Band Schedule

David Bennett, Clarinet, guitar, vocals

Jim Martinez, Piano

Alex Aideira-Leite, Bass

Pete Sierr, Drums

Dave Bennett doesn’t fit the mold. For starters, you don’t find many jazz clarinet players who name Alice Cooper, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Chris Isaak among their influences. You won’t find many musicians who are equally conversant with the music of Benny Goodman (the “King of Swing”) and Roy Orbison (“The Soul of Rock and Roll”). Dave also loves to break from his Swing Era repertoire to sing rockabilly hits while accompanying himself at the piano or electric guitar. Dave has been a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops (2013) and has been featured with 35 other US and Canadian orchestras including Nashville, Detroit, Rochester, Omaha, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Orlando, San Antonio, Jacksonville, Portland, OR and Portland, ME In March 2022, Dave and his band performed to a sold-out audience at New York City’s Birdland Theater. We are very fortunate he is here with us this week.

Gino Meregillano, guitarist and singer

Andrew Verdugo, stand-up bass & electric
bass

Bob Sale, drums

Gino and the Lone Gunmen are a three-piece band that performs a high energy mix of ROCKABILLY, SWING, BLUES, COUNTRY AND VINTAGE ROCK and ROLL. From Elvis and Buddy Holly to Johnny Cash and even the early days of the Beatles these exciting musicians can really put on a show. The group is led by guitarist and singer Gino Meregillano who hails from San Diego who has professional endorsements that include Gretsch Guitars, Fender Instruments and Clayton USA accessories. Stand up base and electric bass artist Andrew Verdugo has toured all over the world and worked with band Hard Fall Hearts. Rounding out the group the trio is drummer Jack Johnson a character all his own. Make sure you find the time to catch one of their high-powered sets.

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Brian Holland, piano

Danny Coots, drums

Marc Caparone, cornet, trumpet, vocals

Jacob Zimmerman, saxophone, clarinet

Steve Pikal, upright bass

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Since their auspicious debut at the 2017 Durango Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival, the Holland-Coots Jazz Quintet has amazed the jazz and ragtime world with their energy, musicality, and humor. As a group, they work together as brothers – each a wonderful soloist and an absolute marvel as a team player, ready to be lyrical or hot, bluesy, rampaging, or sentimental. The HCJQ recorded their first CD in July 2017, a tribute to the great Thomas “Fats” Waller called This Is So Nice It Must Be Illegal, which was met with radiant reviews.

Carl Sonny Leyland

Caroline Dahl

Carl Sonny Leyland was born & raised on the South Coast of England, It was here that he developed an appreciation for Dixieland jazz, the rock & roll of the 1950s & the country music of Jimmie Rodgers & Hank Williams. At age 15 Leyland discovered boogie woogie when he heard a school friend working through a written arrangement of a tune called JD's Boogie Woogie (Marvin Wright). Captivated by the sound of the repeating 8 to bar left-hand pattern, Leyland was inspired. Within 3 months he would be performing in public & shortly after would become a member of a respected local group, "The Bob Pearce Blues Band. In 1988 Leyland had the opportunity to come to the USA. This initial visit to New Orleans inspired him to relocate to that city, where he would spend the next nine years. During that time, he was active on the club scene, quickly gaining a reputation for his authentic blues & early rock & roll styling. Also, he toured with the Dallas based band Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets, whose line up included blues great Sam Myers. In June 2003 the Carl Sonny Leyland Trio was formed with drummer Hal Smith & bassist Marty Eggers

Still active in the blues world, Carl Sonny Leyland appears on occasion with such notables as James Harman, Kim Wilson & Rod Piazza. This year, he is a featured artist on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. While he possesses the necessary vocabulary to pay tribute to the greats of old, he refuses to be limiting himself to this & prefers to let each performance be an opportunity to say something new. His repertoire spans the Ragtime era to the 1950s & includes a number of self written material.

