Articles
Five Questions for: Kim Nalley
Kim Nalley’s knockout vocals and glowing stage presence have vaulted her to the top of San Francisco’s jazz scene. Nalley talks frankly about Billie Holiday, Rhoda Scott, and life after Pearl's in this special interview. [more] »
Coda Making a Good Start
The meager list of dedicated jazz venues in San Francisco got a little bit longer this week. Coda, a new bar and supper club perched at the northern edge of the Mission District, hopes to fill a hole in the city's spotty jazz scene by offering top-tier local music six nights a week. It's a risky proposition -- especially in a gloomy economic environment -- but owners Chris Pastena and Bruce Hanson appear to be up to the challenge... [more] »
Scott Amendola: Unlimited Possibilities
When Scott Amendola sits down at his drum kit, almost anything can happen. That's not mere hyperbole; it's a fact. From his base in Berkeley, California, Amendola provides the rhythmic drive for some of the most creative and acclaimed ensembles in the jazz avant-garde, including the Nels Cline Singers and his own Scott Amendola Band. But he's also the road drummer for the phenomenally popular singer Madeleine Peyroux. Throw in his work with Charlie Hunter and the funky quartet T.J. Kirk, the electro-acoustic freedom of his ensemble CRATER, and a discography that's grown to nearly 70 albums in only 10 years, and it's easy to discern two key points about Amendola: that he's very much in demand, and that he likes to mix things up. [more] »
Mimi Fox: Getting Her Due
Mimi Fox is slowly but surely beginning to get her due. Named a “rising star” in the DownBeat magazine critics' poll in 2003 and again in 2004, signed to a growing young label (Favored Nations), and with a discography that's up to seven discs under her own name (alongside dozens of side gigs), Fox's fluid guitar chops are finally beginning to reach a wide audience. [more] »
Dave Ellis: Of Jams and Jazz
Tenor saxophonist Dave Ellis has been a stalwart of the Bay Area jazz scene for years. An East Bay native, he honed his craft in the famed Berkeley High School jazz program and, appropriately enough, the Berklee school of Music in Boston. After returning to the Bay Area, he spent time in the original version Charlie Hunter Trio as well as several other groups, and began recording a series of critically acclaimed albums... [more] »
