Another Reason to Attend the Jazz Festival

Less than two weeks left before the Festival! As what the San Francisco Chronicle calls “probably the best small jazz festival in the country” nears, we continue in our series of Ten Reasons why you will want to attend events in this year’s lineup, along with updates and offers to get you as excited as the 12th Annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival as we are.

Reason No. 6: Historic Venues

The Raven Theater is Healdsburg’s own cinema palace, a 443-seat theater just a block from the Plaza, which opened for business in 1949 — 61 years ago. At first it was known as the Aven, the original owner’s wife’s name spelled backwards; the “R” was later added to the front of the name in the early 1990s when the theater was remodeled by new ownership. Under the direction of Don Hyde the Raven became a community center offering first-run and art house films, concerts, and a venue for local performance groups.

Since 2001, it’s been known as the Raven Performing Arts Theater, presenting over 80 performances annual of locally-produced plays, school performances, national and local musical acts, and the yearly Mr. Healdsburg Pageant. And of course, it’s been the stage for some of our biggest and best jazz talent over the years, and this year is no exception.

Friday, June 6 is Opening Night of the Festival, your first chance to get that jazzy feeling going. You’ll meet old friends, see familiar faces, and best of all enjoy a glimpse back into another era — the Jazz Era, through the magic of motion pictures, with Jazz Night at the Movies. Archivist Mark Cantor digs through his reels and tapes and throws the best stuff in a box, bringing it all up to Healdsburg’s Raven Theater to share with an always-appreciative audience. (What can you expect to see? Check out the video on this page for a tease of the sort of film Cantor likes to bring!)

Wednesday, June 9 the Raven again hosts live music for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, featuring the George Cables Trio, with guest vocalist Shea Breaux Wells. Festival favorite Cables’ distinctive, classy touch should being out the best in Wells’ bright sound, and should make for a classic Raven concert. Opening will be local guitarist Christian Foley-Beining leading a quartet, featuring world jazz reedman Paul McCandless (of the band Oregon), with Chris Amberger on bass and Lorca Hart on drums.

Friday, June 11 we welcome back Esperanza Spalding, a big hit at last year’s Festival whose star has risen even higher in the jazz firmament — not only was she a hit on David Letterman’s show, she’s played the Village Vanguard, the White House and at the Nobel Peace Prize concert last year, at Pres. Obama’s invitation. A bassist and singer, she brings a breath of fresh air and a sexy flair to the stage, and tickets for this event are going fast. Tacuma King and the Children’s Percussion Workshop opens the show, demonstrating once again that youth thrives on music, just as the music itself needs youth for its future — pretty much the mission of our Jazz Education Programs.

Saturday, June 12 will find influential bassist Charlie Haden with pianist Geri Allen and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, a world-class trio of jazz royalty. Haden’s record of outstanding performances and collaborations goes back Ornette Coleman, Keith Jarrett and work with the late Hank Jones, and he’s still producing some of the most challenging and rewarding jazz of the day. He discovered Detroit’s Geri Allen some 20 years ago, and by adding Trane’s son Ravi to this bill he’s encapsulated trends and traditions of modern jazz as only he can. The Healdsburg High School Jazz Band opens, again bringing the next generation of talent to the Raven stage.

The Raven Theater remains one of our favorite jazz venues, with its classy interior, comfortable seats and crystal-clear acoustics. If you can, don’t miss any of these memorable evenings at the Raven, key dates with the Healdsburg Jazz Festival 2010.

More information about the Festival:

• Complete Schedule
• Ticket Information
• About Healdsburg

Auction Ends Tomorrow! Going on right now is the special benefit auction of a 17-inch Ribbecke Halfling Archtop, with a retail value of $7500. Now ongoing at eBay, the auction ends Thursday, May 27, at 11:45 am, with the tax-deductible proceeds going to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival.

Bidding started at $2000, and it’s only $3,022 now – still a great deal on an amazing instrument, and a significant contribution to our efforts.
» Follow this link to learn more, bid or buy from eBay.

Free tickets for new members

Become a New Member at the $100 level and above, and receive 1 free ticket to either the June 6 Stars of Brazil concert at Rec Park, or the June 13 Keepers of the Flame finale at Rodney Strong. Become a $250 member and receive 2 free tickets for either event or one for each. Join today and get the most out of your love for this great music.

Only two weeks left before the Festival! As what the San Francisco Chronicle calls “probably the best small jazz festival in the country” nears, we continue in our series of Ten Reasons why you will want to attend events in this year’s lineup, along with updates and offers to get you as excited as the 12th Annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival as we are.

Reason No. 7: Learn Music

Saturday, June 5: Art of the Solo Guitar is something new for the Festival, a mini-festival tucked inside the big one. It’s a day-long combination workshop and concert around an instrument central to much American music. Think blues, folk, country, rock, and jazz, and there’s almost always a guitar somewhere in the band.

