Good Bellies Cafe
4659 Telegraph Ave @ 46th; Temescal, Oakland, CA

*NOTE TIME CHANGE*
RETRO BLUE
Jim Ryan vocals, sax, flute - Esten Lindgren double bass'

With his new band, Retro Blue, Jim Ryan creates a fresh look at the blues, R&B, and the folk ballad with original compositions in these styles. His saxophone, vocals, and lyrics pay homage to the venerable tradition and take it out into experimental areas where humor, emotion, and improvisation forge a gripping dialogue with the future. He’ll play and sing 'Run From Baby Blues', 'The Death of the Sun', 'Bullshittin' Charlie', as well as hitting his instrumental pieces such as 'Jimmy’s Jump' and 'How Are You?' And 'free style spontaneous compositions' are always on tap. Contrabassist Esten Lindgren will play with Jim on these.

Aram Shelton (Reeds) & Mark Clifford (Vibes)

"We play a range of music centered around Free Improvisation and original Compositions, as well as some of the music of Thelonious Monk."

Aram Shelton is a saxophonist & clarinetist, improviser and composer. Originally from southeast Florida, Shelton spent several productive years in Chicago before moving west to Oakland. The music he makes is spread across a variety of difficult to describe aesthetics, and is unified through the influence of the avant-jazz and free improvisation movements in America and Europe since the 1950s. An organizer and presenter, Shelton curates the Active Music Series. He teaches clarinet at the Oakland School for the Arts. He has been featured in Downbeat Magazine due to his ties to the creative music scenes in the Bay Area and Chicago: in California the groups Marches, Stratic, and the Oakland Active Orchestra represent his music; he maintains his connections to Chicago through the groups Rolldown (Cuneiform), the Fast Citizens (Delmark), and Arrive (Singlespeed).



Mark Clifford is a vibraphonist, percussionist and composer who currently resides in Oakland. A sought after performer and improviser, Mark is equally involved in free improvisation, new music, jazz, and rock, and is involved in multiple projects in and around the Bay Area. His performance experience spans world-wide; he has had the honor of playing alongside an array of esteemed contemporaries including Tatsuya Nakatani, Wu Fei, Ron Miles, Jeff Parker, Paul Riola, Colin Stranahan, So Percussion, and Scott Amendola. As a composer, Mark has remained highly active in the bay area since moving in 2009. He is the composer and ensemble leader for the Dirty Snacks Ensemble, an instrumental group that is dedicated to taking new music out of the concert hall and making it available to listeners of every musical background.



Cost: Donations

Audio samples in which musicians at this event play:

Videos featuring musicians playing at this event