Oakland Freedom Jazz Society Presents: The Solo Show Featuring Drums
Hamir Atwal
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Smith Dobson
HAMIR ATWAL
Hamir began playing the drums at the age of 10 and started playing professionally at the age of 18. He studied at the Berklee College of Music on scholarship studying improvisation with saxophone great Joe Lovano and trombonist/composer Hal Crook. "Studying with composers and people who don't play your instrument really opened the way I approached music and improvising." After graduating from Berklee, Hamir moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he started working with creative musicians such as clarinetist/composer Ben Goldberg (Tin Hat Trio), trumpeter Darren Johnston (Nice Guy Trio) and saxophonist Patrick Wolff. Hamir's rock/jazz/improv group Glimpse Trio was founded with guitarist Mike Sopko in 2010. They released their 1st CD entitled "1985," which was described by Downbeat Magazine editor Frank Alkyer as "a furious blend of rock, jazz. blues with infectious folkiness." Glimpse Trio's 2nd CD "Garage," will be released July 2012 featuring anticon producer/keyboardist Martin Dosh (Andrew Byrd), and bassist Chris Lopes (Jeff Parker, Mike Patton's Mondo Cane). You can catch Hamir playing all over the San Francisco Bay Area, and is currently active with Glimpse Trio on the road playing over 100 shows a year with his group. In addition to performing, Hamir has also has taught drum clinics at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Berkeley Jazzschool, and Music Academy International (Nancy, France).
www.hamirdrums.com
Smith Dobson
Jazz musician Smith Dobson was a renowned pianist in the South Bay area of California. Dobson initially received his appreciation of music at a young age via his mother, who sang and taught him harmony (his father was also musical, playing piano and accordion). After attending San Francisco State University and the University of the Pacific, Dobson honed his piano skills working the Nevada casino circuit. In 1967, Dobson joined the Airmen of Note (a United States Air Force band) which was the official White House Jazz Band, as he recorded with the likes of Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Joe Pass, Arthur Prysock, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, and Nancy Wilson. Dobson then returned back home, where he either played for or recorded with such artists as Woody Shaw, Bud Shank, Frank Rosolino, Freddie Hubbard, Pharaoh Sanders, Joe Henderson, Art Pepper, Richie Cole, Eddie Jefferson, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson. In 1981, Dobson founded what would go on to become San Jose, CA's, most successful and longest-running annual jazz concerts, the Jazz Series at Garden City, during which he shared the stage with Stan Getz, Toots Thielmans, and Herb Ellis, among many others. Dobson also performed on his own, as part of a trio (which appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival from 1984 through 1993), and alongside his wife, jazz vocalist Gail Dobson. In addition to appearing on numerous albums by other artists, Dobson also released his own albums -- 1986's Smithzonian, 1988's Live at Garden City, and Sasha Bossa -- and in 1995, he was the featured pianist on arranger Ray Brown's album, Impressions of Point Lobos. Dobson also found time to teach music to others at the University of California (Santa Cruz) and San Jose State University (where he helped form the first San Jose Summer Jazz Camp), and also served on such music boards as the San Jose Jazz Society, the Stanford Jazz Alliance, and the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. On April 20, 2001, Smith Dobson was tragically killed in a car crash while driving home from a performance.
DOORS AT 9:00PM, SHOW AT 9:30PM
$10-$15 sliding scale