As a child of the 70′s, Soul Train was very much a part of my childhood. I can remember running home from school to watch Soul Train on our black and white TV in the kitchen on WCIU-TV Chicago in its beginnings. It was very much a part of my Saturdays once it moved to Los Angeles as well. You remembered the dance moves, the clothes, the Soul Train line, the hair and Afro Sheen. We all wanted big Afros, bell bottom pants, and platform shoes. I had a small ‘fro while my older brother had a nice one.

Many performers got their big breaks on Soul Train. I can even remember Elton John singing “Benny and The Jets” and Minnie Riperton singing “Loving You.” Soul Train is very much a part of my history and culture. I attended my high school class reunion last summer and danced on the Soul Train line!

I took the photo above at the Soul Train 40th Anniversary Celebration exhibit in Downtown Chicago.

Thank you, Don Cornelius, for all you brought to the world of music! Peace, love, and SOOOOOOULLLLLL!

Vibraphone legend Bobby Hutcherson was born on this day in 1937. I first heard Bobby live in an SFJAZZ concert in 1999 celebrating three generations of vibraphonists featuring the great Milt Jackson and young lion Stefon Harris. It was an incredible night of music. I had the opportunity years later to ask Stefon Harris his thoughts on that evening and he was still mesmerized from that great night of music.

I most recently heard Bobby at Yoshi’s San Francisco for his pre-birthday concert. Bobby has had some health challenges in recent years but this night he was on fire. He played a 90 minute set of original compositions and standards including “I Thought About You”, “S’Wonderful” and a reflective rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You.” In addition to being a fine musician, Bobby has a great sense of humor. There was even a moment during “S’Wonderful” when Bobby sang some of the lyrics. His stellar band included fellow vibraphonist Warren Wolf, Anthony Wilson on guitar, Glenn Richman on upright bass, Joe Gilman on piano, and Bobby’s son, Barry Hutcherson held down the drum chair which was previously held by drummer great Eddie Marshall who passed away last year.

Happy Birthday, Bobby! Please keep bringing us your wonderful music!

Photo Credit: James Knox

Vocalist Mary Stallings comes to The RRazz Room from February 2 to 5. Showtimes are 7pm on Friday and Saturday and 5pm on Sunday. Her band will include David Udolf on piano, Akira Tana on drums and Ron Belcher on bass. I last saw Mary at Yoshi’s Oakland and her show was amazing.

According to the New York Times, “perhaps the best jazz singer singing today is a woman almost everybody seems to have missed.” That woman is Mary Stallings, a Bay Area native who established a name for herself as one of the finest jazz singers of the 1960s, performing with such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Cal Tjader, Billy Eckstine, and Count Basie.

After taking a hiatus from her recording career in the 1970s to raise her daughter and work as a clothes designer, Stallings stepped back into the national jazz spotlight in 1999 when the owner of the famous Village Vanguard nightclub in New York heard a recording of her singing and eventually tracked her down at her home in San Francisco. Ever since then, jazz fans have had the pleasure of rediscovering Stallings, whose voice and phrasing continued to mature and improve during her long sabbatical. In 2006 she was presented with the San Francisco Jazz Festival’s Beacon Award for her contributions to jazz in the Bay Area.
“I had a huge voice when I was just eight years old,” says Mary Stallings about her beginnings as a singer. It was a voice too big to ignore – spanning almost four octaves. Few could. By the time she was 11, she had made her first solo recording and while still in high school she joined Louis Jordan’s Tympani Five. She came of age in the big band era, and was invited to tour as vocalist with most of the major names of the time. “It was the best musical education I could have had,” explains Mary, “I was fired from lessons for playing everything from memory.” Instead, her education came a bit more unconventionally, including stints with the Grover Mitchell – Earl “Father” Hines band, three years touring the U.S. and Europe with Count Basie, and sharing the bill with Joe Williams, Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald. “I met all the heroes of the music and then got a chance to work with them,” she says.

