Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 6-8:30pm will continue our music series held at El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex (The Annex)  – “The Annex Sessions”

Charged Particles with Tod Dickow 

Tod Dickow – Tenor Saxophone

Greg Sankovich – Piano

Doug Pohorski – Bass

Jon Krosnick – Drums

Bay Area super-band Charged Particles plays a blend of funky Latin jazz.  Downbeat Magazine said, “Charged Particles dazzle”, and Jazz Times Magazine said the band members are “tight and enormously talented.”

The jazz trio Charged Particles (www.chargedparticles.com) has played funky Latin jazz in Indonesia, the U.K., Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Italy, and across the U.S., at famed venues including Yoshi’s, Ronnie Scott’s, Birdland, Blues Alley, the Musical Instrument Museum, the Columbus Jazz Festival, the Stanford Jazz Festival, the San Luis Obispo Jazz Festival, the Eureka Springs Jazz Festival, and hundreds of others.  The band recently sold out Ronnie Scott’s (in London) and Birdland (in New York City) with tenor saxophonist Tod Dickow and world class trumpeter, Randy Brecker, playing new arrangements of compositions by the late great jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker on the CD, “Live at the Baked Potato!” (Summit Records).

The CD was named among the best 2021 jazz releases in JazzTimes Magazine, Jazzwise Magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, the Jazz Journalists Association, the 16th Annual Jazz Critics Poll, Glide Magazine, Nippertown Magazine, and more publications.

In a concert review, Downbeat Magazine called the band “something special” and “inventive, invigorating, mesmerizing, beautiful, virtuosic, and lyrical.”  Nippertown Magazine said the band’s performance at the Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival was “often thrilling” and “the peak set of the day”.  The Oxford Times said their performance at the Spin Jazz Club was “brilliant”.

While studying music at the College of San Mateo, tenor saxophonist Tod Dickow began performing in the Bay Area with small groups and big bands, and he is a powerful voice on the Bay Area scene today. His playing has been recognized by outstanding soloist awards at the Pacific Coast Jazz Festival and was awarded the Outstanding Soloist award by Down Beat Magazine.  He has appeared with numerous celebrated artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Jackie & Roy, Harry Connick Jr, Steve Allen, Terry Gibbs, Frank Sinatra Jr., Dave Brubeck, and many more.

A East Bay native, Greg Sankovich began his keyboard journey with classical piano training and was inspired by jazz pianists include Herbie Hancock, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Keith Jarrett, and Bill Evans.  After graduating from UC Berkeley, Greg moved to Tokyo to perform with his jazz fusion group, Taikun, where he lived for over 10 years, performing and recording with a long list of top Japanese artists and music production companies.  He is currently a keyboardist, producer, and music educator in the Bay Area while leading his band, Times 4.

Doug Pohorski is a Bay Area bassist, recording engineer, producer, and composer. He has been performing on the upright and electric bass for over 35 years with a host of instrumentalists and vocalists, including at jazz festivals such as the Monterey Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, and the Montreux Jazz Festival.  Doug has shared the stage with many talented musicians including; Bobby McFerrin, John Stowell, Bruce Forman, Mark Levine, Michele Hendricks, Gary Meek, Calvin Keys, and Denise Perrier.  Doug also owns and operates his own recording studio: Acoustic Sound Shop Studios.

Drummer Jon Krosnick has been in the Bay Area for 20 years, performing with Charged Particles as well as the nine-piece Latin jazz group, The Lunar Octet.  Jon began his jazz drumming by studying with celebrated jazz superstar Peter Erskine.  He worked with a range of bands playing jazz and other genres, including the Jon Krosnick Quintet, State of Mind, the New Jazz Sextet, Pangaea, the Kristen Strom Quartet, the Dewayne Oakley Trio, and many more.  Recently, he performed with two trios, including (1) Chick Corea and John Patitucci, and (2) Bill O’Connell and Lincoln Goines.

www.chargedparticles.com

https://www.facebook.com/charged.particles/

https://www.instagram.com/chargedpart/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/chargedpart?lang=en

The Natural Grocery Company is proud to present this series in partnership with SunJams and Javier Navarrette Music Productions.

