2010 Headliners/Bands
Our 2010 headliners will include Howard Alden, considered one of the best jazz banjoists and guitarists of his generation, Banjo Hall-of-Famer Charlie Tagawa, the excellent talents of Jack Convery and Friends, and the unique banjo stylings of Rob Wright.
Noted local banjo bands will also be performing, including the East Bay Banjo Club, Sacramento Banjo Band, Wineland Banjo Band, San Francisco Banjo Band, and the Peninsula Banjo Band.
Howard Alden
"He may be the best of his generation." writes Owen Cordle in Jazz Times. Read on...
Hear Howard play on Youtube: Nola, Lollipops
JACK CONVERY
Winner of the 1973 United Artists best banjoist of Northern California contest, having performed and worked with such music legends as Bing Crosby and Perry Como, and band director of the S.F. 49ers band since 1987, Jack Convery has been hailed as “the best banjoist in the NFL.” A singer and guitarist as well, his repertoire of lively material includes timeless jazz classics, novelty show stoppers and country, pop, and bluegrass standards arranged for the banjo. Jack has worked with legendary entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Arthur Godfrey, Willie Nelson, The Temptations, and many more. Born in 1954 in Witchita, Ka., Jack spent his childhood in Fresno, Ca., learning the banjo at age 12. In 2007 Jack started http://www.banjosnowtrain.com/ and in 2009 started http://www.summerjazzbanjofestival.com/ . Jack has numerous CD’s to his credit and performs at banjo and jazz festivals, city concerts, and at venues in Northern California.
Hear Jack Convery and Howard Alden play Limehouse Blues
Charlie Tagawa & Nori Tagawa with Mary Horne
Charlie Tagawa began playing banjo and guitar at age 20 in Tokyo. He was a favorite with the Americans who heard him with the Dixieland Dukes at Tokyo’s Gaslight Club. A Bay Area Restaurant owner convinced him to come to the U.S. in 1964 to entertain. He eventually became the music director of the Peninsula Banjo Band, organizer of a great youth band, and an outstanding performer at almost every Banjo-Rama in recent times. He was inducted into the national four-string banjo Hall of Fame museum for instructions and education in 2003. He performs today with is son, Nori on banjo and Mary Horne on washtub bass.
http://www.peninsulabanjoband.org/charlie.html
Rob Wright
Rob Wright is a very versatile musician who has played every style of music from folk (a former member of the New Christy Minstrels) to country to pop to jazz.Prior to giving in to a daytime career as a financial consultant, Wright and his wife paid their musical dues performing on the road. Settling in Tucson, Wright has continued to perform locally (most notably as a recurring guest soloist with the Tucson Pops Orchestra). Rob is co-chair and founder of Arizona Banjo Blast, held every other year in Tucson, AZ.
Banjo Bands
The East Bay Banjo Club
The East Bay Banjo Club was founded in 1963 as a nonprofit organization and dedicated to the spirit of playing "Happy" banjo music. Currently there are about 40 very enthusiastic members who meet every Wednesday night from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the Round Table Pizza Parlor at 1938 Oak Park Blvd. in Pleasant Hill, California.
In the past, the Club had a famous float, "The River Queen" which we used in parades, and various community functions. The float was retired in 1997. We now play at many different civic events, private parties, and club functions, mainly in Contra Costa County and occasionally a neighboring county or two. Annually we play at the Palo Alto Banjo Jubilee and the Sacramento Banjo-Rama, where we are featured players along with some of the best banjo bands in the entire USA.
The money we earn from our "playouts" is donated to various charities - mainly those involved with handicapped children, and a few senior citizen organizations.
The Club always welcomes new members from outright beginners to seasoned professionals The range of banjo playing experience within the club is usually from several months to as much as 30 years. So, if you love banjos, happy music and fun, please stop by, take a look, and listen.
