Jazz Buzz - Retrospectives On Pre-Covid-19 Live Jazz Concerts

 Tenor saxophonist Branford Marsalis The appearance of the Branford Marsalis Quartet at Yoshi's San Francisco, California Jazz Club (Sept. 21 - 25, 2011) was billed as,  "An evening with one of the most innovative and forward-thinking jazz ensembles today."  Oh yeah? Better be sure the health insurance is all paid up. It was more like five evenings with an  'innovative and forward-rolling earthquake.'  Earthquakes are not unusual for the San Francisco Bay Area. This one was different: it had a name: " Branford."  Usually names are reserved for hurricanes, but this was extraordinary.  Richter  had no number. By Saturday night (Sept. 24), uncontrolled mayhem and unabating turbulence had reached a level that rendered the establishment an undisputed danger zone. Marsalis had brought to the carnage: Pianist  Joey Calderazzo , a guy that really thinks ahead -  in music light years;  a twenty-year old drummer,  Justin...

Ron Carter (courtesy: discogs.com) The Ron Carter Quartet  played Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland, California on Thursday and Friday 25th and 26th, October 2012 to sold out crowds, two nights after appearing in Shanghai, China . A long way to travel to play jazz, no doubt, but then Ron Carter is that type of musician; having come a long way from his nascent days with Miles Davis. Carter seems comfortable with, and quite prepared for long journeys. His road through jazz is remarkable on another level; it has presented Carter with guide posts for survival, and made him a living jazz legend. On this occasion the quartet featured: Ron Carter -  acoustic bass ; Renee Rosnes - piano ; Payton Crossley - drums;   Rolando Morales-Matos - percussion. Seeing bassist Ron Carter up close, and personal quickly makes the 2500 jazz albums he has appeared on, seem immaterial - except those he made during the early 1960s as a member of  Miles Dav...