SunJams is committed to funding children’s music education in underserved public elementary schools. Your donation will help support this ongoing program.

All of the proceeds will go directly to our network of local musicians, each of whom have been severely impacted by the lack of events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether you donate $10, $100, or $1000 – any amount helps and will allow us to keep bringing music to our community! As always, your donation to SunJams 501(c)3 may qualify as tax exempt.

Javier Navarrette Music Productions continues to bring live music to several venues around the Bay Area. Javier has been a professional musician and music educator in the Oakland Unified School District for the past 20 years. Over the past few years Navarrette has produced outdoors events that have proven instrumental in enabling musicians to deal with some of the fallout of the pandemic and shutdown that followed.

COVID RELATED SAFETY MEASURES

Please be safe. Feel free to wear a mask if you prefer.

TICKETS

Tickets are NOT required for this venue, you can simply come in, order food and beverages at the Annex counter and pay at the registers.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 6-8:30pm will continue our music series held at El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex (The Annex)  – “The Annex Sessions”

Melissa Cruz “Flamenco Pars Fortuna” 

Join us for a special evening of music and dance with this ensemble presenting impromptu flamenco, showcasing the unique proclivities of each artist.

Featuring:

Melissa Cruz: flamenco dance and percussion

Azriel “El Moreno”: vocals

Jesse Torre and Bob Sanders: guitar

Melissa Cruz is a Bay Area-based flamenco professional and has been a full-time flamenco artist and instructor for the past 15 years.  She began training with the Bay Area’s acclaimed flamenco master Rosa Montoya and soon thereafter, joined Ms. Montoya’s professional company. Melissa has performed as a soloist in the San Francisco International Arts Festival and has presented in eight San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festivals, twice as a featured soloist. In 2013, she was commissioned to present a solo representing the genre of flamenco in the San Francisco Isadora Duncan Awards Ceremony.  She teaches a full schedule of classes and mentors her students in their development of flamenco knowledge and interpretation culminating in formal annual recitals, of which she has produced eight consecutively.  Enjoying a concurrent musical career, she is percussionist/drummer/dancer with several active musical projects.  She currently continues as principal dancer and choreographer for the San Francisco Flamenco Dance Company and has collaborated with Flamenco Fever (Dallas) Oleaje Flamenco (Seattle), Quiero Flamenco (Spokane), Arte y Pasion (San Antonio), Ballet Flamenco La Rosa, (Miami), Tuscon Flamenco Festival (Tuscon) St. Louis Flamenco Society (St. Louis MO), Flamenco Pacifico (Portland OR) Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco and Caminos Flamencos (San Francisco).  Recently, she was Artistic Director of “The Flamenco Room” San Francisco’s longest running cabaret flamenco show.  Summer 2021 saw Melissa featured in the one-woman flamenco theater play, “Flamenco on my Own” produced in collaboration with Ballet Flamenco La Rosa in Miami and as a featured performer and instructor at the 2021 Festival Flamenco Albuquerque presented by the National Institute of Flamenco. From 2020 to 2022, she was a Producer for Arts in the Basin, curating the program’s Friday night live performances.  This year 2023, Melissa was a featured performer in the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, the Peninsula International Dance Festival and the World Arts West Dance Festival.

In addition to her accomplished artistic career, Melissa is a Bachelor of the Arts graduate of UC Berkeley and holds a Juris Doctor degree from University of San Francisco.

As described by Rachel Howard of the SF Chronicle: “Any dancer could make pained faces. But Cruz is clearly possessed by the duende — the spirit that drives this deeply introspective art.”

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The Natural Grocery Company is proud to present this series in partnership with SunJams and Javier Navarrette Music Productions.

SunJams is committed to funding children’s music education in underserved public elementary schools. Your donation will help support this ongoing program.

All of the proceeds will go directly to our network of local musicians, each of whom have been severely impacted by the lack of events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether you donate $10, $100, or $1000 – any amount helps and will allow us to keep bringing music to our community! As always, your donation to SunJams 501(c)3 may qualify as tax exempt.