If you’re a primary or secondary school student – or perhaps there’s one or more in your household – then the 10 am-noon morning workshop, Making Music Part of Your Life, is for you. The instructors will talk, demonstrate and perform directly for these young fans, inspiring them to pursue their own musical ambitions. There will even be a drawing to win a guitar donated by the Jazz Masters workshop. Better yet, students are free – and encouraged to bring instruments to play!

At noon, a stellar roster of guitar talent gathers for a relaxed outdoor afternoon of solo performances, the Art of the Solo Guitar concert (Noon-3 pm). Oscar Castro-Neves, Romero Lumbambo, Sid Jacobs and many more will be there — check this page for participating musicians, and get your tickets soon, they’re only $15, or $10 for students and seniors.

In many cases the musicians will be playing instruments built by master luthiers of the Ribbecke Guitar Company. Tom Ribbecke will be on hand, hosting and demonstrating his unique hand-built guitars, and the event will be held at his Healdsburg grounds off Limerick Lane.

Special Benefit Auction: Going on right now is the special benefit auction of a 17-inch Ribbecke Halfling Archtop, with a retail value of $7500. Now ongoing at eBay, the auction ends this Thursday, May 27, at 11:45 am, with the tax-deductible proceeds going to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival.

Bidding started at $2000, and it’s over $3,000 now – still a great deal on an amazing instrument, and a significant contribution to our efforts.
» Follow this link to learn more, bid or buy from eBay.

Where else could you hear music, see music, and learn music too, all at the same event? Only at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, June 4-13.

More information about the Festival:

• Complete Schedule 
• Ticket information
• About Healdsburg

Look it up! Reasons number 8, 9 and 10 slip your mind? We’ve got them here on our website. Stay tuned for another of the Ten Best Reasons to enjoy the Healdsburg Jazz Festival.

The Julian Lage Group

Studio Barndiva
237 Center Street

Julian Lage (Photo by Jimmy Katz)

Date: Friday, May 29
Time: 7 pm. & 9 p.m. (two shows)
Tickets: $35

Santa Rosa-raised Julian Lage needs no introduction in Healdsburg, as he’s played just about every festival since the beginning. But this year marks a major leap for the dazzling 21-year-old guitarist, who returns from Boston to celebrate his debut recording on EmArcy, “Sounding Point,” with a stellar young band of players he met back east.

Featuring saxophonist Ben Roseth, cellist Aristides Rivas, bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer/percussionist Tupac Mantilla, the international ensemble that plays Studio Barndiva on Friday, May 29 explores Lage’s fascinating compositions, which draw on his vast palette of influences.

While most musicians are just starting to come into their own at 21, Lage is already a well-traveled professional. Over the past decade he’s gained international attention through tours and recordings with vibraphone great Gary Burton’s Generations Band,  duo concerts with pianist Taylor Eigsti and performances with Pat Metheny, David Grisman and Marian McPartland.

On his long anticipated debut album, Lage joined forces with a typically diverse array of players, including banjo star Bela Fleck and mandolin maestro Chris Thile of Nickel Creek fame, as well as several of the young players who he is bringing to Healdsburg for this appearance.

Lage’s rapid advancement as a musician can partially be explained by his parents’ willingness to tailor his education around his musical aspirations. While he graduated from Santa Rosa’s Maria Carrillo High School, he spent several years doing an independent study program at home, which allowed him to travel for gigs and devote more time to music. He’s also studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Sonoma State University, the Ali Akbar College of Music in Marin.

Unfazed by sharing the stage with his musical heroes, he’s performed with giants such as Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Carlos Santana, and has often encountered his heroes on stage at Healdsburg, like the time he sat in with Charles Lloyd, Billy Higgins and John Abercrombie.

Julian Lage first gained attention outside the Bay Area with the release of Mark Becker’s 1997 Academy Award-nominated short documentary “Jules at Eight,” which captured Lage as a little boy with a big feeling for the blues (check out the clip on YouTube – the first half is all Julian). A brief television appearance led to his most consequential musical connection to date, when Gary Burton happened to see the 2000 Grammy telecast and spotted the 12-year-old Lage as he flashed briefly on screen for a solo with a youth combo assembled especially for the awards ceremony.

“He had half a chorus on a blues, and then they moved quickly on,” Burton says. “Just for that moment, when he was dead center in the screen and had a solo spot, something caught my eye, and I said, ‘Well, that kid actually sounds like he has a great feel and knows what he’s doing.’” Almost a decade later, Lage has more than lived up to Burton’s first impression.

JulianLage.com

» Return to Complete Schedule

The Julian Lage Group

Julian Lage (photo by Jimmy Katz)

Studio Barndiva
237 Center Street

Date: Friday, May 29
Time: 7 pm. & 9 p.m. (two shows)

Tickets: $35
Ticket price includes a glass of wine, a cocktail or a soft drink
Event Sponsor: Gallo Family Vineyards

“Julian, you play with heart, mind, and soul. Where’d you find all this so early in life?”
–Herbie Hancock

Santa Rosa-raised Julian Lage needs no introduction at Healdsburg, as he’s played just about every festival since the beginning. But this year marks a major leap for the dazzling 21-year-old guitarist, who returns from Boston to celebrate his debut recording on EmArcy, “Sounding Point.” While most musicians are just starting to come into their own at that age, Lage is already a well-traveled professional.

