Dear Friends and Jazz Lovers...

They're back!!!! Al Williams returns with his quintet! It will be a very lively evening... Old school and swingin' hard. Don't miss this!

Thank you for supporting jazz!

Thursday, April 18, 2024 7:30 pm

JAZZ AT THE MERC

presents the

Al Williams Quintet

featuring

Ron Kobayashi, Henry Franklin, Doug Webb, and Dr. George Shaw

Al Williams drummer, entrepreneur and promoter of jazz, has a well-earned reputation as a musical mover and shaker.

The Al Williams Jazz Society is a quintet composed of some of the finest musicians in Southern California. High in energy, melodically sensitive, they are bebop specialists who also perform a variety of contemporary sounds—blues, ballads, Latin rhythms, smooth jazz, etc. Whether it’s the Al Williams Jazz Society or the Al Williams Trio performing, there is always a loyal following of fans who can count on the unique artistry of his bands, bands that always included musicians whose backgrounds are rich in experience and achievement

Doug Webb was born in Chicago and moved to California at the age of 3. He is a graduate of Edison high school in Huntington Beach, CA and received a Bachelor of Music from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He began playing the clarinet at the age of 8 and added saxophone and flute at 15. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife Alex and his son, Ryan.

Over his career Webb has played and recorded with such notable talents as Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Sal Marquez, Stanley Clarke, Quincy Jones, Mat Marucci, Kyle Eastwood, Billy Childs, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Art Davis, Kenny Rogers, Bonnie Raitt, Pancho Sanchez and Vikki Carr. He played with the house band for the Dennis Miller TV show, the Jimmy Cleveland orchestra and continues to tour with the Doc Severinsen big band. He has recorded music for hundreds of movies and television programs. He solos on the sound track for Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and Jersey Boys. Webb has been featured on hundreds of recordings.

...fun facts for you geeks...

Doug plays.... soprillo, sopranino, C soprano, soprano, slide soprano, swanee, saxello, F mezzo soprano, alto, stritch, C melody, tenor, straight tenor, baritone, bass, cortrabass and tubax saxophones... piccolo, Eb, Db, C, G, bass and contrabass flutes..and almost every size ever made of every other woodwind listed in wikipedia under woodwinds...including sarrusophones and renaissance and baroque woodwinds, double reeds...14 sizes of clarinets...and ethnic woodwinds from every region of the world.

Henry Franklin was still attending High School when he played with his first professional band - the Roy Ayers Latin Jazz Quintet. Around that same time, Henry met and worked with Harold Land and Hampton Hawes. Years later he would tour Europe with Hawes and record five albums with him.

Jazz continued to heat up the scene in Los Angeles, and a young Henry Franklin held court with the likes of Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins and Scott LaFaro.

In 1968 Henry received a call from Willie Bobo. The call led to a year-long tour of the East Coast, where on his off days, he worked gigs with Archie Shepp, Lamont Johnson, Beaver Harris and Roswell Rudd. Then one night, Hugh Masekela heard Henry play and made him an offer. Three and a half years later the two would collaborate on Grazing in the Grass and then part ways with a great friendship and a gold record. Henry's touring continued over the next few years, working internationally with singer O.C. Smith, The Three Sounds, Freddie Hubbard and Count Basie. Henry collected another gold record with Stevie Wonder on The Secret Life of Plants.

The jazz world continued to embrace him and Henry's work continued to be elevated. He would team with Dennis Gonzales, John Purcell and William Richardson and perform with them on five albums that were critically acclaimed throughout Europe. Henry also played extensively with Pharoah Sanders, Joe Williams, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Fortune and Milt Jackson.

There are more than 100 albums on which Henry appears, with many of them produced under his leadership. The Skipper performed for about thirteen years with his group at The Mission Inn in Riverside.

An acclaimed jazz pianist, Ron Kobayashi actively performs all over the West Coast. His vast breadth of knowledge comes from a diversity of experiences throughout the history of his career as a composer, performer, and musical director. As a Conservatory faculty member at Biola University, he enjoys passing on his knowledge and passion for music to Biola students through teaching a Jazz Improvisation course. Mr. Kobayashi is also a faculty member at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, CA and a staff instructor for the Music Factory in Costa Mesa. He has served as music minister at the Congregational Church of Fullerton for more than 30 years.

..."I got my Doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma, played trumpet and electric bass in local R&B, Country and Rock bands and taught instrumental music in the public school system in Norman, Oklahoma. While I attended Wayne State University, I played in the nightclubs of Detroit and taught in the Detroit public school system for two years."

In 1978 Dr. George Shaw relocated to the Los Angeles area to embark on a career as a recording studio session player. Since then Dr. Shaw has enjoyed a varied career in music. As an educational innovator, Dr. Shaw was instrumental in developing a unique program of music education at Long Beach City College. The Long Beach City College Commercial Music Program was developed as an alternative to the traditional approach to music education. It provided students opportunities to function as working professional musicians in a learning environment.

In 1982 Dr. Shaw formed Century 22 Productions which produced music for Wilton Felder, Ronnie Laws, Al Williams Jazz Society, Frank Potenza, Tim Heintz, Paul Russo, Daline Jones, Stanley Smith, Maurice Love, Alvin Hayes, Scott Carter, Michael Adams Damon Rentie and Jetstream.

April 25 - 

Peter Sprague Trio with Danny Green and Mackenzie Leighton 

May 2 - 

Harold Land Jr.

May 9 - 

Markus Burger

May 16 - 

Bijan Taghavi and Luther Hughes

May 23 - 

Lori Bell Quartet (Daniel Szabo, Dan Schnelle, Mackenzie Leighton)

May 30 -

Nick Mancini Sextet

June 6 - 

Jacques lesure

June 13 - 

Russell Bizzett with John Opferkuch, Ian Harland and Mackenzie Leighton

June 20 - 

Chuck Johnson

June 27 - 

Sharon Cline

July 4 - 

(Jazz In the Pines) Harry Pickens, Marshall Hawkins

July 11 - 

(Jazz In the Pines) Rose Colella Quartet

July 18 - 

Mackenzie Leighton Quartet