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
Born in 1954 in Wichita, Kansas Jack spent his childhood in Fresno, California. He learned how to play the banjo at the age of 12 and he paid his dues by attending festivals and performing at pizza parlors.
He was the 1973 winner of the United Artist "Best Banjoist of Northern California." His success as an entertainer has brought him into the entertainment booking business. Other entertainers he has worked with include Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Nelson, The Temptations, Chris Isaak and others. Jack started the Banjo Snow Train to Reno in 2007, and is a current member of the Cell Block 7 jazzband.
Jack has recorded 8 CD’s. Jack will be accompanied by Gary Neuman on piano.
For more info about Jack visit www.banjojazz.com, www.banjosnowtrain.com or email entline@mac.com.
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.
Vendors and Banjo Bands
Renee Karnes
Banjo Hall of Fame inductee 2005
Renée Karnes, apprentice to Master Henry Lea, began her tutelage at the age of 20. She developed her highly sought after skills working with Henry for 13 years. In 1985 with Henry’s passing he willed her the business to carry on in the repair, restoration, and building of banjos. She began building custom one of a kind banjos in 1982.
Renée has shown her work at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival as well as many banjo conventions thru out the U.S. One of her banjos was featured at the Creative Arts Gallery in Sun Valley, Idaho, where it was said " to have stolen the show."
Renee Karnes: http://www.banjosbyrenee.com/hof.html
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 Tuesday 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/
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
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, gut-buckets, and various percussion devices.
We play 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
The Sacramento Banjo Band was formed in 1960. Banjoists in the Sacramento area were concerned that "America's unique instrument" and its music could be lost. They couldn't allow this to happen! They put an ad in the local paper inviting banjo players to meet for a jam session. They were astonished when a very large number of banjo players showed up! This intense interest lead to an active group that became the Sacramento Banjo Band, a charitable, nonprofit organization governed by a set of By-laws. The bonding power that holds the band together is a common love of banjos, banjo music, and the frequent opportunities to perform together. The result is a musical family, both on and off stage, with strong social ties.
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)
The PBB was organized in 1963 as the Cupertino Banjo Band. As it grew and attracted members from all over the Peninsula bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay its name was changed to the Peninsula Banjo Band. The band was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1975. Membership varies from 45 - 70 and includes plectrum and tenor banjoists as well as wash tub bass players.
The PBB has performed at many public and private affairs including street festivals, retirement homes, private parties and grand civic occasions. It performed at the anniversary celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge, the reopening of the cable cars, San Francisco’s Black and White ball, Candlestick Park, the Cherry Blossom festivals, Music in the Park in San Jose, the opening of the San Jose Convention Center, special events at the De Young museum and for President Clinton and Vice-president Gore. Most recently, the band performed at the opening ceremony of The Tech museum in San Jose.
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/