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Mike Schwartz

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Posts posted by Mike Schwartz

  10. Pete Douglas RIP

    in Artists

    Posted

    For Immediate Release
    July 17, 2014
    www.bachddsoc.org
    Media Contact: Linda Goetz
    650-726-2020
    goetz@coastside.net

    Pete Douglas, Founder of Half Moon Bay’s
    Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Dies at 85

    Legendary Impresario was Inspiration to Local
    and National Musicians, and Presenters

    Half Moon Bay, Calif.; July 17, 2014: Pete Douglas, founder of the
    world-renowned music and jazz club, the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society in Half
    Moon Bay, Calif., died peacefully in Miramar Beach on July 12, 2014 at age 85.

    Pete Douglas was born in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1929. He and his family moved to
    the Los Angeles area in the 1940s after his father died, and his teenage years
    were spent growing up in Manhattan and Hermosa beaches. Soon, Douglas became
    engrossed in the city’s jazz scene, hanging out in jazz clubs listening to
    swing, early bebop and the cool sounds of West Coast jazz at such clubs as the
    Lighthouse Café.

    Douglas graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with a
    sociology degree in 1955, after serving in the Army in the Korean War. He
    married and moved to San Mateo County as an Adult Probation Officer.

    Pete Douglas soon purchased an abandoned beer joint on the ocean in Half Moon
    Bay called the Ebb Tide Coffee Shop. By 1958, Douglas was inviting beatniks,
    local artists and Coastsiders into his joint, hosting private impromptu music
    jams and ceaselessly renovating his building and music room, which eventually
    evolved into the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society. After becoming a registered
    non-profit for the musical arts in 1964, Douglas began presenting regular jazz
    and classical programs to the public. National and local jazz luminaries such as
    Betty Carter, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, McCoy Tyner,
    Bobby Hutcherson, Art Blakey, Cal Tjader, Vince Guaraldi, Etta James, Dexter
    Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Carter, and Milt
    Jackson, to name just several of thousands, played at the Bach over its 50-year
    history. Notables in the classical music world such as the Kronos Quartet and
    Mariano Cordoba performed as well.

    In 1973, Douglas hired the then 19-year-old Tim Jackson, a Santa Cruz resident
    and musician to take tickets at the door. “Pete gave me my start in the jazz
    world in 1973 and has always been a mentor to me,” said Jackson, Artistic
    Director of Monterey Jazz Festival and Kuumbwa Jazz in Santa Cruz. “Pete was a
    pioneer in jazz presenting and presided over one of the longest tenured jazz
    venues in the country. His passion for quality music and developing audience
    engagement—or a ‘scene’ as Pete always said—was paramount and never diminished.
    He was truly unique and was able to develop a venue that expressed his own
    personal viewpoint. I will miss that chiseled face with the pipe and Greek
    fisherman’s cap (Etta James called him ‘Popeye’) and will always remember the
    spirit he brought to any conversation.”

    Pete Douglas gave the Bay Area and Northern California a much-needed alternative
    and distinctive venue in which local and touring musicians could perform. As the
    San Francisco Clubs in North Beach were closing down in the late 1960s, the Bach
    was a perfect beach experience that reflected the nature of the curator.

    Saxophonist David Liebman, a frequent performer at the Bach over the years,
    described Pete Douglas as the “Original Hipster.” “What a perfect ambiance,”
    Liebman recalled in an email. “A nice meal and drinks; playing jazz for an
    appreciative audience; a great piano; complete care of the musicians; all with
    the Pacific Ocean at your doorstep and of course Pete, who knew it all and would
    sit front and center listening like a hawk. He lived a long, full life and will
    be missed by all.”

    Douglas is survived by his daughters, Linda Tichenor, Barbara Riching and
    Virginia Castillo and grandsons, Tony, Aaron, and Andrew Ackerman and Maxwell
    Riching and his granddaughters, Chelsea and Tina Castillo, and several
    great-grandchildren. Additionally, Pete is predeceased by his brother John
    “Jack” Douglas and survived by his brother Roger Dial. In addition to Pete’s
    family, Pete was loved by his many jazz supporters, including his right-hand
    manager, Linda Goetz. A memorial will be announced on the Bach Dancing &
    Dynamite Society’s website at http://www.bachddsoc.org where memorial donations
    may also be made to the non-profit organization.

  11. Pete Douglas RIP

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by Mike Schwartz

    { didn't know where exactly to post this }

    Pete Douglas.....music presenter and owner of the Douglas Beach House, Miramar Bay, CA; the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society

    He was 85 passed 07-12....quite a gentleman, the ultimate cheerleader for music and musicians.

