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Gualala Arts
Promoting public interest and participation in the arts since 1961.
Archive of past events: 2004 through 2014
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Third Annual Redwood Coast
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Dinner & Jazz ~ St. Orres
Susan Sutton (Pianist)Brooklyn born composer/pianist/vocalist Susan Sutton has performed professionally with the Susan Sutton Trio over the past twenty years, recording seven albums on the Sutton Sound Label. Sutton's passion for music began at the age of five, when she began her classical training in piano and cello. She holds a degree in Music Composition and Performance from Dominican University and studied jazz piano and composition with Bryce Rohde of the Australian Jazz Quintet, and jazz piano with George Cables. Her original works include a series of contemporary modern chamber pieces as well as eight published volumes of jazz songs. Seasoned by touring dates with jazz combos from New York to San Francisco and inspired by influences from Monk, Corea and Hancock to Satie, Gershwin and World Beat, Sutton launched her own uniquely eclectic trio in 1981, establishing a distinctively original and popular voice in the Bay Area jazz scene ever since. 
The Mendocino Coast Jazz Trio
Terry Simcik (Guitar)
After growing up, studying, and performing music ranging from jazz, popular show bands and recording work in the Los Angeles area, guitarist, Terry Simcik, relocated to the Mendocino Coast where he has continued to perform, teach and study music. He can be heard playing in settings from solo guitar, to combos, and larger ensembles at various events throughout the wine country and coastal regions of Northern California. Simcik plays weekly at the Ledford House restaurant in Albion, and has been the guitarist for the Mendocino Music Festival Big Band since its inception.
Scott Harris (Woodwinds)
Scott Harris has performed with numerous ensembles including the Utah Symphony, Ballet West, Burbank Symphony, the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra, and Opera Ala Carte. He is the founder of The Prevailing Winds woodwind quintet. Scott has performed numerous recording, theatrical, and live performances with many popular and jazz artists including Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, Toni Tennille, Marty Robbins, The Moody Blues, Phil Woods, Kurt Bestor, Diane Schuur and Eddie Daniels. When not visiting the Mendocino Coast, Harris currently freelances in Salt Lake City, teaches at the Waterford School and Weber State University.
Russell Clark (Acoustic Bass)In addition to having experience as a jazz player, bassist Russell Clark teaches mixed-instrument ensemble workshops in the Mendocino school system. He has been a staff-worker at various music camps, and he is studying Afro-Cuban rhythms, Arabic music, even Didgeridoo. Clark has played many styles of dance music as well. Currently he plays in a duo setting at the Ledford House with guitarist Terry Simcik.
SF Chamberjazz Quartet
Gini Wilson (Director/Pianist)
Gini Wilson, known as "The Duchess," is well known in the Bay Area, and is now becoming known nationally as a brilliant jazz pianist with influences from both worlds of jazz and classical music. She and her group have appeared in jazz festivals and concerts including The San Jose Jazz Festival, Jazz in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the San Miguel de Allende International Festival in Mexico. Wilson performs regularly at Moose's, the well-known jazz club in San Francisco and can sometimes be heard on NPR as house pianist for "West Coast Live," where she is noted for her irreverent sense of humor. Her CD Left Coast Local Time and the recent CD The Crossing Point introduced her compositions in the genre of chamberjazz in solo and quartet settings and have received notable critical acclaim. This new music continues to explore chamberjazz developed with composer Steve Heckman, horn virtuoso. This project brings their collaborative energies together to create a genre of original and emotional jazz incorporating influences such as Wayne Shorter, Erik Satie, Bach, world music and Nuevo Tango. Formerly known as The Gini Wilson Quartet, this group is now called The San Francisco Chamberjazz Quartet. Gini is the founding director.
Steve Heckman (Reeds)
Steve Heckman began his career in New York at 17 by playing with bebop trumpet player Howard McGee as well as avant-garde trombonist Roswell Rudd. He has performed with such notables as trumpeters Eddie Henderson and Tom Harrell; pianists Andrew Hill, Bennie Green, and Jessica Williams; drummers Eddie Moore, Donald Bailey, and Pete Escovedo; guitarists Cal Collins, Bruce Foreman and Mimi Fox; and vocalists Madeline Eastman and Kellye Gray. His recent debut CD, With John in Mind, (for John Coltrane) has received critical acclaim. His playing has been praised by saxophonists as diverse as Stan Getz, Charles Lloyd and Pharoah Sanders.
