John Worley "aka" Worl's upcoming gigs and blog.

John Worley's updated gig schedule 8/1 thru 12/1

2011-07-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
Here's my updated schedule for 2011. I hope to see you all soon!
Worl
2011 gig dates and details

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
August 3rd, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Fil Lorenz Orchestra
San Carlos Summer Concerts 2011
August 12th, 6-8pm
http://www.artsopolis.com/event/detail/441283521/Fil_Lorenz_Orchestra_San_Carlos_Summer_Concerts_2011

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Quartet
San Jose Jazz Club Crawl
August 13th 7:00pm-10:00pm
Hilton San Jose - Affinity Lounge
300 Almaden Boulevard, San Jose, California 95110
Tel: 1-408-287-2100 Fax: 1-408-947-4489

Three Horns, No Limits
Wayne Wallace, John Worley and Kristen Strom
Jazz on Main 2011
August 15th • 6:00-8:00pm
http://www.redwoodcity.org/events/jazzonmain.html

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Trio
Santana Row presents Flavors of Jazz
Thea Restaurant
August 16th 6:30-8:30pm
http://www.santanarow.com/events/item/flavors_of_jazz_summer_music_series2/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
August 17th, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Ed Johnson and John Worley Duo
Cafe Bon Vivant
Saturday August 20th 7:30PM
535 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301
http://bonvivantcafe.net/

John Worley and Mo-Chi Quartet
Sundays In The Gardens- Arts Festival at Rengstorff House
Sunday August 21st 2pm
3050 N. Shoreline BLVD
Mountain View, CA 94043
www.r-house.org
650-903-6392

John Worley and Mo-Chi Quartet
JAZZ KATSU -Japan Relief Benefit
Wesley United Methodist Church in Japantown, San Jose
566 N. 5th St
Saturday, August 27th • 2:00pm - 6:00pm
This event is Family-Friendly! Come with your kids, and enjoy some "kushi katsu" and music, please.
PRE-SALE TICKETS AVAILABLE! 2 Kushi Katsu (Skewered Pork Cutlet) for $10
Walk-Ins Welcome
Featured Artists:Ayako Hosokawa
John Worley & the Mo-Chi Quartet
and more!
Jazz Katsu Fundraising Committee // www.jazzkatsu.org
Contact: Hiro (408) 835-4371
Sponsored by Wesley United Methodist Church Nichigo-bu
Contact: Rev. Michiko Nishinosono (408) 295-0367

John Worley and Mo-Chi Quartet
Bing Concert Series
Stanford Hospital-Atrium
Wednesday September 7th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
http://stanfordhospital.org/forPatients/patientServices/musicprogram/bing.html
Phone: (650) 725-2892 (650) 725-2892 Fax: (650) 736-4130
Location: Guest Services
300 Pasteur Drive
Room H1132
Stanford, CA 94305

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
Weds September 7th, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
September 21st, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Quartet
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
Saturday September 24th, 8:30pm -12:30am
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
Weds October 5th 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
Weds October 19th 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
Weds November 2nd 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam-John Worley's Birthday Bash
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
Weds November 16th 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

upcoming 2011 gig update

2010-12-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
I'm posting my upcoming schedule for 2011. I hope to see you all soon!
Worl
2011 gig dates and details

Hedley Club Jazz Jam One year anniversary!!!!
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
July 6th 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Lester Chambers Blues Revue
July 10th,
2pm Sunday
Hayward Russell City Blues Festival
Hayward, California, U.S.
www.bayareabluessociety.net
510-836-2227

Comtemporary Jazz Orchestra
Yoshi's San Francisco
8pm Sunday July 18
http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/jazzclub/artist/show/1935

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Quartet
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
8:30pm -12:30am, Friday July 29
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Comtemporary Jazz Orchestra
4th Annual Benicia Fine Art & Jazz Festival
July 31st, 5:00-6:30pm
For more information on the Benicia Fine Art & Jazz Festival, contact Benicia Main Street at 707-745-9791 or info@beniciamainstreet.org.

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
August 3, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Fil Lorenz Orchestra
San Carlos Summer Concerts 2011
August 12, 6-8pm
http://www.artsopolis.com/event/detail/441283521/Fil_Lorenz_Orchestra_San_Carlos_Summer_Concerts_2011

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Quartet
part of the San Jose Jazz Club Crawl
August 13th 7:00pm-10:00pm
Hilton San Jose - Affinity Lounge
300 Almaden Boulevard, San Jose, California 95110
Tel: 1-408-287-2100 Fax: 1-408-947-4489

Three Horns, No Limits
Wayne Wallace, John Worley and Kristen Strom
Jazz on Main 2011
August 15th • 6:00-8:00pm
http://www.redwoodcity.org/events/jazzonmain.html

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Trio
Santana Row presents Flavors of Jazz
Thea Restaurant
August 16th 6:30-8:30pm
http://www.santanarow.com/events/item/flavors_of_jazz_summer_music_series2/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
August 17, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Ed Johnson and John Worley Duo
Cafe Bon Vivant
Saturday August 20th 7:30PM
535 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301
http://bonvivantcafe.net/

John Worley and Mo-Chi Quartet
Sundays In The Gardens- Arts Festival at Rengstorff House
August 21 2pm
3050 N. Shoreline BLVD
Mountain View, CA 94043
www.r-house.org
650-903-6392

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
September7, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

Hedley Club Jazz Jam
Oscar Pangilinan & John Worley Quintet
September 21, 7:30-10:30pm
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Quartet
Hotel DeAnza - Hedley Club
Saturday September 24, 8:30pm -12:30am
233 West Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113
408-286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/

John Worley and Morning Nichols Excellent Birthday Adventure Concert

2010-11-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Come celebrate with John Worley and Morning Nichols as they take off on their most excellent birthday adventure. Joining them will be special guests Jim and John Nichols, Celia Malherios, Murray Low, Aaron Lington, Fil Lorenz, Charlie Keagle, Paul VW and other mysterious musical folks. There will cake, champagne, wine, snacks available and a evening of song and musical surprises.
John and Morning have been friends, shared the stage and a musical connection for 30 years. They both love to play Mildred Owens Concert Hall which is intimate, comfortable, has great sound, beautiful art on the walls and a most excellent piano!!! (signed by Mel Torme and and others).
Come and enjoy the musical adventure with John and Morning!

Mildred Owen Concert Hall
1220 Linda Mar Blvd
Pacifica, Ca 94044
www.pacificaperformances.org

order your tickets online
$20 General, $17 Seniors (62+) and Students under 25 with ID. $15 Members $12 Senior/Student Members. Youths and Children under 18 are free...what a deal!!!

John's new band The Mo-Chi Quartet

2010-09-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

For a year or so I have been thinking about going into different directions musically. Don't get me wrong, WorlView has been my heart and soul for the past six years and it's been a total joy. Playing with WorlView at the Monterey Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, SF Jazz's Stanford Clock Tower series, BoAs, Bleu Ginger, Senzala and the many other venues we performed in has been a dream come true. But now it's time for a change. I've been called restless by a writer or two for my creation of Bari Bari, forays into producing a music series at Senzala and my collaborations with many of the bay area's respected musicians. The Mo-Chi Quartet expresses my desire to dive into new musical territories, revisit the music of my heritage and bring to life the dreams of tomorrow. Like all new endeavors, it is exciting to watch it unfold and grow.

The Mo-Chi Quartet will be playing at the beautiful D'Vine Jazz and Wine on Fri
(9/24) and Sat (9/25). Some of you who have been to D'Vine Jazz and Wine in Morgan Hill are familiar with their reputation for serving outstanding wine and appetizers as well as great LIVE MUSIC. Linda and Ricardo have created the perfect place to sip, nosh, relax and enjoy jazz. It's one of my favorite places and I'm hoping that you will stop by to support such an awesome venue. It is right off the Cochrane Rd. exit from Hwy 101 - a short drive from San Jose, not crowded at that time of the evening!
There is NO cover charge, just a 2 drink minimum. You may enjoy live music in an adult atmosphere (Date night!) and your budget will not suffer!
We'll be playing from 8-11pm each night. We will be performing numbers from our concert material and the Great American Songbook as well.

On Friday, we'll have Murray Low on piano, Ken Okada on bass and Kevin Higuchi on drums.
On Saturday, keyboardist Brian Ho will be sitting in for Murray along with Ken, Kevin and me.
A reminder: D'Vine Jazz and Wine is a 21 and over venue. There is no Cover Charge, only a two drink minimum.

On Sunday 9/26 at City Lights Theater in San Jose, San Jose Jazz Showcase presents The Mo-Chi Quartet. For this concert, we will be playing compositions from members of the group, arrangements of various Japanese folk songs and tunes by writers such as Bob James, Tom Harrell and others. This concert is open to all ages so the kids can come out and experience our music as well. I cannot say enough about exposing the youth of our country to the arts - especially now that so much has been cut from their school budgets. The arts are critical for their development and provide experiences that can be life enhancing - and sometimes even life changing - for young people!
The cover charge is only $15 and just $13 for San Jose Jazz members. Students under 15 get in free when accompanied by a adult. Please visit City Lights website if you'd like to purchase tickets in advance.
In case you are new to this venue, City Lights Theater has a nice feel to it. The background is always different depending on what show is playing at the moment. Acoustics are great and it's an intimate venue, just right for a quartet. I love the way the flugelhorn tone opens up and envelops the room. Almost like it was made for the horn ; )>.........

We hope that you can come out and be a part of something special...........

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Quartet 9/24,25
D'Vine Jazz and Wine
775 Cochrane Rd Suite #100
Morgan Hill, CA 95037-8115
408-779-7755

John Worley and the Mo-Chi Quartet 9/26

City Lights Theater
529S. 2nd St
San Jose, CA
Sunday September 26th 4:00-6:00 pm
tickets: $15 ($13 San Jose jazz members, children under 15 free accompinied by a adult)
City Lights Box Office 408-295-4200
purchase tickets online: www.cltc.org

Jazz Showcase series is brought to you by:
San Jose Jazz Lumina Music Group City Lights Theater
www.sanjosejazz.org www.luminamusicgroup.com www.cltc.org

www.johnworley.com
www.myspace.com/worlview
www.twitter.com/worl

April is Jazz Appreciation Month

2010-04-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

I hope this blog finds you in good health and high spirits. As you can tell by the itinerary below, we've got quite a few events on the books for this month, which brings me to....

April is Jazz Appreciation Month and if you are in the mood to celebrate and enjoy America's original art form in a LIVE music situation, here are some suggestions:

March 31st, Wed - De Anza College "Daddio's" Big Band at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. *
April 7th, Wed - Silicon Valley Repertory Jazz Orchestra's "Tribute to Duke Ellington" at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. *

April 10th, Sat - John Worley and WorlView 4.0 at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. This one is a special event for Worlview Fans. First 30 people will get a FREE Jazz IS... poster. We are eagerly looking for your support for this evening's event: Your contribution will help us fund the next Worlview CD recording happening on June 13th!

April 13th, Tues - Jazz Jam w/ the John Worley and Oscar Pangilinan Quintet at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. First 15 paid jamming musicians will get a Coupon for free admission to the Fasmania concert on April 14th. **

April 14th, Wed - Fasmania Big Band at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. *

April 20th, Tues - Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo Octet "Iluminado'" A Tribute to Ivan Lins at Yoshi's in Jack London Square, Oakland.

April 21st, Wed - San Jose Jazz Orchestra at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. *

April 27th, Tues - Jazz Jam w/ the John Worley and Oscar Pangilinan Quintet at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. **

April 28th, Wed - Full Spectrum Jazz at Senzala Restaurant. 7:30-10:30pm. This concert will be a fund raiser for the Crittenden Middle School and San Jose Jazz's outreach jazz education programs. *

April 30th, Fri & May 1st, Sat - John Worley and WorlView 4.0 at D'Vine Jazz and Wine in Morgan Hill. 8-11pm. Believe it or not, it is closer than Yoshi's for us South Bay folks - and no parking fees either.. D'Vine Jazz & Wine is one of my favorite places on the planet. Live Jazz & Fine Wine in one place, Heaven!

Please see below for more info regarding the venues and sponsors.

We all would really appreciate your presence, so come out and help us celebrate America's most original art form, JAZZ - especially on April 10th! You need a break for Live Music. It will feed your soul....

Thank You!

John Worley

P.S. We are most grateful to our sponsors for their Kind support for Live Jazz at Senzala's:
* Weds. Night Big Band sponsors - West Valley Music and Dancing Sumo Music
** Jazz Jam sponsors- DM Productions and Dancing Sumo Music

Senzala Restaurant
250 East Java Drive
Sunnyvale, CA

Yoshi's Oakland
510 Embarcadero West
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: 510.238.9200

D'Vine Jazz and Wine
775 Cochrane Road
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
408-779-7755
Must be 21+

What I Love.....

2010-03-23T01:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
So many people these days only focus on the things in life that are negative. As of late, I've been affected in the same way. I can blame it on so many things but the truth is....Happiness comes from within. We can generate our happiness and lead the fulfilled lives that we all seek.
I need to remember that. Happiness comes from love. Who, what, where and how are what we love...it's different for everyone..These are the things I love.........
I love my wife. Totally without boundries. I love my friends. They are important to my sanity. I love to play with my band. They are the cats I love to play with because they are fine people first and kick ass musicians second. I love to be on stage, talking with the audience as if they were in my living room. I love seeing and hearing young students play and get better from week to week, month to month, year to year.......I love to write music. I also love to tinker on the piano. I love to hike at Rancho San Antonio. I love the way I feel when I'm standing on top of the mountain looking down at where I was and now am.....
I love seeing others around me sharing a laugh, being social and enjoying each others company. I love being able to help a friend in need when times are tough. I love period.
I love once again...period. This is what I need to focus on. I love myself.....The world isn't perfect, but I love living in it.
I remember telling a friend awhile ago that he had to stop calling me so much. Why was that you might ask....it was because all he wanted to share was how someone ripped him off, another person was an asshole, how he got over another person who had screwed him over etc....I told him that I was removing all of the negative influences in my life and if he wanted to stay my friend, he had to think about how I felt. Nothing on his part changed....I cut him loose. I didn't have time for it or him.
To be that true to myself, it's that time again. Time to take back some of my time and spiritual resources. It will set me free to do and be what I feel and that is to do things because I love to do them.
I want myself to know that I am going to play tennis again because that makes happy and fulfilled. I'm also going to continue to write music but more of it. I will have to remove some obstacles in my way from a time perspective but I can because I can control my schedule to make it happen. Because I love to write music and by doing so, I am listening to what my soul wants to express and share with the world.....
I want to dance with my wife Susan because of the smile she has when she is connected to me on the dance floor. The feeling of our beings entertwined into one. Of how it sets our souls free from time and imaginary walls that keep us from doing what we love together.
For those of you who know me.....thank you for your love and patience. I feel the same towards you too. For the negative influences around me....your time has come...I gonna have to cut you....loose....

Thanks for listening.

Worl

Big Band Wednesdays and jazz jam every other Tuesday at Senzala Restaurant

2009-12-31T12:56:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASEFor Immediate Release December 30, 2009
Contact: Matt Beasley, Lumina Music Group(650) 400-4920 matt@luminamusicgroup.com
hi-res photos available up request
Senzala Restaurant and Stage
250 East Java Drive
Sunnyvale, CA. 94089(408) 734-1656

www.senzalarestaurant.comSenzala Restaurant and Stage expands music program by adding a bi-monthly jazz jam and an impressive Big Band line up every Wednesday
In addition to its already impressive Thursday through Saturday music line-up, Senzala Restaurant and Stage is adding an all ages jazz jam every 2nd and 4th Tuesday coupled with outstanding Big Bands every Wednesday night. These additional performances will round out the weekly music line up with 4 to five 5 performances presented each week.Jan. 6th - Silicon Valley Repertory Jazz Orchestra is the newest all "pro" big band in San Jose's "Silicon Valley". Co-led by trumpeter John Worley, trombonist Wayne Wallace, baritione saxophonist Dr Aaron Lington and guitarist Scott Sorkin, SVRJO is made up of local professional musicians who's performing and recording credits include Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Count Basie, Louie Bellson, Bill Watrous and countless more. SVRJO features the works of local writer's and arrangers who are members of the jazz orchestra as well as material from other well known big bands.

Jan. 13th - FASMANIA is an 18-piece contemporary big band led by husband and wife duo, Louis and Kelly Fasman.. Fasmania has been together for the past 10+ years and features many prominent musicians from all over the bay area.This Bay Area All-Star band performs compositions and arrangements written exclusively by band members and local composers. Fasmania features Louis and Kelly as well as Tod Dickow, Steve Campos, John Worley, and Alex Murzyn, among other top Bay Area professionals.

Jan. 20th - Valley Christian High School Jazz Ensemble is one of San Jose's finest youth big bands. Led by prominent jazz educator Dave Gregoric, Valley Christian High School Big Band has won top honors at many student jazz festivals all over the west coast including the 2009 Monterey Jazz Festival. Students from the Jazz department have received numerous awards and scholarships including outstanding musicianship and scholarship awards from the Monterey Jazz Festival, Reno Jazz Festival, USC jazz festival, Downbeat magazine and the Grammy Foundation.

Jan. 27th - The ´Daddios¡ Evening Jazz Ensembles are comprised of college and high school students, part-time players and professional musicians from around the Bay Area. The name ´Daddios¡ is a nod to the legacy of the late Dr. Herb Patnoe, who founded the evening rehearsal bands in the 1960s as a haven for some of the Bay Area?s best jazz musicians, giving them the chance to get together regularly with their peers to prepare and perform challenging jazz music. After a hiatus of over a decade, the ´Daddios¡ were reassembled in early 2001 and now rehearse on Wednesday evenings under the direction of De Anza alumnus Steve Tyler. A graduate of Cal State, Northridge and USC, and a former member of Patnoe's great bands at De Anza in the early 1970s, Tyler has toured as the lead trombonist with the big bands of Harry James, Bill Watrous and Mel Tormé, and worked professionally for over 20 years in the Los Angeles area music industry. Since returning to the Bay Area in 1999 he has been very active as a performer, educator, adjudicator and clinician. He shares with his mentor the same enthusiasm for the big band genre, and the new incarnation of the ´Daddios¡ now includes some of the finest professional and amateur players in the Bay Area, keeping the spirit of ´Doc¡ Patnoe's musical vision alive at De Anza College.

---------------JAZZ JAM----------------------------------------------------------

Acclaimed trumpeter John Worley and up and coming saxophonist Oscar Pangilinan are starting a new all ages jam session every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at Senzala Restaurant in Sunnyvale. Sessions in January will be on January 12th and 26th.
John Worley and Oscar Pangilinan Quintet
John Worley - trumpet and flugelhorn
Oscar Pangilinan - sax
Kevin Higuchi - Drums
Mark Arroyo - Guitar
Fred Paclibon - Bass
All big band performances and the jazz jams will take place from 7:30pm to 10:30pm
Door charge - $5 w/ dinner - $10 without dinner
*San Jose Jazz members, seniors and under 21 years old $3 w/dinner - $8 no dinner
** $5 charge for individuals who bring instrument to perform at jazz jam session
########

John Worley & Bari Bari, Murray Low Trio, Aaron Lington Quintet!!

2009-10-18T01:24:00.000-07:00

When Worlds Collide..The Sequel - October 18,2009
John Worley & Bari Bari, Murray Low Trio, Aaron Lington Quintet!!
Hello Friends, Happy Fall!
On October 18,2009 Sunday Jazz at the Little Fox will present "When Worlds Collide - The Sequel". Back by popular demand John Worley and Bari Bari and the Aaron Lington Quintet! This show garnered so much enthusiasm last year that we had to make it so again! This year we are pleased to also bring the phenomenal Murray Low Trio to the mix. Here is the line-up. John Worley & Bari Bari, The Murray Low Trio, and The Aaron Lington Quintet. Do yourself a favor and come to this show! See you there! John Worley & Bari Bari, Murray Low Trio, Aaron Lington QuintetPresented by The Redwood City Cultural Commission and BeasWa ProductionsSun. October 18, 2009 - 4pmLittle Fox Theater2209 BroadwayRedwood City$18 adv. / $20 doorwww.foxdream.com(650) 369-4119 Back by popular demand Bari Bari and the Aaron Lington Quintet! This show garnered so much enthusiasm last year that we had to make it so again! This year we are pleased to also bring the phenomenal Murray Low Trio to the mix.John Worley and Bari Bari consists of John Worley - flugelhorn/trumpet, baritone saxophonists Aaron Lington, Fil Lorenz and Geoff Roach and is backed by John's great rhythm section including Murray Low on keys, Tom Bockhold on bass and Paul Van Wageningen on drums. This group pays homage to the hard bop east coast player Pepper Adams and the West Coast Cool School player Gerry Mulligan. These two gentlemen are probably the most influential saxophonists on the current generation of the Bari Sax players. The musicians in Bari Bari are highly sought after players and jazz educators in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. This is a culmination of phenomenal talent that is sure to inspire and delight the listener. www.johnworley.comThe Aaron Lington Quintet - Aaron Lington Baritone is a Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger, and a Jazz Educator. Aaron is actually, Dr. Lington and is currently assistant professor of Jazz Education at San Jose State University. He was recently recognized in the 55th Annual Downbeat Magazine Critic's Poll as a "Rising Star" in the Baritone Saxophone Category. He has performed with several well-known artists including Maria Schneider, Bo Diddley, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, and the Temptations. Lington was also a member of the world-renowned and Grammy-nominated One O'Clock Lab Band. This is only a partial listing of his accolades and achievement. www.aaronlington.comMurray Low Trio- Murray Low is the Grammy nominated jazz pianist that Pete Escovedo and seemingly every other fine a musician in the Bay Area call when they need the best, most creative, brilliant pianist arranger around. This man is the consummate creative musician. Absolutely wonderfully, musically brilliant! His influences range from Rachmaninoff to Omar Sosa and then some. He is eclectic, electric and extremely compelling to listen to.Bottom Line: Don't Miss This Show!!

upcoming WorlView, Bari Bari and AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival gigs

2009-07-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

On Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1st, WorlView 4.0 will be at the South Bay's newest and most delightful wine bar, D'Vine Jazz and Wine in Morgan Hill. There is no cover charge and it is right off Highway 101! Ricardo and Linda, the owners, have created an awesome way to partake in three of life's greatest experiences: Jazz, wine and the company of someone you truly care about.

By the way......

Bari Bari will doing it's hard-bop thang
this coming Monday, August 3rd from 6-8 pm.
The venue is called "Jazz On Main" and it's on the corner of Main and Broadway in Redwood City. It's a new concert series run by my friend and artist rep, Matt Beasley and Redwood City. SF Bay Area artists Wally Schnalle and Will Blades have been featured and the crowds have been great. It's the place to be on a Monday evening so stop by and hang with us a bit.

If you can't make this hit then.....

