From the category archives:

Recordings

8 Legged Monster Live at Coda

February 19, 2010

Well, it was a long time coming, but I finally made it down to Coda for dinner and some killer music a few weeks back. It’s almost embarrassing that I hadn’t seen a show at this happening new jazz supper club yet, but man was it worth the wait!

We had a great table, ate some delicious food, were given fantastic service, and then topped it all off with a bad ass live performance by the incredible 8 Legged Monster. And as if that wasn’t enough, the audience was treated to a special appearance by the San Francisco Bourbon Kings at the end of the first set. Good times!

Here’s a few photos from the night along with two audio tracks for your listening pleasure. And if I’m not mistaken, these guys are playing Coda again tomorrow night, so I highly recommend you head over there to check them out!

Track 1: Bourbon Street Parade, San Francisco Bourbon Kings
Track 2: Call For Demons, 8 Legged Monster (Sun Ra)

Play Audio:
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Download: Track 1, Track 2

Musicians (on this night)
Mike Irwin Johnson, Arranger/Guitar/Leader
Rob Barics, Tenor/Clarinet
Danny Grewen, Trombone
Dan Heffez, Bari
Matt Nelson, Tenor
Mike Olmos, Trumpet
Scott Peterson, Alto
Jaz Sawyer, Drums
Dayna Stephens, Bass

Tags: alto, bari, bass, Bay-Area, BayTaper, Big-Band, clarinet, coda, Dan Heffez, danny-grewen, Dayna-Stephens, drums, guitar, Jaz Sawyer, Jazz, Live, Matt Nelson, Mike Irwin-Johnson, Mike-Olmos, mission, music, Rob-Barics, San-Francisco, sax, saxophone, Scott Peterson, supper club, tenor

Categories: Local Jazz, Photos, Recordings

MLK Tribute by the Marcus Shelby Quartet and the Dynamic Faye Carol Live at the Red Poppy

January 23, 2010

I’m excited to post this multimedia piece of the Marcus Shelby Quartet with special guest the dynamic Faye Carol performing their MLK and jazz tribute live at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco on January 15, 2010. My videos can now be streamed directly to iPhones, and if you have a high bandwidth connection, you should definitely watch the high definition version in full screen mode to see the video in all it’s high resolution glory!

The musicians featured re-arrangements and re-orchestrations of music created during the civil rights movement in celebration of the 80th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They explored the jazz, freedom songs, spirituals, and blues-based music that was essential to the success of the movement. The performance also included an interactive discussion by composer/bassist/lecturer Marcus Shelby about the history of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement in general, and the evolution of spirituals, slave songs, work songs, blues and modern jazz. The Quartet also performed original compositions by Shelby which capture the story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the many important characters who played a critical part in the movement.

Play Audio:
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Download: Track 1

Musicians
Marcus Shelby, Bass
Faye Carol, Vocals
Jeff Marrs, Drums
Adam Shulman, Piano
Howard Wiley, Saxophone

Tags: Adam-Shulman, art-house, bass, Bay-Area, BayTaper, district, drums, Faye-Carol, Howard-Wiley, Jazz, Jeff-Marrs, Live, Marcus-Shelby, mission, mlk, music, piano, Red-Poppy, San-Francisco, saxophone, vocals

Categories: Local Jazz, Photos, Recordings, Video

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers Live at Yoshi’s in San Francisco

January 18, 2010

Hot on the heels of their recent appearance on the always-fantastic Chasing the Moon Podcast, I’m psyched to post these photos and an audio track from Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers performing live at Yoshi’s in San Francisco on October 31, 2009. Lavay and her band are always a great night out on the town, and this night was no exception, so I was thrilled when they said I could post one of the songs I recorded from that night’s performance. Check out their groovin’ track Daddy using the audio player below!

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Download: Track 1

Musicians (on this night)
Lavay Smith, Vocals
Chris Siebert, Piano, Arranger & Bandleader
Danny Armstrong, Trombone & Vocals
Jules Broussard, Alto Sax
Bill Ortiz, Trumpet
Marcus Shelby, Bass
Robert Stewart, Tenor
Howard Wiley, Drums

Tags: Bay-Area, BayTaper, Big-Band, Bill Ortiz, Brass, Chris Siebert, dancing, Danny Armstrong, halloween, Howard-Wiley, Jazz, Jules Broussard, lavay smith, lindy, Live, Marcus-Shelby, music, red hot, Robert Stewart, San-Francisco, skillet lickers, swing, Yoshis

Categories: Local Jazz, Photos, Recordings

Erik Jekabson Quartet Live at the Red Poppy

January 1, 2010

A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of recording the Erik Jekabson Quartet (with special guests) live at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco. The band knocked out some great tunes as expected and Erik was kind enough to let me share these photos, a short video of his solo on The Silver Fox, and two bonus audio tracks, of Five More Minutes and el Don, from the night’s performance. Also, if you have a high bandwidth connection, you can watch the high definition version of the video in full screen at ExposureRoom.com.

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Download: Track 1, Track 2

Musicians
Erik Jekabson, Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Mike Abraham, Guitar
Smith Dobson, Drums
John Wiitala, Bass

With Special Guests
Dayna Stephens, Tenor Sax
Dan Zemelman, Piano

Tags: art-house, bass, Bay-Area, BayTaper, Dan-Zemelman, Dayna-Stephens, drums, Erik-Jekabson, flugelhorn, guitar, Jazz, John-Wiitala, Live, Mike-Abraham, mission, music, piano, Red-Poppy, San-Francisco, sax, saxophone, Smith-Dobson, tenor, trumpet

Categories: Local Jazz, Photos, Recordings, Video

Nice Guy Trio Live at Yoshi’s

December 5, 2009

Wow, what can I say? Here’s another absolutely killin’ multimedia post from the local scene, The Nice Guy Trio live at Yoshi’s in San Francisco on November 2, 2009. They just put out their debut CD Here Comes… The Nice Guy Trio with the great guys over at Porto Franco Records. And with Darren’s go ahead, I’m happy to be able to post video, photography, and three live tracks – Apples, Amy’s Day, and Ducci Calypso – from the band’s stellar performance that night. So I hope you enjoy these tracks as much as I did, and please take this as a fine example of why you should be going out to see live music more often people!

Also, if you have a high bandwidth connection, you can watch the high definition version of the video in full screen at ExposureRoom.com.

Play Audio:
Adobe Flash Player and JavaScript are required to stream our audio clips. You can also download the audio files directly using the links below.

Download: Track 1, Track 2, Track 3