Event
Larry Vuckovich Celebrates 70! - Happy Birthday to a S.F Piano Legend
When San Francisco helps piano great Larry Vuckovich celebrate his 70th birthday over three glorious evenings at Jazz at Pearl's, we'll be celebrating the steadily full-speed career of a fabulous musician and a terrific friend. Vuckovich is an effervescent, imaginative bebop jazz pianist whose performances never lack for lively style, wit and energy. With his Balkan background, Vuckovich represents the everlasting international pull that jazz enjoys. And with his 37-year jazz career on the San Francisco jazz scene (interrupted by productive European and New York sojourns), Larry Vuckovich is a living, breathing, bebopping repository of San Francisco jazz history.
Vuckovich is also celebrating the satisfying success of his recently released CD, Street Scene. The title tune is an Alfred Newman composition used in not just one, but a series of film noir classic movies, like Kiss of Death and Cry of the City. This fascinating recording is filled with tunes that harken back to Vuckovich's first fascination as a teenager arriving in the U.S. for the first time.
For his celebratory 70th birthday Pearl's performances, jazz master Larry Vuckovich will be swinging hard, as always. There's no doubt about that. Come help us celebrate, as we swing along and toast a great friend and a great figure in San Francisco jazz. Onstage with Vuckovich will be longtime collaborators Buca Necak (bass), Akira Tana (drums) and Hector Lugo (Latin percussion). And given the community of friends Vukovich has gathered on his musical journeys, there's no telling who else might turn up.
Vuckovich, a native of Montenegro, came to San Francisco with his family in 1951, at the age of 14 and began playing professionally at 23, a protege of piano legend Vince Guaraldi. He was soon plying the fertile San Francisco jazz scene of the early sixties, leading his own combos, sitting in from North Beach to Haight Street and performing regularly with stars like Mel Torme and Jon Hendricks. With Hendricks, Vuckovich toured Europe, headquartering in Munich from 1968-1970.
Vuckovich returned to San Francisco and in 1978 becoming the house pianist at the Keystone Korner. He dug in and his career gathered steam. He released Blue Balkan, the first of several highly acclaimed LPs under his own name, in 1980. After a successful 5-year stay in New York City, Vuckovich returned in San Francisco in 1990 to establish Club 36, a jazz venue located at the top of the Union Square Hyatt. He's been a mainstay on the Bay Area music scene ever since, appearing regularly with his Blue Balkan Ensemble, his Young at Heart Ensemble, a wide variety of combos and styles.
|
|
 |
LocationJazz at Pearl's
256 Columbus Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94133
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
|
Contact
|
