*Sunday, October 18th, 2020: Bob Kenmotsu Quartet
Calliope co-presents with St. Alban's
A Guaranteed Fair Wage Concert, courtesy of Jazz in the Neighborhood
4 p.m. Live Stream; Location TBA $25 general admission, $20 seniors and students, $15 youth 10-18
Tickets on Eventbrite
Bob Kenmotsu, sax; Robb Fisher, bass; Ron Marabuto, drums; Jeffrey Burr guitar

Sample some music here.

Bob Kenmotsu (saxophone) Now based in Berkeley, CA, Bob was born in Stockton, where he first learned music in the public schools, starting on clarinet in the 4th Grade. He switched to alto sax in while a senior in high school, and then to tenor sax while at San Jose State. After graduating, Bob began working local music jobs, including a stint on a cruise ship, before moving to New York, where he was soon immersed in the local scene, including work as a member of the Jack McDuff organ combo and the Ruth Brown Band. That period included recording ‘The Spark’, with Billy Hart and Ira Coleman, and ‘Bronx Tale’, with Pat Martino and Jack McDuff, as well as on Pat Martino’s ‘Nightwings’, with Bill Stewart and Marc Johnson, and winning a New Jersey Arts Commission Grant for composition.

In the 90's, Bob spent three years in Japan on a Japan/US Fellowship cultural exchange grant, playing many clubs, concerts and festivals, and touring Japan several times. Upon his return to the US, he settled back into the music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area, participating in multiple jazz ensembles, as well as forming his own, and recorded ‘Looking at Air’, with Bill Stewart, Essiet Okun Essiet and Joel Weiskopf. His latest recording, ‘Trio’ features David Wong, bass, and Rodney Green, drums.

Robb Fisher (bass) (Grammy - Cal Tjader Band) has been a sideman for a diverse number of artists since moving to the Bay Area in 1967. As a young man growing up in LA, Robb was fortunate to be around jazz; his father was a bassist and arranger who had an enormous record collection. (His dad later became the first person to ever receive a Master’s Degree in jazz at USC.) Robb studied clarinet and alto sax through junior high, and in high school, a love of jazz and collecting LPs engulfed him.

In 1976, Robb joined Cal Tjader’s group, which included percussionist Pancho Sanchez. It was an association that lasted over six years and a key highlight in Robb’s career. “Cal was a mentor to all his sidemen,” say Robb, “and his lyrical ballads and love of Afro Cuban rhythms was impressive. Cal was a master of breathing. It was as if he could light up a cigarette while he soloed.” Robb toured and recorded many albums, including anchoring Cal’s Grammy Award winning album, “La Onda Va Bien” and Grammy Nominee album, “Gozame Pero Ya.” During this period, Robb recorded with such jazz and Latin luminaries as Art Pepper, Carmen McCrae, Clare Fischer, Tania Maria and Anita O’Day. Cal died on Cinco de Mayo in the Philippines in 1982. “It was a significant loss for all of us,” Robb says.

Robb has continued to play with a wide range of local Bay Area jazz musicians, including Dick Whittington, Keith Saunders, Ben Stolorow, Parker Grant, Kai Lyons, Brandon Etzler, Andrew Speight, Vince Lateano, Ron Marabuto, Leon Joyce, and many others. In the 90’s, Robb and guitarist George Cotsirilos formed a quintet that featured drummer Eddie Marshall, a creative vehicle for original works to be played. Two of Robb’s tunes can be heard on the Monarch recording entitled “The Nighthawks featuring Eddie Marshall.” He is currently playing regularly on Saturdays at the Berkeley Cheeseboard with the North Berkeley Jazz Quartet featuring Bob Kenmotsu, Keith Saunders, and Ron Marabuto. Robb has taught for many years at the Jazz School in Berkeley and Bob Athayde’s Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop.

RON MARABUTO (drums) Instructor/Performer Ron Marabuto is the son of pianist/arranger John Marabuto and was raised in the East Bay. After graduating from UC Berkeley, he spent over a decade in New York City working with jazz greats such as Pepper Adams, Tommy Flanagan and Roland Hanna. Upon returning to San Francisco, Ron continued to work with many notable musicians including, Buddy Montgomery, Bruce Forman and Mark Levine. Ron has taught at Stanford Jazz Workshop, JazzCamp West and Monterey Jazz Festival Education Program.

Jeffrey Burr (guitar) The progeny of two classical bassists, Jeffrey Burr was encouraged to study music seriously from a young age, but chose the guitar as his instrument anyway. On the way to Rock Stardom, some Charlie Parker sides got through somehow, and Jeffrey wound up spending several years studying jazz improvisation. At sixteen he performed with bop grandmaster Dizzy Gillespie. After earning his BA at the renowned William Paterson College, Jeffrey moved his shed to Brooklyn and generally made a nuisance of himself in the NYC jazz scene. This one time, he played with Norah Jones, but she wasn't famous yet. Before returning to the Bay Area from whence he sprang, Jeffrey recorded “Bright Blue” which is receiving critical acclaim as you read this.