Come see us on Sunday August 9th at 2pm at the AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival. We're playing on the Smith Dobson Tribute Stage located in the IMAX Theater. Bari Bari member Geoff Roach and the folks at San Jose Jazz have put together a line-up of talent that people will be talking about for years. Geoff unfortunately will not be on our gig...I guess it has something to do with the fact he's running the show but we have Kristen Strom taking his place and at some point, we'll have a 4th Bari player joining us. You'll have to fall by of you want to know who it'll be....
And while you're there, look for me on Saturday, 4pm with the Pete Escovedo Orchestra on the Main Stage and at 6pm with legendary saxophonist Dave pell, leader of Super Sax Med Flory.On Sunday I'll also be playing with bari Bari member Fil Lorenz in his band Fil Lorenz Orchestra on the Rep Stage at noon and at 6pm with the Latin Jazz AllStars on the Latin Jazz Stage......
We hope that your summer is cookin' right along and includes plans to stop by and partake of our music.

We always love to see you in our audience!

Best Wishes,
John Worley, WorlView 4.0and Bari Bari

more info below:

July 31 & August 1st - D'Vine Wine and Jazz
775 Cochrane Road
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
408-779-7755

August 3rd - Jazz On Main St. 6pm
www.redwoodcity.org/events/music#JAZZ

August 9th - San Jose Jazz Festival
Smith Dobson Tribute Stage 2pm
http://jazzfest.sanjose.org/en/home.html

http://jeansmagazines.org/JeansG/JohnWorley/JohnWorley.htm

www.myspace.com/worlview

new interview with Jean Bartlett...

2009-05-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

My friend Jean Bartlett interviewed me back in Feb and it's now up on her web site: http://jeansmagazines.org/JeansG/JohnWorley/JohnWorley.htm
We talked about my life growing up in the SF Bay Area and what it was like back in the day. It's also a glimpse into my early years in the music business.
I seem to looking back in time and reflecting on my life and the friends I've made along the way.
My Facebook page has pics from my childhood as well as some of the folks I've had the pleasure of playing with and the friendships that developed from it.
Sit back, pour a nice taste of whatever comforts you and read a spell. And when you're done send me a email and let me know what you think.......jworleyjr@aol.com
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Worl

John Worley and WorlView 4.0 Live at Senzala Restaurant sat, April 18th

2009-04-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

You are invited to come to enjoy WorlView 4.0 - playing at Senzala Restaurant in Sunnyvale on Saturday, April 18th starting at 8pm. Joining us that evening will be drummer and leader of the band Soul Sauce, Curt Moore.
Lydia and Wagner, the owners of this fine establishment will be serving their fantastic Brazilian cuisine starting at 7 PM. They are truly the nicest people you could ever meet. The sound is great, stage is perfect and there are plenty of seats and parking for everyone. Children are welcome and one other thing....We love playing there!
We'll be playing material from "WorlView","Live at Filoli"(release date Fall of 2010), music from our Freddie Hubbard tribute at Yoshi's and my other group, Bari Bari. By the way, Bari Bari will be making their debut in the San Jose Jazz Festival on August 9th at 2pm. Keep an eye out for us....
We hope you can come out and join us.......
Best Wishes,
John Worley and WorlView 4.0
Murray Low, Tom Bockhold, Curt Moore and yours truly, John Worley.
www.johnworley.com
www.myspace.com/worlview
www.twitter.com/worl
and for those of you on facebook.....search for John L. Worley Jr

WorlView live at the Jazz Showcase..City Lights Theater 2/15/2009

2009-02-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

Bonjour Mes Amis,

Looking for something kind of romantic and lyrical to help you celebrate on this upcoming Valentine's Day weekend? Searching for ideas for an interesting and fun date night?

Maybe you have already noticed on the www.sanjosejazz.org website that WorlView 5.0 will bring their unique sound to City Lights Theater in San Jose this Sunday, February 15th at 7pm.

We will be playing mellow tunes you and your Valentine will enjoy from the Great American Song Book, as well as selections from our CD WorlView, songs from our upcoming CD "WorlView Live at Filoli" and material from our "Tribute To Freddie Hubbard" concert at Yoshi's last January.

This special Jazz Showcase concert is produced by San Jose Jazz and City Lights Theater. Also, special mention goes to Matt Beasley for all of his hard work in creating performance venues like this for local jazz artists in the Bay Area. Thanks Matt!!!

Our good friend and melodious guitarist, Sebastien Lanson from Paris will join WorlView for this concert. So please, lose that cabin fever. Come out and help us celebrate this weekend of tributes to Cupid & the folks we adore.
Best Wishes,
John Worley and WorlView 5.0
Murray Low-piano
Tom Bockhold-bass
Paul VanWageningen-drums
Sebastien Lanson-guitar
and yours truly,

John Worley-trumpet, post horn and flugal de amor....

Jazz Showcase at City Lights Theater529 S. 2nd St., San Jose, California Cost: $15 general admission ($13 for SJ Jazz & City Lights members)
buy online at www.cltc.org
or at the City Lights Theater Box Office
408-295-4200

to see upcoming WorlView /Bari Bari performances, go to
www.johnworley.com
www.myspace.com/worlview
http://twitter.com/worl
http://www.facebook.com

A New Day in America

2009-01-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

Today, I witnessed the rebirth of the American spirit. From the cries of "Yes We Can" to the rhythmic chanting "Obama, Obama...." I saw a country united, a spirit forged in the steely prose of our new leader, Barack Obama. When I watch him interact with others, I see someone whom I can relate to. When I listen to his speeches, he moves me like no other leader has. He is charismatic, strong in spirit and determination and is most definitely what America needs at the moment. A people's leader. He is one of us and understands the responsibilities of his office.
Will he solve all of America's woes....I can't say. I can only hope that with our help, our determination we lend thru our hands and hearts, we the American people will join together to restore our faith in our country thru his leadership.
We must not forget all that the Bush regime tore away from us. Rights, individual freedoms ripped from our breast by ignoring the will and desires of the people. Bush and Cheney taking our country into grave peril and economic ruin in the name of greed and patriotism?!?...at least that's what the Bush regime called it. And if you disagreeded with their ego driven madness, you were label "unpatriotic". When was the right to your own opinion unpatriotic? The American people suffered these fools for eight long years. Years in which we alienated just about the whole world except those who profited from all the back door deals.
It's a new day, a new dawn and the American people elected someone who has got it going on...Barack Hussein (yes I said it...Hussein) Obama.
It's time to put aside our differences people. I feel it's time to step forth and do what we can to encourage change and growth. And restore the luster of our country's honor after 8 long years of winter.
Just my humble opinion folks....I don't want to argue with anyone. I have the right to speak my mind again. And it feels good......................

WorlView 7.0 live Friday November 21st, 8pm

2008-11-17T00:35:00.000-08:00

Hola,

Great News! I am bringing back the original John Worley & Worlview 7.0 ensemble for a very rare special engagement on Friday, November 21 at 8PM. WorlView 7.0 is part of the More Jazz at the Library 2008 series of concerts associated with the San Ramon Library.

Many of you know that for most of 2008, I've been playing concerts with my quartet/quintet WorlView 4.0/5.0 and my latest venture, the Bari Bari band. It's my pleasure to announce that this concert will feature my original band, WorlView 7.0. You'll see and hear "The Dr" Wayne Wallace, Kristen Strom, Murray Low, Tom Bockhold, Michaelle Goerlitz and Curt Moore. Curt will sub for Paul VW who is playing with the maestro Pete Escovedo in St Lucia ...life is tough eh?

To sweeten your experience, delicious desserts featured at this concert will be from Draeger's Market. www.Draegers.com Also, there is an art exhibit at the San Ramon Library featuring Jazz to co-ordinate with the series.
WorlView 7.0 will actually be performing at the Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center at 8pm. Tickets are $25 (Seniors 62 + and students are only $20). They are available at the Library (100 Montgomery Street, San Ramon, CA) or by mail.
Information: www.SanRamonJazz.org (925) 973-2853

Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center
10550 Albion Rd
San Ramon, CA
925-973-2855
www.sanramonlibrary.org

Come, travel the world with us: WorlView ensemble touches on all corners of the Americas, riding a world chart of bop, straight ahead jazz, tango, AfroCuban and "all ports in between."

Musically Yours,

John Worley

www.johnworley.com
www.myspace.com
http://twitter.com/worl

When Worlds Collide, Sunday Sept 14th, 4pm at the Little Fox RWC

2008-09-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Sunday, Sept. 14th is coming up soon - like this weekend already! So I am writing to you to remind you about our multi-band concert, "When Worlds Collide".

John Worley and Bari Bari plus Vandivier and also the Aaron Lington Quintet will be playing at the beautiful Little Fox in Redwood City. If you haven't been there yet, now is the time. It is an intimate venue, a restored gem in downtown RWC. You can savor a glass of something refreshing (This is a 21 and over event!) while sitting in the front row or up in the balcony - no assigned seats.

It is a perfect date on a Sunday because it starts at 4 PM and you are home early enough to start your week all refreshed.

This is a special concert Series called Sunday Jazz at the Little Fox created to showcase some of the finest acts anywhere who just happen to reside in our area.

Here is the scoop:
Sunday, Sept 14th, 4 PM
Little Fox
2215 Broadway
Redwood City, CA
650 - FOX - 4119

Tickets only $18 advance (Available from John too!) or $20 at the door
An interesting note from BeasWa co-producer Matt Beasley:
"This is a show you’ll be blown away by: John Worley and Bari Bari, Vandivier and the Aaron Lington Quintet. These instrumental groups are world class - simply amazing. What you will hear is premiere talent, awe-inspiring prowess, and lush chordal beauty."
"John Worley and Bari Bari consists of John Worley - flugelhorn/trumpet, baritone saxophonists Aaron Lington, Fil Lorenz and Kristen Strom and is backed by John’s great rhythm section including Murray Low on keys, Tom Bockhold on bass and Paul Van Wageningen on drums. This group pays homage to the hard bop East Coast player Pepper Adams and the West Coast Cool School player Gerry Mulligan. These two gentlemen are probably the most influential saxophonists of the current generation of the Bari Sax players. The musicians in Bari Bari are highly sought-after players and jazz educators in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. This is a culmination of phenomenal talent that is sure to inspire and delight the listener."
" Vandivier - Rick Vandivier is an extraordinary master of guitar. He plays with passion, fire, and a sense of humor. Over the years, Vandivier has evolved a wide ranging style that extends from pushing the limits of jazz guitar to applying his liquid style to the full spectrum of music from raw blues through bebop, Latin music and classical music all the way to the raging soul of Jimi Hendrix. Vandivier’s music is a spiritual experience! "
"The Aaron Lington Quintet - Aaron Lington is a Baritone Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger, and a Jazz Educator. Aaron is actually Dr. Lington and is currently assistant professor of Jazz Education at San Jose State University. He was recently recognized in the 55th Annual Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll as a "Rising Star" in the Baritone Saxophone Category. He has performed with several well-known artists including Maria Schneider, Bo Diddley, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, and the Temptations. Lington was also a member of the world-renowned and Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band. This is only a partial listing of his accolades and achievements. Don’t miss these superb musicians!"
Please tell your friends or bring them along! We'd love to see you there!!!

Best Wishes,

John Worley and all of the musicians of "When Worlds Collide"

P.S. The first 10 people to bring a copy of this blog to the concert will receive a free signed poster by John Worley entitled, "Jazz Iz".

John Worley and Bari Bari
Aaron Lington, Fil Lorenz and Kristen Strom - Baritone Sax
Murray Low - Piano
Tom Bockhold - Bass
Paul Van Wageningen - Drums
John Worley - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Aaron Lington Quintet
Aaron Lington - Baritone Sax
John Worley - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Murray Low - Piano
Tom Bockhold - Bass
Paul Van Wageningen - Drums

Vandivier
Rick Vandivier - Guitar
Murray Low - Piano
Paul Van Wageningen - Drums
Tom Bockhold - Bass

Bari Bari makes critics pick in San Jose Merc News

2008-09-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Critics picks for Sept. 11-17
By Mercury News Staff Mercury News
09/05/2008 02:52:47 PM PDT

MUSIC
A jazz triple-header
Once upon a time, a jazz concert was a multi-event. I remember seeing Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Cecil Taylor and Budd Johnson, a burry-toned tenor player, on a single bill in New York in the early '70s. That sort of thing doesn't happen much anymore. But Sunday afternoon at the Little Fox in Redwood City, the old format makes a comeback with "When Worlds Collide," a triple-header of a show featuring the restlessly innovative trumpeter John Worley and Bari Bari (his group with three baritone saxophonists and a hot rhythm section); guitarist Rick Vandivier, whose playing spans bebop and Hendrix, with his band; and the exceptional baritone saxophonist Aaron Lington (also a member of Bari Bari) with his own quintet. 4 p.m. Sunday; Little Fox, 2215 Broadway, Redwood City; $20, $18 advance; (650) FOX-4119, r www.foxdream.com.
— Richard Scheinin, Mercury News

"When Worlds Collide" John Worley and Bari Bari plus Vandivier and the Aaron Lington Quintet

2008-08-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Sunday, Sept. 14th is the date to Save if you love music!!
"When Worlds Collide"

John Worley and Bari Bari plus Vandivier and the Aaron Lington Quintet will be playing at the beautiful Little Fox in Redwood City. If you haven't been there yet, now is the time. It is an intimate venue, a restored gem in downtown RWC. You can savor a glass of something refreshing (This is a 21 and over event!) while sitting in the front row or up in the balcony - no assigned seats.

It is a perfect date on a Sunday because it starts at 4 PM and you are home early enough to start your week all refreshed.

This is a special concert Series called Sunday Jazz at the Little Fox created to showcase some of the finest acts anywhere who happen to reside in our area.

Here is the scoop:
Sunday, Sept 14th, 4 PM
Little Fox
2215 Broadway
Redwood City, CA
650 - FOX - 4119

Tickets only $18 advance (Available from John too!) or $20 at the door

We'd love to see you there!

Best Wishes,

John Worley

P.S. If you can't wait till then, Bari Bari will be at the Hedley Club this Friday from 8:30 pm-12:30 am. The Hedley Club is located in the De Anza Hotel in downtown San Jose at
233 West Santa Clara St. San Jose, Ca 95113. Come by for a drink or two, some food and the exciting sounds of Bari Bari featuring Aaron Lington, Fil Lorenz, Geoff Roach, Kris Strom, Murray Low, Curt Moore, Tom Bockhold and yours truly.

WorlView 4.0 and Bari Bari live at the Bleu Ginger and Hedley Club on July 25th and 26th

2008-07-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

I hope you are enjoying your fine California summer so far! If you are wondering what's happening musically with me, here is the latest: I've got a couple of interesting gigs coming up this week to share with you.

First, WorlView 3.0 will be playing at the Bleu Ginger Restaurant and Lounge in Milpitas this Friday, July 25th from 7-10pm. Joining Tom Bockhold, Paul vanWageningen and yours truly will be our good friend, guitarist Sebastien Lanson. We'll be playing selections from our WorlView CD as well as standards from the Great American song book. If you're looking to spend a mellow evening out, this is the place to do it.

I do not ordinarily claim to be a psychic, BUT...on this Saturday, July 26th at 8:30pm, expect a seismic disturbance of somewhere around 8.0 - 9.0 centered in downtown San Jose....
Bari Bari will be playing at the Hedley Club in San Jose's beautiful DeAnza Hotel. The last time we played there, the place went nuts with the sound of 3 Baritone Saxophonists, Fil Lorenz, Geoff Roach, myself on trumpet and master blaster Aaron Lington. If that isn't enough for everyone, I've added a fourth Bari player, WorlView's own Kristen Strom to da mix. When the four of them get crankin', you might want to bring a helmet, lead lined vest or find a doorway to stand under in case the place comes down.....A Sharks Goalie uniform might be quite appropriate for this event!

This awesome concert is free! So stop by. Have a couple of cocktails served up by "the man" himself, Lonnie, and be prepared to experience the sound of the Bari Bari.

We hope to see you all this weekend!!
Best Wishes,
John Worley

Hedley Club in the Hotel De Anza
233 West Santa Clara Street San Jose, California 95113
408/286-1000
http://www.hoteldeanza.com/hedley.html

Bleu Ginger
90 S Abel St Milpitas, California 95035
(408) 719-9998

John Worley and WorlView 4.0 plus 1 live on April 24th at Kuumbwa Jazz Center

2008-04-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Normally this tax day is one of great angst and much teeth grinding for most American people. I too have experienced the woes of April 15th as a self-employed guy. However, this message is not sent to you as a reminder of taxes due, but to let you know that there IS light at the end of the tunnel and something that will be fun for you to do!!!

Next week, on Thursday, April 24th at 7pm, John Worley and WorlView 4.0 will be playing at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz as part of the taste bud inspiring "Cookin' at the Kuumbwa" series. Award winning chef Cheryl Simmons will be presenting another one of her absolutely fabulous dinners. If you've experienced her cuisine, you know it's off the hook! If not, let your "inner foodie" guide you to share with us an evening of great food and jazz.

Plus, WorlView 4.0 is pleased to have with us, a special guest from Paris, guitarist Sebastien Lanson!! Sebastien recorded on our CD "WorlView" and has his own release on Dancing Sumo Records called "In Transition". We're looking forward to playing with him again. And yes, we will admit, Sebastien does have a bit of a female fan base....

We'll be doing a live radio interview and concert at 2 pm that day, April 24th, on KUSP 88.9 FM - so check that out too if you can.

We're looking forward to seeing you all there. I'm attaching a flyer of the gig for more info.
If you have a public place you can hang it to help us out or interested folks to pass it out to, please do. This will be a fun hang and one you won't want to miss!!

Best Wishes everyone!!!

John Worley and WorlView 4.0
Murray Low-piano, Tom Bockhold-bass, Paul Van Wageningen-drums and Sebastien Lanson-guitar
Kuumbwa Jazz Center
320-2 Cedar St
Santa Cruz 831-427-2227
www.kuumbwajazz.org

Concert only: $10 advance/$13 door
Jazz concert and dinner: only $22.50 advance
Doors and dinner 6pm - Concert 7pm

John Worley and WorlView 5.0 live March 11th at Yoshi's Oakland

2008-03-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

In case you haven't heard, I have some great news to tell you. On March 11th, my band, WorlView 5.0 will be making its first appearance at Yoshi's on Jack London Square in Oakland. I've had the pleasure of playing there with a number of artists from Stanley Clarke, Mel Martin Big Band, Wayne Wallace, Jon Jang and most recently, vocalist Jamie Davis. However, these Tuesday evening performances (8 & 10 pm) will be WorlView's debut at one of the finest jazz venues on the West Coast with a stellar reputation in the music world.

Since the start of WorlView in the summer of 2004, we've had the privilege of performing at the San Jose Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz at Filoli, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, the deYoung Museum, the Jazz School in Berkeley and other fine venues. To add Yoshi's to the list is truly an honor.

I hope that you can join us on March 11th to share this special evening with Murray Low, Tom Bockhold, Paul vanWageningen, Michaelle Goerlitz and myself. Please be sure to stop by and say "Hello" so we can thank you for supporting not only WorlView and Yoshi's but America's original art form and national treasure, Jazz.

The show times are 8 and 10 pm. For more info, click on this link.

Note: San Jose Jazz Society members will be able to receive an incredible special one-night only discount on my Worlview CD and new "Jazz Is..." poster - only $10 for both items! What a great "Thank you" sale. Please be sure to show your current membership card to receive this offer.

Sincerely,

John L. Worley Jr and WorlView 5.0
www.myspace.com/worlview
www.johnworley.com

my new venture Bari Bari this Sunday 2/17

2008-02-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008 at 3pm JOHN WORLEY and BARI BARI featuring baritone saxophonists AARON LINGTON, FIL LORENZ AND GEOFF ROACH and WorlView 4.0
John Worley and Bari Bari is John's latest project involving members of Worley's WorlView 4.0 and baritone saxophonists Aaron Lington, Fil Lorenz and Geoff Roach. Bari Bari features the music of Gerry Mulligan and Pepper Adams - as well as original music from members of Bari Bari. Trumpet/Flugelhorn artist John Worley has been a mainstay of the bay area music scene for 25 plus years. His band - WorlView - has performed at the San Jose Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, San Francisco's Intersection For The Arts and the Jazz at Filoli summer concert series at Filoli Gardens. WorlView also performed for the Advocates For Children fund raiser in Redwood City where John served as musical director.Aaron Lington, assistant professor at San Jose State University where he serves as Coordinator of Jazz Studies, was recognized in the 55th Annual Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll as a “Rising Star” in the Baritone Saxophone category. Fil Lorenz is the founder and leader of two of San Francisco's premier groups, the Collective West Jazz Orchestra and the Fil Lorenz Soul-Tet. The Collective West Jazz Orchestra is in its ninth year and currently performs every Wednesday at Jazz at Pearl's in San Francisco. Geoff Roach leads and plays in the critically acclaimed Octobop in addition to being the executive director of San Jose Jazz. Very Early, Octobop's fourth CD, maintained 10 weeks in the top 10 in the US on the CMJ jazz charts. Geoff has performed with Mel Torme, Nelson Riddle, Tom Jones, Bob Hope and is a graduate of the Stanford Business School Executive Program.www.johnworley.com
Single tickets available at the Improv San Jose Box Office:San Jose Jazz members and students - $20-$30General public - $30-$40Ticket Purchase: Improv Box Office at 408-280-7475 or online at www.symfonee.com/improv/sanjose Please note that all ticket sales are final.
Improv San Jose62 So. 2nd St. San Jose, CA 95113(408) 280-7475

I'm back.....

