Video
BRQ In Concert, 2023
Way back on March 6, 2020, we played a concert at San Francisco's historic Cadillac Hotel, as part of its long-running community concert series. We had a wonderful time and looked forward to doing it again, but the pandemic hit just days later and we ended up waiting three long years for conditions to allow our return.
We finally made it back on February 24, 2023. It was a happy reunion for us with Kathy Looper and the rest of the crew, and we had a great time playing for the always-appreciative audience at the Cadillac.
The concert (like all in the series) was recorded on video, and we're delighted to share it with you here. So pour yourself a glass of wine, kick back and spend a little quality time with The Bob Roden Quintet! Just click on the image below to get started.
And of course our 2020 Cadillac concert video is also still available for viewing!
Check it out here: PLAY 2020 CONCERT
Selected Concert Excerpts
In case you don't have the time for a full concert video, below are a few selected highlights. Be aware, though, that with these individual videos you don't get to experience Bob's jokes or other clever between-tunes repartee, or what his daughter Natalie refers to as his "lectures." The loss is, of course, incalculable, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Just click on these to enjoy (after they start, click in the box in the lower right to expand):
One For My Baby
(and One More For the Road)
This is one of those rare songs that is so distinctive that it nearly defies classification. New vocal territory for Bob, with a standout piano accompaniment from Mark Rossi.
The Days of Wine and Roses
A straight-ahead jazz standard that is always fun to play and gives each player room to improvise.
The Look of Love
Love with a latin beat, as Bob sings one of Burt Bacharach's most famous tunes.
Tenderly
A classic ballad featuring Ron Jackson on the alto sax, and concluding with simultaneous, interweaving
improvisations by Ron, Mark and Bob.
Vaccinated Woman
Finally -- a LIVE recording of Bob's original tune, which sets down once and for all the cold, hard realities about love in the time of Covid! Fun to compare this live version with the remotely-recorded shelter-in-place version below.
Shelter-in-Place Videos
Creators got to create, right?
BRQ coped with the Covid era in part by creating a series of videos in which the players' separate, remote performances are combined on video into group performances. It's not quite like playing live, but it's fun and is a way for us to keep sharing our music with the world.
Here, in reverse chronological order, are the most recent videos we have made in this manner. More are in the works. Remember to click in the box in the lower right corner of each video to view it full screen!
Seven Come Eleven
BRQ plays a toe-tapping, syncopated instrumental first recorded in 1940 by The Benny Goodman Sextet.
Vaccinated Woman
Bob's original song"Vaccinated Woman" is a little blusier than the group's usual fare, but hey, blues is where jazz came from. We think we should play it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert -- don't you agree?
Oscar's Bounce
Bob's original composition "Oscar's Bounce" is a musical tribute to friend of the band Oscar Anderson, who appreciated good jazz like few others.
Exactly Like You
BRQ's take on this timeless standard was inspired by Nina Simone, who found a depth in the the song that had eluded others before her.
BRQ YouTube Channel
Many more BRQ videos -- both composite style and real life -- are available to view on the BRQ YouTube Channel: click HERE to visit!
Old Fashioned Audio
Finally . . . when we were first starting out, we made several audio recordings so people could hear what we sounded like. They've been eclipsed by video in the ensuing years, but I still love listening to them, so here they are for your edification.
OLEO
(rhythm changes bebop tune by Sonny Rollins)
SOMEBODY LOVES ME
(standard by G. Gershwin, B. MacDonald and B. DeSylva)
BLUE BOSSA
(latin classic by Kenny Dorham)