Jenna Mammina vocal | John R Burr piano | Ron Belcher bass | Michael O'Neill saxophone and bandleader
Jenna Mammina's website is http://www.jennamammina.com/
At the tender age of five, Jenna Mammina began singing in church and in clubs with her brothers Nino and Mitch and sister Lisa. Visits to her mother’s Native American New Mexico and experiencing the healing power of music planted the seed which would eventually define the power of the gift she now possesses.
With thousands of miles and performances under her tri-coastal musical gypsy skirt, Jenna has claimed the San Francisco Bay Area as her home and sanctuary. She has performed with a vast array of legendary talent, such as Bobby McFerrin, June Millington, Rickie Lee Jones, Al Jarreau, Phish, David Sanborn, Ray Obiedo, Wil Ackerman, Liz Story, Tuck Andress, and Rosemary Clooney. Jenna has graced the stages of esteemed venues like Yoshi’s in Oakland, California, Town Hall in New York, The Green Mill in Chicago, and festivals such as Jazz Aspen, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage, Monterey San Francisco, Big Sur and Mount Hood, continuing to delight sold-out crowds throughout the United States and touring over 250 dates a year.
"She unwinds a song as if each word dangled from a string of twinkling charms and delicately snaps consonants like wishbones.” Ben Fong-Torres couldn’t agree more. “She teases it, toys with it, laughs with it, vocally dances with it, and, ultimately, the singer, and the song embrace one another, to the pleasure of the audience,” he says. “She doesn’t just cover Warren Zevon, Elvis Costello and James Taylor, she reupholsters them,” says Hew Hallock.
Bassist Ron Belcher travels the world bringing his rhythmically buoyant, emotionally uplifting style to the stage for a wide diversity of jazz artists. Ron has performed or recorded with Branford Marsalis, Regina Carter, Rodney Franklin, John Handy, and Pete Escovedo, as well as a literal “who’s who” of the San Francisco jazz scene. A passionate teacher and advocate for children’s education, Ron has served on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley and has contributed to several seasons for the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures In Music outreach program. Ron‘s own studies include jazz improvisation and acoustic bass at several Bay Area colleges, culminating in a degree from Texas College, where he had the honor of membership in the East Texas All-Stars.
Michael O’Neill, a San Diego native, began studying clarinet at an early age. His first mentor was his neighbor, the great jazz and studio drummer, John Guerin. After the usual involvement with school bands and orchestras, Michael did a stint in the Air Force Band. In college, while majoring in Biology, he minored in music studying composition and arranging as well as jazz performance. After a brief career in science, Michael returned to music full time, studying saxophone with the great Joe Henderson while playing in dance bands, salsa bands and doing local jazz gigs. During this time Michael became interested in composition and formed groups to perform his original material, a trend that is ongoing today. Besides jazz composition, Michael’s interests have taken him into orchestral and ethnic musical forms. In the 1980's he began writing music for documentaries and television for which he now has a long list of credits. Jazz performance residencies as leader include 13 years at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon bay, 7 years at Cetrella Half Moon Bay and 6 years at the Hotel Sofitel in Redwood Shores. Michael has performed and/or recorded with Idris Muhammad, Joe Locke, Michael Wolff, Giacomo Gates, Geoffrey Keezer, Maria Muldaur, Eddie Fisher, Rodney Jones, Kim Nalley, Jackie Ryan, Tony Lindsay, Margie Baker, Faye Carol, Brenda Boykin, Jeff Chambers, Rob Schneiderman, Mark Levine, Frank Jackson, and many others.The Michael O'Neill Quintet featuring the great vocalist, Kenny Washington, has headlined the Monterey Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, SF Jazz, the Blue Note in Napa, Jazz at Pearl’s, Oakland and San Francisco Yoshi’s, Anna’s Jazz Island, the Jazz on the Hill Festival, the Oakland Art and Soul Festival, the San Jose Jazz Society Concert Series and many others.
Photo Credits: Belcher (John Spragens, Jr.), O'Neill (Dave Lepori)