Over the past decade he’s gained international attention through tours and recordings with vibraphone great Gary Burton’s Generations Band, and for his thrilling duo concerts with pianist Taylor Eigsti and performances with Pat Metheny, David Grisman and Marian McPartland. Lage’s opening night performance at this year’s Healdsburg Jazz Festival may be one of the last chances to catch this hometown prodigy turned international virtuoso in such an intimate setting, the art studio of Healdsburg’s celebrated Barndiva.

» More about the Julian Lage Quartet

» Return to Complete Schedule

Volunteer meetings are finally getting started!

Be the first to hear all the latest updates by attending our meetings. As you all know it is a hard year, but we are going to have another great festival, because we need music in our lives. Your help will be needed in all aspects, including the upcoming gala. Visit this page for more ways you can help out.

There are three meetings scheduled. The first one is Wednesday, March 25, at 6:30 pm at Alliance Medical Center, Healdsburg 1381 University St., Healdsburg; however the entrance is off Prentice Drive behind the Healdsburg Hospital.  We will meet in one of the conference rooms on the second floor of the Center. For a map follow this link.

Second meeting: Wednesday, April 22nd, same time and place.

Third meeting: Wednesday, May 27, same time and place.

I look forward to seeing everyone again this year who wants to help out with the Festival. Please feel free to invite new people.

– Jessica

Fortissimo! “Ah-go ee-lay ah-go! Ah-go ee-lay ah-go! Ah-go ee-lay ah-go-yah!”

Soon you will hear some 5th grade kids chanting that in a few weeks! In case you don’t know, here is my report on the 2008 OJB:

Operation Jazz Band is one of the key music education programs sponsored by the Healdsburg Jazz Festival. Today was Day 2 of Operation Jazz Band Week, which entails a group of Northern California jazz all-stars breaking down into band sections (percussion, rhythm, vocals, horns) and spending an hour a day in one of the Healdsburg/Geyserville 5th grade classes performing and telling the kids about their instruments, the history of jazz, how a jazz band works, and how many hours they practice a day.

I spent the morning being driver for the leader of Operation Jazz Band, Babatunde Lea. A jazz drummer and percussionist, Babatunde founded Operation Jazz Band with Jessica Felix, artistic director of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, eight years ago. Babatunde has incredible rapport with the kids, animating the African, Latino, and American heritage of jazz for them. They learn about call-and-response, swing, improvisation, and many of the past and current masters of jazz. Babatunde keeps the kids involved, with call-and-response throughout his time, and works in the history of jazz from Africa to America, and music styles from chant to bebop in one hour flat.

In the afternoon I accompanied Art Khu (piano) and Dave Ewell (bass) to Geyserville, where they demonstrated, performed, and talked about the history and role of bass-piano rhythm component so critical to the musical idiom. The kids are uniformly impressed by the size of the acoustic bass, and how cool the electric piano is (no, we aren’t hauling around a baby grand …). Art and Dave reinforce the basics, and introduce the more complex elements of jazz.

Digital camera in hand, I snagged about 40 photos or so, and have posted them into a slide show montage:

This year Operation Jazz Band is Babatude Lea, Drums and Percussion; Dave Ewell, Bass; Art Khu, Piano; Khalil Shaheed, Trumpet; Richard Howell, Saxophone; Angela Wellman, Trombone; Ken French, Keyboards; and Clairdee, Vocals.

The Operation continues all this week, culminating in a free jazz concert for the kids this Friday at the Raven Theater. All of the 5th grade classes come, and the children finally get to see the whole band together, playing songs they’ve heard in pieces throughout the week. The greeting the musicians get as they take to the stage is like the Beatles playing in Shea Stadium in ‘65 – a roar that is heard to Geyserville, easily! Little do they realize that they are hearing literally some of the best jazz musicians in California!

For many kids, this is the only time they will ever hear jazz as a musical performance. Most of them hear it on cartoons, for commercials, background in restaurants, etc., never realizing their American musical heritage is there to explore and enjoy.

Operation Jazz Band happens because of the generosity of those who came to this year’s 10th Annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival Gala. Through the event and auctions, we raised $50,000, which directly supports Operation Jazz Band, Tacuma King’s Percussion, Song, and Dance Workshops – also happening now through the start of the Festival in June – and workshops with the Healdsburg High School Jazz Band. From one that has been privileged to help out with Operation Jazz Band, Tacuma’s class, and listen in on some of the workshops, I can’t fully express how cool it is to see children get turned on by great musicians playing great music. It is something really special, and if you ever get a hankering to volunteer to witness it, just call the Festival office.

But I’m not giving up my slot on the roster anytime soon!

Paul Tincknell, Volunteer