2008-01-16T00:21:00.000-08:00

2007...what a great year. There was so much to be thankful for. It also was a time of great sadness with the passing of so many loved ones. My Uncle Mike was one of them. I still have a hard time understanding a world without my Uncle Mike. Love ya always Mike...
WorlView toured a bit up in the pacific northwest. I got to play with some of my favorite musicians(Jim Norton, Jennifer Scott ect...) and made new friends.
I recorded on Wayne Wallace's new cd and man, you gotta check out Ron Stallings vocals on "Unchain My Heart"...It's freakin' unbelievable.
Louis Fasman kicked major butt on it as well. Is it my imagination or is the guy superman on the trumpet or what?!@? For more input, check out Serpentine Fire...He's laying it down like nobody's buisiness. Check it out...
My friend trumpeter/flugalhornist Paul Tynan flew into town and is blowin' everyone away with his superb playing. Another new hero in my book. I want to be like him when I grow up.
Niel Levonius has made great strides with his playing. We're splitting the lead book in Fil Lorenz's Collective West Jazz Orchestra and is always chompin'at the bit to 8va here and there.
Susan and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary by going on the Freedom Of The Seas cruise ship to the Caribean. What a great ship and trip. We had a blast....Love that cheeesehead bride of mine. Looking forward to another 10-50 years of bliss.
To bring 07 to a close, my students sat in with my band at the Dana St. Roasting CO. in Dec and brought a few tears to the folks attending, eyes. I'm so proud of those guys. You have to have the heart of a lion to get up on stage and blow with such a top notch band like mine. Murray, Tom and Paul swung like mad and the kids kept up like cats, decades older. Man, that place was swingin'...
2008 has alot to offer.
Look for John Worley & Bari Bari at the San Jose Jazz Sunday series Feb 17th.
Wayne Wallace at the new Yoshi's in SF for his CD release party on July 7th.
Many more concerts and gigs coming up so keep checking in the ol' myspace page:
www.myspace.com/worlview for access to my calendar.
Peace and hope you have a kick ass 2008.
Namaste,
WorlBoy

We're going back!! WorlView 4.0 Pac NW tour press release

2007-10-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 1, 2007Media Contact: Matt Beasley650-400-4920mattbeas@aol.comhttp://www.johnworley.comJOHN WORLEY & WORLVIEW - 2nd PACIFIC NORTHWEST TOUR
Event Highlights: John Worley and WorlView 4.0

*Thursday, November 8th. The Cellar. 8:30 and 10:15pm
3611 W. Broadway St. Vancouver, BC V6R 2BS
$10 cover - (604) 738-1959 - www.cellarjazz.com

*Friday, November 9th. Egan's Ballard Jam House, 9:00pm
1707 NW Market St., Seattle, Washington
$10 cover - (206) 789-1621 - www.ballardjamhouse.com

*Saturday, November 10th. House Concert 7:00 PM
Burien, Washington. For more info email: lanceandlaurie@comcast.net

During November 8-10th, San Francisco Bay Area Trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso John Worley presents his second Pacific Northwest tour with his band, WorlView 4.0. Worley has assembled an all-star cast - including pianist Murray Low, bassist Tom Bockhold, drummer Paul vanWageningen and special guest artist, Jim Norton.

Joining Worley in Vancouver B.C. are renowned vocalist/pianist Jennifer Scott, bassist Paul Ruska and Dave Robbins on drums. WorlView plays a combination of straight ahead and Latin jazz from all ports in the America's as well as selections from the Great American song book. Although this is Worley's second experience touring the Pacific Northwest as a band leader, the trumpeter is no stranger to the area. Over the years, he has performed at many Pacific Northwest venues such as the Earshot Jazz Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Triple Door, Columbia City Theater, Crossroads Bellevue, Upstage Restaurant and Lounge, Jazz Project in Bellingham as well as The Cellar in Vancouver BC.
Worley received critical praise following his performance with The Carla Bley/Steve Swallow Big Band at the 2005 Monterey Jazz Festival. Carla Bley had nothing but praise for Worley's performance: "John played 'The Black Orchid' as if I had written it for him. Like a great stage actor, he made the part his own. Until further notice, he owns it." Steve Swallow noted "He tackled Carla's music with a perfect balance of sympathy for her intentions and determination to express himself. Only the very best players do this ... both render the writer's vision faithfully and enhance it."

In 2006, Worley's ascent in the jazz world continued with his first headliner appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival after 13 appearances as a sideman with artists Don Byron, Wayne Shorter Commission Orchestra, Bobby Hutcherson, Jon Jang, Asian American Orchestra, Wayne Wallace's Rhythm and Rhyme and others.

Worley's most recent performances with WorlView include: The 2007 San Jose Jazz Festival, concert/live recording at "Jazz at Filoli" and the "Music for Our Children" fund raiser/charity benefit for the Advocates for Children non-profit agency. He served as the musical director for this event in addition to performing.

Worley's future performances include concerts in Paris with the Worley/Lanson Project in the summer of "08", the release of his second CD - a quartet version of WorlView - and his third CD "WorlView 7.0 Live at Filoli" on his label, "Dancing Sumo Records" - a whimsical nod to his Japanese heritage.

John is an endorsing artist/clinician for Bach Stradivarius trumpets and Conn-Selmer INC, member of Musicians Union locals 6 & 153, BMI and the International Trumpet Guild.

Worl's review's and WorlView dates

2007-07-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile....Lot's of WorlView activity on the horizon. We're playing Sunday, August 12th at the San Jose Jazz Festival. We'll be going on at 6pm on the Smith Dobson Tribute stage.
Next we'll be playing at Filoli Mansion in their "Jazz at Filoli" series on August 26th and we'll be recording live that day. I'm particularly excited about this gig because of the recording and also, it might be the biggest audience we've played to since we started. At this point in time, it's almost sold out.
A couple of other notes, I'll be recording with Jim Norton in a couple of weeks. He's in the process of finishing his tentette and quartet recording. I can't to hear it when it's all said and done. Susan and I helped them celebrate their one year anniversary with their families. Congrats Kemi and Jimmy!
I'll be playing with the honorable Wayne Wallace Saturday, August 11th at the San Jose Jazz Festival. We'll be closing the Latin Stage that night and if you haven't seen that band live, here's your chance!
Anyhow, check in with my myspace page to see all of my upcoming dates with folks like Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo, Collective West Jazz Orchestra, Jamie Davis and others....
Here's something new...This is what I'm listening to at the moment in my 07 Prius...love the bluetooth and sound system!
1. Phil Grenadier - PLAYFUL INTENTIONS, fresh sound/New Talent
Fresh, free and totally refreshing playing on Phil's second solo outing. Phil is a major talent that will be heard by many when he goes on tour with John Scofield next month.
2.Bobby Shew - CANCAOS DO AMOR, Torii records
Bobby goes in a totally different direction as he delves into the soothing sounds of Brazil. To quote the man himself, "I think we did something pretty for the people". This CD has been in my car since he gave it to me in May and that's where it will stay folks! Nobody plays the flugel as beautiful as Bobby. Sensei, you did it again!
3 & 4. Paul Tynan -FREEDOM AND JEALOUSY/RADIO INFREQUENCY - NohJoh Music
Paul Tynan is on sabbatical in the SF Bay Area and I've had the extreme pleasure of playing with him twice already. Paul is another major talent in my opinion. I first heard him on Aaron Lington's release CAPE BRETON and his playing knocked me out. Shades of Kenny Wheeler, Don Cherry, hints of Scott Wendholt, Lester Bowie all put together to form a unique and highly stimulating approach for us to listen to. Plus he has one of the best flugel sounds in the biz....
5. Jennifer Scott - LIVE AT THE CELLAR
I first met Jennifer and her husband Rene Worst in Ed Johnson's band. Not only is she an accomplished pianist but a remarkable jazz vocalist as well. Not many sing with the heart she does and her scatting is above and beyond most I've played with. Jennifer's band includes Rene, Bill Coon and Dave Robbins. Everyone's playing is superb and the arrangements are very imaginative....Keep an eye out for her folks, she's the real deal!
6. Miles Davis - LIVE-EVIL. Columbia Records
Some of my favorite playing by Miles and I can say some of my buddy Matt Beasley's as well. No one plays the wah wah pedal like Miles and his strength allows him to go more than 10 rounds with the heavy mother f****** on this date. Keith J., Steve Grossman, and John McLaughlin to name a few totally shred!!!!
Check out these recordings my friends. Till next time, be well and hope to see you at one of WorlViews gigs coming up....

WorlView 4.0 live at the Dana Street Roasting Co.

2007-06-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,
This coming Friday June 8th, WorlView 4.0 will be playing at the Dana Street Roasting Co. around the corner from my teaching studio in Mountain View. This is the place I go for an outstanding cup of java during my teaching hours. They have live music several times during the month and also a French conversation evening. Dana Street Roasting Co is located at 744 W. Dana Street. Mountain View, CA94041. The gig is from 8-10:30 pm and will feature Scott Sorkin on guitar, Tom Bockhold on bass, Curt Moore on drums and yours truly on trumpet and flugelhorn. Also joining us will be some of my advanced jazzers Akhil Gopal from Mountain View HS, Max Shulaker from Aragon HS (San Mateo), Brendan Liu from South San Francisco HS(South San Francisco) and a couple of other special guests. There is no cover but there will be a tip jar if you are inclined to contribute to the band fund and WORLVIEW CD's for sale.
We'll be playing selections from my CD WORLVIEW as well as new tunes that will be recorded live in August when WorlView 7.0 plays the "Jazz At Filoli" in Redwood City. The place isn't too big so be there early if you want a seat but regardless, plan on making this one. The band is swingin', the java is steamin' and we're looking forward to seeing and playing for y'all.
Peace,
Worl

Uncle Mike RIP

2007-06-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

Before WorlViews Pac NW tour I had some devastating news. My Uncle Mike finally after 2 & 1/2 years of his fight with cancer passed away. He had the most positive attitude and that kept him on the planet longer than what the docs originally told the family he had. He lived his last years with dignity, honor, faith and I'll never forget him. They had his funeral the Saturday of my tour and I dedicated our tour to his memory. I felt his spirit then and now. It's hard to imagine a world without my Uncle Mike and I feel for his family. His tribe is strong and came together and my aunt Denise is dealing with it with strength and grace. If I didn't know better, Mike, my dad John L and Uncle Dickie are up there playing poker, laughing and having a grand ol' time. I tip my glass and hat to you three. Love you all madly..........

WorlView 4.0 Pac NW tour part 2

2007-06-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

Well, well.....Saturday we played at the Crossroads Bellevue and we saw more friends there. Jed Rodriguey from our days together with the 49er big band and the "Hooters From Hell" tour to London, England came by and his first word that arrived from his mouth was "Hooters". I knew it was him..... Frank Grijalva and Ron Howard from my days with the SF chapter of the McDonalds All City Jazz Band from 1985 fell by. Frank teaches in Bellevue at a private school and Ron is currently selling real estate but is rapidly reigniting his trumpet career as we speak. Jim and Kemi Norton as well as a few more family members came by and afterwards Kemi and Jim took the band out to dinner (thanks you two, it was delicious!!!). Matt Beasley who turned 40 years old today(5/31) at 10:30pm met up with us and from there we caravaned up to Bellingham. Farren and I dropped the guys off at their hotel and we landed at our dear friend Sharmon's pad and went to a party at her ex hubbys place. We had a fun time and much fine wine was consumed and then it was time to crash for tomorrow was a big day. Sunday, we gathered up the cats and had a fine breakfast at a restaurant next to Tony's coffee house and afterwards we hung out at Sharmons pad till the hit. We were playing at the Lucia Douglas Gallery, a small and intimate venue and after 2 days gigging, the band was on fire!!! That first set rivaled any gig I have ever played. We had such a blast playing & the audience knew it. They were a very hip crowd. Except for the ballroom dancer guy who told me our version of Visita Social was a samba and not a cha cha as I related to the crowd. Sometimes, people feel that it's important to give their "professional" opinion to us musicians as if we don't know our own material...I hope my smile and head nod was enough to appease you. Otherwise give me a call and I'll tell you what I really thought of your (for the lack of a better word) ignorant comment 650-740-7004. This was the only negative vibe I got the whole weekend from anyone. After the gig, Judd (the promoter for the Jazz Project) took us out to dinner at the Mambo Italiano. That place never disappointed me and is still one of my favorite places to chill and grind (Hawaiian for eating). A couple of hours later we packed it up and made our way back to Seattle where the cats flew out the next morning. Farren and I took back the rental van after we dropped off the equiptment and I left late that afternoon. Overall it was one of the greatest experiences I ever had. I want to thank Farren, Sharmon, Jim and Kemi Norton, Shelly Devlin, Kim Clarke, Matt Beasley, K-Dogg, Bob the sound guy at Crossroads Bellevue for doing an absolute bang up job with the PA, Mark from the Upstage for having us, Judd Sherwood for having us at the Lucia Douglas Gallery and anyone else who helped make this a happening and eventful weekend. We'll be back in November so look for us then.

Mother's Day concert with WorlView 5.0, Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo and Wendy Waller May 13 at the Little Fox

2007-05-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
WorlView 5.0 has a very special gig coming up this month at a beautiful local venue.
On Sunday, May 13th at 7pm, WorlView 5.0 will be sharing the bill with Wendy Waller and Her Fine Band as well as Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo at the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City. The concert is called "MUSIC WITHOUT BORDERS" and we'll be presented a myriad of styles from across the Americas. You can experience three very musical bands on the same bill for one ticket price. Show your appreciation for the special "Mom" in your life by treating her to this concert. An additional treat: playing with us will be my good friends guitarist Sebastien Lanson and drummer Curt Moore, the leader of Soul Sauce.

Here is the press release being sent out to the media and other music fans by BeasWa Productions:

Three brilliant musicians, Ed Johnson, John Worley and Wendy Waller, with music rooted in jazz, will take you on a journey across US borders and throughout the Americas. Guitarist/vocalist Ed Johnson and his Brazilian jazz octet Novo Tempo play Ed's songs and compositions, striking not just in their originality, but also in their loyal tribute to the best of Brazilian music. Trumpet and flugelhorn master John Worley and WorlView will take you on a soaring Pan-American, Pancaribe musical journey to Brazil, Cuba and back to the US Vocalist Wendy Waller and her Fine Band will take you through New York, New Orleans and to her California home for a soulful tribute to her favorite jazz and blues singers.
7:00pm
JOHN L. WORLEY JR. trumpet/flugelhorn artist and leader of WorlView has been a member in many of the Bay Areas creative music ensembles for last 20+ years. Being adept at a multitude of styles, John has played with many national and international artists in Canada, Europe, Central and North America. http://www.johnworley.com/
8:00pm
Soul music runs in Wendy Waller's family. Critics often site Waller's ability to use her voice like an instrument. "Jazz was constantly in my ear," says Waller. "My dad played lots of jazz around the house... Making up melodies and scatting just came naturally. I improvised long before I studied improvisation." http://www.wendywaller.com/
8:45
Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo are a vibrant Bay Area original contemporary jazz ensemble with a Latin feel and a refreshing emphasis on harmony vocals and horn arrangements. Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo's music is evocative of Brazilian pop, but unlike anything you’ve heard before. http://www.edbjohnson.com/

We hope to see you there!
Best Wishes,

John L. Worley Jr

Little Fox
2215 Broadway Redwood City, California 94063
Fox Theater Tel (650) FOX-4119 Fax (650) FOX-4129
Email: info@foxdream.com
Tickets $16 Advance/$18 at the door
Please contact the Box Office at (650) 369-4119 for tickets or show information. Tickets can also be reserved via email at foxticketinfo@yahoo.com Please send phone contact along with the Name, Date and # of tickets for the event(s) and we will call you for payment information. Little Fox is a 21 years old and above venue.

WorlView in the Pac NW tour...What a Blast!!! part 1

2007-05-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have a moment to breathe and I really want to share some of my experiences with you while up in the Pacific NW. Good times were had by all of us and so many folks helped contribute it it. This blog will take up some space so it will come to you in a parts. I'll start at the beginning. I flew up to Seattle on Wednesday and took a shuttle to meet Farren. We drove back to Port Townsend and took care of some last minute details revolving around the gigs and my clinic with the Port Townsend HS Big Band. One important item of business was dinner at Lonza's. Man, what a great restaurant!!! 5 stars in my book. The salmon was fresh and delightful and the wine was beautiful. The next day, I gave a clinic with their big band at 7am. It's a daunting time of day to be spot on but true to form, I had them laughing 6 minutes into it and we cruised thru the next 3 hours rehearsing, sitting in and giving a brass clinic to their brass players as well as others from local schools. Kim Clarke really has those kids playing and I got to hear a really fine guitarist ( I can't remember his name but will find it and and let you know) and a pretty soulful trumpeter named Kevin "K-Dogg" Rubio. That dude played a pretty nice solo and was a nice cat too. Look for those two cats to serenade your ears sometime in the near future. I got to meet Shelly Devlin, a trumpeter from the Seattle area. She works for Ted Brown Music CO. one of the sponsors of my clinic along with Conn-Selmer INC. It turns out she studies with Allen Vizzutti, one of my all time favorite players at the University of Washington. I use a lot of his material in my teaching so you can imagine how much I grilled her on what it's like to study with the maestro himself. Allen Vizzutti, that cat is one of the most technically astute players in the world. I used to see him play in LA back in the early 80's. The next day, Farren and I drove back to Seattle to pick up the band and drove back to Port Townsend to play at the Upstage Restaurant that night. We stopped at Metropolitan Music and picked up the drums and bass amp and had a nice visit with the owner, Paul McVicar. He was very good to us and I know that when we come back up in November, we'll hook up again. So we packed up Farren's little Honda wagon and the Dodge van I rented with the equipment and the guys and we were off on our trip. I'm taking a breath for a moment and will continue in the next part.......

WorlView 4.0 Live in the Pacific Northwest

2007-04-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hey,
WorlView 4.0 will coming to the Seattle area next week!!!! Hope to see you at one of our gigs....
For more info, check out my myspace page.
Worl
4.26.07
WorlView 4.0 Pacific Northwest tour 4/27-29
4.26.07
Jazz Band Workshop at Port Townsend High School
4.27.07
WorlView 4.0 live @ Upstage Restaurant
4.28.07
WorlView 4.0 @ Crossroads Bellevue. Market Stage
4.29.07
WorlView 4.0 Art of Jazz Concert Series presented by the Jazz Project. Lucia Douglas Gallery

"Music for Our Children" Benefit Concert and Auction

2007-03-24T01:39:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the big night for CASA of San Mateo County. WorlView 7.0 and guest artists Kat Parra, Morning and Jim Nichols and Bennett Newell-Roth will perform at the "Music for Our Children" Benefit Concert and Auction hosted by a very worthwhile organization, "Advocates for Children". The event will be held at the Woodside High School Performing Arts Center in Woodside, CA and it runs from 6-10pm. Fred Berry and Jayne Sanchez will share the spot light as Masters of Ceremony. Jayne and Yvonne Kerno, operations manager from CASA, will be running the live auction.
Advocates for Children recruits, trains and supports volunteers who develop a personal relationship with children whose parents cannot or will not support them as parents normally do. These children often bounce from one foster home to another and have little continuity in their lives except for their advocate.
You can make a difference in some child's life by showing your support for this event. Whether you participate in the silent or live auction, purchase a raffle ticket or three and/or just come on down to share your good vibe with everyone there, it will show support to this fine organization and those who benefit from it.
If you make the effort to attend this event on Saturday, I will personally comp you or your family a pair of tickets. If you cannot come to the concert and you wish to make a donation,
please send it to: Advocates for Children, CASA of San Mateo County, 777 Mariners Island Blvd., Ste. 115, San Mateo, CA 94404.
Just mention to the folks taking the tickets that you are my guests and they will let you and a guest in free. I hope that you will come down, enjoy an evening filled with great music and bright hopes for all those who will benefit from your participation.
Best Wishes,
John L. Worley Jr
Musical Director for "Music for Our Children" and leader of WorlView 7.0

Woodside High School Performing Arts Center
195 Churchill Ave
Woodside, CA 94062

Program
6:00pm - 6:45pm Silent Auction
7:00pm - 8:00pm Morning and Jim Nichols with WorlView 7.0
8:00pm - 9:00pm Presentation and Live Auction
9:00pm - 10:00pm Kat Parra, John Worley and WorlView 7.0 and closing song

WorlView 7.0 live at the Sanchez Art Center

2007-01-30T02:14:00.000-08:00

WorlView 7.0 Live at the Sanchez Art Center.
Pacifica Performances hosted WorlView 7.0 last Saturday evening and what a great gig! Mildred Owens, Matt Beasley and Morning Nichols made this happen and thank you all. We even had an article written by Jean Bartlett that was in the Pacifica Tribune the Wednesday before. Nice writing Jean!!!
We had almost a hundred people there to see us. What an acoustically friendly place to play. It was very cool to see so many of my friends turn out. Kerry McCoy and Alta Gracia, Barbara and Steve Miller, Lionel Emde and Renee Batti, Kevin and Earl Johnson, Shawn Terry and Terri Derogatis, Jayne Sanchez, Lori Stotko and Stuart Nafey, Lyssa and a whole bunch more friendly faces. We started the evening with a Woody Shaw original, “Rahsaan’s Run”. We usually close the first set with it but I wanted the band to come out roaring and shake up the place. To open the second set, we played "Happy Birthday" as a cha cha for Stuart. It was his 55th birthday!!! Nice cake Lori....How come you didn't pop outta it?
My brother Richie and his squeeze, Amanda got a chance to get out of the house. They just had a baby girl two weeks ago and I dedicated the song, “Too Young To Go Steady” to them.
My wife Susan was there helping me out with CD sales and inspiring me to places I’ve never gone before. I always play better when she’s there. Thank you Baby!!!! We dedicated "Moon Alley" to her and Jayne Sanchez.
We played my tango “Last Tango In Delano” which is dedicated to my father John L. Worley. My father was a merchant seaman by trade and was a member of the Seafarers International Union. He was sent out to the Central Valley by the SIU to help protect Cesar Chavez and the farm workers who were picketing. This tune is for you Pop. It was commissioned by the Intersection For The Arts to be premeired at our deYoung Museum gig last Fall. Sebastien Lanson was here then and helped me put it together so he's the co-composer. Good work Sebastien.
From the WorlView library, “WorlView”, “Out Of The Night Came You”, “Moon Alley”, “Infra-Rae”, “Silent Heart”, “Visita Social”, Kwockasaurus Rex” and a few more came to life that night. The evening was a success and contributing to it was the sound man. (I think his name is Gary). What big ears you have, dude. He had it dialed in and I never heard the sound better there! Thank you man for that gift.
Well, we have a fun one coming up in February. WorlView 7.0 is going to be guests of the Stanford Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Fred Berry on February 28th. I'll be guest soloing on a few tunes with the SJO and WorlView will be featured on the 2nd set. We plan to play "Clapham Common" by Howard Cespedes, "Cape Breton" by Dr Aaron Lington, "Caravan" arranged by Wayne Wallace and "WorlView" also arranged by Wayne Wallace. Y'all should come out and help support their program. They are going to be touring Europe with Jon Faddis this summer. So come out and lend them your ears and cash. It cost a lot of ducats to get 20+ people out there. And believe me, they're worth every penny.
More to come soon...I promise. It's one of my New Year's resolutions....To blog and blog and blog.......Peace!!!