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Caroline Dahl:

Caroline came to boogie woogie music through rock ‘n roll on the radio. In her teens, she loved the R & B piano and  clearly listened to and learned from the musicians who played boogie woogie piano. She loved Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, and (a little later) Elton John and Dr. John. It wasn’t until much later that she heard recordings of the great early players like Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis, and New Orleans players like James Booker and Professor Longhair, who were not on mainstream radio. Following graduation from the University of Kentucky with a BA in English, she took a mind-bending solo 4-month trip to India, then came home to Louisville and started playing piano (the mighty Farfisa) for the first time in a band called Gee Wiz. This set the scene for a series of part-time jobs, allowing her valuable time to postpone making any decisions about the future direction of her life —

After moving to San Francisco in 1978 where she started playing piano more often, gradually getting gigs at now defunct clubs on Broadway and South of Market, and at the still-standing Saloon. The band she played with most often around this time was The Mellotones, which played swing and jump blues..
In 1989  the part-time jobs faded away, and Caroline became a full-time working musician — most often with the Bay Area bands Rhythmtown Jive and The Rhythm Sheiks — and playing a variety of solo gigs including most Sunday brunches for more than 25 years at the now closed (but not because of me) Mama’s Royal Café in Mill Valley.
For the past twenty years, I have played piano with Tom Rigney and Flambeau, have played solo at venues around the U. S. and Europe, and have produced four boogie woogie piano CDs.

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Mario Marquez, Clarinet
Kevin Cearly, Cornet
Buddy Heise, Tuba
Dennis Mack, Banjo/Guitar
Erik Dewhirst, Trombone
Jason Hughs, Drums
Ryan Vance, Tenor Sax

Back in 1995 Mario Marques, Jason Hughes and a few of their COS classmates started this Traditional Jazz Band out of a Dixieland class.  Mentored by the guys of High Sierra, they developed a style of upbeat foot stomping Dixieland Jazz. The group played in 5 Jazzaffairs. Then moved on to adulthood. Over the years they would play for special events and now are so excited to return to the stage with all these amazing bands.

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Dave Ruffner, Leader, Trombonist

Forrest Helmick, Trumpet, Founder of the band

Sherri Colby-Bottel, Vocalist

Rick Canfield, Drums

Jason Wanner, Piano

Nate Ketner, Reeds: Clarinet and Saxophones

Matt Bottel, Banjo and Guitar

Sam Rocha, String Bass and Sousaphone

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2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the Blue Street Jazz Band, a true force of integrity, stability, and professionalism on the Dixieland Jazz Circuit. The Blue Street Jazz Band was established in 1983 by trumpet player Forrest Helmick and is currently under the leadership of trombonist Dave Ruffner. The band features the singing of Sherri Colby.

Blue Street has been one of the most innovative groups in traditional jazz. Original songs and creatively conceived arrangements have been the hallmark of the band along with the musical expertise displayed by each individual member on their respective instrument. Traditional jazz is the cornerstone on which the band was built, but with their eclectic musical taste and versatile musicianship, the band is adept at playing Swing, Mardi Gras, Folk Songs, Marches, Waltzes, Latin Music, and Hymns. The band is capable of playing entire sets devoted to the music of Kid Ory, Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, the History of Jazz, and Louis Armstrong. Audiences particularly enjoy the band’s Sunday morning gospel programs.

The band has a mixture of full-time professional musicians along with some very accomplished part-time players. The front line features Forrest Helmick on trumpet, Dave Ruffner on trombone, and Nate Ketner on reeds. Forrest is an elementary music teacher in Fresno. You can find Dave playing trombone on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Nate Ketner is a full-time professional musician in the Southern California area and is one of the best traditional jazz reed players in America. The rhythm section consists of pianist Jason Wanner, drummer Rick Canfield, bassist Sam Rocha and Matt Bottel on guitar and banjo. Jason is a highly sought pianist and jazz clinician. He performs at Disneyland with various groups. Rick is a retired music teacher. He builds fine stringed instruments. Sam is a full-time musician in the Bay Area and performs nationwide with the Hot Club of San Francisco and other groups. Matt spent time in New Orleans playing banjo and designs major computer programs for major corporations and state governments. The band's vocalist, Dr. Sherri Colby-Bottel, is the Program Director and co-faculty, International Honors Program/A Program of SIT Study Abroad.

