WorlView 4.0 Live in the Pacific Northwest

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

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

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

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

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!!!!

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!!!!

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....

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.

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

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

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

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....

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

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.

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

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)

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!!!!!!!!!!!

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!

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

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!