1st blog of 2007

2007-01-30T01:12:00.000-08:00

Lot’s of stuff happened since my last blog back in November. Sorry it’s taken awhile to do this. It’s partially the curse of being a busy musician/educator.
In December, I subbed on a wonderful show called Christmas Dreamland for AMT (American Musical Theater). It was very challenging but a blast to play. I love playing a gig when you have to run the gamut in musical genres.
I played a couple of times at the Bleu Ginger/Lounge in Milpitas with my trio, WorlView 3.0. That place is starting to catch on in a big way. The food and ambience is great plus it’s one of last remaining venues to hear live jazz in the south bay. Sad….
I played a big band dance at the Elks Lodge in Alameda with my old friend and favorite band leader Rudy Salvini. His band is one of the last remaining professional dance big bands left in the bay area. He’s always got the best cats playing and most of them are from the era when there was live music everywhere.
Susan and I took a Moroccan cooking class, partied with friends at our pad and set up our tree just before x-mas. That’s part of our x-mas tradition.
On new year’s, Susan got a face painting gig in Reno at the High Roller’s party at Harrah’s. She got a moment to visit my good friend, Bob Biagi originally from South San Francisco. Bob plays flute and alto sax and drives a truck up there when he’s not jamming at a session or gig.
I was playing with the Pete Escovedo Orchestra at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. Robbie Kwock (Kwockasaurus Rex), Wayne Wallace, Dave Gregoric and Melecio Magdaluyo were on that hit. The band sounded great and we had a great time playing together.
On New Year’s Day, Susan and I were invited to our friends Dave and Shirley Deneau’s cioppino dinner and we had a blast!!! It’s an annual get together and it always kicks total butt. Shirley is the Queen of Foodies and always out does herself much to the delight of our tummies. Dave is a great tenor saxophonist and he sat in with me at the Bleu Ginger the other day and sounded marvelous I might add!
On the 3rd of January, Susan and I flew out to Wisconsin and spent a week with her family and friends. I have to say, Wisconsin is getting pretty hip. We enjoyed some pretty fine wine and cuisine and I even got a chance to sit in with a local favorite Dan, on guitar and vocals at the Elements Restaurant in Two Rivers. Susan and I met a very cool lady named Katherine Egger who convinced me to sit in. Originally there was supposed a jazz trio playing and I was going to sit in with them. But Dan was there instead and I didn’t want to get in his way. It took quite of bit of pressure from Susan’s brother Tom Tittl, Katherine and others to get me up there. But it worked and I played a bit for them. I had so much fun and as the night progressed it got crazier and wilder. There were conga lines, people jamming on percussion instruments and my God, Julie Tittl was dancing as if she were the lead in River Dance. It was wild, the wine was flowing and people were talking about this evening for days after. Mind you, Two Rivers is a sleepy burg of 31,000 and not too much happens there, especially in the winter. Which leads me to where was the snow? Trippy weather I might add. The only time it snowed was late one evening and there was a small sprinkle coming down and that disappeared as soon as the sun was out. Quite a change from all the stories I listened to about how cold it gets there in winter. I guess “old man winter” was vacationing in Florida and sent some of that sun back to WI.
We took a side trip to Green Bay and checked out the Packer Hall of Fame and Lambeau Field, also known as the “Frozen Tundra”. It was interesting checking out the exhibits and playing in the kid’s interactive area. But the coolest thing was wearing my 49er colors in their “hood”.
Naa na na na naaaaa!!!!!!
Well, we’re home now and my next blog will be focused on WorlView 7.0’s latest gig, live at the Sanchez Art Center presented by Pacifica Performances…Till then, asta pasta hombres.

Wayne Wallace CD release party at Yoshi's

2006-11-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

Wayne Wallace and Rhythm and Rhyme had a CD release party at Yoshi's to celebrate his new release called "Reckless Search For Beauty". What a kick ass concert. Yoshi's is always a very cool place to gig and that night we had a packed house with many fans, friends, family and musicians. If you're not hip to Wayne's music then you haven't lived my friend. However, I wanted to bring up something that really spoke to me about that concert. (I'll write more about the concert at another date when I have alittle more time.) Louis Fasman is one of the Bay Area's premier trumpet players and is also one of my best friends. We will have been playing together for 30 years coming up in the summer of 07. Some of you may know that Louis has been ill for the past three weeks with Viral Meningitis. He thought he had migraines and when the docs checked him out they diagnosed him with VM. It's not the same as Spinal or Bacterial Meningitis(this one is what took down our tpt teacher, the late Dr. Herb Patnoe) but still, it can kick your butt and put you out of commission for a bit. Louis had a very able backup waiting in the wings, Chris Barnes in case he couldn't make it thru. Louis mentioned to me during the soundcheck that he might have to point to his part for me to play if he faded. In the back of my mind I thought "yeah right...you never have backed down from any part". But, I said I would do what was needed if he got tired. Man....he paced himself well the first set and got stronger and stronger and pasted the last chart "Use Me" to the back wall. That chart is a chop burner and he kicked major ass my friends. What a (for the lack of a better word) "Warrior". Louis Fasman is my hero. Damn, he had to dig deep within to get the job done and succeeded. We all should follow his example. It was totally inspiring. Louis, I will never forget that night when you felt that bad and played so well. I'll be back soon my friends to talk about the rest of the concert soon.
Peace, Worl

I'm Backkkkkkkk!!!!

2006-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Ok ok.....I'm back on the board. MJF was the most exhilerating experience I've had with my band. Everyone played great and I got a chance to hang with my bud Steve Bernstein. If you don't know who he is well, he's just one of the best trumpet cats in NYC. The band played on the Garden Stage and just kicked butt! Lot's of fun gigs since then and guess what? I turned 51 years young on the 15th of NOV. Man, it was a great day. I did a rehearsal in the morning and afterwards taught a couple of kids. I made sure to tell them that it was a great day because of my birthday and that everyday you can play your trumpet is a great day!!! WorlView 4.0 is going to the state of Washington in April to play a few gigs. Thank you Kemi for all of your help the last week or so. You and I are keeping Matt hopping. I'm also trying to book a tour to Europe this summer so look out for us there in July. WorlView is going to be pretty busy in "07" so keep and eye and ear out for us. I also started a myspace music page so click on the name and surf surf surf.....Looking forward to seeing and hearing from y'all soon.
Worl

Man, MJF is only two days away!!!!

2006-09-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Monterey Jazz Festival is two days away!!!....and tomorrow we rehearse. Susan is cooking up some treats for the cats and we'll be playing at the Hope St Studios here in lovely Mountain View. Our house concert at Chateau Kalleen in Petaluma, CA was a great place to play. And a great way to warm up for MJF. John and Mariette were great hosts and many many thanks for letting us do our thing at your pad. By the way, my better half Susan catered the house concert and did a totally kick ass job. I didn't know that she could do that. She's had several offers since to recreate her endeavor but turned each one down. It's a tough gig catering. And a special thank you goes out to my friend Steve B for helping out in the vino dept. Let's see...we had around 40 people there total and we went thru 28 bottles of wine!!! Mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned. Good job all of you who made it. And no DUI's. Another round of applause please!!!! In regards to MJF...Check out CNN.com for festival highlights. One of the tunes we're playing, "Silent Heart" was written by Ed Johnson and will feature Sebastien and I. Ed not only wrote the tune but took time to write the horn parts. Ed, you are the man. Thank you for all of your help my friend! Guitarist Sebastien Lanson flew all the way from Paris to join us. Thanks Dude!!! You always add so much and it's always great to have you here for the hang too. Special thanks to my friend Dr. Jeff Eaton for fitting me into his schedule at the last minute and more thanks to Dr. Carole Shimoda for tweaking me with her exquisite chiropratic skills. It takes to quote Hillary Clinton "It Takes A Village" for all of this to work. Leading a band is not a solitary effort. So many fine people contribute and in most cases, only the band leader gets or takes the credit. But I've been a sideman for so many years and I know that it's not the case. It does take a Village to make it happen and I am eternally grateful to everyone who lends his or her's talents to make it happen. It's a great feeling knowing that we all share in the experience. More to come very soon. Peace, John aka WorlBoy

WorlBoy here....

2006-09-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends, It's been awhile since my last post. It's definitely a time of reflection. My friend Scott Sorkin lost his Dad two weeks ago and I just received the disturbing news that a friend and a former student took his life last week. Boy, they weren't kidding when they said that it comes in groups of three's. Gilbert Shih was a nice cat. Took life a bit too seriously at times and needed to leave the planet in a quick way. He was one of my "cherries" during his tenure with me. I remember when my teacher and mentor John Coppola gave me free lessons because I lost my job at Whitney Band Instruments. My parents didn't have the dough to pay for my lessons and I got a job studying brass repair with James Galway's repair person, Bob Gilchrist. I lost my job because of the other apprentices cutting a few corners and wasn't able to pay for my lessons. I mentioned it to Johnny and he said, "Don't worry about the money, just sweep my porch and we're ok". He also said that if I did everything he told me to, I'd be a professional musician by the age of 16. I remember after the lessons I'd ask John what could I do for him and he'd just say "practice!". That I did and I played my first gig at the ripe age of 15 years young. I never forgot Johnny's generosity and since then, I have at least one "cherry" every school year. Gilbert was one of them as well as a student of Johnny's. He worked hard and was tough on himself if he didn't feel up to snuff. I remember telling him to be easy on yourself. I'd always use the analogy..."How much do you have in your bank of self esteem?....Everytime you get down on yourself, it's like punching a $20 outta the ATM of self esteem and you have to ask yourself..how much you got in there?" Gilbert helped me with my record project. He meant a lot to me. I lost touch with him for awhile till his friends called me to tell me the news. I hope he finds a better place the next time around. I will miss you my friend. I will dedicate my performance to you at Monterey this year. Gilbert Shih 1978-2006 RIP

Maynard Ferguson passed away the night before last at the age of 78.

2006-08-25T02:40:00.000-07:00

Maynard Ferguson passed away at 8pm, August 23. He was 78 years old. He was a tremendous influence to me. I remember in my freshman year in high school,my buddy Johnny Serrano playing for me Maynard's solo on "Concerto To End All Concertos" on the album, "Kenton in Hi Fi" That solo wigged me out completely. The range, power, brashness of Maynard's playing changed the direction of my life completely. I knew at that moment, I wanted to be a professional trumpet player and have been on that journey ever since.My first jazz trumpet teacher, Johnny Coppola used to play on Kenton's band with Maynard and roomed with him. Johnny used to tell me funny stories about their hangs and playing together on the bandstand. I called him this morning when my former student and good friend Niel Levonius gave me the sad news. It shook Johnny up to hear it as you can imagine. Johnny is the last surviving member of the Charlie Barnet band that he played on and probably the same goes for the Kenton and the Herman band too. He always had great things to say about Maynard. He even had one of Maynard's large bore Martin Committee that Maynard gave him years ago. My first jazz record was "MF Horn". I bought it at Columbia Music on Market St in SF. Man, I wore that bad boy out! Maynard's band was the 2nd big band I ever saw (the first was Stan Kenton's band at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, CA with Mike Vax playing lead). I saw Maynard and the guys at De Anza College. I remember they were wearing their striped t-shirts and black pants. I believe Bob Summers was in the band as well as Lin Biviano (?) Maynard sounded awesome and it really sent me thru the roof. I went on to see Maynard many many more times after that and try to emulate his playing, tho quite unsuccessfully I might add.I even had an opportunity to play with him at the Fairmont Hotel in SF sometime between "85" and "90". I was the first call sub in the Dick Bright Orchestra and we played him and the band on, and at the end of the show, played his greatest hits medley. That was so cool, finally getting a chance to play with the man who forever changed the direction of my life. I also want to mention that one of my best buds, Louis Fasman played on the band for about a year. That was around "85" Louis played his ass off. They were playing "Hey Jude" and during the last free section, Louis played Maynard's intro to MF. He sounded great and in my mind, was one of the best but under rated and overlooked lead players to play with Maynard. Ask Wayne B about him sometime. Louis and I played a gig with the Larry Vucovitch Big Band at Copia's tonight and we toasted the Boss with a tasty bottle of T-Vines 2002 Syrah. I'll never forget Maynard. He played the trumpet as if he were the greatest opera singer that ever lived. He could bebop with the best and no one ever has played the horn with the same passion and flair that he did. He did it his way and either you loved or hated it although it was hard to imaging people not digging Maynard. Rest in peace Maynard. And thanks again for being the influence in my life that you were and still are.

Worlboy at the SJ Jazz Festival and the Agenda Restaurant and Lounge

2006-08-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the San Jose Jazz Festival. It’s sponsored by Comcast and a slew of others dedicated to bringing us the best in Jazz in all genres.
Tomorrow is a heavy day for me. I’m playing with 5 bands at the festival and my WorlView 4.0 tomorrow night at the Agenda Lounge.
Here’s my schedule: - Saturday -
12:30pm – Fasmania Big Band – Gordon Biersch Brewery
4:00pm – Aaron Lington Quintet – Smith Dobson Stage
7:30pm – WorlView 4.0 – Agenda Restaurant and Lounge
- Sunday-
12 noon – San Jose Jazz Orchestra – Main Stage w/ Mike Vax
3:00pm – Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo – Latin Stage
6:00pm – Foothill College Night Band - Full Spectrum Big Band Stage
For those of you who are planning on coming to the Agenda tomorrow evening, here is our set list and personnel. I like to give you all the inside view into what’s happening behind the scenes. I’m looking forward to this busy but fun weekend. I’ll get back to you all tomorrow after I get home. I’ll be a tired pup but….that’s show biz right?!?

WorlView 4.0
Agenda set list 8/19/06
Set 1
1. Kwockasaurus Rex
2. Visita Social
3. Infra-Rae
4. You’ve Changed
5. Episode From A Village Dance
6. The Double Up
7. TBA
8. Open Sesame
Set 2
1. Moon Alley
2. WorlView
3. Why Wait
4. Out Of The Night Came You
5. Too Young To Go Steady
6. Sippin’ At Pike’s Market
7. Alter Ego
8. Rahsaan’s Run

WorlView 4.0 is - Murray Low, Tom Bockhold, Curt Moore and WorlBoy aka Worl.
Sippin'At Pike's Market is a new tune I wrote. It's based on the tune "There Will Never Be Another You". I wrote it to remember the wonderful company and ice wine we all shared my last day in Seattle. I dedicate it to Kathy, Kemi, Jim and Barbara. You all were so much fun. Thanks!!!!

WorlView's MJF press release

2006-08-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 7, 2006Media Contact: Matt Beasley650-400-4920mattbeas@aol.comhttp://www.johnworley.comJOHN WORLEY & WORLVIEW TO BRING GLOBAL CELEBRATION TO THE 49TH ANNUAL MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVALAFTER 13 SIDEMAN APPEARANCES, BAY AREA MUSIC VETERAN PRESENTS MJF HEADLINING DEBUTEvent Highlights:John Worley & WorlView49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by VerizonSaturday, September 16, Garden Stage, 9:45pmTicket Information: 925-275-9255, www.montereyjazzfestival.orgAugust 7, 2006; It was roughly five years ago when John Worley met saxophone titan Michael Brecker backstage at the Monterey Jazz Festival. The lanky jazz superstar approached Worley and asked, "Don't I know you?" After recovering from the shock, Worley responded, "No, you don't know me, but I sure know you."Such a story is commonplace for trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso John Worley, who has enjoyed a lengthy career as one of the great hidden gems in the San Francisco Bay Area jazz community. But in a situation uncommon for mid-career musicians, Worley's star is quickly on the rise as he presents his MJF headlining debut at the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by Verizon September 15-17.Worley, whose impressive trumpet skills combine sophisticated intervallic jumps with dazzling range, tone and lyricism, plans to dazzle the crowd for his headlining MJF debut. On Saturday, September 16, John Worley & WorlView - his eclectic, all-encompassing band - will perform a fiery set on the Garden Stage at 9:45pm for a spirited session of Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and jazz intertwined with other global musical styles. Festival patrons are bound to dance the night away on the grass lawn listening to John Worley & WorlView as the second day of music comes to a close.For this special performance, Worley has assembled an all-star cast including guitarist Sebastien Lanson, trombonist Wayne Wallace, saxophonist Kristen Strom, pianist Murray Low, bassist Tom Bockhold, drummer Paul van Wageningen, and percussionist Michaelle Goerlitz. All in all, John Worley & WorlView will round out the festival's jazz talent, providing a global perspective and party atmosphere to a trumpet-laden roster including smooth jazz star Chris Botti, jazz-funk master Roy Hargrove and avant-garde Sex Mob front-man Steven Bernstein.Although this is Worley's first headlining experience in Monterey, the trumpeter is no stranger to the Festival. This year's performance will mark roughly his fourteenth performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival since the late 1980's. Over the years, he has performed at MJF in a Tribute to Bobby Hutcherson and at different times with Don Byron, Wayne Wallace, Wally Schnalle, Rebeca Mauleon, Full Faith & Credit Big Band, Anthony Brown and the Asian American Orchestra, The Wayne Shorter Commission Orchestra, and several other bands. Worley was featured twice at the 2005 Monterey Jazz Festival: once in a scorching performance with the Carla Bley Big Band on the Arena/Lyons Stage, and a second time in a rollicking session with the Jon Jang Seven on the Garden Stage.With much critical praise following last year's festival, it's easy to understand John Worley's ascent in the jazz world. After his Monterey Jazz Festival performance this September, Worley will continue surging forward with several performances in the Bay Area. On October 1, John Worley & WorlView will present two new pieces commissioned by Intersection for the Arts at the DeYoung Museum's Chicano Exhibit. In addition, Worley will be featured as a special guest artist on November 4 with the West Valley College Jazz Band in Saratoga sponsored in part by Conn/Selmer, and in February 2006 with the Stanford Jazz Orchestra. Plans for the future also include a performance tour in Europe with Sebastien Lanson,For now, John Worley remains focused on his headlining debut at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival. After years of performing as a sideman, Worley's performance leading his own band will be a milestone in his career to date. And although Festival-goers will enjoy the sounds of John Worley and WorlView, it'll be hard to find anyone having as much fun at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival than John Worley.

WorlView 4.0 live at The Agenda Restaurant and Lounge

2006-08-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
I wanted to let you know about a few things I've got coming up. First of all, WorlView 4.0 will be appearing at the Agenda Restaurant and Lounge, this Saturday 8/19 from 7:30 -9:45pm. If you're planning on coming down to the San Jose Jazz Festival that afternoon, stop by, have a taste and/or dinner and check us out. Joining me will be Curt Moore on drums, Murray Low on piano and Tom Bockhold on bass. Also, a lot of the cats appearing at the festival know that the Agenda Lounge is the place to go afterwards to have a tasty cocktail and nosh on some delicious food so I know we will have a special guest or three stopping by and sitting in! So fall by and let the festival continue onward with WorlView and you.
Some of you may know that WorlView is performing at the 49th annual Monterey Jazz Festival on Saturday, September 16th at 9:45pm on the Garden Stage. Joining us will be jazz guitar virtuoso Sebastien Lanson from Paris as well as Wayne Wallace, Kristen Strom, Murray Low, Paul VW, TomBockhold and Michaelle Goerlitz. So we will be known as WorlView 8.0 for that gig. We'll be playing selections from our CD "WorlView: as well as Sebastien's CD "In Transition" on Dancing Sumo Records. We'll also be premiering one of my favorite composer/singer/guitarist Ed Johnson's tune, "Silent Heart" that I'm arranging for WorlView.
I've attached a press release to this email regarding the festival. This is the same one going out to all the radio stations, magazines, festival promoters ect and now you'll have an insiders view into the inner workings of jazz promotion. Check it out!
I hope to see you all this coming Saturday, August 19 at 7:30pm at the Agenda Lounge in downtown San Jose. Please make your reservation early for a good seat, have a bite (no cover if you order dinner)! And don't forget to come up and say hello to the cats!
Thanks for your time!
John Worley AKA "Worlboy"
The Agenda Restaurant and LoungeJohn Worley and WorlView 4.0Saturday, August 19thno cover charge with dinner7:30pm to 9:45pm399 South First St.San Jose, Ca. - (408) 287-3991http://www.agendalounge.com/

It's early Sunday morning....

2006-08-06T01:01:00.000-07:00

Yo Folks, its 1 am and I just got home from a gig led by bari sax maniac Aaron Lington. Man can that guy play. And the rest of the band wasn't too shabby either. Claire Dee was singing, Deson Claiborne played drums, John Shiflitt played bass, Daveed Behroozi played piano and our good friend Ben helped out with the PA duties. It was a 70th birthday party for a cat named John and they had a Marilyn Monroe impersonator teasing the hell outta the guy....A very good time was had by all including us. There is something about getting on the bandstand with cats that are the real deal. It's like having your cake and eating it too. Earlier today I taught a couple of lessons, stopped by our friend Jennifer's house to wish her a happy 29th birthday and give her a bottle of Champagne. I also picked up my PA and hauled it to the gig so I didn't get a chance to drive that hot Mercedes, damn it. But when I get home tomorrow I plan to scope it out. I have to visit my good friend John Kalleen tomorrow. WorlView is playing a house concert at his pad in Novato on 9/2. We are going to plan the layout and talk about catering and wine....It's going to be quite an event so if you want to come, you better email me and reserve a ticket or two. We're inviting a limited amount of folks and the sets (2) will outdoors near his pool. He has 7 acres in Novato and his nearest neighbors are the cows across the street!!! And coming up in a day, its Kemi and Jim's California wedding party. It should be fun and good to see Kemi and her mom, Marion as well as all the other folks. One thing though...I'm a bit thirsty for ice wine...Can anyone (Kathy, Kemi or Barbara) out there let me know what was that delicious apple flavored ice wine we all shared at Pikes Market? I'd like to have a sip of it again. If you remember the name, email me at john@johnworley.com and let me know. ok...it's late and I gotta get up early. One last thought...Dennis and I at the reception having camera flash wars was fun!!! That cat is crazy!!! He won for sure. Hey, if you read this, be sure to call me when you get down here so we can get together. Yoko, you should have your own sitcom. You are one of the funniest people I've ever met. Jim gave me a copy of the slide show John put together. It's nice to see everyone in it. I hope to see you all again someday. Goodnight all.

Jim and Kemi's ceremony

2006-08-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

What a great ceremony. Rev Castro made the job so easy and things went as smooth as it could be. I felt very comfortable and what an honor for me to be included in the ceremony. Kathy looked radiant and I loved her “pebbles” hairdo. She said it was a first for her and she wore it well. Kemi was a dream come true and me….well…I did what I could. We all hid behind a huge metal sculpture at the beginning of the ceremony. Rev Castro hit the sculpture 3 or 5 times which sounded like peals of thunder and Kathy and I played a drum roll on the sculpture afterwards and then the procession started. Even while typing this, I’m in awe of the perfection of the moment. For some reason, I felt as if my world was changing too. I never saw Jim so happy. It made my heart feel good to see my good friend Jim take that step. I know the feeling. Funny thing though, life is not always picture perfect. As the years go by, people and things change but if you savor every moment, you can always go back in time and remember why you took the step to live your lives together as one. It’s 'cause of Love Baby, Love!!!
Afterwards, we drove around in a bus, stopped at the baseball stadium (Mariners) and took some pictures (thanks for the Mariner's cap!) and then we were off to Kasper’s. Holy Moly, that man can cook yes siree! He hosts some foody cruises and that’s where I believe Kemi and Kathy met Kasper and his wife. They sail on these cruise ships, go on shore excursions shopping for the next meal or three in the local market places. I think he even shows them how to prepare them. The next one is in either Fiji or Tahiti or as someone put it, Fajiti. Sounds pretty damn cool….sign me up!!!
I’m going to blog later about the reception because at the moment I’m a little burnt. I just finished teaching at the Stanford Jazz Workshop for the week and I’m pooped. Plus I’m going thru some male menopause life changes at the moment. Here’s how weirded out I am. I’m going to test drive tomorrow a “98” Mercedes SLK 230 w/58,000 miles. Man what a beautiful ride!!! Plus I’m a little hung up on some other things as well as thinking about my house concert on 9/2 at Chateau Kalleen in Novato, our 9/16 gig at the Monterey Jazz Festival gig coming up and my writing commission from the Intersection For The Arts for WorlView’s gig at the DeYoung Museum on 10/1. Lot’s of exciting things coming up and I know I’ll see some of you at one or more very soon.
Love to you all and stay in touch. If you like the blog, leave a comment or two or email me at: john@johnworley.com.
Peace,
John

Birth of the Cool, Kemi and Jim's wedding and the Port Townsend hang.

