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Audrey Martin: A dream fulfilled, plus more Berkeley gigs

Audrey Martin: plays Berkeley’s California Jazz Conservatory (formerly the Jazzschool) Sunday. Photo: Irene Young Audrey Martin: plays Berkeley’s California Jazz Conservatory (formerly the Jazzschool) Sunday. Photo: Irene Young On her 40th birthday Audrey Martin decided to sing. As a marriage and family therapist, she had spent years helping other people work through traumas, resolve deep-seated conflicts, and […]

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Smith Dobson V, Friends with Benefits, play Berkeley

Smith Dobson plays the California Jazz Conservatory (formerly the JazzSchool)  on Friday, April 25. Photo: courtesy Smith Dobson Smith Dobson plays the California Jazz Conservatory (formerly the JazzSchool)  on Friday, April 25. Photo: courtesy Smith Dobson Contrary to what it might seem, the Roman numeral in Smith Dobson V’s name doesn’t mean there are five […]

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The Best Songs In Life Are Free, With Kim Nalley

Kim Nalley. performing Sunday at Berkeley’s Jazzschool. Photo: Leotyeve Tatyana Kim Nalley. performing Sunday at Berkeley’s Jazzschool. Photo: Leotyeve Tatyana By aesthetic, academic and cultural inclination, Kim Nalley is ideally suited for presenting “Freedom Songs,” a program at the Jazzschool on Sunday afternoon tracing the role of music in the long African-American struggle for liberty […]

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The return of vocalist extraordinaire Rhiannon

On Saturday Rhiannon celebrates the release of her memoir Vocal River at Berkeley’s Jazzschool at Berkeley’s Jazzschool Whether she’s improvising fearlessly on stage, teaching a master class, or raising organic produce on her farm in Hawaii, Rhiannon wants to change the world. A legendary figure among vocalists who helped found Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, the former Berkeley […]

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Lorin Benedict scats and the Berkeley Festival of Choro

Lorin Benedict plays Berkeley’s Jazzschool on Sunday: “[he] has crafted an uncanny vocal style employing words and phrases that can easily be mistaken for English, but in fact are entirely of his own invention.” Lorin Benedict plays Berkeley’s Jazzschool on Sunday: “[he] has crafted an uncanny vocal style employing words and phrases that can easily […]