Colin Wenhardt Sextet with their tribute to                          Miles Davis and the "Kind of Blue Era"

Colin Wenhardt has over 25 years of free-lance professional saxophone and woodwinds experience, and has recorded on a variety of albums, demos, and jingles.  Colin was lead alto with the Full Faith and Credit Jazz Orchestra. They performed concerts twice monthly and in recent years were featured at several festivals, including the Monterey Jazz Festival and the
Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival (Berkeley, CA). He is also lead alto with the Harold Jones Big Band, the Black Market Jazz Orchestra.  Colin is currently the lead alto player with both the Tim Price and CARMA big bands.  See his web sit for more information on the long list of groups he has performed with.
The Fabulous Bud E. Luv is a make-believe name for a very real California entertainer who originally hails from Boston, Massachusetts.  You can catch the Fabulous Bud E. Luv shows in nightclubs across the country, or on their regular television appearances.

When Bud E. Luv hits the stage, he's got one thing in mind.  With tounge placed firmly in cheek, Mr. Luv delivers the hottest hits from Las Vegas:  Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mel Torme, Louis Prima, Sam Butera and the list goes on.  He's got a sense of humor that won't quit, and a set of pipes that'll knock your socks off.


Mel Martin has proven to be one of the most versatile and creative musicians to emerge from the San Francisco Bay Area. His virtuosic abilities on woodwinds combined with his vast range of experience has brought him to a position of pre-eminence as one of the most inventive and innovative of performers. His unique abilities as an improviser, arranger and composer have made him a favorite of such greats as
Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner,
Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, and many others.

His work as a leader has been documented on several brilliant recordings with the groups Listen and his current band Bebop & Beyond, as well as his solo recording "Other Side Up" where he displayed his fascinating abilities as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger/producer, composer and jazz soloist. He has applied these talents to a wide variety of performing and recording situations including Santana, Azteca, Boz Scaggs, Cal Tjader, Vince Guaraldi, Denny Zeitlin,
Hubert Laws, Billy Cobham, as well as a multitude of independent studio projects.
Jim Lange - KABL's well-known commentator and disc jockey and Bay Area luminary will be our host for the Fourth Annual Fairfax Jazz Festival.

A veteran radio and television personality, Jim Lange is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota and began his extensive broadcasting career in high school by winning a contest. First prize netted him a job as sports reporter and disc jockey on a local Twin Cities radio station.
For more information about The Starduster Orchestra or their upcoming events please check their web site (www.StardusterOrchestra.com)
or call Joe Agro at (415) 331-9999 or e-mail at
JoeAgro@bigfoot.com.
The fairfax jazz festival will also have several booths featuring visual arts with a jazz focus. Be sure to visit some of these venues too.  Click here to get an idea of some of the art you will see.



Musical Memories - The fourth annual Fairfax Jazz Festival is just one more in a long line of musical memories in our small town with a big taste for jazz -- from Nelson Eddy playing the
Fairfax Pavilion in 1934 to Jerry Garcia and Nicky Hopkins playing at River City in the 1970s, our town is a music town.  To make sure these memories are preserved, the Marin Arts Council the musicians and  musical traditions of Fairfax. You can participate in this oral history by visiting the
"Musical Memories" booth (Sunday, September 30th) and either record your memory today or just leave your name and phone number to be interviewed later.  

Chuck Campagnet
one of the Bay Area's most exciting vocalists,  When he sings one of Frank Sinatra's big hits you can believe you're hearing "The Man" himself. 
Chuck will be the featured vocalist with The Starduster Orchestra at our Sinatra Tribute starting at 8:00 P.M. on
Saturday, September 29th at the Fairfax Pavilion.  Don't miss this one.
Andrea Wolper Trio - "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere"...born and bred in the Bay Area, jazz vocalist Andrea Wolper now calls New York, New York home.  "Part of a hopefully growing school of swinging younger vocalists" (Friedwald, Village Voice) who "really understands the nuances of jazz singing" (Cadence), Andrea appears frequently in jazz rooms and at concerts and festivals on the East Coast and beyond.  With her fine vocal and interpretive abilities and soulful, straight -from-the-heart improvisatory style, she continues to draw the attention of audiences and critics, and her 1998 debut CD has been lauded in music industry journals and by radio deejays across the country.
Cynthia Glinka the Bay Area's dance hostess, continues to delight audiences with her enthusiasm for social dance. Her dance presentations have been featured at social and corporate affairs locally and abroad and through private and group lessons.  
Cynthia teaches and performs dances that represent several periods of the 20th Century including the 1920s, '30s and the Big Band Era with dance favorites including the Swing, Fox Trot, Waltz, Tango, Salsa and Charleston.
The Starduster Orchestra is a traditional big band.  While they play music from all periods, they specialize in swing and other dance music from the 30's, 40's and 50's.  Playing the original arrangements with original instrumentation, their audiences get to enjoy the swingin' sound of the Big Band Era the way it was played.

Kim Taylor, the Marin Independent Journal's former "On the Dance Floor" columnist wrote "the Starduster Orchestra makes you want to get up and dance."

The Starduster Orchestra, with featured vocalist Chuck Campagnet, will reprieve their very popular tribute to "Old Blue Eyes"... "Frank Sinatra, The Man and His Bands". 
This Opening Festival Event will begin at 8:00 P.M. at the Fairfax Pavilion.
   the artists
The Sounds of Rhythm - Remember doo-wop?
Blues and jazz inspired, it was there at the beginning of what we now know as Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll.  It was born, developed and was sung on the streets of New York, Detroit and "bergs" all over the country.