2006-07-31T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s almost August and I’m back on the blog folks. Lot’s of exciting stuff happened since my last blog. We performed Birth of the Cool at the Stanford Jazz Festival and it was a night of magic. The cats performed impeccably and the audience loved it. I hope we get a chance to perform it again because not only was it a gas to play but that music needs to be played! It was one of the more difficult roles I’ve had to play as a trumpeter. It gave me a whole new insight into Miles playing just getting thru all of those tunes in one concert.
I just got back from spending 5 days in the Pacific Northwest. Last Wednesday and Thursday I visited my friend Farren up in Port Townsend. It’s truly one of the prettiest places to be and I’m envious that those folks get to live there 24/7. We hung out with some of the hard core blues camp cats on Thursday night. They have a tribe that comes up there every year just for blues week at Centrum. It was cool sitting around those cats and listening to them share bits of blues history. One cat had a jug (!!!) strapped to his neck so he could sing, play guitar and blow some bass notes while strumming. Very trippy folks!!! They all are very into their blues scene and have a sort of communal tribal hang thing going.
For next three days, I hung out with the soon-to-be newly weds, Jim and Kemi Norton (oops, Kemi, did you take his name….) Friday night we had dinner at the Wild Ginger, a fantastic restaurant located above the Triple Door where I played a couple times with Ed Johnson.
Kemi’s mom, Marion, Jim’s mom Joan and dad, Jim Sr, Barbara, Yoko, Kathy (maid of honor) and I enjoyed each others company and got to know each other better. Barbara and Kathy came from Cleveland, Ohio, Jim Sr from NY, Joan and Marion from the SF bay area. Saturday was the big day. Kemi, Jim, Kathy and I made our way to a kick butt dim sum house and had a scrumptious feast before the rehearsal w/ Rev. Castro. By the way, he’s a pretty cool guy and made Kathy and I feel at home w/ our part in the ceremony. Thanks Rev!
After the rehearsal, we made our way to Dennis’s pad and got shaved, sheared, dressed and the girls did their makeup thang. And then it was off to pre-ceremony pictures. I have a feeling that there will be some wacky pics in the mist of all the gorgeous shots. (Especially with the bouquets)
Afterwards, Jim and I made our way to the site, Volunteer Park to way for the girls and the guests to arrive. Next….the ceremony!

Birth of the Cool dress rehearsal

2006-07-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we had our dress rehearsal tonight and man, what a magnificent piece of work it is. It kinda reminds me of the days when I used to play with the Bay Area Jazz Composer's Orchestra led by the late (damn, I'm still not used to saying that) Jon English. The music is so rich and timeless. I really feel blessed to be a part of this. Playing this music really hips me to what kind of chops Miles had to be able to play this music. My respect for him jumped from 10*'s to 11*'s. (thank you Spinal Tap) Kris Strom is playing alto sax and once again, we play like musical twins reading each others minds and listening in the way that most folks dream about. She is the real deal and don't you forget it!!!! And by the way, for those who missed her interview with Chris Cortez yesterday on KCSM, it was fascinating and a informative view into the worl(d) of Ms Strom. That girl is my musical horn playing soul mate. Yee haaa!!!!! I'm looking forward to tomorrow nights performance. Trumpet students take note....90% air, 10% everything else. Pacing is the key to me making it thru what is proving to be quite a challenge. Stay tuned....I'll blog back at ya after the concert. And by the way, if you fall by don't forget to come up and say hi! This WorlBoy is a tired pup and heading to bed. Later!!!!!

It's hot here in Mountain View (and boilin' in Temecula)

2006-07-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,It's been a busy month in the land of Worl. Did sessions with Wayne Wallace, Chris Camozzi, Victor Fields, taught at the Jazz Goes to College jazz camp at SJSU, played with Swing Fever in Scotts Valley, Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra at the Fillmore St. Jazz Festival and played with the Jennifer Scott group, Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo as well as presented a master class for Conn/Selmer at the Temecula International Jazz Festival. If you click onto the link, you can read an article written by Diane Rhodes from the local paper, Press-Enterprise. (Thanks Diane for including me in your article!!!) All of this stuff plus trying to squeeze in my poor neglected private students (sorry kids!!!) for their lesson times since my last blog.
Last night we had a horn rehearsal for our (Re) Birth of the Cool re-creation for the Stanford Jazz Festival this Friday. That music is so beautiful. What an experience it must have been for Miles and the cats playing it back in “48” for the first time. When you listen to the recording, you hear how those charts influenced a whole generation of musicians. Not only was it the birth of “chamber jazz” but the basis for the West Coast Jazz sound that Gerry Mulligan (one of the prime suspects on the BOC sessions), Chet Baker, Shorty Rogers and many others presented in the 50’s.
If you had eyes to go….it’s sold out!! Look for it later this year though. We’re going to try to do another concert somewhere in the Bay Area in the winter or early spring.
Well, I have whole bunch of fun gigs coming up. Next Monday, July 17th I’ll be playing with the big band called Fasmania at Gordon Biersch Brewery in San Jose. Fasmania is co-led by Louis and Kelly Fasman. Louis is one of the top call lead trumpet cats in the bay area and has played with everyone from Maynard to many of the shows that come into town. Currently he is playing “Vanities” for TheaterWorks here in Mountain View. Kelly is one of the most sought after percussionists/drummers in the area. She plays a lot of shows and played with WorlView at our gig in Albany a few months ago. She was rippin’ on those congas!!! The band is made up of the best cats in the area so fall by and hang for a bit. If you’re familiar with GB, you know that the food is stellar and the beer is…..the best!
So fall by, have a brew with me and till the next blog, stay happy and well my friends.
Peace,
John

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,
I'm back on the block so to speak! Lots of fun gigs have gone down and at the moment, I'm spending the week in Bay Studio with Wayne Wallace and the Rhythm and Rhyme cats. You got Louis Fasman on tpt, Melecio Magdaluyo and Ron Stallings on woodwinds, John Santos and Michael Spiro on percussion, Paul VW on drums, Dave Belove on bass, Murray Low and Frank Martin on keys, David Yamasaki all the way from Honolulu my brother on guitar, Alexa on vocals and last but not least, Gary Mankin on the flight deck, manning the controls. By the way, Gary is one bad mo'fo on the board for those of you who haven't worked with him.
We're laying down two CD's worth of material and man, Wayne has out done himself again! That's why he's called the "Doctor" by so many who love him!
San Jose Jazz Society's "Jazz Goes To College" camp started up. Mic Gillette from TOP works with the kiddies this week and I get to have at them next week. Mic is one bad ass tpt player and honks a mean bone too. Kristen Strom and Dave Gregoric are on board doing what they do best.....Taking care of business and sharing their collective wisdom with the young folks. You go Dave and Kris.
Hey, I got company and have to run so take care, check out my blog again soon and I'll talk to ya soon.
Peace,
John
PS. Kat Parra's new CD came out and it's getting 10*'s from me. And not because I'm on a couple of tracks. She's put together one fine piece of art with the producing skills of none other than......the Doctor himself. Check it out. You will love, I guarantee it! Google the young lady and pick up her CD. I'll have more info re: how to pick it up in my next blog.

We're back!

2006-06-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Susan and I are back from our little retreat/vacation. We spent some time down in Soquel at a place called "Land of Medicine Budda". It's buddist retreat in the middle of the redwoods and was it very peaceful and serene. It gave Susan and I time to reflect on our relationship, careers, health and other things. It's amazing how a little time at a place like that can refresh you and put things back into perspective. We also spent some time with our friends John and Mariette in Novato. We had a fabulous dinner along with champagne and wine. John and I played our horns while the girls chatted about art. A good time was had by all. The next day we stopped by Mariette's studio in Petaluma to look at her newest creations. Man, is her work beautiful. As soon as I find her website, I'll put it up here for you all to look at. We then drove to Freestone and visited three of our favorite places up there, Osmosis, the organic bakery and Endearing Comforts(which was closed, we'll catch up with you another time Thea). Susan had a massage from Tor and I had a enzyme bath and blanket wrap. Man were we pampered! Afterwards we hung out in the Japanese Garden in the back and Susan layed down in the Chamomille bed. They have three beds of live Chamomille that you can lay on and the aroma is relaxing and comforting. After we left, we stopped by our favorite restuarant in Sebastopol called Pasta Bella and had dinner. It was a very good week my friends. oh my...gotta go. WorlView is playing a gig at the "A Taste of Albany" festival today and I gotta get back to work. We'll be at Montero's from 2:45-4:45pm. Joining us for the first time will be Wally Schnalle on drums and Kelly Fasman on percussion. Should be a blast! And don't forget to take some time for yourself every day and just breath. You're worth it. Hope to see you all soon. Bye for now.

WorlBoy and the last couple of weeks

2006-05-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

Hey all...Lots of stuff been happening. Did a concert with San Jose State University big band . Good band and man, the drummer had a hell of a pocket. The next day I did a lecture at the Kuumbwa in Santa Cruz on the history of the Jazz Trumpet. It was a mixture of playing tunes, talking about my experiences playing and backing up cats like Dizzy, Sweets and talking about various chop and equiptment techniques. Sue Crossman played piano and boy can she play some of the sweetest sounds around. Mucho thanks my dear for making me sound good with your happening work. I asked a singer to come up and sing with us and did she kick some serious ass! Her name is Nancy Pasterknack and I guess her main gig is that she's a free lance newspaper reporter. But can she sing!! Look out for her, she's the real deal.
On the weekend I played with Pete Escovedo at the Artichoke Festival in Castroville. Mike Galisetus was the other trumpet player. Mike is a old friend of mine and is a real MF of a tpt player. Great lead playing, soloing and a hell of a educator too.
Played a session for Hugo Wazinger for a project he's doing with Shanna Carlson. Hugo is one of the most musical souls on the planet. Going in tomorrow morning to finish up a solo at the end of the ballad he wrote.
Played the Carnival festival on 22th and Harrison this afternoon with Pete E. Great band! Louis Fasman, Melecio Magdaluyo, Dave Gregoric and John Calloway were the horn players. Louis always plays his ass off and today was no exception. His solo on La Cuna was happening. Dave held down the bone duties pretty damn well. Tasty solos from him, Melecio and Calloway. Hey, tomorrow is Wayne Wallace and Fred Berry's birthdays!!! Two of the greatest cats in the world. Hope your day is filled with some happening wine and company. Much love to you both.
Gotta go....Sayonara everyone. Have a restful memorial day!

Worlboy at the Kuumbwa May 17th

2006-05-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here's an email I sent out to my trumpet students and buddies......Hope to see you there!!!! Hi Everyone,
I hope this email finds everyone in good health, spirits and tootin' thru the roof!
I wanted to let you know that I'll be doing a overview of the history of the Jazz Trumpet tomorrow night May 17th from 7-9pm at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. I'll be talking about some of my favorite players, telling stories of those I've had the fortune to play with and playing my horn a bit. Pianist Sue Crossman will be joining me and it should be a fun evening. The event is free to everyone and if you feel like it, bring your trumpet and jam a bit with Sue and I. Or just listen and enjoy the evening. For more information, click on the Kuumbwa Jazz Center link and I hope to see you all there.
Best Wishes,
John L. Worley Jr
http://www.johnworley.com/
http://worleysworl.blogspot.com/

WorlView live at Santana Row 5/9/2006

2006-05-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

What a cool gig we had tonight. Geoff Roach of the San Jose Jazz Society Santana Row and Lexus had us perform as part of their Summer Jazz series. Lots of SJ Jazz society staff and members were there helping out and many, many friends showed up to support us and what a great party it was. Helping to make it happen was Barbara Christmann, Director of Education & Outreach for the jazz society and sound man/bass player Myron Dove. Both of them made the sound happening and it was so comfortable to play. That's important if you're playing with 7 cats and you're blowing the flugelhorn. Wayne brought out his Wagnerian Tuba for the gig and played a couple of tunes. I'm inspired! I'm bringing the Post horn to the next gig and I might even write a tune for us to go off on! Special thanks to Kristine M. Haskett, Director of Development, Madelyn Crawford, Membership Coordinator and Rubelyn Lardizabal, Event Planning. They helped out with CD sales and were there to answer any questions folks had about the SJJazz Society. My wife Susan came by and funny how when she shows up, I play better. It's because she's my better half! Quite a few of her friends came by, Sue Vincent, Maureen Fox, Cheryl Hopkins, David Brimmer and others. It is so nice to see all the familiar faces. Thank you everyone for supporting us. It means the world to all of the cats in the band. Oh yeah, my podcast is up and running. Go to http://applausecastbusiness.podOmatic.com and scroll down to part 1 and start there. You can hear my interview with Steve Marra and Bill Hedges from ApplauseCast. Great cats and we all had a ball making it. After you check it out, email me and let me know how you liked it. Gotta run...See ya all soon.
John (rabid blogger, as quoted in the SJ Mercury News)

WorlView at Santana Row

2006-05-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Cats, May has been a interesting month! So far I've played a concert at Yoshi's with Jon Jang, sat in with Celia Malheiros there too. I was at Open Path Studios today recording with Ed Johnson and lo and behold...WorlView is playing live next Tuesday May 9th at Santana Row! Here's a description from the San Jose Jazz Society's emailing: April 25th started a 23 week series of free jazz concerts sponsored by Santana Row. The concerts will be from 6pm to 9pm every Tuesday from May 2 to September 26.This Tuesday, the John Worley and Worlview ensemble combine a master trumpeter and beautiful ballads with an interesting Blue Note style and a touch of Latin Jazz. John L. Worley Jr. is a musician, composer, and owner of Dancing Sumo Records. John is also a jazz educator and has been a member in many of the Bay Area's creative music ensembles. He is a coach and instructor at the Jazz Goes To College summer workshops, Smith Dobson Youth Jazz Festival, -Get Jazzed in-school workshops run by the San Jose Jazz Society and a member of their Musicians Advisory Board. John will be appearing at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival. San Jose Jazz PodcastsJohn Worley begins the first of a series of podcasts produced by Applause Cast and the San Jose Jazz Society.This weekend, the first podcast featuring John will be published at http://applausecastbusiness.podomatic.com/. Scroll down to part 1 and then go to part 2.Come on down and check out why WorlView is one of my favorite bands to play with and is filled with some of my favorite people on the planet. Also, to see what else I'll be doing this month, go to my web site and click on the calender page. Hope to see you this coming Tuesday!!!! Peace, John

WorlView 5.0 concert last Sat and SJ Jazz Society fund raiser

2006-04-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great concert last Saturday night. Truewind Music presenters Bev and Greg opened their house to WorlView 5.0 and 45 music lovers and it was a very special evening of friends, family and jazz. House concerts are a great way for the audience to be involved with the music. It's intimate and the communication that flows between everyone becomes effortless. The musicians feel more creative, and it’s easier to connect with the audience because of the rapport with the crowd. Greg used his sound engineering skills to tweak the sound so it was never overwhelming for anyone and perfectly balanced on stage. The cats Murray Low, Tom Bockhold, Curt Moore and Sebastien Lanson were superb and a joy to play with. It’s been a dream of mine to have a band with such fine musicians. And now every time I step on stage with these cats, I feel like I’m in heaven. What a great evening of fine music. Thanks to everyone who made it. It was wonderful playing for you all. There were some local South Bay performers in the audience. Jennifer Lee and Kat Parra were there checking out the scene. Kat Parra has a new CD that I had the pleasure of playing on and as soon as it comes out, you know I’ll blog the heck outta it. Jennifer Lee has a great CD out called “Jay Walking” and to quote myself last Saturday night, “its scrumptious”….ow! Other friends Kerry McCoy and AltaGracia, Shawn and Terri, Dan and Mia, Tom and Maria, folks from BoAs and many more were there to hang. Thanks to my wife Susan who sold CD’s for Sebastien and I. And a special thanks to Bev for the great dinner. And by the way, Bev and Greg are hosting another house concert very soon. If you watched the last episode of Desperate Housewives, the man who played Bree's father is Ronnie Cox. He's a very well known actor and has appeared in many movies. It turns out he is a folk music performer and he'll be playing there on Thursday, April 27th. Bev and Greg told me that he is a great singer/story teller and that it real treat to see him live. Check him out and if you’ve never been to a house concert, this should convince you to go to more than one.
On another note, the San Jose Jazz Society is having their fund raiser tomorrow night at Santana Row. Please find a way to make this event also. The SJ Jazz Society does so much to bring jazz to our community. They have been a pillar of strength to us all and what better way to say thanks by attending their fund raiser. West Coast jazz saxophone icon Bud Shank will be performing as well as others so check it out!!!! And help keep Jazz in the South Bay alive by supporting the San Jose Jazz Society.

WorlView 5.0 this Saturday 4/22 and other great news

2006-04-19T03:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
I wanted to share some great news and remind you that WorlView 5.0 is playing at a house concert in Campbell, produced by TrueWind Music promoters Bev and Greg this coming Saturday. There is limited seating so if you're planning on coming, I would suggest that you call or go online and order your tickets soon.
The doors open at 7:30pm and the concert starts at 8:00pm. It promises to be an evening of great jazz in an intimate setting.
Joining me will be:
Murray Low - piano
Tom Bockhold - bass
Curt Moore - drums
and special guest from Paris, France
Sebastien Lanson - guitar
Now for the other good news. WorlView has been asked to play at the 49th Monterey Jazz Festival this year! As you know, MJF is perhaps one of the most prestigious jazz festivals on the West Coast if not in the world. I can't tell you how excited I am. I have played there 12 times for the last 14 years and this is the first time I'm leading my own band. It's like a dream come true. We'll be performing Saturday night September 16th at 9:45pm on the Garden Stage.
I hope to see you out there sharing the moment with us. And I hope that you come out this Saturday and support us and TrueWind Music in keeping Jazz alive and heard(!) in the South Bay . With many of the local venues closing, Jazz is getting harder and harder to find in our community. We would love to see you there.
Be well and don't forget to come up and say hello!
Peace,
John L. Worley Jr
http://www.johnworley.com/
John Worley and WorlView 5.0
Saturday April 22, 2006. TrueWind Music House Concert in Campbell.
Doors open 7:30 p.m. Music starts 8:00 p.m. $18 TrueWind Music
For more info or to reserve seats please contact Bev Barnett :e-mail Bev
or call her at (408) 378-6823

WorlView 5.0 gig Saturday, April 22nd

2006-04-11T01:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,
I want to share some good news with you. As you know, BoAs/Club Elite closed in February. Yet another local venue - Espresso Gardens - has been sold and is reputedly being made into another (!) sushi restaurant. Just when it seems that jazz is on the ropes in the South Bay, TrueWind Music promoters Bev and Greg come thru and start producing non-profit house concerts in Campbell.
On Saturday, April 22nd, TrueWind Music will present an evening of world class latin and straight ahead jazz with WorlView 5.0.
The venue is intimate and will give you a chance hear the cats in a very listener/friendly environment. We also have a very special guest who will play with us on this gig. My good friend, guitarist Sebastien Lanson has come from Paris to join us. Sebastien has been spending his time between Sevilla, Spain and Paris playing with various Jazz and Flamenco ensembles and promoting his CD, "In Transition" on Dancing Sumo Records. We also have the pleasure of Murray Low on piano, Tom Bockhold on bass, Curt Moore on drums and myself on trumpet and flugelhorn.
I am really looking forward to this gig! I've played house concerts with my good friend Ed Johnson and they are a real unique experience for everyone. The audience and the band become one within the music. This is a rare chance to participate in an evening of fine music with friends, family and music lovers. Seating is limited. I recomend that you either email or call Bev soon so you can be sure to join us for this very rare and engaging evening.
I hope to see you there!
Best Wishes,
John L. Worley Jr
http://www.johnworley.com/
John Worley and WorlView 5.0Saturday April 22, 2006TrueWind Music House Concert in Campbell. Doors open 7:30 p.m. Music starts 8:00 p.m. $18 TrueWind Music For more info or to reserve seats, please contact Bev Barnett:e-mail Bev or call her at (408) 378-6823

WorlBoy's last couple of days and future news

2006-03-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy couple of days. Last night I played a little big band gig at the Golden Gloves boxing tournament with Dick Bright and the DBO. Here was the line up. Louis Fasman lead tpt, Charlie McCarthy alto sax, Tod Dickow tenor sax, Aaron Lington bari sax, Rene Jenkins trombone, Mike Hatfield piano, Dave Rokeach drums and Rich Girard bass. I saw Sugar Ray Leonard (but no Donald Trump), plenty of women in short shirts and skirts passing out beer bottle openers and selling t-shirts. Tecate girls, round card girls ect....Sex sells and they weren't too shy about it. It was the first time I've ever been to a live boxing match. I saw a knock out as well as some Women's boxing. I'm sorry to say that boxing does nothing for me. I guess I'd rather watch two or four folks wack a tennis ball back and forth rather than a couple of people hammer on each other. It seems so primitive. But, that's my opinion folks....The gig was cool but the sport bites.
Today I go back to Open Path to rehearse with Kat Parra's new project, produced by the maestro himself, Wayne "The Doctor" Wallace. We'll record her work on Thursday and Friday.
Speaking of the Doctor, Wayne is getting ready to record his 3rd Rhythm and Rhyme CD in a few months. David Yamasaki is flying in from Hawaii for that. It'll be great to see him and Joanie again.
Well that's all for now. Have a great day folks....