Javier Navarrette Music Productions continues to bring live music to several venues around the Bay Area. Javier has been a professional musician and music educator in the Oakland Unified School District for the past 20 years. Over the past few years Navarrette has produced outdoors events that have proven instrumental in enabling musicians to deal with some of the fallout of the pandemic and shutdown that followed.

COVID RELATED SAFETY MEASURES

Please be safe. Feel free to wear a mask if you prefer.

TICKETS

Tickets are NOT required for this venue, you can simply come in, order food and beverages at the Annex counter and pay at the registers.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 6-8:30pm will continue our music series held at El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company Prepared Food Annex (The Annex)  – “The Annex Sessions”

George Brooks Quartet 

George Brooks – saxophone

Kai Eckhardt – bass

Dillon Vado – vibes

Scott Amendola – percussion

George Brooks

George Brooks is a prolific and diverse saxophonist and composer, acclaimed for successfully bridging the worlds of jazz and Indian classical music. He is the founder of Indian fusion groups Summit with Zakir Hussain, Steve Smith, Kai Eckhardt and Fareed Haque; Bombay Jazz with Larry Coryell and Ronu Majumdar; the Raga Bop Trio with Steve Smith and Carnatic guitarist Prasanna and Elements with Indian violinist Kala Ramnath and Dutch harpist Gwyneth Wentink.

Brooks began his study of jazz with Count Basie saxophonist, Frank Foster and continued at the New England Conservatory of Music, with George Russell, Joe Allard and Jaki Byard. While attending the Conservatory, Brooks was introduced to Indian classical music and became entranced by its melodic beauty, rhythmic complexity and deep spiritual core. After graduating, Brooks traveled to India where he met master vocalist Pandit Pran Nath, the giant of north Indian music who deeply influenced pioneering composers LaMonte Young and Terry Riley. Brooks immersed himself in study with Pran Nath, cooking and caring for his “Guruji”, in exchange for knowledge. This is the traditional Indian style of learning known as “guru-shishya parampara”.

Returning from India, Brooks settled in California and began his long association with pianist Terry Riley. For the past thirty years they have performed throughout Europe, the US and Asia as a duo, in trio settings with sitarist Krishna Bhatt and with a variety of larger ensembles. While touring with Riley and developing his unique voice as an artist, Brooks also became a mainstay of the Bay Area blues scene, arranging and leading horn sections for Sonny Rhodes, Frankie Lee, Albert Collins and Johnny Taylor and touring internationally with R+B icon Etta James.

In addition to performing and composing, Brooks has taught on the faculties of UC Santa Cruz, Mills College and the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, CA and leads master classes at colleges and schools around the world.

Want to know more? Visit George’s Website for a more detailed biography and links to hear him play.

http://www.georgebrooks.com/

Kai Eckhardt

Kai Eckhardt began to play bass guitar in 1976 at age 15. His first major undertaking came in 1985 when European guitar prodigy Torsten de Winkel asked him to join his recording ensemble with Michael Brecker and Alphonse Mouzon, making quite a splash in the European scene, and later his touring band with Ernie Watts and Steve Smith, leading to an invitation to Eckhardt and Torsten to join Smith’s US-based group Vital Information. The two German musicians also appeared together in a TV production with Randy Brecker and Simon Phillips in Swiss National Television.

Meanwhile, he had accepted a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music and began to establish himself in the US, working with the likes of Aydin Esen, Stanley Clarke, Tiger Okoshi and Bob Moses. In 1988 Kai joined the John Mclaughlin Trio with percussionist Trilok Gurtu and John McLaughlin. The trio toured extensively in the years to come and recorded a number of albums, including Que Alegria in 1992. Afterwards, Eckhardt moved to the San Francisco bay area and turned his attention to composing, while performing with the Billy Cobham International Quartet and with Garaj Mahal. As a session musician he recorded an performed with Jazz legends Dewey Redman, Donald Byrd and Bob Moses.