I'll bet some of you sat on a stoop somewhere in your home town and tried to imitate the close harmonies of groups like
The Coasters, The Silhouettes, Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, the Del Vikings, The Five Satins, the Veltones, the Belmonts, the Jesters and so many more. 

 





The Starduster Orchestra is a traditional big band.  While they play music from all periods, they specialize in swing and other dance music from the 30's, 40's and 50's.  Playing the original arrangements with original instrumentation, their audiences get to enjoy the swingin' sound of the Big Band Era the way it was played.

Kim Taylor, the Marin Independent Journal's former "On the Dance Floor" columnist wrote "the Starduster Orchestra makes you want to get up and dance."

The Starduster Orchestra, with featured vocalist Chuck Campagnet, will reprieve their very popular tribute to "Old Blue Eyes"... "Frank Sinatra, The Man and His Bands". 
This Opening Festival Event will begin at 8:00 P.M. at the Fairfax Pavilion.
Sons of Bitches Brew is a new all-electric jazz group featuring acclaimed saxophonist
Michael Zilber, Modern Drummer of the Year, Steve Smith and Michael Blustein on Hammond B3. The other members of the group are Charles McNeal on saxophone, Andre Bush and Dave McNab on guitar and Victor Little on bass.  As different from straight-ahead jazz as aged cheddar is from brie, this sextet plays music in the joyful and anarchic spirit of the early-70s fusion groups such as Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter's Weather Report, Mahavishnu and Tony Williams' Lifetime.

Barry Finnerty performed with Davis during the Bitches Brew tours and brings the spirit and virtuosity of the original band.   His fiery guitar work has graced the work of the Brecker Brothers, Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham and others. 

Steve Smith - recently named one of the top 25 drummers of all time by a Modern Drummer Magazine poll.  Steve plays with Journey, is considered a premier Bay Area jazz drummer. 

Mike Zilber, leader for the CARMA Big Band, has collaborated with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and
Sonny Stitt, and has been praised by Downbeat as having the "fire and authority one hears in the playing of John Coltrane". 

This will be the world debut of a tribute to Miles Davis' landmark recording "Bitches Brew".  You will not want to miss Sons of Bitches Brew's performance on the Lawn Stage at 4:30 P.M.
Mel Martin, Noel Jewkes Quartet... together again for the first time -
Mel and Noel have known each other for over 35 years.  Each a nationally acclaimed artist on their instrument - the saxophone - they have worked together in just about every musical format possible, with the exception of  a quintet setting featuring just the two of them.  As a Fairfax Jazz Festival exclusive you can hear these two great artist together again for the first time as featured soloists with only a rhythm section supporting them. 
The Colin Wenhardt Sextet features Colin, one of Marin's finest jazz players on tenor sax, and a group of first-call musicians known for their work with Ray Charles, Buddy Rich, Gerry Mulligan,
Stan Kenton and Pharoah Sanders.  Included in this group will beIncluded in this group will be
Steve Campos on trumpet.  Steve played with Stan Kenton for three and a half years and later with
Woody Herman's and Buddy Rich's bands.  He also palayed with Dr. John and Boz Scagg.

Dave Martell has been playing trombone professionally in the Bay Area for over 20 years.  He has performed with artists such as Earl Hines and Cab Calloway, as well as several popular Motown artists. His recording credits include the Grammy-nominated album "Far East Suite" with the
Asian American Orchestra, and has recently completed a recording project of Thelonius Monk
compositions featuring soprano sax legend Steve Lacy.

Guitarist Chris Pimentel, a San Francisco native, has been Playing for 25 years.  Has worked with George Cables, Mel Graves, Bobby Caldwell, Barry Finnerty. Curently performing and teaching in and around the Bay area.

The group will also include bassist Chris Amberger.  1971-1973 toured with the Richie Havens
Show. 1974 toured Europe and Africa for French StateDepartment. 1975 toured Latin America with
Cal Tjader and Rosemary Clooney   (on 7 Concord cds with Clooney). 1976-1978 toured the U.S. and Canada with The George Shearing Quintet. 1976 toured the U.S. Eastern and Western Europe with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. 1976-1979,and was house bassist at Keystone Korner in San Francisco. He has also recorded with Red Garland.

Drummer Curt Moore completes the quintet.  Curt has played for over 33 years, recorded on over 50 CD's and is a teacher at The Jazz School in Berkeley.  He has performed and recorded with Jackie and Roy (Grammy nominated recording), Francisco Aguebella, Chuck Berry, Ray Brown, John Clayton, Ritchie Cole, Joyce Cooling, Richard Davis, Pete Escovido, Lola Falanna, Vic Firth,
Mimi Fox, Andy Narrell, Bernadette Peters, Art Pepper, and Rufus Reid and more.

The Colin Wenhardt Sextet will be performing their tribute to the great Miles Davis and other Blue Note artists, featuring music made famous by Hank Mobley, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter and many, many more. 

This will be a rare, must hear jazz happening on the Redwood Stage starting at 1:30 P.M.
Steve Smith, Mike Zilber Quartet
NGJB 's book is rich with the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller and local luminaries Lu Watters and Turk Murphy.  The listener can expect to hear stomps, blues, rags, marches, spirituals and dances of all moods and tempos.

Jazz festival appearances include Sacramento, Monterey,
Pismo Beach and San Diego, to name a few in California.  The Bix Festival in Davenport, Iowa has featured the NGJB repeatedly, as has the Sun Valley Festival.