ReBirth of the Cool

2006-03-25T01:42:00.000-08:00

Wayne and I will be co-leading a fantastic tribute to Miles Davis and his 80th birthday with a recreation of his historically important, "Birth Of The Cool". This celebration will be happening on July 14th at the Campbell Recital Hall, located on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. This will be a part of the Stanford Jazz Festival's concert series. Both Wayne and I are excited about the music, players and the historical significance of the gig. The Birth Of The Cool sessions were considered to be the birth of chamber jazz as well as the catalyst that launched the West Coast Jazz Movement that included Dave Pell, Shorty Rogers, Conte Candoli, Bud Shank and other West Coast legends
Here is a line up of the personnel.
Wayne Wallace- trombone, arranger and Co-leader
John L. Worley Jr - trumpet, flugelhorn, co-leader
Kristen Strom - Alto Sax
Fil Lorenz - bari sax
Diane Ryan - french horn
Steve Tyler - tuba
Murray Low - piano
John Hettel - bass
Jason Lewis - drums
Jamie Davis - vocals
Don't miss this one folks....it's gonna have a few surprises and most likely be sold out way ahead of time so......I'll have contact info for tickets soon.
John

Ed Johnson recording session and other news

2006-03-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

Hey Cats,
I had the privilege of being in the studio today with Ed Johnson, his producer Scott Sorkin, saxophonist virtuoso Kristen Strom and one of the bay area's finest engineer's Gary Mankin.
Some of you may know of Ed Johnson. He teaches guitar at Griffith Strings in Palo Alto, Ca and writes hauntingly beautiful melodies that rival Ivan Lins, Toninho Horta, Hermeto ect.... The list goes on. Ed is one the bay area's best kept secret although when this new CD is released, the cat will be outta the bag. His band, Novo Tempo, is probably one of the most exciting and heartfelt bands I've ever played in. We've been together for 4 or 5 years now and this band is happening.
Keep an eye out for us at Santana Row(in San Jose, CA) and the Temecula Jazz Festival....
Tomorrow I go up to SF to play at the Golden Gloves Boxing exhibition with Dick Bright and his band DBO. I hear that Donald Trump and Sugar Ray Leonard will be there.
Sunday I'll be rehearsing with Kat Parra's group for her recording sessions that will happen next week. She is a dynamic singer and will knock a few people's lights out when her CD is released. Wayne "The Dr" Wallace is producing her CD and you know it's gonna be bad ass if Wayne is in the house. Look out for her soon, folks...
Well, it's late, my hall pass is up and it's time to say goodnight Gracie...
Good Night Gracie.

Foothill College Night Band concert

2006-03-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

Foothill College in Los Altos, CA has two evening bands that rehearse on Tuesdays. John Gove is the director and plays trombone in the 8 o'clock band as well. The 6 o'clock band has some fine semi-pro players and swings pretty damn hard. The rhythm section has a good pocket and John's choice of material suits them perfectly. Kerry McCoy, a long time friend of mine since "74" plays bass trombone in it as well as Lori Stotko on trombone (and also was featured quite a bit on piano in the 8 o'clock band).
The 8 o'clock band is filled with local heavy weights Alex Murzyn on tenor sax, Johnny Baumont on bari sax, Paul Tarantino on alto sax, Modesto Bresenio on solo trumpet, Tom "Mr Sunshine" Bertetta on lead trumpet, Curtis Nash on jazz trumpet, Kelly Fasman on drums, John Hettel on bass ect...A couple guys sat in and sight read the concert in the sax section, Gene Burkert on tenor sax and Ron Graham on alto sax.
John picks charts mostly from the bands of Maria Schneider, Dave Holland as well as some stuff from the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis book and others. A couple of stand out solos came from Lori Stotko (almost on every chart!), Modesto on "Tones For Jones Bones" and others....The band played great and showed a maturity than comes from having so many experienced pro's in it.
There should be more venues available so bands of this caliber can be seen and hear more often. When is someone going to step up to the plate and open a place big enough that could serve our communities need for more culture. We need a space like the Improv in San Jose so we can present a higher quality of entertainment that reflects the talent that resides here. Any takers out there? If anyone has a thought or idea let me know. Email me or post to this blog and talk to me. For that matter, everyone should feel free to leave a comment or two (not any of those lame advertisements that pop up that don't have anything to do with the subject). I really hope to hear from some of you who read this blog.
Be well and thanks for helping to keep jazz alive here in the South Bay.
John
john@johnworley.com

WorlBoy updates

2006-03-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a few notes about last weekends gigs.
The Rudy Salvini gig was fun. That was last Sunday in Alameda. The band swung pretty hard and I hope Rudy gets a few good takes for the next CD. He likes to record the band live on several dates and picks the best of the bunch. For those of you who are purusers of antique stores, head over to Alameda. I saw tons of them and I'm sure it would keep a guy like me busy for hours. I got bit by that bug from hanging around my Uncle Hobart, who collects everything from American Indian artifacts to furniture from the early years of our country when George Washington was the first president. My specialty is non other than trumpets, cornets and sheet music (go figure). I can't wait for a free day so I can look around a bit in those shops.
I played at the Tribute Show, dedicated to the Rat Pack last Saturday. They are going to close April 16th so if you haven't seen it, you better go soon. I like the music but the racial jokes suck. For God's sake, it's 2006! The world is a different place...isn't it? The band is good, theater is nice and the cast is ok. TheaterWorks on the peninsula presents a higher quality of work but in some ways, you can beat how swinging that music was back in the day.
next blog...Foothill College night band concert last Tuesday.....

more from Da Worlboy

2006-03-16T23:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Joy, my baby sister. She turns 29 (again) and I hope she is having a great day. You go Sis!!!
I had a fun rehearsal with the Rudy Salvini Big Band yesterday. Got to play some solos and lead. I used to be in the band years ago when Allen Smith, Fred Berry, Bob Yance and Johnny Coles (to name a few SF heavy weights) played in it. Allen used to mentor me quite a bit and I am a better player/human being from it. Allen played with everyone and I mean everyone. He retired from the band a month ago. I guess it was time. He'd been in the band since the 50's.
The trumpet section yesterday was made up of Tom Bertetta, Niel Levonius, Steve Campos and myself. It was good to see some of the other cats still hanging in there. I'm looking forward to the gig Sunday.
Tomorrow, March 17th is the 45 year anniversary of Booker Little, recording his Out Front album. Robbie Kwock and I declare March 17th as Booker Little Day!!!!! If you've never heard of Booker Little, look him up!!!! He was a freakin' genius on his way to changing jazz trumpet playing in a major way when his life was cut short at 23 years young of Uremia. He played on many Eric Dolphy recordings and also with Max Roach. Check him out....
Later......

WorlBoy goes to SF

2006-03-15T01:14:00.000-08:00

Well, Dan Brown is the real deal. He turned 16 today and plays great alto, writes and arranges like someone way older and dresses like the cats used to back a few years ago when swing was king again. Aside from a few personnel glitches the gig was a blast. Joining me on tpt was Eric Wayne, Mike Olmos and Henry Huang. Henry took a solo today that would have given Tim Hagans a run for his moola. Every time I hear that guy he grows in leaps and bounds. Mike Olmos....well what can I say. He's the best young tpt player to come up in the area since Tom Harrell lit up the various venues from SF to San Jose.
My friend Larry Leight stopped by to say hello. We used to play in Vice Grips band called Zooma Zooma. I misss that band very much. I guess when Vice feels it, we'll get back together. It was the only band that I ever played in that had a one drink per set minimum!
Later that evening I went up to Foothill College to do a dress rehearsal with their night band which is run by John Gove. John is a killer trombonist and writer. We have a concert next Tuesday and we'll be playing some tunes by Maria Schneider, Basie, and Miles/Bill Evans. Lori Stotko will be featured quite a bit as well as Modesto Briesenio, John Hetttel and others.
Tomorrow I go up to SF again to rehearse with my dear old friend Rudy Salvini and the cats. More to come.....

WorlBoy heads up to SF

2006-03-14T00:13:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I'm going up to SF to play with a couple of my favorite trumpet players, Mike Olmos and Henry Huang in a band led by 16 yr old Dan Brown. I'm subbing for Dave Scott and he tells me that this kid is a young lion. Can't wait to check it out for myself.
Heard a couple of great concerts in the last two weeks. The first was Jon Faddis with the Stanford Jazz Orchestra led by Fred Berry. Jon sounded as great as ever. Bebop up to G's above double C with a few triple C's nailing all those in the way. How does the man do it? Inquiring trumpet minds want to know. Niel Levonius, a former student and frequently seen in the big band on stage at the Tribute Show at the Marines Memorial theater has been playing lead with the band for a few years now, held the lead book down quite well. Swinging his you know what off. Gillespiana is no easy work to pull off and if it wasn't for Niel (and Jon playing at times two octaves above him) anything could have happened. That piece is tough and the SJO did quite well. Fred kept them in line, on time and sounding fine. Way to go Fred. He's another one of my heroes!
Last week I saw Marvin Stamm and Bill Mays play with the Daddios band from DeAnza college as well as Homestead HS. Marvin and Bill have an uncanny ability to play as if they are twins separated at birth. Marvin is one of my all time favorite players, gliding thru every register with grace and ideas that would have made Clifford proud. Bill is the catalyst and has a way of slipping in something unexpected and turning it into a whole new world. What remarkable men. I'm just blown away at the beauty that flows from them. One fellow of note also is Ed Morrison. He is the lead trumpet player and probably one of the best that ever came out of the San Jose area. He's got the whole package. Total range throughout the horn, beautiful fat sound and makes the hardest lines sail effortlessly from his bell. Plus the guy plays great jazz!!!
This weekend I'll be playing with Niel in Rudy Salvini's big band. Rudy has kept his band together for 50 + years. More to come about Rudy, Allen Smith and my 8 years in the band.
Peace,
John

Fun gigs I've done lately

2006-03-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, I had the great pleasure of playing with four of the South Bay's finest jazz musicians. It was with the Aaron Lington Quintet and we had a blast playing at the Improv in downtown San Jose. If you've never been there, check it out either for the comedy which happens nightly or the Sunday afternoon jazz series hosted by the San Jose Jazz Society. Aaron is one of the heaviest bari players to land in town. His playing has the fire of Pepper Adams, his compositions are subtle and intelligent and is a great cat all around. John Shiflitt was on bass, Tim Solook on drums and Dahveed Behroozi on piano. Aaron also has a new CD out (yesterdays concert was his CD release party) called "Cape Breton" on NohJoh Music. It was nice to play with such great cats and the audience got it into it. There were many friends and folks that I've never met before in the audience and the band was received warmly. Next post will include news about Wayne Wallace and my upcoming concert at the Stanford Jazz Festival's tribute to Miles Davis 80th birthday celebration. Peace, John

we've moved!

2006-02-28T00:51:00.000-08:00

Susan and I have moved to new place in Mountain View. We had the most incredible friends help us with our transition. Louis Fasman, Lori Stotko, Kerry McCoy and Altagracia, David Brimmer, Cheryl Hopkins, Johnny and Mary Baumont, Victor and Denise, Sue Vincent, Steve and Falline.
We couldn't have done it without them!!!! Look for a spectacular house warming party you guys coming at ya like a mac truck!!!
We now enjoy a much bigger place, far nicer than the place we lived in for years. We will miss most of the folks we became friends with in our old complex. Susan has her own art studio. I have high speed internet so I'm happy as a bee.
There is so much going on at the moment. I'm playing a tribute to Burt Bacarach this Saturday at the New Octavia Lounge in SF with a singer I haven't met yet named William Morin. But it sounds like the gig will be a gas and if you want more info, go to www.williammorin.com
Well, this pup is pretty burnt so I'm going to say goodnight and more to come soon.
Peace,
John
ps. Look for a WorlView press release coming at you about a gig of all gigs WorlView will do in September......

Feedback about the closing of BoAs/Club Elite

2006-02-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
Here are a couple of emails Matt and I have received about the closing of BoAs/Club Elite. Feel free to join in the discussion if you like:

Mr. Kitagawa - I think you are the right person to contact, but I'm not sure. I am hoping that by writing the entertainment department at the Merc, I will be able to encourage more people to attend live performances. If suspect that people in your department are already sold on them, but it so easy to just pop in that DVD or CD that live performers have a tough road to hoe. Also, I'm convinced that by not attending live performances, people miss out on the very best of what human society has to offer. My own journey into live performance started reluctantly by being pressured into chaperoning for school field trips. Figuring I might as well try to enjoy myself, I just relaxed and found that I was blown away. Between Arts Express (City of San Jose) and Stanford's Lively Arts student matinees, I've attended Indian Dance, Taiko drumming, Chinese acrobats, Silicon Valley Symphony, a saxophone quartet, solo pianists, poets, musicals, choirs and Bobby MacPheron. It takes a while for our neurological system to register the difference between a live and a recorded performance, but once it does its like going from black and white to color. Who wants to go back? Not me. Over the years I've started to reach out on my own and see what's out there. I've attended everything from opera in San Francisco to free solo singers at the park to rock concerts to bistro jazz. Though there were a few exceptions, the more obscure and "home grown" the event, the better it was. The best full productions I have attended have been with West Bay Opera. However, the most exquisitely pleasurable sensory experience I have ever had was an evening spent listening to a jazz combo at BoAs in Cupertino. An experience like that leaves you positively euphoric. As I listened, I couldn't help but think, "Now this is why I put up with the maddening hordes. its experiences like this that justifies the existence of cities." It is also an experience I wish every one could have, and I think they can. The cost was dinner and a $5 cover. Listening to music on the radio while I drive doesn't do it for me any more. Music coming out of that stereo is just a cheap trick. Yes, I listen to the stereo. But I now know what real music is about and I will no longer settle for less. Yours Truly - Deborah G.

So, John, if Boa's was such a success, how come it closed????
Mike V.

Hi Mike,
BoAs and the Club Elite were separate entities. The club was doing very well but the restaurant was having problems. The club was often sold out on weekends and would help the restaurant by bringing in customers for them. Sounds strange but the end result was the restaurant was losing money while the bar flourished. The bar flourished because Matt would bring in quality entertainment on a consistent basis and when the word got out, people would flock to the club.
Considering that Club Elite was a destination spot rather than one supported by foot traffic such as Pearl's in SF, they did very well.
John
Too bad about BOAS. You had a good run there...hope you can find anothervenue. Your band must have gotten to a new level, being able to play togetherso much..... That's all for now,Jim N.

Hi Johnny W,Nice message - well put! BBLV

WorlView 4.0 gig news and BoAs is closing!

2006-02-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
Here is a email I just sent out to everyone. Feel free to post a comment or two about your feelings regarding the closing of BoAs. I'll miss that place.

Hi Friends,

Along with this Gig Announcement, I wanted to let you in on some sad news for Jazz in the South Bay.

First, the GOOD news: My quartet, WorlView 4.0 will be playing on, Friday Feb 17th at the Agenda Lounge from 7:30-9:45 PM. We'll be playing downstairs in the restaurant. Listeners seated closer to the band will ensure themselves the chance to hear better (hopefully) because the socializers will be in the rear of the restaurant. So, plan on making a reservation - if you possibly can. We really would love to see you there! Here is the contact info:

Agenda Lounge
399 S. First Street
San Jose CA
Reservations 408-287-3991

The SAD News: I'll be playing at Boas/Club Elite for the last time this Sunday, February 12th from 6-9pm with Rory Snyder and the Jazz Composers Quintet. We will be playing a mixture of different styles ranging from straight ahead, modern jazz as well as a ballad or two. Please call ahead for reservations, because this is the last night they'll be open. I know we'll be having a large crowd.
***Please notice that the reservation number has changed. If you would like to bring your dinner with you, feel free to do so. If not, Joe will have plenty of popcorn and peanuts for everyone.

As some of you may already know, Boas Restaurant closed approximately a week ago. Even though the Club Elite stayed open, they will close this Sunday much to the disappointment to everyone. Club Elite has been a great success for music lovers thanks to all of you jazz fans, to Matt Beasley and to the wonderful musicians who considered it to be their jazz "home" in the South Bay. It was a classy place, with good drinks, plenty of free parking in a safe area, where anyone could feel comfortable stopping by either alone or with friends or family.

Club Elite's success proved that jazz is a viable part of our South Bay community. We have to keep that thought alive as we look for a new home! If any of you have thoughts or suggestions for future places like Club Elite or you wish to thank Matt for his major efforts in keeping jazz alive, send them to Matt Beasley at mattbeas@aol.com . Or else, reply back to me and I will forward it along to him and also post it to my blog if that's ok with you.

Please join us Sunday as we say goodbye to one of the South Bay's brightest spots for jazz that served the community so honorably. Last chance, folks....We will miss it - as I'm sure you will too....

Club Elite
20030 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Cupertino, CA
(DeAnza Blvd exit off 280, between DeAnza and Wolfe Rd.)
Call Joe Darny at 408-489-3133 for reservations.

Yours in Jazz,

John Worley Jr.
650-740-7004
www.johnworley.com

Big Apple on Weds

2006-02-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

So, like I was saying, the Big Apple bite a chunk outta me but in more ways than one. I walked more that week than I did in a year or so. The sun was out, it wasn't too cold and things were exciting.
After the hang Tuesday night, I stayed with Brian, Callie and her roommate at Callie’s pad out in Brooklyn. That night, I could hardly sleep. There was so much noise on the street outside. Trucks driving by all hours of the night people talking and just lots of city noise.
The next morning, we went to a diner for breakfast and it was just like the stereotype diner. There was a cook in the kitchen yelling to what seemed to be no one in particular “I gotta cheese omelets here….hey, pick up this corn beef hash and eggs…” ECT. I couldn’t help but laugh. It was so right on the money.
Afterwards, I took the subway back to midtown where I met Matt and went out to lunch with Fred Berry and Q. We went to a place across the street from Carnegie Hall called Trattoria (something or another). Great Italian food with a beautiful antipasti bar with lots of fresh seafood. Fred told us a great story about how Jon Faddis took Dizzy there once and Dizzy went nuts on the antipasto bar.
That night Matt and I went out to the Cornelia Café in the Village and saw a band called Askenov’s Accident (?). It was a pretty avant garde band and I totally dug it. Cong Vu was the trumpet player and I think Chris Speed was there too. Cong Vu played the most unconventional trumpet solos I’ve ever heard. It was almost like he was hissing thru the horn. When you over blow your aperture and pump lots of fast air thru the horn, you get this high pitched hissing sound which he used more as a percussive effect than a melodic one. His normal tpt sound was dark and almost brooding and his ideas were very melodic.
The only drag about the concert was there were these guys sitting at the table across from ours talking so loud that it was very distracting. Everybody kept turning around looking at them but they kept talking. The weird thing was they were there for IAJE!?.
Afterwards I met Brian and we went his pad to crash.
More to come later…….

WorlBoy goes to the Big Apple

2006-02-01T22:03:00.000-08:00

Some of you have asked me about my recent trip to the Big Apple and the IAJE convention. I had a total blast out there. And I owe it all to my wife Susan. She gave me my “hall pass” so I could celebrate my birthday (which was in November) with some of my guy friends. Thank you Hon!!!!
Matt Beasley and I flew out there Tuesday the 10th on Jet Blue from the Oakland Airport. When we walked onto the plane, the first person I saw was my old buddy John Kalleen and his son Hank. It turns out that John was taking him out there to check out the music scene as well as a show and the convention. Sitting a couple of rows back was the infamous bassist, Peter Barshey and across from him was the director of the Monterey Jazz Festival, Tim Jackson. For all of you who haven’t met Tim, he’s a very down to earth kinda guy. One of the nicest cats on the planet IMHO.
Jet Blue is the way to fly out to NY on a budget. Roomy leather seats, plenty of leg room, on time and there is a TV on every seat back. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The flight took four or five hours and before we knew it, we were landing at JFK.
We got into NY by taking a town car to mid-town Manhattan. John, Hank and Matt were staying at the Sheraton and I was staying with a drummer friend, Brian Fishler for a couple a nights until my buddy Niel Levonius came two days later. Brian is a marvelous drummer from Novato. It makes me feel a little geezer-like when I think about the fact that I used to do gigs with his parents, Ken and Bobbie Fishler.
Matt, John, Hank and I went out to dinner across from the Sheraton at a place called Rosie O’Gradys and had a great dinner. Good steak, good wine and nice wait staff. I recommend this place highly. Afterwards we went to the Irridium on Times Square and saw the Mingus Big Band. What a great band. Blistering solos from everyone and the trumpet section kicked ass. Eddie Henderson, Kenny Rampton (lead) and Alex Sipiagen were on that night. Alex took one of the most incredible flugelhorn solos I’ve ever heard and Kenny….What can I say. Tone like Shorty Baker, beautiful ideas and a nice cat to boot. Plus nailing the lead book as good as anyone I’ve ever heard. I feel fortunate that I got to hear him again on another Mingus Big Band concert. (more on that later) Eddie Henderson is the elder statesman in the jazz trumpet world and holding down the title like Mohammed Ali. Still kickin’ ass and taking names.
One thing though….We soon found out that each set at most venues cost between $25-30 and they last only an hour. No encore plus a food/drink minimum. When we got our check (yikes!!!) we bitched miserably until the manager came over and told us that this is the way it is out there. So, we were in new territory and had to learn to accept a new set of rules. That was the first bite the Big Apple took outta me. Hah!!! Afterwards I met Brian, Callie and her roommate in the Village for a hang and the next thing I knew we were taking the subway out to Brooklyn to crash. So that was my first day (and night).
Next blog I’ll talk about what happened on Wednesday. See ya!!!

