San Jose, CA June 14, 2023—Tabard Theatre announces SJZ Collective: Tribute To Wayne Shorter on Friday, June 30, at 8pm. Tabard is thrilled to bring San Jose Jazz’s “super-group” SJZ Collective to our stage to revisit the incredible visionary music of legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter who passed in March of this year.
The concert is available in-person, livestream and on-demand. Tickets are $25 general admission and $35 for reserved front row cabaret seating.
SJZ Collective’s ever-evolving group of master players has performed all over the country–including San Jose Jazz’s Summer and Winter Fests and has toured several countries in Asia. The brainchild of drummer Wally Schnalle, the ensemble allows each member to shine by bringing their own arrangements to the group. This performance will feature Brian Ho on organ, Oscar Pangilinan on saxophone, Saul Sierra on bass, Wally Schnalle on drums, Hristo Vitchev on guitar and John L. Worley, Jr. on trumpet.
Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer who came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet, and then co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. He recorded more than 20 albums as a bandleader. Many Shorter compositions have become jazz standards, and his music has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise, and commendation. A winner of 12 Grammy Awards, he was acclaimed for his mastery of the soprano saxophone since switching his focus from the tenor in the late 1960s.The New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff described Shorter in 2008 as “probably jazz’s greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improviser.”
Drummer Wally Schnalle has a long history of working with San Jose Jazz as a performer and educator. In addition to leading his own groups, he’s worked with Phil Woods, Eddie Daniels, Ernie Watts, Etienne Charles, Mary Wilson and many great Bay Area artists and has 10 albums as a band leader.
Saúl Sierra is a bassist, composer, arranger, and educator. He was born and raised in Mexico City and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he graduated with a degree in Performance. While at Berklee, he received the US Scholarship Tour Award and the Outstanding Performer Award. A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, Saúl has performed, toured and recorded with countless performers, including Nestor Torres, Jimmy Bosh, Eddie Montalvo, Johny Rodríguez, Jesús Díaz, Wayne Wallace, Jackeline Rago, and many more. For the past 10 years Saúl has been a member of some of the leading Bay Area bands, including The John Santos Quintet/Sextet, Bobi Cespedes’ band, Anthony Blea y su Charanga, Jesús Díaz y su QBA, The Bay Area Afro-Cuban All Stars, and The Venezuelan Music Project. Saúl is also a member of the California State University East Bay Music faculty.
Hristo Vitchev is a modern jazz guitarist and composer from Sofia, Bulgaria. Now residing in the Bay Area, he has toured nationally and internationally and has led guitar clinics in Europe and Japan. Hristo leads his modern jazz quartet which features the Latin Grammy-nominated pianist Weber Iago, drummer extraordinaire Joe De Rose, and virtuoso bassist Dan Robbins. In addition to touring, Hristo has written more than 270 original compositions, many articles on jazz improvisation, and a book on chordal theory and construction, and has released 9 critically acclaimed albums as a bandleader. Hristo has performed in world-class jazz venues and festivals, including Yoshi’s; Anthology, San Diego; The Herbst Theater, San Francisco and many jazz festivals including San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, Monterey Jazz Festival, Okazaki Jazz Festival and many more.
Brian Ho began playing piano at age five when he took lessons at Stanford University and San Jose State University. By sixteen, he was playing professionally and was hired to play for a South Bay African American Baptist Church, where he forged his love affair with the Hammond Organ. Currently, Brian performs on a Hammond XK3c Pro XK dual manual system with the Hammond XPK-200 pedals and Leslie 3300. Brian has performed at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, Stanford Jazz Festival, Healdsburg Jazz Festival, Sonoma Jazz Festival, and Benicia Jazz Festival. In addition, he is musical director for the Old Orchard Elementary School in Campbell and writes for Keyboard magazine. Brian is a clinician for and endorses the legendary Hammond Organ. Brian earned his Bachelor’s degree in music performance at San Jose State University.
Oscar Pangilinan has performed with a variety of Bay Area based musicians, including John Worley, Brian Ho, Kristen Strom, Aaron Lington, Jason Lewis, John Shifflett, and more. Oscar performs throughout the area regularly at venues like Pampas in Palo Alto, the Hotel DeAnza’s Hedley Club, and the Rosewood Sandhill Spa and Resort. He currently leads his own modern jazz ensemble, the Bad Five, which debuted at the 2014 San Jose Jazz Summer Fest.
John L. Worley, Jr. is an accomplished trumpet / flugelhorn / post-horn artist and leader of the bands Mo-Chi Quartet, WorlView and Bari Bari. John is also an engaging and accomplished educator who teaches with enthusiasm, humor, and insight to a wide range of ages, experience levels, and proficiencies. John is a current member of the SJZ Collective and has played in many other San Francisco Bay Area music ensembles, as well as on over 70 recordings and videos. Being adept at a multitude of styles, John has played with and backed up national and international artists in North America, Europe, and Central America such as Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Don Byron, Wayne Shorter with the Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Carla Bley and Steve Swallow Big Band, Wayne Wallace, Jon Jang, the Asian American Orchestra, Dave Pell Octet, Pete and Sheila Escovedo, Malo, and Lila Downs.
Tabard Theatre (formerly Theatre on San Pedro Square) — downtown San Jose’s “hidden gem” performance venue is located in the heart of historic San Pedro Square amid a bustling restaurant district. This intimate and unique venue brings a touch of Manhattan to the South Bay with its rustic yet edgy feel. Old brick walls, plush leather seats, antique wood plank floors, sweeping red velvet drapes and a 35-foot mahogany bar create a casual cabaret atmosphere. The three-quarter round cabaret stage— described by artists as “a room that feels big and small at the same time” — is the perfect setting for live music and theatre.
What: SJZ Collective: A Tribute To Wayne Shorter
When: Friday, June 30. Doors 7pm, Show 8pm PT In-Person and Livestream. On Demand July 1 – August 2.
Where: Tabard Theatre (formerly Theatre on San Pedro Square) – Tabard Theatre in the heart of San Jose’s historic San Pedro Square, 29 N. San Pedro Street, San Jose, CA 95110 Parking at the San Pedro Garage directly across the street. The first 90 minutes are free, the following hour is $2.
Tickets: $15-$35. www.tabardtheatre.org or Call (408) 679-2330
Direct link: https://tabardtheatre.org/vbotickets/?eid=99513