Starting at 2:00 P.M. this world-renowned Dixieland Band will turn Nave's into the New Orleans style jazz festival event! 
Don't miss the fun.
José Neto - Internationally known Brazilian guitarist and composer, José is an innovative contemporary heir to Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana.  His unique sound is a riveting combination of the drive of hard rock and the delicate soulful tone usually achieved only with an acoustic instrument.   A
world-class musician, he has played to packed houses worldwide with Hugh Masekela and Harry Belafonte among others. 

José will be performing on the Redwood Stage at 3:30 P.M.
Cynthia Glinka the Bay Area's dance hostess, continues to delight audiences with her enthusiasm for social dance. Her dance presentations have been featured at social and corporate affairs locally and abroad and through private and group lessons.  
Cynthia teaches and performs dances that represent several periods of the 20th Century including the 1920s, '30s and the Big Band Era with dance favorites including the Swing, Fox Trot, Waltz, Tango, Salsa and Charleston.
Andrea Wolper Trio - "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere"...born and bred in the Bay Area, jazz vocalist Andrea Wolper now calls New York, New York home.  "Part of a hopefully growing school of swinging younger vocalists" (Friedwald, Village Voice) who "really understands the nuances of jazz singing" (Cadence), Andrea appears frequently in jazz rooms and at concerts and festivals on the East Coast and beyond.  With her fine vocal and interpretive abilities and soulful, straight -from-the-heart improvisatory style, she continues to draw the attention of audiences and critics, and her 1998 debut CD has been lauded in music industry journals and by radio deejays across the country.
fairfax jazz festival

Executive Committee

Molly Graham - Co-Producer
Garry Graham - Co-Producer
Joe Agro - Co-Producer


Board of Directors

Molly Graham
Garry Graham
Joe Agro
Patti Poole
Carol Buchholz


Production Staff

Joe Agro - Artistic Director
Brad Saunders - Stage Director
Nick Fitch - Assistant Stage Director
Naim Satya - Sound Engineer
Molly Graham - Finance Director
Kim Taylor - Publicist


Staff Volunteers

Susie MacMillan - Volunteer Director
Leon Galetto
Cory Bytof
Stephanie Hendricks
Maggie Agro
Julian Brandes
Chuck Campagnet
one of the Bay Area's most exciting vocalists,  When he sings one of Frank Sinatra's big hits you can believe you're hearing "The Man" himself. 
Chuck will be the featured vocalist with The Starduster Orchestra at our Sinatra Tribute starting at 8:00 P.M. on
Saturday, September 29th at the Fairfax Pavilion.  Don't miss this one.
Dori Green and Dave Bergman will be performing at 19 Broadway on Sunday starting at 5:30 P.M.  Joining them will be Wanda Stafford.

Judy Hall and her Jazz Jam will follow them. 

Dori Green... the Belle of Fairfax began her adult musical career right out of high school singing with one of the bands that backed Frank Sinatra.  She continued singing and touring with well known bands including Tex Beneke, while writing arrangements for vocal groups and composing original scores and singing and playing piano with local jazz groups in clubs across the country.

Dave Bergman played piano with bands, doing three live broadcasts a week, while still in high school.  After majoring in music at college, he worked as a singer, drummer, bass player, trumpet, vibes and piano player with small groups.  Dave has worked with the Mary Kay Trio, Al Hirt and The Modernirs just to name a few.
The Rhythm Section with Naim Satya will perform at the Coffee Roaster at 1:00.

Iguana Parts with Tom Finch will appear at the Coffee Roaster at 4:30.

Jazz Philosophy and Connie Ducey and Namely Us  at Cafe Amsterdam on Sunday.
The fairfax jazz festival will also have several booths featuring visual arts with a jazz focus. Be sure to visit some of these venues too.  Click here to get an idea of some of the art you will see.



Musical Memories - The fourth annual Fairfax Jazz Festival is just one more in a long line of musical memories in our small town with a big taste for jazz -- from Nelson Eddy playing the
Fairfax Pavilion in 1934 to Jerry Garcia and Nicky Hopkins playing at River City in the 1970s, our town is a music town.  To make sure these memories are preserved, the Marin Arts Council the musicians and  musical traditions of Fairfax. You can participate in this oral history by visiting the
"Musical Memories" booth (Sunday, September 30th) and either record your memory today or just leave your name and phone number to be interviewed later.  

The Shawkie Roth Quartet - born in Milwaukee, he began his musical career with the alto Saxophone in a classical school band.  Within a year he began improvising and composing on the piano, and then added the tenor saxophone to his classical and jazz studies.  Early influences were Paul Desmond, Paul Horn, Jullian "Cannonball" Adderley and John Coltrane.  After many years of listening with a reverent ear he began jazz studies at the University of Wisconsin.

In 1982, Shawkie recorded his first jazz album of original ballads entitled "Fortune".  According to Richard Kamins, reviewer for
Cadence (The American Review of Jazz and Blues): "Roth has a deep sonorous tone on the tenor saxophone... and the eight cuts on "Fortune" bring to mind the work of John Coltrane in his more spiritual moments".
Mal Sharpe and the Big Money in Jazz Band - aptly named -- they make a small fortune playing in Bay Area bar rooms.  They're going into their 10th year of Sunday afternoons at the famous No-Name Bar in Sausalito and their 5th year of Friday nights at
Enrico's Cafe in North Beach.

