Welcome to The West Coast Jazz of George Kahn
The "Cover Up" Recording Session
Mark Berndt is an amazing photographer and graphic artist - he has designed and/or done the photos for many of my CDs (Out Of Time, Midnight Brew, …Compared To What and Cover Up). Here is a wonderful collection of rare photos from the Cover Up sessions, featuring Brian Bromberg, Alex Acuna, Justo Almario, John Fumo and Courtney Lemmon.
George Kahn Quartet at The Hip Kitty, Claremont, CA
FRIDAY, JULY 6, 8PM - MIDNIGHT! $5.00 COVER!!
If you have never been to The Hip Kitty in Claremont, CA, perhaps
it is time to take a road trip! This ultra-cool “Jazz and Fondue” bar is like a club that has landed from another place and
time, complete with Naugahyde booths and thrift-store art on the walls. The drinks are stiff, the cover is only $5.00, and
music runs from 8PM to Midnight. So take an extension on your Fourth of July weekend, and come party with George
and his quartet (Lyman Medeiros on bass, M. B. Gordy on drums and Brent Canter on guitar) with Courtney Lemmon on
vocals, on Friday, July 6.
http://www.hipkittyjazz.com/
Interview With George Kahn
Listen to this great interview with George Kahn by Alton Patton for the LILAL Network. It is long (about an hour), but has four tracks from the album and well worth a listen.
Listen or download the interview here.
It's Here!
The new album, SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO is now available for purchase at
CDBABY and
Amazon.
Digital downloads are available at CDBABY and will soon be available on iTunes
and other internet music sites.
West Coast Jazz pianist George Kahn carries the tradition of jazz greats like Dave Brubeck, Vince Guaraldi and Horace Silver into the 21st Century with his latest release, SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO. George's 7th album is a 2-CD set, filled with 26 tracks that feature some of the best jazz musicians on the west coast playing his original music.
Included is a retrospective of songs from Kahn's previous recordings, plus 6 new compositions that were recorded live in the studio in 2009. The music covers a range of styles, from bebop to Cool Jazz to Latin, Bossa Nova and contemporary jazz. Tierney Sutton, Eric Marienthal, Justo Almario, Andy Suzuki, Brian Bromberg, and Alex Acuna are just a few of the artists that join George on this compilation. The album also features new renditions of two of the greatest jazz standards, “Over The Rainbow” and “My Funny Valentine”. For a free download of NEW music from the upcoming album, grab the Download of the Month from the link above.
Hearst Castle, August 2008
George kicks off his WEST COAST JAZZ WORLD TOUR 2008-2009 with a performance at the Hearst Castle, August 2008
A Magical Night at Catalina Bar and Grill
The CD release party for SECRETS FROM THE JAZZ GHETTO was an amazing success. A solid group of George Kahn fans - new and old - turned out in Hollywood last night to celebrate the album and party with me and the band. Catalina's is such a great club - wonderful piano, great sound system, lighting, ambiance... it is just a wonderful place to play and hear music.
The night started with the trio (myself, Karl Vincent and M. B. Gordy) playing "Eleanor Rigby", off the Cover Up! CD. Then Larry Klimas came on stage and joined us to play am arrangement of "Over The Rainbow". Larry was channeling Stan Getz, I think, and did a beautiful job. Then John Fumo joined us onstage to complete the Quintet, and we ran through a selection of originals from the new album. Some old songs ("Millennium Schmellenium", and "Freedom Vessel") and some new ("Waltz For Diana") were played. Roberta Donnay, my friend from San Francisco, joined us for the ballad "Out Of Time", and then came back to sing the new Bossa Nova, "Sombras De Noite" with Justo Almario joining us on a rare flute performance. It was great to hear Justo play the flute again, he plays all the wind instruments, including an amazing clarinet, and this was an especially beautiful solo.
Once Justo was onstage with us, all bets were off. Justo switched to Tenor sax, and joined in on burning
versions of "Wes' Coast", and "Soul Sauce". Then Larry came back on stage and all three horns played on the
new song, "Wayne's World", dedicated to Wayne Shorter. Larry and M.B. both played their asses off on solos.
Finally, Roberta joined us again onstage and sang "Compared To What?"
with the whole band joining in.
By 10:00 PM we had to wrap it up. I had revealed some (but not all) of the Secrets, and even spoke a little bit about the Jazz Ghetto (this is a work in progress). And before everyone left, they all got "party favors" - either a poster, a Midnight Brew coffee mug, or a Cover Up "floaty" pen. It was a great night, filled with old and new friends, (Bob Claster, my friend from Junior High School took the award for the oldest friend), and wonderful music.
Uncover One of the Greatest Secrets in 21st Century Jazz!
For years I have wanted to record jazz versions of the songs
I grew up with rather than the usual jazz "standards". To pull
this off, the band and arrangements need to be cool AND hip, so
I enlisted the help of my friend Brian Bromberg as bassist and
producer. We put together an all-star band with Alex Acuña (from
Weather Report) on drums and percussion and other top LA session
musicians; Justo Almario on sax, John Fumo on trumpet, and Pat Kelley
on guitar. Together, we bring a fresh spin to songs by Cream, The
Beatles, Pink Floyd, John Mayer and some jazz standards, as well as
originals that I think will become standards of their own.
In addition,
Courtney Lemmon joins in on a rollicking version of Bill Wither's "Use Me".
The album comes with an 8 page photo booklet by Mark Berndt in the style
of the classic Blue Note recordings of the late 50's. The first time my
wife heard the album, she said it made her feel like she was fresh out
of college again (in a good way).
Please take a little time and explore my new website. Click on
any of the albums to get more detail and background on each project,
visit the History of West Coast Jazz, listen in or buy some of the
music - and if you want me to keep in touch with you, please join my
monthly email newsletter. I promise not to spam you or sell the list -
no kidding!
And thanks for visiting.