Although Mary took time off from touring and recording during the ’70′s, she never stopped singing. So when she re-emerged back onto the jazz scene reinvigorated, with a sound that gave homage to her past but held a freshness and vigor, she immediately caught the attention of the music press, who called her “stunning” and a “jazz vocal sensation.” During this period, she released several critically acclaimed CDs, one which made many of the year-end “best-of” lists, another that went to the top 10 on the Gavin Jazz Chart. Today, Mary Stallings combines the grace and grandeur of experience with an undiluted passion for performing in her Live At The Village Vanguard release. With its blend of old and new, smoky standards and take-your-breath-away ballads, the CD, in many ways, reflects this current milestone in Mary’s career. “This is the right time for me to be singing these songs,” she says. “I pick songs that feel delicious to me, songs that I relate to at the time, songs that I love. That’s what you’ll find here.”

Photo Credit: James Knox

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PAULA WEST RETURNS TO SAN FRANCISCO FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY

First San Francisco performance in over a year

Paula West, San Francisco’s favorite jazz singer returns to the Herbst Theatre for one performance only on Saturday February 11, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. Performing with the George Mesterhazy Quartet, she will perform songs from her new CD, “Live at the Jazz Standard.” The CD features many of Paula’s best loved tunes never before recorded by her.

When: Saturday, February 11, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Herbst Theatre
Tickets: City Box Office $35.00/$40.00 www.cityboxoffice.com

A long time resident of San Francisco, Paula West has been a staple of the SF Jazz scene with sold-out, long run engagements at Yoshi’s, the Plush Room, and SF Jazz Performances. She has also performed at the White House; Jazz at Lincoln Center (where she performed with Wynton Marsalis); the legendary Oak Room in Manhattan’s Algonquin Hotel; and top Manhattan jazz clubs; Birdland, the Jazz Standard and The Blue Note where she has built a loyal following. She has won the prestigious Nightlife Award for Outstanding Jazz Vocalist three times. In addition, she has enchanted critics and audiences from coast to coast – and as far away as Tokyo, Athens, Moscow, and Paris.

The new CD “Live at the Jazz Standard” will be available at the concert.

What the critics have said about Paula West

David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle, “…the creative spark that Mesterhazy and West have been making for several years is very evident” in their music making.

Steven Holden, The New York Times, she is a “mischievously sexy jazz singer” with a “thick velvety voice” capable of making “the earth move.”

Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, “It’s doubtful that anyone is singing better than Paula West these days”

Contact: Diane Dragone
415-517-7307
diane.dragone@gmail.com

I took this photo of Etta James on very warm Sunday afternoon in September at the Russian River Jazz Festival in 2006. She was serving up her music hot and pulled no punches. This is how I will remember her.

Two of my favorite Etta James releases were from the mid 90′s. She did an excellent album of jazz standards, Time After Time, and a tribute album to Billie Holiday, Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday. Both albums are fine examples of how Etta could sing anything exceedingly well.

Rest in peace, Miss Etta James.

Photo Credit: James Knox

A Special Jazz Salute to Black History Month – February 1 thru March 4, 2012 – Jazz Heritage Center Lush Life Gallery – 1320 Fillmore Street – San Francisco. Opening reception and panel discussion on February 2 from 6-9pm. The panel discussion will be from 6-7pm in the Jazz Heritage Center Media Room and moderated by Norman K. Brown. Please come out!!!

I am pretty excited to be in the company of fellow artists, James Gayles and Jim Dennis for this exhibit.

Vocalist Carmen Lundy will be releasing her 12th album, Changes, on February 7. The promo video above tells us what to expect from her new release and I am very excited. I got to see Carmen in concert last summer at Yoshi’s Oakland and she and her band were amazing. In addition, there will also be a reissue of her Night and Day album next month.

Just in case you missed seeing the incredible José James at Yoshi’s San Francisco Thursday night, you have another opportunity to see him tonight at The New Parish in Oakland. Doors open at 9pm and tickets are $20. Don’t sleep on this for he is definitely the real deal.

Check out the soulful grooves of Tortured Soul at The New Parish next Sunday, December 18.

Photo Credit: James Knox