FEATURED PERFORMERS
Aaron Garner - Piano
Black Tie Optional
7:30 PM Doors | 120 Minutes | Intermission | All Ages
DEBORAH WINTERS
On her soon-to-be released CD, Lovers After All, for the Jazzed Media label, Deborah joined forces with trumpeter/arranger/producer Peter Welker and a stellar cast of Jazz luminaries from San Francisco, New York, Boston and LA. This lofty big-band excursion traverses the vast expanse of jazz history – from the 40s to the present – from some of the best-loved standards to rarely heard gems. In choosing the songs in this recording, Deborah and Peter sought out jazz composers whose pieces provided the ideal platform to showcase her extraordinary versatility and her trademark feeling of intimacy.
A Bay Area native, Deborah began to perform in San Francisco nearly 2 decades ago with her guitar and original songs. As she expanded to include Jazz and other contemporaries she met the highly acclaimed pianist/arranger Frank Martin, with whom she collaborated and recorded her first release “live in session.” She released her second original CD, “Inspired.” with award winning producer/arranger Gary Malkin. Over the years, other collaborations with notable Bay Area greats have included legendary drummer Tony Williams, singer Bobby McFerrin and Brazilian guitarist Jose Neto. Variety and versatility characterize Deborah’s ongoing performance schedule as she continues to dazzle and uplift her audiences at Bay Area music festivals, concert halls, churches and house concerts. Her jam-packed teaching schedule attests to the profound impact she has on developing up-and-coming vocalists in a broad array of musical styles.
PETER WELKER
Welker, the only child of parents who were both working jazz musicians in New York and Boston, first picked up the trumpet at the age of nine. He credits his mother as being the major influence on his life and music career. "She really inspired me," Welker said. "Born blind, she sang on the coast-to-coast Camel Caravan show with Al Pearce and His Gang from 1935 to 1939.” After studying at Berklee College of Music, Welker moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. He led a sextet which was the house band at the famed Jazz Workshop in North Beach from 1961 to 1965 and featured piano player George Duke.
He has toured and/or recorded with the likes of Van Morrison, Santana, Cold Blood, Jesse Colin Young, Buddy Miles and Dr. John.He has been nominated for a Bammie (Bay Area Music Awards) in the Best Horn Player category. Welker's horn section, Horns 'R Us, has often been hired to back touring Soul/R&B acts such as the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson. The horn section is on a newly released CD produced by Bob Dylan, The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute. The guest artists include Jerry Garcia, Aaron Neville, Van Morrison, Bono (of U2), John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson.
Welker led the horn section of super-producer Narada Michael Walden's two-week all-star tour of Japan in 1995, in a band that featured Joe Zawinul and Patti Austin. His previous album, Para "Peachy," an eclectic mix of jazz, R&B and salsa, was released in 1997 on Take One Records. Phil Elwood of the San Francisco Examiner called it "one of the greatest recordings ever made, produced and played by Bay Area musicians."
