Feat. Colin Hogan, Erik Jekabson, Chloe Scott Jones, Remee Ashley, Daniel Parenti, Sheldon Alexander + opening set by the Jazzschool Advanced High School Workshop

Jazzschool instructor and first-call Bay Area keyboardist Colin Hogan assembles an all-star faculty ensemble to play Herbie Hancock’s seminal record, Speak Like a Child in celebration of our monthlong PianoLove festival. Released on the Blue Note label in 1968, the record features luscious orchestrations by Thad Jones for the unusual ensemble of flute, flugelhorn, bass trombone, and rhythm section. A followup to his acclaimed Maiden Voyage release, Hancock’s compositions on Speak Like a Child explore lyrical melodies, deep swing, and rock-infused propulsiveness.

Read Hancock’s liner notes for the original release here: https://www.herbiehancock.com/music/discography/album/speak-like-a-child/

Colin Hogan, piano
Mary Fettig, flute
Erik Jekabson, flugelhorn
Remee Ashley, bass trombone
Daniel Parenti, bass
Sheldon Alexander, drums

Opening set by the Jazzschool Advanced High School Combo:

Kai Doitel, trumpet
Javier Gutierrez, saxophone
Jesse Ashlock, piano
Milo Kolesas-Stolzenberg, bass
Lyra Renninger, drums
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Join us for casual daytime talks and listening sessions presented by leading lights of the Bay Area jazz community. Bring your own lunch or order ahead from the JazzCaffè. Wednesdays at lunchtime! Free, drop-ins welcome.

Nora Free is an Oakland-based musician and composer. She studied saxophone performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY; then spent 2-years arranging and performing in Europe before attending the University of Pittsburgh for her PhD. While in Pittsburgh she was mentored by saxophonist Nathan Davis and the great jazz pianist Geri Allen. Nora has been active in the Bay Area music scene since 2023, and co-founded the community music venue Wyldflowr Arts in Oakland. She has been called “a fearless and innovative improvisor” by Jazztimes and plans to release a full-length album with her group Liberation Qtet in 2027.

To order lunch from the JazzCaffè, call 510-654-0148 to place your order before 10:30am the day of the program.

For the menu visit actcatering.com/jazzcaffe
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($25/$15)

Doors 7pm

Pre-concert talk at 7:30pm

A rare solo concert by internationally-acclaimed pianist, improviser, and composer Myra Melford! A Berkeley resident for the past 20 years, Melford is a professor of Music at UC Berkeley and tours the world with her celebrated ensembles that showcase her breathtaking improvisational prowess and inventive original music. Much of her evocative music is inspired by visual art and literature, and in her solo performances she draws upon a staggering range of influences, from Chicago blues and boogie woogie to abstract soundscapes, to crystalline harmonic explorations. Expect music by some of Melford’s musical heroes and associates, dynamic original compositions, and freshly improvised creations.

“American pianist Myra Melford studied with Don Pullen — she has the percussive approach of Duke Ellington and Cecil Taylor, not the classical arm-weight touch of Tatum and Bill Evans. Like John Zorn, Ethan Iverson and Dave Douglas, she's a polystylist.” —The Wire

*Includes free admission to MonkMarathon PianoLove Finale from 9-11pm
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Hosted by the Ben Stolorow Trio

To conclude the Jazzschool’s monthlong PianoLove celebration, faculty pianist Ben Stolorow hosts a 2-hour MonkMarathon finale—all Thelonious Monk music!—with faculty, students, and special guests from the Bay Area music community taking turns to play favirote tunes by one of jazz music’s most iconic and admired pianist/composers.

*Free with admission to Myra Melford Solo earlier that night
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Join us for casual daytime talks and listening sessions presented by leading lights of the Bay Area jazz community. Bring your own lunch or order ahead from the JazzCaffè. Wednesdays at lunchtime! Free, drop-ins welcome.

Composer, bandleader and creative foil for some of the world’s most inventive musicians, in-demand Berkeley drummer Scott Amendola applies his rhythmic virtuosity to a vast array of settings. His closest musical associates include guitarists Nels Cline, Jeff Parker, and Charlie Hunter; Hammond B-3 organist Wil Blades; violinists Regina Carter and Jenny Scheinman; and clarinetist Ben Goldberg—players who have each forged a singular path within and beyond the realm of jazz. As a sideman, Amendola has performed and recorded with a vast, stylistically varied roster of artists, including Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, John Scofield, Wadada Leo Smith, and Madeleine Peyroux, among many others.

To order lunch from the JazzCaffè, call 510-654-0148 to place your order before 10:30am the day of the program.S

For the menu visit: actcatering.com/jazzcaffe
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The Electric Squeezebox Orchestra (Jazzschool Resident Artists) is a 17-piece big band led by Erik Jekabson and features many of the best players and arrangers in the Bay Area!

Personnel:
Resident Poet: Avotcja;
Saxophones: Sheldon Brown, Larry Delacruz, Rob Sudduth, Marcus Stephens, Charlie Gurke;
Trombones: Spencer Sussman, Will Shannon, Patrick Malabuyo, Rich Lee;
Trumpets: Darren Johnston, Erik Jekabson, Christopher Clarke, Edward Evans;
Piano: Parker Grant;
Guitar: Max Brody; Bass: Josh Tower; Drums: Eric Garland

The Electric Squeezebox Orchestra is the Bay Area’s own 17-piece big band, led by trumpeter Erik Jekabson, playing music composed and arranged by its members. The composers and arrangers, some of the very best in the Bay, draw from a wide variety of influences but always come up with powerful music with groove, beauty and subtlety. The band, which started a steady Sunday residency at the Jazzschool, has collaborated with a number of special guest artists, including John Santos, Kenny Washington, Alan Ferber, Dayna Stephens, Mads Tolling, Sandy Cressman, Kellye Gray, Avotcja, Spok and Ben Goldberg. Learn more by visiting electricsqueezeboxorchestra.com

Social Media Links:

facebook.com/Electricsqueezeboxorchestra/

Jazzschool programs supported by JAMBAR
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