawrence.. Eddie Henderson.. Mel Martin.. Ray Drummond.. Kenneth Nash.. Benito Gonzalez.. Juini Booth, Denny Zeitlin & quite a few other surprises.
45TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF KEYSTONE KORNER on JULY 7-8, 2017, with Charles McPherson, Gary Bartz, Eddie Henderson, Denny Zeitlin, Benito Gonzalez, Mel Martin, Ray Drummond, Juini Booth, Calvin Keys, Kenneth Nash, et al. Todd Barkan, MC.
Certainly no stranger to creating eclectic ambiance, jazz bassist Juini Booth rolls into Los Angeles with all the excitement of the second coming!.. But realistically, He’s put together a great team of Brooklyn Club owners that loves’ Jazz served up New York style, with a stellar group of musicians, including a jazz poet.
It makes one wonder if he will come with a combination Sun Ra, or Chicago Art Ensemble. We’ve been told most of the material will be in the spirit of the Atlantis album by McCoy Tyner ,recorded LIVE in 1974 at the celebrated Keystone Korner. Adding some spoken word sprinkled in. ” We expect a very diverse audience with impeccable taste in Music, Art and Hipness” .
In Brooklyn , the Zebulon Cafe was quite popular among the young and the young at heart, chided Booth. Juini has shaped a very stellar career in music , sometimes dropping off the Jazz scene to tackle other musical genres. “This allows me to open up to all types of music, sounds and rhythms. His impeccable list of bandleaders and recording projects are a “Who’s Who” in Jazz. McCoy Tyner, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders and Freddie Hubbard to name a few. In addition to playing and recording projects, Juini’s been spending his available hours with a project he holds dear to him, the Wilbur Ware Institute. He teaches and inspires young musicians in New York.
Band personnel: Juini Booth leader/bass, Roy McCurdy drums, piano Benito Gonzalez, Azar Lawrence saxophones, guest jazz poet, Robert J. Carmack …
Whether on the bandstand or Off the bandstand ..Sitting at the Piano at home composing brilliant tunes…Greatness always followed ,along with Hipness & Swing!
More Information in coming months
Media and Sponsors inquiries:blues2jazz2003@yahoo.com
KEYSTONE KLIPPINS’ quick-snapshot look at the jazz journey taken by the man who presents it and the Men and Women who make it. Todd Barkan, The Man who started this journey years ago , is bringing it all back full circle. Starting the weekend of July 7th and 8th in the San Francisco Bay area at several Key(stone) venues July 7 & 8, 2017.
Three Exciting Dates of Electrifying Music for You
July 7th 2017 – KUUMBWA JAZZ CENTER 7:pm
Santa Cruz,CA.
July 8th 2017 – BACH DANCING & DYNAMITE SOCIETY
2:pm HALF MOON BAY,CA.
July 8th 2017 – PIER 23 on the EMBARCADERO -7:pm San Francisco, CA.
The action gets started with legendary artists performing
Charles McPherson..Gary Bartz.. Azar Lawrence.. Eddie Henderson.. Mel Martin.. Ray Drummond.. Kenneth Nash.. Benito Gonzalez.. Juini Booth, Denny Zeitlin & quite a few Surprises.
Plenty of BRIGHT MOMENTS!!
Since 1975, Barkan has produced more than 1000 award-winning recordings for American,Japanese and European record companies by artists such as Art Blakey,Bill Evans, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jimmy Smith, McCoy Tyner, GroverWashington, Jr., Gloria Lynne,Hank Jones, Roy Haynes, Joe Lovano, Phil Woods, Bill Charlap, FreddyCole, Chico O’Farrill, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Kenny Barron,Jeff Watts, Red Garland, Lou Donaldson, Cedar Walton, Eddie Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, Ravi Coltrane, Bud Shank, Jimmy Scott, Kenny Kirkland, Bobby Hutcherson, Dexter Gordon, Tete Montoliu, Cyrus Chestnut, Benny Golson, Eric Alexander, Mose Allison, Renee Rosnes, Joe Locke, Eddie Henderson, John Hicks, Paul Bley, Mongo Santamaria, Barry Harris, Manny Oquendoy Libre, Lewis Nash,Shelly Manne and Steve Kuhn.
“Voices of the Cats playing”
Azar Lawrence Tenor Sax
Robert: when did you first appear at Keystone?
Azar: Man! a long time ago ,I think it was either McCoy Tyner or Elvin Jones…Not sure, but I was real young back then.
Robert: what was your impression of the Club and more importantly, what was your impression of Todd Barkan?
Azar: Man, I dug the club right off the bat, the whole scene was cool and hip. Todd my man…he was so cool and professional, but a real sense of the music and where he wanted to go with it. One of my most memorable times at the Keystone..I believe.. I was gigging with Elvin Jones and George Cables, man, we were hittin’ that night. The club was built for high-level play, and the cats always delivered. Now that I think about it, that live recording with McCoy Tyner.. that was really top-shelf too… I’m really looking forward to this celebration of 45 years of Keystone. we will be doing a lot of playing, but a lot of remembering of the cats that ain’t here. Also, me seeing some cats I ain’t seen in a long time too.
Robert: Any new projects you can talk about?
Azar: I have two projects coming out in a few month, I will be launching an acoustical project with Benito Gonzalez ,Jeff Littleton and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. yeah, look for that in about 60 days.. Also in about 90 days, I have collaborated as co-producer with music producer John Barnes for a project called “Azar into the Night “.. both is poppin!
Please follow this series each week,we will feature a player that’s performing in Todd Barkan’s 45 year celebration of Keystone Korner. P.S. be sure to “like” or comment on the stories at this E-Zine Hipstersanctuary.com.
Jazz impresario Todd Barkan is returning to the scene of the Jazz Crime, San Francisco with two dates to remember. July 7 & 8.
One of my most challenging conversations because of the time restraints. I wanted so many questions answered and so little time. I was able to find out some “nuggets for the real jazz fans. such as, I did not know he went to high school with Roy Brooks and they played in his first jazz band together. Also, Brooks was a star athlete, especially basketball. Living and growing up in Detroit, you are bound to bump into or come up against some of the “most superb” musicians in the world. Sure enough, he played with a guy known as the Charlie Parker of the bass in Detroit. Non-other than James Jamerson of Motown fame.. Yes! he was a jazz bassist too. I was a student of the saxophone at the time I learned about Charlie Parker in early 1960s, My guys on alto at the time was Bird, Jackie Mclean, Cannonball and Charles Mcpherson(I called him that guy with Mingus band not Dolphy). He always looked so cool playing with Mingus and the rest of the band.. He was built for Mingus…kind of like Charlie Rouse was built for Monk. He was his own man not a Bird clone.
