Jazz-BluesView: Music in Downtown
By Eric Benson
On we fall, we go, singing the last refrain from September’s Song. We look forward to the cooling trend and letting the ground grow fallow before the promise of spring. We still need all our fans to come out for the Blue Monday Party jam on the second Monday of every month at Café Urbano. We thank our sponsors, Gary Nelson and Chris Murphy, for their support, as it helps pay the musicians. They gotta eat, too!
I want to discuss an issue that many people are unaware of: please share sites where dogs and animals are on lists to be put down. Most of my dogs are rescues, and I try to help them deal with unnecessary suffering. Please share and help in any way you can.
The Blues Monday Party continues at Café Urbano. The band features John Burt Sax, Cortez Flores on drums, Kevin Marin on bass/trumpet, myself, Eric Benson on keyboards, and special guest Gene Radino, a jazz guitarist. The alumni include John Adey on Bass, Conrad Johnson on Bass, Dave Hawks on drums, and Andrew Rosenblum on Sax. We have had some high school horn players who can play Jazz come down. Please come down for some music, food, and a full bar. I can’t do it without you! We need more places to play live music, especially downtown. Let me know if you have any ideas or ways to make it happen.
We all need to work on supporting the venues that support the arts and creating new venues, as many great bands need to be heard. Together, we can make it happen and see things strive!
There are some great shows at Gallo Center. Still, you can also check out some great venues out of town: The West Side Theatre in Newman, Vinhose Tapas Bar in Merced, Yoshi’s Oakland best jazz shows, Khumba Music Center Santa Cruz, Piedmont Piano Company, the Back Door, and the Sound Room located in Oakland.