They have appeared at the San Francisco Jazz Festival as well as Shoreline Amphitheater's New Orleans by the Bay and at Yoshi's World Class Jazz House.
Bud E. Luv with "Rat Pack Swing"
The Headline Artist for the
fourth annual
fairfax jazz festival
will be the great
Jon Hendricks

Jon, one of the original members of the ground breaking vocal group, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, and the inventor of vocalese, has had a long and distinguished career in jazz.  Truly a living legend of jazz,
The exciting news on the music scene today is the newly formed Harold Jones Big Band.  Conceived with the Count Basie sound in mind and built on the Count's
For more information about The Starduster Orchestra or their upcoming events please check their web site (www.StardusterOrchestra.com)
or call Joe Agro at (415) 331-9999 or e-mail at
JoeAgro@bigfoot.com.
Zydeco Flames - have rightfully gained a reputation as the West Coast's premier Zydeco band.  Their fourth CD release, "Smokin' at The Plant" provided fans with hot Zydeco in the tradition of such masters as Clifton Chenier,
Buckwheat Zydeco and Queen Ida.

The Flames consistently pack the house in venues ranging from contemporary clubs to major festivals and traditional dance halls.  Their infectious rhythms and soulful lyrics have recently ignited crowds at such clubs as John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room, The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and
Ashkenaz in Berkeley. 
College of Marin Jazz Band - This 17 piece jazz big band is directed by one of Marin's finest musicians and dedicated music educators, Doug Delaney.  They play original arrangements from all periods of jazz history.  All of the musicians in this group are students at the College of Marin.  Hear them on the Lawn Stage beginning at 12:45 P.M.
Wolfe Canyon Quintet - an amazing jazz quintet comprised of San Francisco bay area youths who have dedicated themselves to classic jazz.

From opening night, at the fringes of the tornado 1998, performing to raise funds for "Habitat for Humanity" to the present, these young men have taken the San Francisco by storm.  Whether earning a Command Performance in their first competition at the
Santa Cruz Festival; opening for the great jazz drummer Billy Higgins at the Oakland Jazz Festival, performing at the San Rafael Italian Street Painting Fair, for the Chamber of Commerce, or at local coffee shops and restaurants or private parties these young musicians have gained the admiration and respect of their audiences and fellow musicians alike.
Drake High School Jazz Band is a select group of music students focused upon the study and performance of the jazz tradition. The ensemble draws upon a variety of
Drake's students, ranging from freshman to seniors.  The group performs on campus, in the community, and at a variety of festivals.  The students perform in a big band setting, drawing upon arrangements from all eras of jazz history. 
The Starduster Orchestra  performs at private parties and public venues throughout the Bay Area.  Some of their regular venues have been the Coconut Grove, where they performed monthly for over three years.  They have also played to sell out audiences at The Great American Music Hall, The Filmore, Orocco East West Supper Club, Joe Lococo's and the Sea Food Peddler, to name just a few.
The Natural Gas Jazz Band has been delighting its audiences since 1979.  Their surprising longevity of 30 years is the result of a singularly stable band lineup, a musical book of broad appeal, and gifted musicians who enjoy creating music together.
During Harold's tenure with the Count Basie Orchestra he won the 1972 Downbeat Magazine International Jazz Critics' poll.  He has performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan (three times), George Bush, and Bill Clinton (twice)... and now you can enjoy this great artist too.
Dale Alstrom Quartet - What's a grenadilla?  A South American hardwood from which clarinets are made and it is the clarinet which provides the distinctive sound and innovative voicings of Dale Alstrom's Grenadilla Groove. Dale, a Fairfax resident and veteran arranger and instrumentalist with many years' experience with big bands, show bands, jazz bands, vocal groups and lounge groups, has put this quartet together to explore the various and unique sound combinations available with clarinet, piano, bass and drums.  The band consists of Dale Alstrom on clarinet, Chris Piazza at the keyboard, Ray Bennett on bass and Pat O'Connell on the drums.  A different sound and they swing too!  Hear them at the Ross Valley Brewing Company starting at 3:00 P.M.
fourth annual
fairfax Jazz festival
September 29 & 30, 2001

This year Ken Burns introduced the origins and evolution of our uniquely American art form jazz, to a wide popular audience.  Starting with Afro-American rhythms we watched it develop from traditional jazz and blues into the music of the big bands, bebop, cool, hard bop and fusion right up to what we know today as modern jazz.

The Fourth Annual Fairfax Jazz Festival is pleased and proud to recreate this journey.  Beginning at the turn of the last century with modern interpretations of  Dixieland and the sounds coming from the bayous of New Orleans, continuing through big band swing and its derivatives, and on to bebop and beyond.

As a special tribute to one of our great jazz innovators, Miles Davis  who's 75th birthday we celebrate this year - we will showcase music from two of Miles' ground-breaking periods - the birth of his cool era with music from the "Kind of Blue" session and his watershed fusion innovations from the "Bitches Brew" period.

Highlight of the festival is a "must-experience" tribute to the great Count Basie.  The Bay Area's own treasure, Harold Jones, will lead this tip-of-the-hat to The Count, with his exciting new big band featuring our special guest artist
Jon Hendricks of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross fame .
Both of these world-class artists played alongside the Count for many years.

All of this and much, much more... plus a few surprises you will only experience at the Fairfax Jazz Festival.

Mal Sharpe and the Big Money in Jazz Band and the Natural Gas Jazz Band start us on our journey through the 20th Century with traditional Dixieland music.  Zydeco Flames will introduce us to early folk and blues inspired New Orleans' sounds that played an important part in the development of that regions' original music. 

