Results for "Oakland"

Russ Pettit

Born: October 6, 1966

Russ Pettit comes from a rock n’ roll background. He has listened to the Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry, since birth. His first concerts were The Who and Led Zepplin in 1973 when he was 7. Those concerts made such an impression that he can still remember where he sat. It was Randy Rhoads who finally motivated him to pick up the guitar in his sophomore year of high school. Black Sabbath introduced him to Ozzy Osbourne and “heavy metal”. He was hooked. The guitar became his favorite hobby. When Russ was 20, he finally had the time to devote himself to guitar. His obsession was born

Frederick Moyer

During over thirty years as a full-time concert pianist, Frederick Moyer has established a vital musical career that has taken him to forty-three countries and to such far-flung venues as Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Sydney Opera House, Windsor Castle, Carnegie Recital Hall, Tanglewood, and the Kennedy Center. He has appeared as piano soloist with most of the major orchestras of the United States as well as many orchestras of Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and Australia. Moyer's far-reaching interests have allowed him to contribute to classical music in unique ways. An avid computer programmer, he often incorporates technology into his concerts

Bob Karty

Born: November

Bob Karty is a pianist, composer, producer and teacher based in Oakland, CA. His wide-ranging contemporary jazz compositions will be showcased on an upcoming CD - currently in post-production - Mark Walker on drums (Oregon, Paquito D'Rivera), and long-time Pat Metheny Group member Steve Rodby on acoustic bass. Bob has performed with top artists in the San Francisco Bay Area jazz and world music scenes, including percussionist Pete Escovedo (Grammy-nominated Latin jazz legend) and guitarist/composer Ray Obiedo (former Herbie Hancock sideman and Billboard Top-10 Contemporary Jazz recording artist). He has worked with noted percussionists Karl Perazzo (Santana) and Michael Spiro in several projects including the salsa band Conjunto Karabalí and, with Spiro, the world-jazz sextet Tanaóra, which they co- led. With Orquesta La Moderna Tradición, Bob recorded three critically- acclaimed CDs of Cuban music featuring the rarely-performed danzón, often called Cuba’s official national music and dance style, and performed at major festivals across the USA. Bob teaches at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley and at his home studio in Oakland.

Bill Mentz

Born: December 4, 1956

William Mentz is a seasoned vocalist with a voice that exudes soul and emotion. He has performed thousands of shows all over the World. In the last thirty years, William has performed from Boston to San Francisco and everywhere in between. Taipei, Paris, and the Caribbean Islands have also been backdrops for his concerts, always leaving audiences longing for more. Fans of all ages recognize William as a master singer, storyteller and entertainer. After taking some time off to deal with throat cancer, William is back. Stronger and better than ever!

Rebecca Kleinmann

Rebecca Kleinmann is an acclaimed flutist, singer, and composer with a twenty year professional career marked by diversity and improvisation. In the words of Latin Grammy Nominated pianist and composer, Jovino Santos Neto, “Rebecca plays flute with the passion of a flamenco dancer.” An explorer at heart, she rockets and flows between genres, one day leading, The Rebecca Kleinmann Jazz Quartet, with pianist Alex Conde, bassist Gary Brown, and drummer Marlon Aldana, the next day performing with a Brazilian Choro ensemble, and then later that night jamming in flamenco juergas. Rebecca’s international career has taken her to perform on stages in Argentina, Brazil, and Europe including the Melbourne’s International Women in Jazz Festival, as well as being featured at the SF Jazz Center, the San Jose Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s San Francisco, and the Oakland Paramount Theatre closer to home

Laura Klein

Mary D'Orazi

Mary D'Orazi’s warm, lyrical, mezzo soprano voice can color melodies across various genres. She possesses a crystalline tone, strong rhythmic sensibility and thoughtful phrasing. On a rhythmically complex, highly syncopated Brazilian song, her vocal lightness and flexibility come into play. In vocal harmony, singing jazz or pop, she has the aural sensitivity to blend, nuance and dance with other voices. Brazilian music has become a solid landing place for Mary, who has sung various styles throughout her life, and it seems to be a natural fit for her in terms of feel and expression. Over the past decade, Mary has devoted most of her practice to learning an expanse of Brazilian repertoire, with Rio-born pianist/composer Marcos Silva as her mentor

Marcos Silva

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and educator Marcos Silva performs worldwide. Nominated for a Grammy, he has toured with many world-renowned artists, including Paquito D’Rivera, Bud Shank, Dori Caymmi, and many others. He was musical director for Flora Purim and Airto Moreira for 23 years. Marcos has written arrangements for Dizzy Gillespie’s band and replaced Gil Evans as arranger-composer of Airto’s Spiritual Mass in Germany. He is sought after as a producer of CDs, including two of his own. Marcos heads the Brazilian Music Department at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley.

Steve McQuarry

Composer, Arranger, Orchestrator and Keyboardist, McQuarry has performed with distinguished artists such as the late Dizzy Gillespie, Clare Fischer, Louie Bellson, Red Rodney (Charlie Parker), Tom Scott, the late John Cage, Laurie Anderson, Vinnie Colaiuta (Sting, Herbie Hancock, Frank Zappa), Nathan East (Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock, Bob James), Bill Rich (Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, Taj Mahal) and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Currently, McQuarry performs and records on his indie label, Mandala Records, with his Jazz ensembles, Echelon, Mandala Orchestra, Mandala Octet, Resonance, Pangaea and Zazen, the Electronica group, Synsor and the new age group, Agharta

George Cotsirilos

Originally from Chicago, George Cotsirilos has been a member of the San Francisco Bay Area jazz community for many years and has performed with a wide variety of artists, from San Francisco jazz fixtures like Eddie Marshall, Mel Martin, Pharaoh Sanders and Mark Levine to internationally recognized blues singer Etta James, Bill Evans bassist Chuck Israels, and the jazz/soul vocal group, The Whispers. His latest album, In The Wee Hours, a collection of originals and standards performed on solo nylon string acoustic guitar, was released on May 22, 2026 and it has been greated with excellent notices. His 2022 quartet CD, Refuge, received wide acclaim, was named a Downbeat  Editors' Pick and Downbeat named it one of the best albums of 2022. His 2018 quartet CD, Mostly In Blue, recieved equal acclaim and Downbeat  named it one of the best albums of 2018. Cotsirilos's earlier trio CD's, On The Rebop, Past Present and Variations have also been well recieved: for example, Washington Post  jazz critic, Royal Stokes named the 2013 trio recording, Variations one of the most notable recordings of 2013.