Bay Area bassist/composer/vocalist Jeff Denson is a man on a mission. He's just back from performances in Baltimore and DC celebrating his "dazzling" new CD Concentric Circles and has a slew of CA dates with his quartet this fall. He's also touring in Europe with Lee Konitz and throughout California as a part of guitarist Joel Harrison's Spirit House Band with Cuong Vu on trumpet and Brian Blade on drums.
As David Wiegand noted in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Denson is a man of many talents." Those talents include not only being an in-demand player, but also overseeing his innovative non-profit Ridgeway Arts and teaching at the California Jazz Conservatory, where he is a full professor.
Jeff Denson Fall Performances
* Aug. 26, 8 p.m. performance with San Francisco String Trio at Throckmorton Theater, Mill Valley, CA
* Aug. 27, 2 p.m. performance with drummer Alan Hall's Ratatet 4 at Seasons of the Vineyard, Healdsburg, CA
* Sept. 18-19, recording with San Francisco String Trio
* Sept. 25, 8 p.m. Jeff Denson Quartet at Silo's, 530 Main St., Napa with Napa Valley High School Big Band. Tickets $20. 707-251-5833, www.silosnapa.com
* Oct. 2, Jeff Denson Quartet at Jazz Church West, 3201 Camino Tassajara, Danville. 925-648-7000, www.peacejourney.org
* October 14 - 17, performances in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego with Joel Harrison Spirit House Band with Joel Harrison, guitar; Cuong Vu, trumpet, Paul Hanson, bassoon; Brian Blade, drums
* Oct. 21, 8 p.m. Jeff Denson Quartet at The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. Tickets $20. 510-845-5373, www.cjc.edu
* Nov. 30, Jeff Denson Trio + Lee Konitz with Kari Ikonen, piano; Ronen Itzik, drums Flame Jazz: Sigyn-sali, Turku, Finland
* Dec. 1, 7 p.m. Jeff Denson Trio + Lee Konitz with Kari Ikonen, piano; Ronen Itzik, drums at Koko Jazz Club, Helsinki, Finland
* Dec. 3, 8 p.m. Jeff Denson Trio + Lee Konitz with Kari Ikonen, piano; Ronen Itzik, drums at Bimhuis Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Dec. 22 & Jan. 6, 8 p.m. Jeff Denson Quartet at Impulse Jazz Room, Walnut Creek, CA
Jeff is the executive producer of Ridgeway Radio, which be featuring free bi-monthly podcasts of interviews. August interviews include pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, singer-songwriter Megan Slankford; September will feature vibraphonist/composer Warren Wolf, violinist/composer Mads Tolling; October's interviews will be trumpeter/composer Cuong Vu, electric bassist/composer Kai Eckhardt; and in November vocalist/composer Tammy Scheffer will be featured.
Denson's Ridgeway Records releases the Opaluna's selfititled debut CD as part of its Rising Star series and in September will release Metal na Madiera by Ian Faquini & Paul Santoro.
In addition, Ridgeway Presents will feature Bay area workshops and performances by Vocalist Tammy Scheffer, August 31 - September 3 in Napa, San Jose, Berkeley and San Francisco and Denson will work with the Napa Valley High School Big Band and present a September 25 concert at Silo's with the high school band and his quartet. Other artists coming on Ridgeway Presents include pianist Karl Ikonen, March 30 - April 2, 2017.