Five big bands: the Drake High School Jazz Ensemble; the College of Marin Jazz Band;  Bud 'E Luv's band; the Starduster Orchestra; and the Harold Jones Big Band perform the music of artists like Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Count Basie and many contemporary composers and arrangers.

The Colin Wenhardt Sextet performs music from Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" and Blue Note era, and the "Sons of Bitches Brew", with Barry Finnerty, Steve Smith and Mike Zilber mix the brew their name implies.  Look for many other groups throughout the Fourth Annual Fairfax Jazz Festival to salute Miles in their own way too.

Hear swing from its beginning with the music of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and their contemporaries, performed by the Dale Alstrom Quartet. 

Swing with the Starduster Orchestra as they play big band music the way you remember it.  Enjoy vocalist Chuck Campagnet and the Starduster Orchestra with their popular tribute to "Frank Sinatra... the Man and His Bands", with arrangements by Nelson Riddle, Tommy Dorsey, Billy May and others.

Rat Pack Swing, from Bud E. Luv and his big band, showcases the music of Louis Prima, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Mel Torme and a lot of other hip singers.

A winning combination of two headline groups - each featuring two of the Bay Area's finest musicians - will treat our audience to contemporary jazz at its finest.  Mel Martin and Noel Jewkes, play together again for the very first time in a quintet format, and the Steve Smith, Mike Zilber Quartet, preview their newly released CD "Reimagined". 

Hear contemporary Brazilian jazz with Jose Neto and Jazz Philosophy.

Catch the New York City based Andrea Wolper Trio with Ken Filiano and Tim Volpicella.  Don't miss the exciting Wolfe Canyon Quartet, direct from their triumphant debut at the Monterey Jazz Festival.  Enjoy many other local favorites like Naim Satya and the Rhythm Section, Tom Finch and Iguana Parts, Dori Green and Dave Bergman with Wanda Stafford, Shawkie Roth, the Sounds of Rhythm and others.

Here, at the start of a new century, as we consider where jazz will go next, it is appropriate to look back at the last century to appreciate the framework for what is yet to come.  At the Fourth Annual Fairfax Jazz Festival, on September 29-30, you can take this look back.  You will enjoy a retrospective of the entire 20th century in jazz presented through 44 sets of music performed by 24 groups on 9 stages, including 7 indoor venues and two outdoor stages in Bolinas Park.  Don't miss this unique walk-around jazz festival presented in Fairfax,

"the little town with a big taste for jazz."

Few will argue, though, that another Jones, Harold, brought an important sprit to the band when he joined it, and has played a significant role in maintaining something akin to the old Basie rhythm section sound."

Harold Jones is a true Bay Area Treasure.  Considered by many to be the best big band drummer in the world today, he has played with Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams, B.B. King, Natalie Cole and many many more.
arrangements, this orchestra includes some of the Bay Area's finest musicians. 
Be sure to experience the Harold Jones Big Band, performing on the Lawn Stage beginning at 6:00 P.M.
Lange was awarded a Chick Evans scholarship and decided to study radio and television speech at the University of Minnesota. After a three-year stint as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, Lange headed west for a job as an all-night disc jockey at KGO in San Francisco where he was proclaimed the "All-Nite Mayor" by the city government. Lange moved across town to KSFO and remained there for 23 years as a radio personality and sports announcer.

Lange began his television career in 1962 on "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show" for ABC-TV. In I965, he began what was to last 17 years as host of the "Dating Game", again for ABC-TV and later in the syndicated version. "The Dating Game" boosted Lange to a new height of national popularity and he emerged as one of the top television game show personalities.
Jim Lange - KABL's well-known commentator and disc jockey and Bay Area luminary will be our host for the Fourth Annual Fairfax Jazz Festival.

A veteran radio and television personality, Jim Lange is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota and began his extensive broadcasting career in high school by winning a contest. First prize netted him a job as sports reporter and disc jockey on a local Twin Cities radio station.
Tune in to KABL, Monday through Saturday from 6-10am, to hear Jim Lange playing America's Best Music.
In his own notes, Mike Zilber very clearly describes what jazz musicians have traditionally done when playing the standard repertoire. Though some purists may differ on the subject (along with composer Alec Wilder who wrote a famous editorial lambasting jazz players for changing a composer's intentions) and keeping in mind that after all it is a matter of taste, I have always felt personally that we have no choice but to put our own stamp on these chestnut tunes. After all, who can do it better than
Miles, Monk, Trane or Newk to name only a few? I remember hearing Aretha Franklin singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" years ago and hardly recognizing the song, but really digging how individual it was-and for me improved!
Steve Smith - recently named one of the top 25 drummers of all time by a Modern Drummer Magazine poll and Mike Zilber - leader of the CARMA Big Band, who has collaborated with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt, and has been praised by Downbeat as having the "fire and authority one hears in the playing of John Coltrane" - have just released a new CD
"Reimagined."

Listen to what Michael Brecker had to say about it - "An inspired and burning CD by Mike Zilber, Steve Smith and friends.  Mike has chosen some familiar jazz standards and through the process scientifically known as "Zilberization" has transformed them into new and refreshing compositions. Wonderful music."
David Liebman says "what Mike refers to as "reimagining" could on a more technical level be called "reconstruction" or "deconstruction". I must admit that I have never heard such abstractions of standards before, though it seems to be in the air these days. To use even just one small element of a tune and make that the leitmotif for a new format is the modern generation's way of handling standards. Whereas we used to reharmonize, change meter and possibly change melody, Mike completely rewrites the tune and puts in front of the musicians an extremely challenging improvisational format to blow over. (By the way for the non-musicians reading this, the techniques Mike uses are extremely sophisticated on a purely technical level.) With musicians like Steve, Paul and John, the outcome is an unqualified success.