    Each and every musician I've known to play there LOVED the experience.

    One of a kind guy...leftover Beatnik!

    https://www.facebook.com/bachdancingdynamitesociety

  12. Charlie Haden R.I.P.

    in Artists

    Posted

    According to Tina Pelikan from ECM.

    from Tina Pelikan, ECM Records Publicity:

    It is with deep sorrow that we announce that Charlie Haden, born August 6, 1937 in Shenandoah, Iowa, passed away today at 10:11 Pacific time in Los Angeles after a prolonged illness. Ruth Cameron, his wife of 30 years, and his children Josh Haden, Tanya Haden, Rachel Haden and Petra Haden were all by his side.

  13. 2015 NEA Jazz Masters announced

    in Artists

    Posted

    It would be interesting to see a list of all winners, since offhand I have little idea.

    I get the impression that you don't win until you are ancient. I mean, everyone in the new class was born in the 1930s.

    Have relative youngsters like Joe Lovano and Pat Metheny gotten it, or on the verge?

    Jump up

  14. 2015 NEA Jazz Masters announced

    in Artists

    Posted · Edited by Mike Schwartz

    its like the rock hall, but for jazz- does george avakian dig lloyd? hes in! lol. were not talking of no rock hall till Yes gets in. were not talking of no nea jazzmaster award till they give a posthumous one to hank mobley

    NEA Jazz masters [and other NEA receipients] are for the land of the living only.

    Dems is da rules

  17. Charlie Hunter Corner

    in Artists

    Posted

    I like some of his stuff so take him in small doses and not very often any more.

    After I moved to the Bay Area saw him a lot, and his playing is very limited by the gimmicky nature of it all, from the instruments to the technique, which is unique but limited and extremely repetitive.

    I like some of his stuff over the years.

  19. AAJ forums

    in Forums Discussion

    Posted

    Boards the likes of this are quite important in the world of misc. product enthusiasts.

    If you're a Chevy Corvette nut, or Harley Davidson, or most any type of car the board_type forums are vital.

    I'm sure this is not exclusive to transportation....just the type I have some familiarity with.

    Totally independent of the manufacturers, it's where the fanatics gather for all things they love and dislike and come together the get 'the scoop'.

    Naturally, jazz around here IS the product and it's where fanatics come to find out what's going on and to learn a few things.

  20. RIP Jimmy Scott

    in Artists

    Posted

    Like many here I'm sure, just LOVED Jimmy Scott!

    Got to spend some time with him on a couple of occasions....taped an interview for radio.

    My daughter spent and entire evening with him back stage in SF a number of years ago that she'll never forget..

    RIP

  25. New ownership for Yoshi's SF

    in Live Shows & Festivals

    Posted · Edited by Mike Schwartz

    Yoshi's San Francisco Announces New Ownership: Fillmore Live Entertainment Group

    Yoshi's San Francisco, the Jazz Club & Japanese Restaurant which opened in the Historic Fillmore District in November 2007, has been sold to a new ownership group, Fillmore Live Entertainment Group, LLC. The new ownership group has infused new capital and is committed to ensuring that this will be a seamless and successful transition from one ownership group to the other. Fillmore Live Entertainment Group, which has retained Bob Burke of Ovation Consulting Restaurant + Hospitality to oversee operations, will take over Yoshi's San Francisco on Tuesday, July 1, 2014.

    Mr. Burke draws experience from a number of other venues which include: Gordon Biersch, Piatti, Pat Kuleto Restaurants, and Forge. The new ownership is expected to keep Yoshi's San Francisco's name for the foreseeable future, and has no plans to make immediate changes in the live music and food & beverage program. All previously paid for show tickets, gift cards and dining vouchers will continue to be honored under the new management as appropriate.

    “This transition provides the opportunity to implement exciting plans for the future including re-branding the entire concept. This will include more diverse music programming, a new food and beverage menu, and creating a dynamic guest experience,” said Michael Johnson, Managing Partner of Fillmore Live Entertainment Group. “While Yoshi's SF, has achieved substantial success over the last 6 years, this is a tremendous opportunity to build on that, and position this venue in the marketplace for even greater success in the future."

    Kaz Kajimura, the outgoing Manager of Yoshi’s San Francisco said “I want to thank my management team in San Francisco for their hard work in making Yoshi’s a respected name in the San Francisco restaurant and music business.” We have provided quality food and entertainment to over a million patrons since we opened in 2007.”

    Yoshi's Oakland will continue to operate unchanged with its current management at its Jack London Square location, offering the same high-quality entertainment and food, as it has for over 40 years.

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