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Ross Hammond Trio


October 22, 2003
Doors @ 7:30 PM
Show @ 8:00 PM
$8-15 Sliding Scale Donation


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Location
The Jazz House is located at 3192 Adeline Street in Berkeley, a half block southwest of the Ashby BART.  (Please note there is an incorrect Adeline Street in Oakland.)

The Jazz House is a small, non-descript warehouse located next to the police station where Martin Luther King and Adeline Street meet.  A blue light and a peculiar "Ant" sign reside above the entrance.


About Ross Hammond Trio:
Since first becoming a presence on the Sacramento music scene in the late-1990s with the Chili Palmer Project, Ross Hammond has been astonishing listeners with his ability to marry avant-garde improvisations and complex jazz compositions. After the Sammie-winning Chili Palmer Project disbanded in 1999, Ross went on to found the Sardonics and the RACE!!! Quintet, and perform regularly with the Tony Passarell Quartet...all critically acclaimed groups that allowed his musical adventurousness to reach fruition.

Ross' musical maturity is in full evidence on his latest project Gauche by the Ross Hammond Trio, which marks his debut as a leader. From the eastern European tinge of 'Will You Use the Soap She Makes?' to the almost (but not quite) conventional jazz sound of 'Blood,' Gauche represents the arrival of a truly distinctive voice in modern guitar jazz.

In addition to performing with the Trio, Ross takes an active part in the local jazz community by hosting the Raw Shaman Jazz Jam and the Second Saturday Jazz Series at Luna's CafÈ as well as the Prescott Showcase at the True Love Coffee House. He is also a highly respected and requested guitar teacher. He has shared billing with Pharoah Sanders, Pothole and Charlie Hunter and is a frequent collaborator with David Boyce of the Broun Fellinis.

Ross is more-than-ably accompanied on Gauche by the superb rhythm section of Sameer Gupta on drums and Gerry Pineda on double bass.

Sumeer Gupta:
Sameer has performed throughout Sacramento and the Bay Area with such highly praised ensembles as the Chili Palmer Project, the Supplicants, the Broun Fellinis, Marc Cary and the RACE!!! Quintet. Sameer's incomparable skills as a drummer are nicely complimented by his gifts as a composer, as evidenced by his tune 'Becoming Osiris' on Gauche. While not gigging, he devotes time to Isotope Records--the record label he founded in San Francisco.

Gerry Pineda:
Gerry Pineda has been one of the most sought-after members of the Sacramento jazz community for over twenty-five years. In addition to playing with the Ross Hammond Trio, Gerry also regularly performs with Mind X, the Tony Passarell Quartet, and the Doug Pauly Trio, and he has played with Uncle Harlen's Band, Joe Farrell, Joe Craven, Jessica Williams and the Habanero Quartet. Besides logging countless hours onstage, he also teaches bass and theory and is one of the busiest session players in Sacramento. Gerry's compositional skills are on display on the track 'Orthopedic Slippers' on the Trio's new CD.

The New CD:
Gauche
is the Ross Hammond Trio's first CD and is the inaugural release for Ross' new label, Prescott Recordings. It was recorded in a single day at the Hangar in Sacramento and was engineered by Chema Salinas. It has been featured on Berkeley's KALX "Next Big Thing" Weekly Program, as well as Davis' KDVS. Copies of the CD are available by request.


What the Reviewers are Saying:
"Ross Hammond is a music teacher by day and a virtuoso guitarist at night..."

"Guitarist Ross Hammond uses a wealth of timbres to paint his sounscapes: a little bluesiness here, a little 'Wes' tone there, a wee splat of avante-garde..."
                                          -- musicdish.com

 "...there's the soul in Ross Hammond's guitar that's always flying to get out..."
                      -- Sacramento News & Review

"...the swirling arabesques of guitarist Ross Hammond ably sound like a bit of a nom de thwack...:
                    -- Sacramento News & Review