Since the early 1990s, the band has played every major jazz festival in the United States and has performed in Canada, Mexico, and Europe as well. The band has recorded twenty-five albums and seven video

Tom Rigney, Violin

Caroline Dahl, Piano

Anthony Paule, Guitar

San Rocha, Bass

Brent Rampone, Drums

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Tom has a wide-ranging, eclectic repertory and performs with characteristic Rigney enthusiasm and precision. It’s hard to stay seated as the dance grooves beacons you to the floor and its kick ass fun. Tom has been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area American roots music scene for close to 40 years. After 15 years with the “Sundogs”, Tom stepped out on his own to form the now well-known band “Flambeau”. He and his band travel all over the world with his infectious spirit, spreading the love. Peter Coyote wrote” Tom Rigney has refreshened the palette of contemporary choice. He’s written exacting music that requires a high level of skill to play and absolutely no effort to listen to.”

Dave Stuckey, Guitar, vocals
Sonny Leyland, Piano
Josh Collazo, Drums
Mikiya Matsuda, Steel Guitar
Katie Cavera, Bass
Dawn Lambeth, Vocalist
Chris Wilkinson, Guitar, Vocals
Olen Dillingham, Fiddle

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Dave Stuckey has been playing music in and around the Los Angeles area for the past 30 years. He’s been sharing the stage with rockabilly legends and traditional swing jazz hotshots. Dave performs on guitar and drums, writes music, records and produces and all the while creating a wide-ranging ruckus.  One of his many band combinations, “The Hoot Owls,” (a Hot Jazz/Wild Western Swing band), will be performing for us this weekend bringing dancers out of the woodwork. The Steel guitar and Fiddle wail as singer Dawn, swoons a toon and piano maestro, Carl Sonny Leyland adds his jazzy flair. In 2020, Stuckey was named the Ameripolitan Music Award Winner for best Western Swing Male.

Bob Schulz, cornet

Don Neely, reeds

Clint Baker, trombone

Bill Reinhart, tuba

Scott Anthony, banjo

Marty Eggers, piano

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Bob Schultz was a band director for 17 years before joining the legendary Turk Murphy Jazz Band of San Francisco in 1979.  His eight years with Turk included 300 taped recorded radio shows, many LPs, tours of US and Europe and the Carnegie Hall tribute to Turk.  Bob Still leads the Turk Murphy band for special engagements.  He is the foremost exponent of the Bob Scobey trumpet style and is an outstanding vocalist in the tradition of Clancy Hayes, leading many bands through the years Bob is excited to have gathered these musicians into the New Barbary Coast Jazz Band, and they are enjoying playing in San Francisco weekly and glad to be here in Three Rivers again.

Marc Caparone, Trumpet
Howard Miyata, Trombone
Nathan Tokunaga, Clarinet
Katie Cavera, Bass
Paul Hagglund, Tuba
Gareth Price, Drums
Brian Holland, Piano

And the music continues! With the retiring of Sierra Seven yet another era comes to a close, we thought... But not so fast, like the mighty redwood that is the longest living tree in the world, the Sierra Stompers have jumped back into the ring! Marc Caparone, Howard Miyata and Paul Hagglund the remaining High Sierras band members aren’t done yet.  Quickly pulling themselves together, the core group have gathered their friends and are off, carrying the banner of the “Sierra” name with pride. Loving that hard driving 2 beat base, the band will play some of our old favorites, but are eager to establish a new sound of their own.

Party on boys!!

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