Live Jazz (& Blues) Meetup Group

Founded in Bamako in 2013, Bamba Wassoulou Groove is rooted in the rich legacy of Malian music. This quintet fuses the traditional with the modern, blending timeless Bambara classics with fresh compositions, anchored by psychedelic bluesy electric guitars, intricate solos, and soulful vocals, all while pushing the boundaries of contemporary Malian music.

SHOW COST : Ticket prices start at $32 (including service fees).

MORE INFO, VIDEO, and TICKET LINK:
https://secure.thefreight.org/14982/14983-bamba-wassoulou-groove-250706

(More videos available on YouTube)

The seating is general admission. Buy your own tickets.

WHEN/WHERE TO MEET: Meet by 6:30 p.m. in the Freight's lobby, so we can aim to get some decent seats together. (The show starts at 7:00 p.m., and will likely consist of one 90-minute set.)

HOW TO FIND ME: I'm WF, 5 feet tall, in my 60s, with short, salt-and-pepper hair and glasses. I'll send my cellphone number to RSVPers prior to the event. PLEASE TEXT ME IF YOU DON'T SPOT ME.

OPTIONAL PRE-SHOW DINNER at Tender Greens, a good fast-casual restaurant on University near Shattuck at 5:30 p.m.

TRANSIT/PARKING: Conveniently located less than a block from the downtown Berkeley BART station and from multiple AC Transit bus lines serving Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. There's a paid parking garage next door to the Freight, and some free street parking available in the neighborhood (more so away from Shattuck or north of University). https://thefreight.org/visit/

For this show, award-winning pianist Charles Chen, whom Meetup members enjoyed as a sideman at a Bird & Beckett performance a couple years ago, heads up a sextet playing originals and arrangements from Charles' latest album, as well as from his next album, and from the Blue Note label's golden era (think Art Blakey Messengers, Horace Silver, and Benny Golson).

MORE INFO about the band members:
https://piedmontpiano.com/calendar/2025/7/13/charles-chen

REVIEW of Charles' latest release: With BUILDING CHARACTERS, Charles Chen proves he’s not just a terrific pianist—he’s a composer with a storyteller’s instincts. Every piece here is rooted in jazz tradition, but filtered through something deeply personal, contemporary, and fun. FROM: https://jazzviews.net/charles-chen-building-up-characters/

EVENT COST: $30 at the door if tickets are still available then, OR $27.50 in advance online, for General Admission tickets. (NOTE: ticket sales at the door might be cash only.) Buy your own tickets.

TICKET LINK:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/piedmontpiano/1663177

NOTE that this is an early Sunday show, starting at 5:00 p.m.

WHEN/WHERE TO MEET: Meet inside the seating area by 4:30 p.m. so that we can get good seats together. (The show starts at 5:00 p.m.; Piedmont Piano shows typically consist of one 90-minute set with no intermission.)

HOW TO FIND ME: I'm WF, 5 feet tall, in my 60s, with glasses, and short salt-and-pepper hair (see my photo with my Meetup profile). I'll email RSVPers my phone number prior to the event.

TRANSIT/PARKING: The piano store is a short walk from the 19th Street and 12th Street Oakland BART stations. There are at least two paid parking lots in the area, and there is often free street parking unless there are shows at the three large concert halls in the neighborhood.

MORE INFO:
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/blue-notes-golden-decade-horace-silver-by-john-eyles

Brooklyn-based alto saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Jon De Lucia has spent the past 10 years working with the original parts for the Dave Brubeck Octet, a band from early in the pianist's career, heavily influenced by Brubeck's time studying with Darius Milhaud at Mills College. In 2024, De Lucia released The Brubeck Octet Project with a New York band to critical acclaim. While hewing close to the original charts, De Lucia opens up the long-buried material with space for solos, essentially reconducting Brubeck’s experiments from a 21st-century perspective. This show features many Bay Area and New York jazz musicians well known to Meetup regulars. They include: Patrick Wolff, Erik Jekabson, Alan Ferber, Mark Ferber, Adam Shulman, John Wiitala and Will Berg.

WHERE: Sound Room, in uptown Oakland (on Broadway, between 30th and 31st Streets)

EVENT COST: About $39 (with Eventbrite service fee) for concert tickets when bought online. BUY YOUR OWN TICKETS. Note that this show is on a Thursday night.

SEATING: Most tables at the Sound Room are set up for a maximum of four people. This show is General Admission, so it will be up to us to snag our own seats (ideally together at various tables).

TICKET LINK and MORE SHOW INFO:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-brubeck-octet-project-tickets-1399957543699?aff=oddtdtcreator

AUDIO:
https://jondelucia.bandcamp.com/album/the-brubeck-octet-project

WHEN/WHERE TO MEET: I recommend arriving at the Sound Room by 7:00 p.m. so you have more time to socialize with your fellow Meetup members and to order any food or drinks you want for yourself. (The show starts shortly after 7:30 p.m. and will go to at least 10:00 p.m. There are typically two sets with one intermission at this venue.)

HOW TO FIND ME: I'll email my cellphone number and final details to RSVPers beforehand. Also, you can see my photo with my Meetup profile. (I'm WF, 5 feet tall, in my 60s, now with short, salt-&-pepper hair and glasses.)

LOCATION/TRANSIT: The Sound Room is at 3022 Broadway (directly across from Sprouts). At least one AC Transit bus line goes to the Sound Room from Oakland BART stations. (The closest Oakland BART stations are at 19th Street and in Rockridge.)

PARKING: Free parking is available on Broadway and on side streets. There are also supervised parking lots at Summit Medical Center and Kaiser Medical Center – both of which are 2 blocks away – that are available for a fee.

FOOD OPTION: The Sound Room has a limited but good menu of small plates (entrees, appetizers, and desserts) and drinks that you can enjoy before or during the show. The venue emails RSVPers the current menu on the day of the show. (There is no drink/food minimum requirement, but purchases help cover this nonprofit's operating costs.)

MORE INFO:
https://www.jondelucia.com/

VENUE INFO:
https://www.soundroom.org/more