WorlView Live at The Jazz School 1/29/06

2006-01-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

WorlView has it's first gig of "06" coming up. John Worley and WorlView will be at the Jazz School in Berkeley,CA this Sunday, January 29th from 4:30-6:30pm. The Jazz School is one of the best places to hear and study jazz in every form. In fact we have some of their faculty members in the band, Dr. Wayne Wallace, Murray Low and Paul van Wageningen. It is a nice, intimate setting to hear live music. The acoustics are good and every seat has a good view of the band. Here's a list of the cat's in WorlView this Sun.
Wayne "The Doctor" Wallace - trombone,Kris Strom AKA "Tone Queen" - tenor sax and musical twin, Murray Low - piano, Tom Bockhold - bass, Paul van Wageningen - drums
Michaelle Goerlitz - percussion and John L.Worley Jr - trumpet, flugelhorn and post horn.
The Jazz School is located at:
2087 Addison St.
Berkeley, CA 94704
510-845-5373
http://www.jazzschool.com/livejazz.php
Admission is $15. Tickets can be purchased online, at the door and all ages are welcome. We would love to see you all there!
For more information about upcoming WorlView gigs, go to my website: http://www.johnworley.com
Check back in later to read about my experiences in the Big Apple and the IAJE conference.
Later

Merry Xmas everyone

2005-12-23T09:24:00.000-08:00

Hey all, the Kuumbwa gig with WorlView was tons o’ fun. I got to break in my new Kanstul flugel. My old one, a Custom Class model made by Zig Kanstul had been giving me some problems on my last few gigs. The valves when they worked (thanks to Lionel Emde at Hornucopia who kept them moving) were silky and smooth. But from the beginning, they always stuck and would give me problems from time to time. This is a trumpet player’s nightmare! So I took it to Dick Akright at A&G Music in Oakland, CA and he shipped it off to Kanstul to get new valves put in. He had another Kanstul, a copper bell model w/ a slightly larger bore that played beautifully!! So, I whipped out the ol’ credit card and took it with me to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz and played the gig that night with it. If you haven’t played one, you have to try it. The valves worked perfectly and the tone is gorgeous. The copper bell is a beautiful reddish color and I think I’ll name it Susan, after my wife. It matches the color of her hair and reminded me of her every time I looked at it.
We had a great crowd there and I saw my old friend Bob King who works there managing the bar and spreading good vibes with his smiling happy self. When you play there and see him smiling at you from across the room, it really makes you feel like you’re in a place called home. The crowd was near capacity and very exuberant. We went as a sextet because Michaelle Goerlitz who normally plays percussion was out of town on another gig. But we made due and the audience loved us. Thanks goes out to Bobbi, who took a chance in having us, Brett for the fun radio interview and everyone who made it out to see us. And last but not least, Matt, Kris, Wayne, Tom, Murray and Paul VW for all of their talent and intuition. These cats are the best!!!
Our next gig is on the 29th of January, 2006 from 4:30-7:30pm at the Jazz School in Berkeley. Hope to see you there and in the meantime, Happy Holidays, stay safe and we’ll all be together again soon.
Peace,
John L. Worley Jr

WorlView live at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center Thursday 12/8

2005-12-05T02:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been awhile since my last post. I want everyone to know that WorlView is playing this Thursday, December 8th at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA. We’re very excited about playing at one of the premier jazz clubs in Northern California. I’ve played there many times as a sideman but this is the first time to play there as a leader. Thanks to my friend/artist rep Matt Beasley for hooking me up. If you ever get a Sat or Sun night free, stop by BoAs in Cupertino, CA and say hi to him. He’s the cat who makes it all happen there!
Speaking of which, my BoAs gig celebrating my 50th birthday and 40 years of trumpet playing was a total gas!!!. So many friends and family came to see and partake of this fun night. Lori Stotko sat in on piano and showed everyone that she's one of the Bay Area's best kept secrets. Fred Berry, one of my teacher/mentors showed up along with my student/protégé Max Shulaker and sat in with me. Between the three of us, we bridged a 40 year span of trumpet playing. Fred has been one of the bay area's first call players as well as one of the original members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Max is a 15 year old monster and look for some great sounds from his horn in next few years!!! What a treat to have them and Lori sit in with me. Thank you cats!!!
Ed Johnson was going to be there but needed to recoup from an eye infection and since we had to go on a Northwest tour the following week, it made sense for him to stay home. But Ed's spirit was there and the night was definitely worthy of a "Movimento" evening as Kris Strom and I would say!!!
My mother Hana, sisters Anna and Joy, bro Richie, Stacy, Teanna, along with their hubbies, children ect came by and wow...it was very very special to have them see my gig and celebrate with me. My mom hadn't seen me play since I played Fuyumi Sakamoto in J-Town, SF the latter part of the 90's. Thanks to you all for supporting me and the music.
Lot's of fun gigs have occurred since that tremendous night. Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo had a sold out performance at Corey's Jazz Cellar in Vancouver, BC. What a great place to play and the audience was fantastic. Our gig in Bellingham WA was very cool too. Our friends Farren (she's one hell of a great vocalist) Kathy and Sharman showed up and afterwards, we all went to Sharman's pad and partied in the usual Novo Tempo spirit!!!
This past weekend I played with Johnny Mathis in Santa Rosa at the Luther Burbank Center of Performing Arts. That guy still has the voice that made a generation or three take notice. Plus the dude is totally into the Christmas scene. He's a bit scary when he starts singing Toyland but he's really all heart.
By the way...when you are a freelance, commercial/ jazz trumpet player, you have to be able to wear many different hats (to quote tpt god Bobby Shew). At this time, I'm playing the show "Into The Woods" which is a classical type of show, playing jazz (Latin, st ahead, ballads ect), small group jazz, big band ect and the list goes on. It's a time of incredible stretching between genres and I'm having a blast doing it. I'm so thankful that all of my teachers stressed versatility. It's paid off in so many ways.
So, I hope to see you all come out and see WorlView do their thang this Thursday. Kuumbwa is a very happening place to play and I'm totally looking forward to being there.
Stop by and see the cats blow if you're free. And don't forget to come up and say hello. After all, that's what it's all about!
Peace,
John

More blog comin' at ya

2005-10-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,
Well, it has been a crazy couple of weeks. Lot's of stuff going on in the world of Worl. Played a few gigs, taught a few lessons and did a T-Mobile commercial yesterday at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Great musicians on the date including Mary Fettig, Dave Peterson, Steve Campos, Marty Wehner and others. Nice to do a union gig 'cause of it contributing to my pension.
I'm really looking forward to November. Lot's of fun stuff going on including my 50th birthday/40 years of trumpet playing anniversary gig at BoAs with WorlView on November 5th. More on that soon but for now, a little trip down memory lane......
Where has the time gone? I remember getting my first trumpet on October 2nd, 1965. It was a Holton Collegiate and my first teacher was Richard Snyder who by the way is still playing gigs on saxophone to this day. I put the mouthpiece into the leadpipe and blew into it. Nothing but air came out and man, was I bummed!!!! I told my mom, Hana that there was something wrong with the horn but she told to play it some more and that I'll get it eventually.
Funny thing, I was pretty terrible for so many years! In fact, the 7th grade band director Mrs Heinzen put me on baritone for the whole year. I carried that piece of crap home at least three days a week. That thing was bigger than me and smelled like garbage can! I remember telling Mrs. Heinzen at the beginning of 8th grade that if I didn't get to play trumpet I would quit. She told me I better practice and did I practice? Of course. Who wants to spend the rest of their playing career playing on a garbage can with valves?
By the time I got to high school, my reading skills were pretty good and I played well when our band director Dick Larsen had us play our passages, one at a time in front of the whole band class. Dick by the way was a trumpet player and passed away this year. Thru Johnny Serrano, I inherited Dicks old Conn trumpet and have it sitting on my trumpet shrine along with my Chet Baker, Miles Davis books and of course, the book that got me thinking about the trumpet, The Reader's Digest Treasury of Short Stories with an article about Louis Armstrong.
I auditioned for the San Francisco Fireman's Honor Band that year and made 1st chair 2nd trumpet and got free lessons at the Burlingame Conservatory of Music. I used to take the bus down there from Daly City to study with a cat named Owen Bruce. He's the one who turned me on to the Arban's Conservatory method and Bach 7C mpcs.
It wasn't till I hooked up with the godfather of all of the San Francisco trumpeters, Johnny Coppola that stuff started to happen for me. I remember sitting in his living room, shaking and barely being able to play. He asked if I was nervous...ha! Boy was I. He asked me why and I told him, "You're the great Johnny Coppola and that's why". He just laughed, sipped his vino and we went on from there. He was a great influence not only with my playing and being a good human being but with my teaching too. He told me that if I did everything he told me to do, I would be a pro by the time I was sixteen. Sounds like a line to get a young punk like me to practice but man, I bit and bit hard.
I played my first gig at 15 years young with an asian rock cover band called "Far East Coalition" and we played at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco on July 1st, 1971. Three trumpet playing friends of mine were at that gig playing with me and in the other bands, "Sand" and "The Intrigues". Johnny Serrano, Jerry Lum and Gary Wood. I'm happy to say that they are still around and it's very cool to see them from time to time. My first solo was "You're Still A Young Man" by Tower Of Power". Damn if I didn't crack the first note but got thru the rest ok. I remember looking out into the audience and seeing more beautiful asian girls than I ever saw before. We played "Valdez In The Country", "Sparkling In The Sand" and a whole lot of horn band tunes. Arty Chu played Bari Sax, Juan Watanabe played alto sax, Johnny Serrano played 1st trumpet, Denise and Tony Escobar was there too. I made a whopping $8!!! Man, that was a killer band for a bunch of young cats!
Ok, More to come later......

blog flog

2005-10-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
I wanted to take a moment to say hello and share my day with you. It's about 10:14am, the wife is still asleep (we stayed up and watched SNL) and I'm cleaning up my email list and drinking coffee. (she just got up at 10:20....)
I had a pretty fun day yesterday. How many of you know what the life of a musician/educator is like? At times, it can seem gruelling and other times, a slice of heaven. And some days a bit of both.
I cut back my teaching load from 57 students to 37, from 6 days a week to 4 and relocated all of my teaching to Mountain View, where Susan and I live. I have a small studio on Hope Street that I'm in the process of tweaking. I still teach at West Valley Music owned by Diana Tucker on Wednesdays and love it. The music selection is fantastic and the staff is friendly and helpful.
I used to teach in San Mateo at Myriad Studios and in SSF at Bronstein Music. I miss Bronsteins very much. Rich and Don are a couple of the nicest people you could ever work with and the trumpet selection is one of the best anywhere. Anyhow, I gotta run...more on the day later.
John

Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo Live at The Jazz and Blues Store

2005-10-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here's an email I sent out to folks about my next Ed Johnson gigs coming up this weekend:

Hello Friends,

Here is a quick note to music lovers around the world. Tomorrow night, Saturday (10/8) starting at 7:30pm pst, you can hear Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo (one of my favorite bands to play in) LIVE on the internet. We will be streaming from the Jazz and Blues Store (just click on this link and follow the directions) in Carmel, CA. You can listen for free in the comfort of your home or come on down to Carmel and see it live.

This music has it's roots steeped in the heart of Brazil and the expressive freedom of jazz - and that combination comes alive in the stunning compositions of Ed Johnson.
Ed's music, along with Wayne Wallace's expert guidance, helped shape the concept of my band, WorlView. I hope you can take a moment on Saturday night to tune in and hear for yourself the beauty of Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo.

Novo Tempo will also be playing live at Santana Row in San Jose this Tuesday, October 11th, from 6-9pm. (Another chance to hear great music for free!) The bandstand is located in the court yard in front of Maggiano's Restaurant next to Starbucks. Bring a coat, folding chair or blanket and enjoy compositions from Ed's CD's: "Over That Wave", "Movimento" and a new one that we are presently in the midst of recording. I hope to see you there and don't forget to come up and say hello.
Thanks for listening!
John L. Worley Jr.

PS. On November 5th, I'll be celebrating my 50th birthday and my 40th year of playing the trumpet at BoAs/Club Elite on Steven's Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, CA. WorlView will be playing and I hope that you stop by to help me me celebrate this milestone. It should be one heck of a good hang!!!

Monterey Jazz Festival The Jon Jang Seven

2005-09-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, Jon Jang. Pianist, activist, wild man extroidinaire.
We played Sunday afternoon on the Garden Stage. What a great set! Jon and musical conductor Dr. Wayne Wallace put together a set of creatively arranged Chinese folksongs that really took the crowd to another place. On sax were Jim Norton and Francis Wong. Dave Belove (aka Butterfly) was on electric bass, Deson Claiborne on drums and myself on tpt and flugelhorn.
Man, you should have seen their faces when Francis blew this incredible solo that was at times channeling Trane, Joe Henderson and Pharoah Saunders. That was one of the highlights of that gig. Seeing the audience react to what we were doing told me we were really reaching them and they were getting it.
Look for more on Jon's band in future blogs. We also have a new CD coming out in the spring of "06". We recorded it last week at Open Path Studios in less than two days!!!! That's a testament to the strength of Jang's concept, depth of musicianship in the group and organization/arranging of the Doctor.
Ok...I'm off to my gig. WorlView is playing this evening at Santana Row from 6-9pm. More to come regarding future WorlView events and don't miss Tim Solook's gig this coming Sat, Oct 1st at BoAs/Club Elite.

Monterey Jazz Festival/Carla Bley/Steve Swallow Big Band

2005-09-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings all!
Well, it's been awhile since my last post. Susan and I went to WI for vacation, been spending a little time at the beach and two weeks ago I had the extreme pleasure of playing the Monterey Jazz Festival with Carla Bley/Steve Swallow Big Band. The big band was made up of local players plus the cats in Carla's group. George Young contracted us and by the way, played his ass off!!! He's a NY session/jazz saxophonist that retired and moved out to Monterey,CA. This cat is bad!!! If any of you happens to be in the Monterey area, look him up.
Carla's music was as happening as ever. We premiered her new piece, Black Orchid as well as On the Stage in Cages & One Way. Marty Wehner played the solo bone stuff and really showed everyone what he's made of. Marty is a bad boy for sure. Louis Fasman, one of the bay area's stellar lead trumpeters played a thoughtful, melodic melody on One Time. Louis is one of my best buds dating back to the Marriot's Great America days. He kept us on track thru some perilous twists and turns. Everyone got a little space to play. I got to play a little more than the other trumpet players. I played on the ballad section of Black Orchid as well as On The Stage In Cages. The ballad was done on trumpet w/ plunger. I know that Lou Soloff plays with her a lot and likes to use plunger so I did the same. Plunger is a fun mute to play and can be very expressive. The other solo was done on open trumpet which is rare for me. Usually I play my flugel when I solo but my Bach tpt has a sound I've always wanted to get so I'm working out more with it.
Carla and Steve are two of the most supportive folks I've ever played with. It was an honor to be a part of their music reality. I'm still awestruck at her ability to hear every note in every part. I'm not the same person after being a part of this. Next, part two....The Jon Jang Seven

San Jose Jazz Festival Part Two

2005-08-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

By now everyone should know that San Jose hosts the largest free jazz festival of its kind on the planet. It's a great hang and you can see a myriad of local talent as well as the elite of the jazz world. Since I'm a local yokel, I want to toot my horn for the locals today.
Open Path recording artist, my musical twin and fellow Novo Tempo compadre saxophonist Kristen Strom played one of the most inspiring sets I've seen in a long time. Her debut CD "Intentions" features players like Jon Shiflitt, Jason Lewis, hubby/ soul mate and producer Scott Sorkin and Adam Schulman. She also has singing with her Ed "Two Cell" Johnson and her La Familia.
From the first note, her melodic conception and lyrical singing tone lifted us all out of our seats into another world. Her choice of material is melody oriented and the way the band flowed thru them and improvised was second to none. What a great feeling, to close your eyes while listening to her set and see wave after waves of images brought forth by the beauty of her music. I know the crowd was hip to it because they were quiet. They listened and got it! The audience should get 5 stars for being so in tune. Congrats on the debut of "Intentions" and your masterful performance Kris.
The Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco also knocked me out. Led by sensei John Calloway, they showed us all why they will be the future stars of tomorrow. Wayne Wallace leaned over to me at one point and said, "These are the cat's who'll be taking our gigs someday". It's nice to know that the future is in such good hands! Trombonist Natalie Cressman, daughter of trombonist Jeff Cressman and vocalist Sandy Cressman was up there wailing. I hadn't seen her in a few years since we rehearsed at the Cressman manor for the Don Byron gig at Monterey Jazz Festival. She's all grown up now! I remember her when she was this tiny little baby hangin' on Momma and Poppa's pant leg. Keep up the good work Natalie!
I saw much more music while floating from one stage after another. I saw my friends and trumpeters Tom Bertetta and Randy Smith. Tom was playing with a salsa band and Randy was playing with Octobop. I met Bobby Watson, was mesmerized by Andy Nozaka's photo exhibit in the museum, hung out with Kye Palmer (trumpet w/Poncho Sanchez), hung with one of my best buds Kerry McCoy and ran around a bit with the love of my life, my loving wife Susan. She had her own event to go to so I had my hall pass for a moment to hang out and chill. Jayne Sanchez was her fun self hosting the Repetory Theater stage and I saw Rich S. and Maureen M. in the front row cheering on Kris. Tom K. was checking out the sounds here and there and Jack and Ellen Fasman watching little Dana Rose and Laura Fasman who were checking out their poppa Louis on stage. Terry Ross, ex-lead trumpeter from the Woody Herman Orchestra was at Gordon Biersch watching the salsa band from Santa Cruz do their thing.
I also had fun being a part of a jazz panel discussion hosted by Yoshi Kato. It was called "What Do You Know..Trade Secrets" My fellow panelists were Sonny Buxton, Jackie Naylor and Art Khu. We had a nice audience and the topics ranged from jazz education to what we did to develop ourselves into artists. It was a nice blend of folks. We all were players/writers/educators and shared stories about ourselves. We all walked away with feeling like we got to know each other a little bit better.
Thank you San Jose Jazz Society, for bringing such a memorable and vital contribution to the soul of our community. Thanks to Rob Roman and Steve Saperstein for their hard work and faith in the music and those who play it. Thanks to all of the staff, Marcia, Matt, Casey and everyone else who make it all happen every year. Ah...less than 51 weeks till it happens again!

San Jose Jazz Festival

2005-08-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

The world's largest "free" jazz festival took place this past weekend in San Jose, CA. It's the only festival I've ever been to and participated in where you can see a different act every hour for two days straight! I put some big numbers on my pedometer checking out all of the different bands. More about them in my next blog...
I played with Dr Wayne Wallace and Rhythm and Rhyme Saturday on the Latin Jazz stage. Wayne as you all probably know is a prolific composer/arranger as well as trombonist of monstrous proportions. His band is made up of the best cats in the Bay Area and tore it up!!!
Check out this line up:
Louis Fasman-lead trumpet
Marcia Miget- tenor sax
Melecio Magdaluyo-bari sax, flute
Murray Low, Frank Martin-keyboards
Dave Belove-bass
Paul VW-drums
Micheal Spiro, John Santos-percussion
With Wayne leading it all, it turned into one of the most exciting afternoons in the history of the festival. At one point we had Micheal Zilber on soprano sax, Dan Weinstein on trombone and Open Path recording artist Kristen Strom on stage tearing it up. Louis and I had some fun playing harmon muted solos on "Silver Serenade" which brought forth a comment from Wayne along the lines of "Angry Harmon's" or something. On "Take The A Train", Louis played an "F" above (!) double "C" as loud as the one I played an octave below!!! From the strong ensemble work to the imaginative solos, Wayne did his thing again and created another afternoon of music to remember.
On Sunday, Louis, Kris, Wayne and myself joined the ranks of the San Jose Jazz Orchestra on the Main stage to back up Geri Allen, Bobby Watson and a gospel choir to honor the memory of the late Ray Charles. Geri Allen played wonderful, Bobby Watson sounded great, the choir swung and the band kicked butt for 15 minutes. Yes, you heard me correct. I couldn't believe we got only 15 minutes after all the work that went into putting the band together. We were supposed to play longer but everything was running late and we took it for the cause. More about this in my next blog….
My severe disappointment was abated when Ray Vega walked on the Latin Jazz stage and showed everyone why he is considered to be one of the greats in any style or venue in the modern trumpet world. Ray and the band (Murray Low, Micheal Spiro, Dave Belove and Paul VW) had the crowd on their feet dancing, shouting and testifying from the time he got on till the time he left to catch his red eye flight back to the Bronx. Ray was gracious enough to invite me to the stage a blow a few tunes with him. I will never forget the fun and excitement playing next to him on Rahsaan's Run and the other tunes. Thank You Ray, for allowing me to share the stage with you. You are the man my friend!!!
Afterwards, a group of us walked across the street to Gordon Biersch (for the 2nd time that day…can’t get enough of that Marzan stuff) and closed that place down.
It was great to see so many friends at the festival, Kerry McCoy, Lorenzo Perez and his family, John Hablieb, Tom, David Murray,Tom Bertetta, Mark the soundman extraordinaire, Andy Nozaka, Yoshi Kato and the folks on the Jazz Panel Discussion of which will be in my next blog coming very soon. Thanks to all for supporting live jazz. A great time was had by all.

WorlView Live at Espresso Garden & Cafe

2005-08-08T03:15:00.000-07:00

All I can say about our gig at Espresso Garden & Cafe is Wow! We had a great time playing for all of the folks that came out to see us last Friday night. Bev and Greg, the founders of TrueWind Music know how to throw a party. From the honor of being the “Hot Ticket” in Thursday's SJ Mercury News to Friday's interview with Yoshi Kato, we were almost able to sell the venue out!
We opened with Horace Silver's "Out Of The Night Came You" and ended the evening with "Autumn Serenade", dedicated to my wife Susan. The crowd was pretty damn feisty. We had quite a thing going at times, and it made it tough for me to play at times because I was laughing so hard. I have a habit of putting my foot in my mouth and that's all I'm going to say about that!
There were so many friends that fell by to see us and many new ones that we met for the first time. Tim and Gordon from Open Path Studios, Joe Doll, Cheryl Hopkins, Andy and Stephanie, Mike and Ann, Matt Beasley (the best artist rep a guy like me could ever hope for) and everyone one else, thank you all for making that gig, one I will remember always.
Skyline alumni (19**) and old friend, bassist John Hettel joined us for the evening and played his butt off! The upright bass he played on came from Gordon Stevens. During the break, Gordon climbed on stage to say hi to his old friend and played a couple of notes on it. Dr Wayne Wallace was on fire as usual and Kris Strom brought the house down on her solo on Stanley Clarke's "Why Wait". Greg played her new CD, "Intention" during the breaks and what a masterpiece that is. Look for it on CDBaby.com and Amazon.com soon. She is so talented and I confess she is my musical horn playing soul mate! From our work with Wally Schnalle to our present day musings with Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo, there is no other I would choose to work with. So Kris, if you get totally famous from your CD going triple platinum, I hope you still will play with us.....
Murray was his usual incredible playing self, weaving in and out of every style with grace and ease. Paul VW and Michaelle had the crowd on the edge of their chairs more than a few times with their dynamic interactions. On a different note, this was Paul's first gig back since the passing of his wife Carmen. She was a beautiful person and will be missed by all of us. I didn't say anything that night to Paul, the band or the audience but that evening was silently dedicated to her memory.
Thank you all again for coming out to see us at Espresso Garden & Cafe. Our next WorlView gig is on the evening of September 27th at Santana Row. This show is being presented by the San Jose Jazz Society. Stop by, check us out and come up and say Hi. See you then!!!
Ps. I’ll be back soon with blogs on my upcoming performances at the San Jose and Monterey Jazz Festivals.

WorlView Live Stanford and this Friday at Espresso Garden & Cafe

2005-08-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since my last blog...Lot's of water under the bridge. Many good times, more than the space will allow!!!
I want to talk alittle about one of our past gigs and our next gig coming up this Friday, August 5 at Espresso Garden and Cafe.
WorlView celebrated it's one year anniversary at SF Jazz's Summer 2005. The concert took place at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA. There must have been close to 300 people going crazy while listening to us play. The band was on fire and the crowd loved us. What a rush to play for all of the folks. I had some friends stop to say hi. Dr. Arleen Chang and her family, Patti Wilkes ( I used to teacher her son Deon), Bruce Knowlton, Mai & Yousef, Laura, Rita, Pauline (Jeff High Alumni), Clifford Brown Jr who did a great job introducing us and so many more...It was overwhelming and probably the best concert I had played in a while. Thank you all so much for coming out to see us play. Your enthusiasm was contagious and it inspired us to new heights!!!
You can see WorlView live in concert, this Friday at the Espresso Garden & Cafe in San Jose, CA. The concert is being presented by TrueWind Music and for those of you who haven't seen a performance there, you have to check this place out. It's an intimate place that serves dinner, libations and some pretty happenin' coffee drinks. I played there recently with Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo and the gig was incredible. The acoustics are great for both the listener and the musicians. Novo Tempo had a blast playing there and when the chance to play there with WorlView came up, I jumped!!! (Thanks to Matt Beasley, u are the man!)
Here is a list of the cats with me Friday night:
Dr. Wayne Wallace- trombone, Kris Strom-sax, Murray Low, John Hettel (filling in for Tom Bockhold who had to go out of town)-bass,
Paul vanWageningen- drums and Michaelle Gorlitz on percussion.
We hope that you can fall by and say hi and dig our tunes. For more info, call 408-298-0808 or go to TrueWindMusic website.