Mike really has an original voice. Descended from a strong Wayne Shorter influence with others intertwined, his thought processes are very compositional when he plays. He is not afraid to take chances saxophonically speaking (Manteca) and plays with a raw passion that is always apparent (Mood Indigo). Steve brings to the music influences from other genres and of course an impeccable technique while Paul and John take care of the business at hand-contributing when called upon and holding the line where they have to, which is especially important on such challenging material. "Giant  Steps" is just amazing and for my taste, I think the new "Solar" melody is superior to the original, dare I say!

When I first heard this CD I was knocked out by the concept immediately. I think that this recording marks a step forward in the time worn tradition of each musical generation's placing their own slant on the jazz legacy.  The cliche of putting old wine into new bottles is very accurate for this recording. A true adventure awaits the serious jazz listener-this music is not for the faint of heart."

Don't miss this exciting world premiere of the just released Steve Smith, Mike Zilber Quartet CD "Reimagined".  They will be debuting this music at Peri's Silver Dollar, starting at 1:00 P.M.
As an actor, Andrea appeared on Bay Area and Off-Broadway stages. She is also an accomplished writer whose journalism and poetry have appeared in numerous publications, and whose non-fiction books have received acclaim.  Andrea serves on the Board of Directors of International Women in Jazz.

Andrea Wolper has recently performed at the JVC Jazz Festival in New York, and as part of a tribute to the late, great Betty Carter in the Many Colors of a Woman Festival in Hartford, CT, and at Jazz Festivals in Europe and throughout the US.  A witty and sensitive lyricist, composer, and arranger who appears most often as the leader of her own group, Andrea will be performing at Cafe Amsterdam in an intimate trio format with guitarist, Tim Volpicella and bassist,
Ken Filiano.  Their first set starts at 1:00 P.M.
They have made many CDs, there newest "FUNNJAZZ" recorded live at the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.

The leader is trombonist Mal "Man-on-the-street" Sharpe.  Mal is known for his commercials, his specials on KQED, and his Sunday night radio show on the jazz station, KCSM.

This is a very exciting band, appealing to all age groups, which is the reason a concert promoter recently called them "The Grateful Dead of Dixieland".

Mal Sharpe and the Big Money in Jazz Band will be playing the kind of happy music that has delighted audiences for decades at the Ross Valley Brewing Company starting at noon.
It's hard not to get caught up in their enthusiasm and talent. The Wolfe Canyon Quintet will be performing at Book Beat starting at 1:00 P.M., and at the Ross Valley Brewing Company at 6:00 P.M., I know you will want to see and hear them.
Festival appearances include Bill Graham's New Orleans by the Bay, Bumbershoot, the
Seattle Arts Festival and the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas.  The Flames have also played to standing-room-only crows at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee for six years now.

Jazz was born in New Orleans, and before there was Jazz there was Zydeco.  The "American Heritage Dictionary" defines Zydeco as popular music of Southern Louisana that combines
French dance melodies, elements of Caribbean music, and the blues, played by small groups featuring guitar, accordion, and a washboard.  Sound like fun... it is.  This music was an important presences at the birth of jazz, and played a seminal role in the development of the blues -- which as we all know, is where what we call jazz today came from.  Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear great sounds from the beginning recreated for you by the Zydeco Flames at 19 Broadway, beginning at 2:00 P.M.
Shawkie's more recent influences were Stan Getz, Gato Barbieri, Pharoah Sanders and
Charles Lloyd... with Lloyd leaving an unmistakable mark on his more recent playing.  In 1984,
Heavenly Music produced "Golden Flowers", his second jazz recording.

Shawkie's own personal style is founded upon a fluid, melodic line, with a warm full-bodied tone.  One can hear his emotional depth within an overall joyful feeling.  He reveals himself as a very strong and moving ballad player with a powerful rhythmic drive and sensitivity in the Latin and swing modes.  Each song he plays has personal meaning.  You can hear this very fine local artist at
Peri's Silver Dollar starting at 4:00 P.M.
In performance Mel displays a rare combination of fiery soloing abilities and telepathic communication and projects a joyously spirited vibrancy to his audiences. Born in Sacramento, California on June 7,1942, Mel moved to San Francisco in the mid-'60's and became immersed in the flourishing music scene of that time.

During the mid-'70's, Mel formed the award winning, innovative jazz group Listen. In 1977 he received the Musician Of The Year award from the San Francisco chapter of NARAS (GRAMMY) as well as a BAMMY for Best Jazz Album of 1977. The group recorded two well received albums on the
Inner City label, Listen and Growing.

