The Junius Courtney Big Band When an ensemble keeps performing after the death of its namesake leader, it’s known as a ghost band. Though descriptive rather than pejorative, the term often carries a whiff of the dismissive, as if a musical legacy should be interred with its creator (things work differently in the world of […]
Andrew Gilbert
Freelancer Andrew Gilbert writes a weekly music column for Berkeleyside. Andy, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, covers a wide range of musical cultures, from Brazil and Mali to India and Ireland. A Berkeley-based writer, he contributes features on jazz and international music to numerous publications, including the San Jose Mercury News, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times and Los Angeles Times. His column covering the Bay Area dance scene, Dance Card, runs monthly in the Contra Costa Times. And his CD reviews air regularly on KQED’s “California Report.”
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Roseanna Vitro interprets Randy Newman’s songbook
Roseanna Vitro: singing Randy Newman's songbook at the Jazzschool The idea seems so obvious it’s hard to explain why no one beat Roseanna Vitro to the project, but her recent album “Sail Away” is the first featuring a jazz singer applying her acute interpretive skills to Randy Newman’s vast and vivid songbook. A veteran improviser […]
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Enough with the clichés: Berkeley embraces old-timers
Thomas Maupin and his grandson Daniel Rothwell on banjo Bashing Berkeley is a finely honed reflex in the national media, with just about any story offering lazy journalists a chance to dust off tired clichés about the People’s Republic of Bezerkleystan. A closer look reveals a community where a passion for progressive causes is matched […]
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Out in Berkeley: From Brazil, a street party, a songstress
A Brazilian street party on Sunday at BrasArte on San Pablo Avenue will celebrate the Lavagem No one is likely to mistake Berkeley for Salvador de Bahia, the northeastern Brazilian city famous as the heartland of Afro-Brazilian culture. But on Sunday, at least for a day, San Pablo Avenue will resound to the thundering pulse […]
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Out in Berkeley: Mawungira Enharira transports
Mawungira Enharira has sparked interest in traditional Shona culture More recent atrocities may have pushed the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe out of the news, but the devastation wrought by the iron-fisted Robert Mugabe and his kleptocratic ZANU-PF party continues apace. During a decade of incomprehensible hardship, the spirit of Zimbabwe’s people has been […]
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Out in Berkeley: The highly talented BHS Jazz Ensemble
The Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble playing Yoshi's earlier this year. Photo: BHS Jazz Living in Berkeley, it’s easy to take the Berkeley High jazz program for granted. Every few years, a new generation of ambitious students emerges from the jazz ensemble and heads off to music programs in New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Since […]
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Out in Berkeley: Phillip Greenlief’s Lost Trio, and more
Phillip Greenlief and the Lost Trio: performing at Berkeley Arts Festival Friday Few bands in jazz find musical pay dirt as consistently as Phillip Greenlief’s Lost Trio. Launched about 17 years ago with bassist Dan Seamans and drummer Tom Hassett, the group brings the same gruff, unfussy eloquence to tunes by Hank Williams and Herbie […]
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Out in Berkeley: Disappear Incompletely plays Jupiter
Rob Ewing belongs to a long, honorable and frustrating lineage of Bay Area musicians whose consistently inspired creative output is matched by a seeming indifference to self-promotion. A passionately expressive trombonist, skilled bassist, effective drummer and often brilliant arranger, Ewing has forged enduring ties with a fascinating community of musicians, artists steeped in jazz, but […]