Peace,
John Worley

Jon Jang Seven debut performance June 7th, 2005

2005-06-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

Last night the Jon Jang Seven made it's debut at the Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco.
Jon Jang-piano, composer
Wayne Wallace-musical conductor, trombone, alto trombone
Jim Norton-soprano sax
Francis Wong-tenor sax, flute
myself- tpt, flugel
Dave Belove- bass
Dave Rokeack- drums.

What can I say....from the fiery lines burning through the room from Jim's soprano to the pharaoh like, Tantric waves of trane's soul channeling from Francis Wong's tenor, Jon's music and Wayne's arrangements gave birth to the promise of new horizons soon to be discovered. This is a band not to miss if at all possible. I feel that this band like Novo Tempo, will make a very valuable contribution to the music scene here in the bay area and points unknown. How could I have gotten so lucky, playing in so many happening bands with the cream of the crop musicians.
My next post will bring news of a WorlView 4.0 gig at BOAS on Sunday, June 19th that will feature Curt Moore on drums, Murray Low on piano and Tom Bockhold on bass. We'll also be featuring some of my talented students, Wyatt Butler, Akhil Gopal, Max Shulaker, Brenda Keener, Arnold Sears and a couple of other folks. This gig will debut some promising talent taking the stage perhaps for the first time in their budding careers as well as folks that have been there, done that...After all, Arnold is pretty close to 80 years young I believe!!!
Talk to ya later!

Ed Johnson & Novo Tempo tour part two

2005-06-08T23:42:00.000-07:00

After our very cool stay with wild child Farren in Port Townsend, we meandered down to Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry. That was worth the price of the ticket. Great scenery and it didn’t take that long.
For those of you who’ve never been to the Triple Door in Seattle, you have to go there. It’s a hot place to be with the exception of the cigarette smoke. PHEW!!!! (us Californians are spoiled and hopefully will help keep our lungs, cancer free.) If you go to either gig or see live music at the Triple Door, you have to enjoy the incredible cuisine upstairs in Wild Ginger. My Ling Cod was tasty and everyone else was as happy as I with their dinner. The stage and sound was top notch and the band sounded great. The gig was another fine Novo Tempo performance. Novo Tempo has the right personnel and that results in great chemistry and that makes it easy to play well and love thy fellow musician. A slice of heaven on the bandstand!
We had a lot of friends and fans come out to hear us and I want to say thanks to Kimee, Farren, Gigi, my wife Susan (for coming out of bed sick to hang) and all the rest of the folks who stopped by. We love you all!!!
Our rooms at the Silver Cloud were comfy and we had a hellacious hang after the gig. Last ones left standing were Matt, Ed, Rene and I. We all had a good laugh the next day, rehashing the important issues of the day that were discussed at great lengths the night before.
After our very cool stay with wild child Farren in Port Townsend, we made our way to the home of another Sweet Potato Queen, Kathy Stanton in Washougal, WA. Novo Tempo played at the Washburn Performing Arts Center there and Kathy graciously housed most of the band at her beautiful abode. Jennifer, Rene and Leslie stayed a spa near the Bridge of the Gods but partied with us after the gig. Kathy made us feel right at home and I have to tell you, that was the start of a crazy couple of days. Our gig was even better than the Triple Door and afterwards, Kathy, Farren and my wife dragged me kicking and screaming outside to dance half naked under the canopy on the deck. (Ok, so I wasn’t kicking and screaming and if three gorgeous women wanted to dance with you under the stars….ok fine!) Charmin and her boy friend came out to hang with us and it was great to see her again. A young man named Willard took many fine pictures of the band and as soon as I get a chance, I’ll have a few of them up on my web site for all of you to see.
It was a sad day when Susan and I dragged our stuff to the airport and said goodbye to so many wonderful people. Thanks again to my Northwest posse, Farren and Kathy for making our trip one to remember for all time. Love to you both!!!!
Next edition will have details of the newest collection of SF heavy’s, The Jon Jang Seven, musical director Dr Wayne Wallace and our debut gig at the Intersection for the Arts Tuesday June 7th.

Back from the great northwest with Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo

2005-06-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Part One:
Last week Susan and I went up north to visit some friends and to play a couple of gigs with Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo. We planned to visit my friend Farren who lives in Port Townsend, WA for two days and were planning on seeing Jennifer and Rene in Vancouver BC for the next two days but Susan came down with Sinusitis. Farren was the most gracious (Sweet Potato Queen) hostess and let us stay at her home for four days while Susan tried to recover. I finally had to take her to a hospital in Poulsbo so she could be seen by a doctor. After a couple of days on antibiotics, she was fine and was able to enjoy her last vacation day.
Here are some highlights of that trip.
Port Townsend is a beautiful place! Farren is so lucky to live there. From the natural beauty to the quaint downtown area, it's a totally happening place to be. I jammed with Farren and her friends a couple of times. I'm so bad with names so I won't mention them at this moment but as soon as Farren reads this I'm sure she'll remind me. Farren has a beautiful, alto voice and one personal highlight is scat singing with her and trading fours. Everyone there had a very personal style of playing. From the woman playing tenor by ear and gliding thru the changes with great instinct and feeling (she reminded me of Pee Wee Claybrook) to the cornet and vocal ballads by a gentleman who is a chef and makes a special type of seasoning, these folks were into it.
Susan and I saw a couple of beautiful towns, Gig Harbor and Poulsbo. Gig Harbor is a small place with a coffee bar/pottery studio that serves kick ass lattes and folks make pottery there. We met a guy who lives on a sail boat with his wife and she’s a writer. She is working on a children’s book and he's taking a puppet (of a ground hog?) and photographing it in all the places they're traveling to. Gig Harbor is also the home of Novo Tempo drummer Mark Ivester and a old friend from high school, Janice Sartain, aka Gigi Yob. It was great to see Gigi after all of these years and to meet her husband.
Poulsbo is a cute Norwegian fishing village where you can get a smooth latte at a dozen or so places on the main drag and some happening Italian food and wine. The wine cat used to play trombone (6 months) and knew his stuff. Poulsbo would be a fine place to retire. Susan also met the wife of the fire chief and she works in the local stamp store. Susan’s way into stamping for those who didn’t know.
Next: part two

WorlView Live at BOAS 5/21/05

2005-05-21T02:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!
WorlView is set to hit tonight at 8:30pm and I'm excited to play with the cats again. Percussionist Michaelle Goerlitz will be joining us for the first time at BOAS/Club Elite. Paul VW will make his debut there as well.
We have the regulars:
Dr. Wayne Wallace-trombone
Kristen Strom-sax and flute
Murray Low-piano
Tom Bockhold-bass

My executive producer Brenda Keener will be there helping by selling WorlView CDs. I know many of my friends will be there to support live jazz which is getting harder and harder to find these days. It will be combination of beautiful ballads and interesting blue note style along with a touch of latin jazz.
I want to take a minute to thank my friend and person who does my artist rep work, Matt Beasley for all of his help and support. For those of you who don't know Matt, he has his own booking agency, Avatar Productions and works with such luminaries as Nate Pruitt, Ed Johnson, Rick Vandiver and his lovely and talented wife Jennifer Lee. Thanks again Matt, you've helped keep my dreams alive!
I also want to thank my wife Susan Clare Worley for all of her love and support. Many of you understand why they are truly our "better halfs" (no she didn't pay me to say it!) Susan and I will be celebrating our 8th anniversary this July 5th. Love ya!
On behalf of my band and I, we hope to see you all tomorrow night at BOAS/Club Elite at 8:30pm. And please come up and say hello!
Peace,
John

Six days till WorlView's next BOAS gig

2005-05-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it's coming up fast. My next gig at BOAS/Club Elite is this coming Saturday, May 21st, 8:30 to midnight. I'm looking forward to playing with the cats again. I took the month of April to regroup and now am ready to go. The personnel is the same as the Sunnyvale gig with the exception of no Sebastien and Michelle Goerlitz on percussion. She's been playing with Ed Johnson's band and has been doing a great job.
I had an interesting week rehearsing and recording with Mark Appelbaum and the Stanford Jazz Orchestra. We recorded last Friday at Skywalker Ranch in Marin. What a beautiful setting for a studio. I had recorded a soundtrack with Jon English and the Bay Area Jazz Composers Orchestra there a few years ago and forgot how magnificent the grounds were. The engineer was Howard Shores main guy and he got a great sound for us. We are playing that music this coming Wednesday evening at Dinkelspiel Auditorium on the Stanford campus if anyone wants to fall by. You will hear sometime totally different than what you expect from a Stanford Jazz Orchestra concert and that's all I'm going to say.
Hope to see y'all at either concert or both and if you make it, come up and say Hi.
Peace,
John

Red House Jazz is going strong

2005-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Stuart Nafey is the cat directly responsible for turning me into a blog meister. He has his own blog site Red House Jazz and has been posting regularly. His latest feature is to interview local San Francisco bay area jazz musicians and has asked me to be included. Thanks Stu!
If you don't know Stu, he's a bass player, works for Sprint and is married to pianist/trombonist, hand therapist and generally the funnist woman on the planet, Lori Stotko. Stu is one of those guys you see climbing the walls (really!) at Planet Granite in Belmont, CA. They both live in Half Moon Bay, CA. and are my wife Susan and I's best buds.
Check in regularly with his blog for ideas of where to go to see live jazz, profiles of jazz musicians and just a fun place to land if you have a minute or two of free time. Ed Johnson is the featured musician this week.
Peace,
John

Sessions over for now

2005-05-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

We finished 6 tunes for Ed Johnson's new CD today. We'll play some of those tunes tomorrow at our gig at BOAS. The music is heartfelt and the variety of styles is beautiful. If anyone gets the chance, come down and check out what we do...
Tomorrows show is at 8:30pm and we hope to see you there.
Tonight some of the cats went to the Giants game to see the home team whup the Senators. Did they? I guess I'll find out when I watch the news later.
And by the way, Sebastien Lanson officially turned 30 years young today.
Happy Birthday Mon Ami!!!

Another fine night of music with Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo

2005-05-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

It's the wee small hours before another day in the studio with Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo. Like a whirlwind of swirling paper, a million thoughts and bits of music are flying thru my mind , keeping me awake at 5am.
Ed has done it again. He's written six more masterpieces that bring forth a myriad of thoughts and feelings with every note, chord and breath. Jennifer Scott and Rene Worst are here from Vancouver, Mark Ivester is here from Seattle and we have our bay area regulars, Kristen Strom (TQ, short for Tone Queen), Scott Sorkin, Jason Lewis and Michelle Gorlitz plus the master of the digital arena, Gary Mankin. Last but not least our producer Leslie Evers, bringing her presence and intuition, working side by side with Ed, bringing to life another masterpiece on Cumulus Records.
We played at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, CA last Saturday evening. It probably was one of the best nights we ever had. This band has the uncanny ability to pick up where we left off from the last gig and kick ass on the next. We played as if no time had passed since the last time we all got together back in...(it escapes me at the moment but you catch my drift).
We saw many of our friends, Morning Nichols, Bobby Norris, Dave (manning the soundboard), Gary Woods, Shawn Terry and Terri Derogatis, her mom and dad, Tami Ellis, Lionel Emde, Rene Batti and many more during the night. Thank you all for being there, it means the world to us to play for you.
For those of you who are listeners rather than players, this is the kind of band that musicians like myself work so hard in the woodshed to be able to play in. You step onto the stage with folks that you respect, love to play with and from the first note, take off like a flock of birds. Twisting, turning thru every musical nuance and the only way to describe it is to call it "magical". It's a totally different experience than playing what we musicians call a "casual" or a commercial type of gig where we step onto a stage and wish we were somewhere else, doing something else with someone else...
Don't get me wrong. You can have fun playing with cats playing "BrickHouse", "Twisted Sister's" greatest hits and the rest of whatever someone else wants you to play. But there's a catch. Nowadays, when you play a gig like that, the band plays an hour set and the DJ fills in for the next set. Then the band usually plays one more and is done and the DJ finishes out the night. It seems that the audience talks during the band's set and when the DJ is on, they rush the dance floor! Even if you play the same exact tune, exactly like the record, the audience will sit there talking about God know's what until the DJ comes on. It doesn't matter to them how good you are or how good you sound! People don't know what to do when they see a live band. They've lost the ability to communicate and interact with live musicians. It's a shame that music in that section of the universe has come to that. The day will be here soon where the bride and groom's 20 year anniversary first dance will be "Cop Killer" and even the DJ will be replaced with an Ipod and 4 hours of digital anonymous blah.
Okay, enough of the soap box...
Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo will be playing at BOAS this coming Sat, May 7th from 8:30 to midnight. If you want to experience an evening of musical bliss that takes you from here to Rio and many ports in between, stop by and be prepared to have your hearts moved and your minds opened.
And when you do, treat yourself to a fabulous dinner experience. The cuisine is world class and Joe the bartender serves up some tasty libations. The cover charge is $10, $5 with dinner, $5 for those under 21 and they can stay till 11pm.
This is one of my favorite bands to play in along with Wayne Wallace's Rhythm and Rhyme and of course WorlView (which will be at BOAS on May 21st).
And if you do stop by, please come up and say hello. We love to see our friends and want the chance to thank you all in person for supporting live music in the South Bay.
Till then.....

Back from a brief vacation

2005-04-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a month and a week or so since my last blog. I was pretty spent after the gig at the Sunnyvale Performing Arts Theater. What a great gig that was!!! Thank you to all that came down to hang with us!!! And thanks to the band. They were kickin' ass to the nth degree. Tegan, the director at Sunnyvale welcomed us like family and the sound/stage crew went out of their way to give us the best experience possible.
I've been getting into playing ballads as of late and we played "Too Young To Go Steady". Sebastien 's tunes were fun and it was a first, playing them with the cats. I want to mention that drum/percussion duos...They were cookin and brought down house more than a few times on that thing that they do so well babe.
Well, Sebastien went back to Spain. He's trying to line up a tour for us over there for next spring with cats and cross your fingers for us!
For more info on future WorlView gigs go to my calender page on my website.
One bit of bad news tho....
Our lovely kitty Oley passed away on March 28th. She was suffering from liver cancer and passed peacefully in Susans lap. She was 16 years old and just the most special cat in the world. Funny how a little little furrball can get so entrenched into your heart. She was my first real pet. She was with Susan when I came into the picture and bring much joy into our world. I didn't realize how much my heart would break when she left us. Our vet, the Western Dragon came to our apartment that Monday evening, an hour after I got home from teaching and helped ease Oley's suffering. We had her cremated and have her remains with us. She will always be special in our hearts and we miss her so. I want to say thanks to WD for her help in taking care of Oley. She was wonderful and I couldn't imagine sharing Oley's passing with any other vet. You will forever be in our hearts for your kindness.
One week after, Susan and I flew out to WI to celebrate Zeke (her Dad) and her birthday. Zeke turned 80 this year!!!The weather was pleasant and warm and nothing like I imagined. We shopped and partied till we dropped. We celebrated with family and friends and a good time was had by all. We are looking forward to returning in August for a couple of weeks.
Till the next blog....go visit my friend Stuart Nafey's blog. He's directly responsible for making me a potential blogging fool. And here's a funny game that came to me via my friend and fellow musician, Phil Allen "Kill The Horns".
Enjoy!!!!

WorlView Live in Sunnyvale

2005-03-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

Well, tonight's the night for our show in Sunnyvale. We hit at 8pm and everything is on track. We sound check at 6pm and run thru any last minute changes in the tunes. I really love this band. Everyone is so musical and most of them are leaders of their own bands. Our very own Kris Strom, (saxophonist with the Nuclear Whales, Ed Johnson and Novo Tempo ect..) has her own CD coming out very soon. Look for her CD release party listed here in the near future.
Sebastien and I were on KCSM 91.1 with Clifford Brown Jr at 1pm yesterday. It was very cool to hang and chat with Clifford. He has a way of making you feel comfortable, like you are in your living room with a group of your closest friends. I saw Alisa Clancy and Melanie Berzon (more KCSM dj's) and it felt good to be back at the ol' alma mater. I went there in "73" right out of high school and studied with Fred Berry. "Trumpet's....what the #%%## was that!!!!"
Last time I blogged, I was going in the studio to record some tunes with the quartet. We got three great cuts and Kris Strom dropped by and played on one of them. Curt, Tom, Kris and Sebastien did a great job and of course, Gary Mankin was his usual amazing self. If any of you are thinking of doing a CD, check out Open Path studios in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, CA. Very professional and comfortable.
I had a few friends drop by to say hi. Pianist, trombonist, hand therapist, yenta and writer Lori Stotko, Niel and Jennifer Levonius. Niel is a trumpet player here in the South Bay and also put together and maintains my web page for me. Afterwards, we had dinner and played a few games of ping pong. The ball was flying and it doesn't seem possible but you can work up quite a sweat smackin' that little ball around.
Got some great news the other day. Pianist Jon Jang and Wayne Wallace are starting a new band and one of our upcoming gigs is at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. Looks like Susan and I will be staying there the whole weekend because I'll be playing with the Carla Bley/Steve Swallow Big Band too. Should be a great weekend for jazz.
On another note...it's raining and I hope it doesn't rain too heavy tomorrow. I'll be flying to LA in the morning. Talk to you all soon.

WorlView 4.0 session is today

2005-03-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm sitting back, having a cup of coffee and in a few hours, the quartet will be recording 4 tunes for a new CD. Sebastien is coming down to Mountain View via the train and I'll pick him up and get some breakfast. Here's the personnel for today's session:
Sebastien Lanson-guitar
Curt Moore-drums
Tom Bockhold-bass
myself-tpt & flugel
Gary Mankin-engineer
We'll be recording at Open Path recording studio in the Willow Glen are of San Jose. I've recorded many times in that studio and I would recommend it to all! Gordon Stevens, Tim Volpecella (Tim, I know I spelled this wrong...sorry!), Scott Sorkin all have a good thing happening and I always look forward to a great experience in the studio there.
Here are the tunes we'll do today:
J-Bop-comp. Me
Choo On This-comp. Me
Dancing Sumo-comp. Vincent Jourde
Too Young To Go Steady- ?
and if we have time...
Organ Grinder-comp. Woody Shaw
(I took a few lessons from Woody when he lived in the area back in the 70's. What a talent!)
Sebastien and I went to Yoshi's last night and saw the Kurt Rosenwinkel quintet (thanks KCSM).
Man, that was a great band. Kurt and Mark Turner wrote some happening tunes and everyone played well. I was hoping to see Jeff Ballard on drums. We used to play in a few bands here in the bay area until he went to NY and got famous. (with Chick Corea and everyone in the jazz world, you go dude!) But the cat on drums sounded great and it was very inspiring to hear such a high level of music.
We'll finish this CD in a few months when I can get the other cats (and the dough to fund it) together. This CD will be released sometime next year as WorlView 4.0/5.0 (quartet/quintet)
but I'm going to do a live date with the septet at BOAS that we'll record as soon as everyone is available. The folks in that band are in a million different groups and scheduling can be a trip at times. I'm sure many of you who have their own bands know this very well. That CD hopefully can be done by late Nov or Dec.
Ok, I'm looking at the time and I've gotta run....I'll fill you all in at a later time about the session. Bye!

WorlView happenings

2005-03-01T02:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!!!! The band and I have a great gig coming up which you've probably read about in my previous blogs. We'll be at the Sunnyvale Community Theater in Sunnyvale, CA on March 18th. I'm working on the set list and getting everything in place for a successful concert. We'll be playing tunes from "WorlView", my next CD(release date sometime in the late fall) and Sebastien Lanson's CD, "In Transistion".
We'll have the following folks with us at this gig:
Sebastien Lanson-guitar
Wayne Wallace-trombone
Kristen Strom-sax
Murray Low-piano
Tom Bockhold-bass
Paul VW-drums
Micheal Spiro-percussion
I received many nice emails from people who came by to see us at BOAS last time. I want to thank everyone for supporting us and say hi to our new friends Gary and "Mel", Wayne Adachi, my wife's friend and art tart, Peggy and Ben Johnson, Tom and Lyndi Carr, Dave and Shirley Deneau, Al Molina and everyone who stopped by to hear us.
The next day I'm off to Pasadena to play at a CMEA event there with the Aragon High School Jazz Ensemble led by my friend and fellow trumpeter, Mike Galisetus. If you haven't heard this band, check out one of their gigs. They are absolutely smokin'!!!
I'll post again before the gig and in the meantime, thanks for supporting live music!!!!
Peace,
John

WorlView Live at Boas and more....

2005-02-22T01:32:00.000-08:00

Man, what a great gig! Everyone sounded great and the band never sounded better. We had a very large and appreciative crowd. A good time was had by all. To all of you who purchased CD's, thank you very much and so far, Susan and I have raised almost $350 to be donated to Heifer International and UNICEF.
There were so many of our friends there, drummer Tim Solook, Peggy Johnson and hubster, Brenda Keener ( who was the executive producer of "WorlView") and her upcoming singer/daughter Layla, Dave and Shirley Deneau, Garrett and wifey and many more....
We are looking forward to our next gig at the Sunnyvale Community Theater on March 18th. My buddy Sebastien Lanson will be featured as well as other members of the group...more to come regarding that gig.
After that concert, I'll be off top LA to do the guest artist thing with the award winning high school, Aragon High School from San Mateo, CA.
Band director/trumpet player Mike Galisetus has assembled of of the best HS big bands I've heard in a long time. More to come about that gig..
Once again, thank you all for supporting WorlView and making it out to our gig. Talk to you soon.

WorlView live at BOAS in Cupertino

2005-02-18T02:37:00.000-08:00

Well showtime is 2 days away and I've got all the charts together. We're going to rehearse that day for a couple of hours and then do the hit. We have a couple of new tunes to go over plus this is Micheal Spiro's first gig with us.
I'll be going into the studio with Tom Bockhold, Curt Moore and my good friend, guitarist Sebastien Lanson in March. Sebastien has been living in Sevilla Spain for almost a year and will be coming out to play a few concerts with myself and the Collective West Jazz Orchestra led by Fil Lorenz. This is one hell of a band!!! Check in with my calender on my web site-johnworley.com for more details.
Thanks all for now so I hope to see you all out there and till then....asta!

Worleys Worl is up & running

2005-02-17T01:43:00.000-08:00

Well...this is the first posting of the WorlView blog page. Come back soon to see new gig updates and my thoughts about running a band, teaching private trumpet students and surviving in Silicon Valley as a musician/educator/recording artist ect....
My band WorlView is playing this coming sat, Feb 19 at BOAS/Club Elite in Cupertino CA. We're playing selections from my CD WorlView as well as tunes to be recorded and released on my next two CD's.
Here is a list of the cats in the band:
Wayne Wallace-trombone
Kris Strom-sax
Murry Low- piano
Tom Bockhold-bass
Curt Moore-drums
Micheal Spiro-percussion
Go to my web site...johnworley.com and check out the calender page for more info regarding this and future gigs. I'll have pics and a review of this gig shortly.
Later,
WorlBoy