* THE EAST BAY BANJO CLUB can be heard Every Tuesday
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Round Table Pizza, 1938 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill, California
Website: http://www.eastbaybanjo.org/
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The San Francisco Banjo Band
The San Francisco Banjo Band has been entertaining throughout the Bay Area for the past 40 years and continues to delight audiences with their performances and renditions of songs from Stephen Foster to Broadway Musicals. The band has played at San Francisco Giants events, for the S.F. Office of Protocol,events at the South San Francisco Convention Center, charities, senior centers, parades, and social functions of all types.
Should you want to see the band, your best bet would be Molloy's Tavern on the 1st Saturday of each month from 7:30pm-10:30pm located at 1655 Mission Rd, Colma; or at the Oyster Point Yacht Club on the 3rd Friday of each month located at 911 Marina Blvd, South San Francisco from 7pm-9:30pm.
Email: sfbanjoband@yahoo.com.
The WineLand Banjo Band
Lead by Jim Bottdorf, the WineLand Banjo Band consists of musicians from many locations in Northern California, including the Livermore Valley, Sonoma Valley, Gold Country, Shenandoah Valley, and San Jose areas. Some of the members drive long distances just to attend our weekly get together in Livermore, California. Instruments include 4-string plectrum banjos, bass guitar, washboards, and various percussion devices.
We play and sing nostalgic songs of yesterday composed from the gay-90’s through the 40’s. Seniors are delighted to hear familiar sing-a-long tunes. Younger people are excited because this style of music is novel to them. How often do you hear lots of 4-string banjos happily strumming together? Enthusiastic toe tapping and singing characterize our audiences.
* Wineland Banjo Band: http://www.jbott.com/winelandbanjoband.html
The Sacramento Banjo Band
Sacramento Banjo Band. This band has grown to over 50 playing members and about 60 Friends of the Band. They have been performing each year at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in May. On the first and third Sundays of the month, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., they fill the Straw Hat Pizza Parlor on Mather Field Road with happy players, fans, and music. Last summer they performed a concert for the Tahoe Music Festival at Squaw Valley. In 2005 they donated over $12,400 to children's charities, including Shriners Hospitals for Children, the Make A Wish Foundation, W.E.A.V.E., Sacramento Children's Home, Red Cross, Salvation Army and other deserving charities./p>
Band members are all volunteers who play without compensation. Consequently the band is as affordable as it is entertaining. Proceeds above actual expenses are contributed to charities that involve caring for children, for example, the "Shriner's Hospitals for Children". We contribute approximately $12,000 to charities each year!!
Sacramento Banjo Band First & third Sundays (2-4 pm) - These are informal jam sessions held at Straw Hat Pizza Parlor at 2929 Mather Field Rd Rancho Cordova, CA 95670-5417 (Mather Field Rd exit north off of Hwy 50). Banjo players are welcome to sit in. Website: http://www.sacramentobanjoband.com
The PBB (Peninsula Banjo Band)
This band organized in 1963 to preserve the four-string banjo and its music. They have up to 70 members including plectrum and tenor banjos, as well as the washtub bass players. They have played for numerous functions in the Bay Area including Candlestick Park, the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Black and White Ball, the Tech Museum in Oakland, and the Mayors' Convention in San Francisco where Mayor Willie Brown directed the band. They have raised over $200,000 for charities such as the Research Institute of S.F., the Stanford Hospital, Hospice of the Valley and the Ronald McDonald House. Charlie Tagawa is their music director. They meet Wednesdays 7:00 PM at Cabrito's Mexican Bistro 685 E. El Camino Real Sunnyvale. They hold a wonderful Banjo Jubilee each September with great banjo performers and bands.
The band has been directed for 38 of its 40 years by Charlie Tagawa, a master of the tenor banjo.
See the Peninsula Banjo Band at 8:00 PM on any Tuesday evening
Straw Hat Pizza 1535 Meridian at Hamilton in San Jose
Website: http://www.peninsulabanjoband.org/