In 2000, he released his first CD as a leader, entitled “Honour Simplicity, Respect the Flow” and featuring Aydın Esen, Courtney Pine, Zakir Hussain and others. He is also working with his own new group the Kai Eckhardt Reslilience (which released an album entitled Zeitgeist in 2014). Eckhardt also runs a mentor-ship program for young musicians.  Today Kai is the co-leader and co-producer of the influential jam band Garaj Mahal. The band played over 1000 shows in the US and Canada between 2000 and 2019. Garaj Mahal released 9 albums during those years and won the independent music awards in the Jam Band category in 2007. Most recent collaborations include live performances with R&B saxophonist Ronnie Laws and guitarist Stanley Jordan.  Kai lives in Berkeley, California with his wife and two children and works as an associate professor for the University of California, Berkeley as well as the California Jazz Conservatory.

Dillon Vado

Dillon Vado is an active professional drummer and vibraphonist in the San Francisco Bay Area. He grew up in San Jose, California, and started playing music at the age of 8. Dillon learned a lot from a family friend early on in his life, but also played in school band programs throughout middle and high school. This fueled Dillon’s interest in eventually marching snare drum with the Santa Clara Vanguard and studying music full time at West Valley College.  At West Valley, Dillon started playing the vibraphone, which eventually lead him to being a more serious multi-instrumentalist.

In 2012 Dillon transferred to the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, and went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree there in 2017.  His  performance experiences include playing in the South Bay scene at venues like the Art Boutiki, and Cafe Stritch, marching snare drum with the Santa Clara Vanguard, recording at Fantasy Studios,  and playing with other professionals at The Freight and Salvage, Yoshi’s, and the SF Jazz Center. He has played at local festivals such as the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest and the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco. He has also performed overseas at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Dillon has performed with Art Lande, Marcus Shelby, Hafez Modirzadeh,Royal Hartigan, Erik Jekabson, Jeff Denson, Alan Hall, and Marcos Silva.

​In 2014, Dillon won 1st place in the Jazz Search West competition on vibraphone, and in 2017 was also selected for the Buddy Montgomery Jazz Legacy Award through the California Jazz Conservatory. Dillon can be found playing actively with Alan Hall’s Ratatet, Erik Jekabson’s String-tet, the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra and many other creative musical endeavors lead by his peers around the Bay Area. He also leads several projects of his own,  including Never Weather, Beyond Words: Jazz and Poetry, and The Table Trio.

Scott Amendola

Scott Amendola is an American drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, and rock.

Amendola is originally from New Jersey and studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. After relocating to California, he rose to popularity in the 1990s as a member of the band T.J. Kirk with Charlie Hunter, Will Bernard and John Schott. Their second album, If Four Was One, received a Grammy Award nomination. Amendola has led his own bands and trios, which have included musicians such as Nels Cline, Jenny Scheinman, Jeff Parker, John Shifflet, Ben Goldberg and Devin Hoff. He has recorded with Pat Martino, Jim Campilongo, G. E. Stinson and Tony Furtado, among others. He is an original member of the Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core and has been a session percussionist for Cris Williamson, Noe Venable, Carla Bozulich, and Odessa Chen, to name a few.

In 2011, Amendola premiered his orchestral work Fade to Orange, performed in conjunction with the Oakland East Bay Symphony as one of their New Visions/New Vistas premieres. The drummer was joined by Nels Cline and Trevor Dunn.

~

The Natural Grocery Company is proud to present this series in partnership with SunJams and Javier Navarrette Music Productions.

SunJams is committed to funding children’s music education in underserved public elementary schools. Your donation will help support this ongoing program.

All of the proceeds will go directly to our network of local musicians, each of whom have been severely impacted by the lack of events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether you donate $10, $100, or $1000 – any amount helps and will allow us to keep bringing music to our community! As always, your donation to SunJams 501(c)3 may qualify as tax exempt.

Javier Navarrette Music Productions continues to bring live music to several venues around the Bay Area. Javier has been a professional musician and music educator in the Oakland Unified School District for the past 20 years. Over the past few years Navarrette has produced outdoors events that have proven instrumental in enabling musicians to deal with some of the fallout of the pandemic and shutdown that followed.

COVID RELATED SAFETY MEASURES

Please be safe. Feel free to wear a mask if you prefer.

TICKETS

Tickets are NOT required for this venue, you can simply come in, order food and beverages at the Annex counter and pay at the registers.