Since 1983 Mel has been performing and recording with the well-known group Bebop & Beyond of which he is founder and artistic director. They have recorded three album, "Bebop and Beyond", "Bebop and Beyond Plays Thelonius Monk", and "Bebop and Beyond Plays Dizzy Gillespie" with Dizzy Gillespie as special guest which scored very high on the national jazz airplay charts and achieved a great critical success. They have received a number of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The California Arts Council and The Zellerbach, Fleishhaker and
Columbia Foundations for presentations and recordings of the highest artistic caliber. Mel has also received four National Endowment for the Arts grants, one in 1976 for composition, one in 1986 for performance and two in 1994, one to record the music of Benny Carter with Benny Carter as special guest as well as a Jazz Performance Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts with which he performed a number of concerts with pianist Kenny Barron. He was honored in 1987 by the San Francisco Jewish Museum as part of their Jewish Presence in Jazz Series.
Well here's your chance to re-live those great musical moments.  As an exclusive Fairfax Jazz Festival feature we will be presenting an original doo-wop group, Kenny Miles and the Sounds of Rhythm.  These guys are the real thing --  they were singing this stuff when it was modern. This group promises to be a special surprise highlight of this years Festival. Look for them on the streets of Fairfax throughout the day, and in Bolinas Park at 5:30 P.M.
Mel Martin has proven to be one of the most versatile and creative musicians to emerge from the San Francisco Bay Area. His virtuosic abilities on woodwinds combined with his vast range of experience has brought him to a position of pre-eminence as one of the most inventive and innovative of performers. His unique abilities as an improviser, arranger and composer have made him a favorite of such greats as
Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner,
Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, and many others.

His work as a leader has been documented on several brilliant recordings with the groups Listen and his current band Bebop & Beyond, as well as his solo recording "Other Side Up" where he displayed his fascinating abilities as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger/producer, composer and jazz soloist. He has applied these talents to a wide variety of performing and recording situations including Santana, Azteca, Boz Scaggs, Cal Tjader, Vince Guaraldi, Denny Zeitlin,
Hubert Laws, Billy Cobham, as well as a multitude of independent studio projects.
Noel Jewkes has lived and worked in the Bay Area since the mid-sixties, after a stint of five years around
Sacramento and Fresno... where he first met Mel.  Originally from Utah, and a product of a musical family (his father and uncles had a small dance orchestra)
Noel set out to see the "bright lights of the west coast" and to play his saxophone.  He learned from his mentors and friends at the fabled "Happy House" in San Francisco and jammed with jazz greats at Jimbo's Bop City.  The rest is jazz history. (See Jazz Now magazine, November, 1995 for more.)

Noel has performed or recorded with jazz luminaries like
Jon Hendricks, Mel Torme, Billy Eckstine, Mary Stallings, Rosemary Clooney, LaVay Smith, Weslia Whitfield, Larry Vucovich, Pat Yankee, Flip Nunez and many others.  He has appeared at festivals and concerts all over the Bay Area.  Events like: The
Sacramento Jazz Festival - five times; the "Living Legends" Jazz Concert - three times; the San Francisco Jazz Festival twice, and he will be appearing again at this years festival; the Russian River, and San Jose Jazz Festivals; the Fairfax Festival; and at
Bach Dancing and Dining many times.
Noel remains busy composing, arranging and playing music.  From time to time Noel fronts his own band using his original compositions with fresh arrangements of well known standards.  His album "Vooti" was released in 1999.

Noel joins Mel in co-leading this world premier performance of the Mel Martin, Noel Jewkes
Quintet... together again for the first time.  Don't miss this historic performance on the Lawn Stage at 2:30 P.M.
Jon will be celebrating his 80th birthday on September 16th.

Jon Hendricks has been called the "James Joyce of Jive" by Time magazine and "The Poet Laureate of Jazz" by Jazz critic and historian
Leonard Feather.  He then moved to California where he was a jazz critic for the San Fransisco Chronicle and taught classes at California State University at Sonoma and the University of California at Berkeley. His 1985 album "Vocalese" won five Grammy Awards.

As written in the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, "He is a fine scat singer, and is also adept at imitating instrumental sounds that his improvisations often surpass the solos played by his accompanists.  In 1958 he formed the celebrated Lambert, Hendricks & Ross trio. It was the first successful group to perfect the tradition of vocalise.  They were awarded Top Vocal Group honors in the 1959 Down Beat Poll.  For this group, which continued till 1962, Jon wrote an impressive number of lyrics to jazz standards by big-band giants like Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman. His trademark is that each song is a full-realized story and in which the rhythm of the saxophone solo's are followed meticulously. It got him the nickname "the James Joyce of Jive". 

Jon was named Distinguished Professor of Jazz Studies and awarded a
Doctor of Performance degree by the University of Toledo where he is
Artist in Residence.  Approaching his 80th birthday, Jon remains musically active performing, teaching and touring.

On September 30th Jon, along with the Harold Jones Big Band, will take part in our tribute to Count Basie.  The Count is someone Jon knew well, having performed with, recorded with and recorded tributes to, that great artist.  We are very proud to present this world-class jazz artist to our audience.  This performance will start at 6 P.M. on the Lawn Stage.
Wanda's cool and sultry style shines through, showing her versatility in front of a big band, a small combo or just a solid rhythm section.  Performing with the always wonderful and very popular Dori and Dave, Wanda is sure to shine at her performance at 19 Broadway.

Judy is a pianist and creative stylist with a unique and very personal blend of jazz and pop.
The Fabulous Bud E. Luv is a make-believe name for a very real California entertainer who originally hails from Boston, Massachusetts.  You can catch the Fabulous Bud E. Luv shows in nightclubs across the country, or on their regular television appearances.

When Bud E. Luv hits the stage, he's got one thing in mind.  With tounge placed firmly in cheek, Mr. Luv delivers the hottest hits from Las Vegas:  Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mel Torme, Louis Prima, Sam Butera and the list goes on.  He's got a sense of humor that won't quit, and a set of pipes that'll knock your socks off.