Pat Klobas (Acoustic Bass)
Highly skilled in the classical and jazz fields, Pat Klobas' experience includes performances with the S. F. Opera and Ballet, Skywalker Symphony and every regional orchestra in the Bay Area. Klobas' jazz and pop background have landed him gigs in the bands of many S.F. Broadway shows including "The Producers", "Some Like it Hot" and "Kiss Me Kate." Pat has had the pleasure of backing Rosemary Clooney, David Benoit, Michael Feinstein, Jessica Williams, The American Jazz Philharmonic and the privilege to have performed on and produced Gini Wilson's CD, Left Coast Local Time. Klobas is known widely in the Bay Area as a bass teacher of note and has recently been appointed the position of double bass lecturer at Cal State University Hayward.
Ron Marabuto (Drums)
From the Bay Area, worked in NYC with leading players such as Pepper Adams, Roland Hanna, Tommy Flanagan, Rufus Reid, Steve Grossman and many more. Locally, this well known drummer has performed with such local luminaries as Bruce Forman, Buddy Montgomery and Mark Levine, and been featured on many recordings by local artists. He can often be heard performing at Yoshi's and Jazz at Pearl's with local and out-of-town artists, and recently leading his own bands.
Tommy Kesecker (Vibes/Marimba)
Tommy Keseker is an extremely versatile musician, having performed with the Indian master percussionist Zakir Hussain's Rhythm Experience. That ensemble incorporates the rhythms of India, Cuba, Africa, Middle East and Indonesia. Kesecker is known for his hard-driving linear approach to vibes and has performed in straight-ahead jazz formats recording with Kim Nalley and the Johnny Nocturne Band, and is featured on Larry Vuckovich's acclaimed CD Blue Balkan: Then & Now. Kesecker was a member of the smash hit Larry Vuckovich World-Class Sextet that performed for the 2004 Redwood Coast Whale & Jazz Festival. He returns to this year's festival by popular demand.
Kenny Washington (Vocalist)A New Orleans native, Kenny Washington developed a deep love for music at a very young age, singing and performing gospel at the local Baptist church. As a member of school bands, he picked up the saxophone and sang and performed at school-related functions. At age 22, Washington began working professionally with various groups, performing varied styles of music ranging from traditional and contemporary jazz, classical rhythm & blues and pop. Joining the honorary US Navy Band in 1986, Washington toured for 9 years throughout the USA, Asia, Russia and Australia as a saxophonist and vocalist. Finally making his home in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995, he found himself working nightclubs and on various recording projects locally and nationally. Currently, he is the featured vocalist at San Francisco's world-famous Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel's "Top of the Mark." In 1997, Washington appeared in an off-Broadway production of Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill featuring Elvis Costello and Deborah Harry, which played in New York and London. Emulating the classic scat styles of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, infusing colors of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, Washington's freedom-play approach with over a four-octave vocal range makes him one of the most versatile artists of our time.
The Bay Area World Class Jazz Quintet
Brunch & Jazz ~ The Gualala Hotel
Eric Shifrin (Pianist)Pianist supreme Eric Shifrin brings original and classic compositions to his performance including swing, stride, boogie-woogie, New Orleans and Latin rhythms. Shifrin's musical career has spanned more than 20 years and a wide geographic/musical territory. Doubling on sax and keys kept him in demand as a sideman, while composition and recording projects were his personal passion. He has emerged as a bandleader and entertainer using his voice instead of the sax, and has performed at literally hundreds of Bay Area clubs and concerts. His sidemen give Shifrin a nice ride and do some heavy swinging of their own. Shifrin, as leader of The Eric Shifrin Trio performed at the 2004 Whale & Jazz Festival's Chowder Challenge concert.
Sunset & Jazz ~ Top of the Cliff
The Top of the Cliff Jazz Trio
Harrison Goldberg (Tenor, Alto & Soprano Sax)
Fred Adler (Festival Music Coordinator & MC)During the seminal jazz period of the 50's and 60's, Fred Adler frequented U.S. and European clubs and festivals, and was witness to multiple live performances of such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. By special invitation, he presented a three hour long live special on Pacifica Radio (KPFA FM, Berkeley, CA) on the day of John Coltrane's death, July 17, 1967. During the 70's, Adler taught jazz history and appreciation seminars in Berkeley and Marin County. His Jazz Radio programs include:
And on The Tide: KTDE 100.5 FM:
Adler has conducted interviews with many jazz greats including Dave Brubeck. He has been the producer and MC of Sonoma and Mendocino Coast Jazz events since 1998, and the Festival Music Coordinator and MC of the Redwood Coast Whale & Jazz Festival since 2004.
The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA, |
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