Friday, June 5
Bay Area Legends
Double Bill
Denny Zeitlin (Photo by Josephine Zeitlin)
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Denny Zeitlin, solo piano
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John Handy and the Bay Area Melding Pot
Location: Raven Theater
115 North Street
Time: 8 pm
Tickets: $25 / $40 Gold Circle
MC: Greg Bridges
Event Sponsor: Horizon Air
Green Room provided by Frank Howard Allen Realtors, Healdbsurg
The 1960s was one of the most exciting periods for jazz in San Francisco, and HJF is pleased to present two musical legends whose diverse and wide range of styles defined the eclecticism of the era.
About Denny Zeitlin
Opening this evening’s double bill will be Denny Zeitlin, known as jazz’s Renaissance man for combining his careers as renowned psychiatrist and world-class pianist and composer. Zeitlin first gained attention in the mid-60s for his astonishing interplay with bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Jerry Granelli (featured on the recent reissue “Denny Zeitlin: The Columbia Studio Trio Sessions”).
In the 70s, he was at the forefront exploring electronic music, while in recent decades he’s returned to the piano on acclaimed duo and trio recordings with artists such as David Friesen, Buster Williams and Matt Wilson. Zeitlin is at his most expansive on solo piano outings, taking audiences on thrilling improvisational journeys that he describe as his “most intensely personal” music.
» Visit Denny Zeitlin’s website
• John Handy (Photo by Stuart Brinin)
About John Handy
Closing the show will be one of the most innovative and visionary alto saxophonists in post-bop era, John Handy — a creative force in jazz for half a century. From his work with Charles Mingus in the late 1950s and his star-making triumph at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival through his pioneering world music collaborations with Indian sarod legend Ali Akbar Khan, and his hit 1976 R&B album “Hard Work,” Handy has blazed a brilliant trail as an improviser, composer, bandleader and educator.
Always looking to combine musical elements in surprising ways, Handy’s Melding Pot Quintet fuses blues and funk, bebop, mambo, and folkloric South American cadences. Featuring Paraguay-born Carlos Reyes on violin and Paraguayan harp, hard swinging pianist David K. Mathews, ace bassist Jeff Chambers, versatile drummer Deszon X. Claiborne, and the supremely soulful jazz singer Kenny Washington, the band is blessed with a surfeit of talent, including the rare capability of following Handy in any direction.
Also tonight:
Eddie Marshall Trio, with Mike Richmond and Joe Gilman at the Hotel Healdsburg Lobby. Read more.
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Sue Binckley
on May 1st, 2009
@ 8:32 am:
I am looking forward to seeing the great John Handy play.