Under the leadership of Music Director, Chip Boaz, they work towards defining their personal voices as instrumentalists, improvisers, and composers.  The goal of the ensemble is the preservation and promotion of this uniquely American art form, jazz.  They will be performing on the Redwood Stage at noon.
Photo by: Chris Brown
Colin Wenhardt Sextet with their tribute to                          Miles Davis and the "Kind of Blue Era"

Colin Wenhardt has over 25 years of free-lance professional saxophone and woodwinds experience, and has recorded on a variety of albums, demos, and jingles.  Colin was lead alto with the Full Faith and Credit Jazz Orchestra. They performed concerts twice monthly and in recent years were featured at several festivals, including the Monterey Jazz Festival and the
Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival (Berkeley, CA). He is also lead alto with the Harold Jones Big Band, the Black Market Jazz Orchestra.  Colin is currently the lead alto player with both the Tim Price and CARMA big bands.  See his web sit for more information on the long list of groups he has performed with.
Jon Hendricks will also be performing at our Gala Opening Salute to "Frank Sinatra... the Man and His Bands" on Saturday, September 29th.   Along with the Starduster Orchestra, with vocalist Chuck Campagnet, Jon will sing some of the songs that are so closely identified with "Ol' Blue Eyes" and a few surprises of his own.  Jon's performance will be with the Starduster Orchestra, and in a smaller group format, supported by the
Larry Vuckovich, Harold Jones Octet, featuring Noel Jewkes and Nat Johnson.
Both of these performance have been exclusively produced for the Fairfax Jazz Festival.  This is unique opportunity to hear and see two living legends, Jon and Harold perform together in 
salute of two other great jazz legends, Frankie and The Count.  This will be a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to hear these giants of jazz together, and you will want to be there for both events.

Aria Hendricks, will be singing with her father, and on her own, at both Saturday's and Sunday's performances.
Don't miss the Fabulous Bud E. Luv with his jazz inspired "Rat Pack Swing" show at 19 Broadway.  Their first set starts at 6:00 P.M.
The Guarneri Jazz Quartet will be performing from 7:30 - 9:30 pm on Sunday September 30th at the Bookbeat, 28 Bolinas Rd. in Fairfax, as part of its regular Sunday evening series which has established a dedicated following for its innovative interpretations of jazz classics and originals.  The group is made up of some of the most creative jazz musicians in the Bay Area. 
Mario Guarneri is on trumpet, Calvin Keys on guitar, Kash Killion on bass, and Pete Magadini on drums. The members of the group have performed and recorded with such diverse artists as:
Ahmad Jamal, Jimmy Smith, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Mose Allison, John Heard, George Duke, Donald Byrd, George Cables, Sun Ra, and Pharoah Sanders, and many others.

Harold Jones...  The Beat Behind Basie:  Noted jazz critic and author
Leonard Feather wrote a feature article for the 1971 issue of "Downbeat" magazine carrying the headline "Harold Jones: The Beat Behind Basie".  In this article he wrote "Since the (Count Basie) band first breezed into New York City in 1936, with Jonathan (Jo) Jones playing one of the most influential percussion roles in jazz history, there has been a distinguished line of succession. Some experts have been highly critical of the band's performance at times in years past and have blamed the trouble on an inadequate drummer.
...and a Very Special Guest Appearance on        both the 29th and 30th by Aria Hendricks
Every parent finds ways to inadvertently torture their children.  Some make their kids take piano lessons, join a church choir or wear odd-looking pants to school.  Others drag them on hunting ventures or through the mall on agonizing shopping trips.  Most parents are pros at embarrassing their teens in front of their friends.  When you're the daughter of legendary singer Jon Hendricks, the torment comes in the form of being forced to sing with your dad on stage at age seven.

"I'm the youngest of five children.  It was an unwritten rule in my family that when you turned seven you had to go on stage and sing with dad.  He would write a song based on your favorite nursery rhyme and the older siblings would sing background.  I felt like a lamb heading for the slaughter", says Aria Hendricks.  "They all did it before me, and I just felt completely under pressure and so I started rebelling, announcing at the age of five that I was never going to sing.  When the time came I was quite literally pushed out on stage by my mother."  "It was completely terrifying" she laughs, recalling the incident Aria Hendricks survived her singing debut.  And despite twenty years of aversion to professional singing, Aria has finally embraced the career her parents prodded her toward at a young age.

Starting with her father's group, "Jon Hendricks & Co.", the successor to his original group, "Lambert, Hendricks & Ross", Aria has appeared all over the world in all major Jazz clubs and festivals including venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.  She regularly performed in the famed Blue Note Jazz Clubs in both the United States and Asia.  She has also performed at the Paris Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival and Mount Fuji Jazz Festival.

Aria also appeared on the CD's entitled "Freddie Freeloader, Jon Hendricks and Friends" and "Boppin' at the Blue Note" with such luminaries as Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, George Benson,
Wynton Marsallis, The Manhattan Transfer and the Count Basie Orchestra, all of whom she has also appeared with live either on television or in concert.  Other live performances have been with the likes of
Chaka Kahn, Nancy Wilson, James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Dianne Reeves, Joe Williams and many others.

Aria was educated in London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.  She earned a degree in film from NYU and a Bachelors of Music from the Manhattan School of Music.  She has recently embarked on a solo career and is currently working the club circuit in New York City where she appears to rave reviews, performing jazz, soul and pop.

Aria will be a special Guest Attraction at both the Gala Opening Event on Saturday, September 29th and at the main Festival Event on Sunday, September 30th.  She will be performing alone and with her father.  These will be wonderful performances.
The Novato High School Jazz Band has been added as a special pre-festival attraction.  This award winning band will perform under the direction of Mark Peabody, on the Lawn stage at 11:45 p.m.