Madaline Duran Music

Madaline BandDuran Bios Music Renowned saxophonist and bandleader, Madaline Duran, brings a wealth of artistry and experience to her work. Madaline grew up in Belmont, California and began playing clarinet at age 10. By junior high, she was on to alto and tenor saxophone developing skills that allowed her to take part in the Monterey Jazz Festival’s High School All Star Band. At that point, Mad was hooked on jazz. Madaline went on to earn a degree in music at the University of Miami, then moved back to the Bay Area where she pursued both freelance music work and ran her own catering business. All of that changed when Mad, at the age of 28, met Eddie at the Cotati Jazz Festival. Mad and Eddie quickly established a personal and professional partnership and through Eddie’s support and encouragement, Mad moved on to becoming a full-time musician. In addition to her work with Eddie, Madaline has performed with the likes of George Cables, Tootie Heath, James Moody, Stan Getz, Eddie Moore, Eddie Marshall and Jessica Williams (to name a few). Music critic, Herb Cain, summed it up best: “Mad Duran is just what jazz needs - soul, swing and a breath of femininity.” Madaline Duran Eddie Duran has played with many of the giants of jazz: Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman, Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Vince Guiraldi, Cal Tjader and George Shearing, among others. Eddie began playing guitar at age six and early in his career teamed up as a trio with two of his brothers. Following these humble beginnings, Eddie became a cornerstone of the San Francisco jazz scene. In the late 70’s Eddie met wife, Madaline, and turned her on to the Bay Area jazz scene, urging her to develop her chops on a variety of reed instruments, to sit in on jam sessions with the likes of Vince Lateano and Al Plank and to expand her understanding of jazz harmony. For a brief stint, Mad and Eddie relocated to New York City, but returned to San Francisco after finding the jazz scene disappointing there. Upon their return, they were rewarded with a pleathura of wonderful playing opportunities in this region. Madaline sums up Eddie’s playing best: “Eddie has an orchestral sound, he doesn’t just play single lines or chords, but develops unique and colorful harmonies that enhance and transform the arrangement.” Eddie continues to lend his gentle, soulful guitar renderings and expert arranging skills to Madaline’s groups. Eddie Duran Coming from one of San Francisco’s foremost musical families has given Sharman an edge in San Francisco’s jazz scene. Her vocalizing is colored by the varied and eclectic influences of the lively artistic household in which she grew up, in which her jazz guitarist father and vocalist/pianist/ composer mother created an atmosphere that attracted musicians, writers and actors from all over. This fertile environment fostered Sharman’s unique, poetic style. Sharman’s seminal influences include the bebop of Charlie Parker, the Latin jazz of Cal Tjader, the lyrical musings of Bill Evans, the jazz sketches of Miles Davis and Gil Evans, plus the R&B, Reggae and Funk she grew up with on the radio. As a vocalist she was drawn to such diverse artists as Irene Kral, Lucy Reed, Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder. Numbered among her piano influences, in addition to the aforementioned icon Bill Evans, are also Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau. As an artist Sharman strives to draw the listener into a world where the music is created on the spot, in front of their eyes. This is to her mind the raison d’etre of the improvisational music we refer to as “jazz”. The music is never stagnant, never “warmed over”, but constantly being made “in the moment”, whether through the tried and true repertoire of the great Tin Pan Alley composers of the first half of the 20th Century, or bebop or post- bebop vehicles of artists such as Bird or Wayne Shorter, or the songs of geniuses such as Stevie Wonder, George Duke or Ivan Lins. And of course there are her own tunes, at once intelligent, emotional and bespeaking the high musical standard which has always been her signature. In addition to being a seasoned professional musician, Sharman is also a sought-after music educator. She has worked with many aspiring singers through her classes in jazz performance and repertoire at Blue Bear School of American Music, where she has been staff for over ten years. She is also certified in the Orff Schulwerk method of teaching music to children and has taught pre-school for ten years.” Sharman Duran Jonathan Alford is a versatile Oakland-based pianist who has performed or recorded with many of the Bay Area’s best Latin bands including Avance, Los Compas and the Machete Ensemble, as well as with stars such as Pete Escovedo, John Santos, Bobby Hutcherson, Elaine Lucia, Carlos Santana, Denise Perrier, Chocolate Armenteros, Orestes Vilato, Mazacote, Peter Apfelbaum, Josh Jones and Ray Obiedo. In addition to being one of the most sought after keyboardists on the Latin scene, Alford is also called on to lend his services his services accompanying singers like Elaine Lucia, Jenna Mamina, Maria Marquez and Roberta Donnay. Alford also shines in a straight-ahead jazz setting, performing in ensembles like the Jonathan Alford Sheldon Powell Quartet. The classically-trained Alford started learning Raul Ramirez jazz at the relatively late age of 25, studying with Mark Levine. In 2006, he released Originally from Peru, Raul Ramirez started playing the drums at the age of 5, and “Tenaya,” his first CD as a leader. The album is worked extensively doing studio work and live performances with many international a brilliant showcase for Alford’s wide-ranging artists and local bands before moving to the USA in 1973. Since then, he has been talents, featuring the pianist on hard-hitting a very active performer and one of the most versatile percussionists in the Bay Area. Latin and mainstream jazz compositions. His mastery of different styles including jazz, fusion, Latin jazz, Brazilian jazz, and South American music has helped him to travel around the world performing with the very best Latin jazz artists. He has recorded with Merl Saunders, Mad and Eddie Duran, Denise Perrier, Lady Memphis, Frank Jackson, Etta Jones, Eric Shifrin, Frankie Kelly, and many others. He has performed with Etta Jones, Eric Shifrin, Frankie Kelly, and many others. He has performed with Etta Jones, George Duke, Pete Escovedo and many others. In addition to his work with Madaline Duran Music, Raul teaches music at Brookfield Child Development Center in Oakland and performs with his trio on Wednesdays at the Paragon, Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, California. Raul is also working on his CD which is expected to be finished by the end of the year. Originally from Santa Cruz, vibraphonist Smith Dobson V has been performing in the Bay Area for nearly twenty years. Dobson is from an important jazz family, his father being the late Smith Dobson IV, renowned pianist and director at Garden City in San Jose, where he accompanied artists such as Art Pepper, Stan Getz, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, Chet Baker, Red Norvo, Tal Farlow, and Lee Konitz. Smith grandfather is also a jazz accordionist, his grandmother, mother and sister are all jazz vocalists. The whole family often performed as a group at Garden City, (as well as other venues). Smith got his first big break at the Monterey Jazz Festival at age 11, and at age 15, led his own band at the MJF, under the first year of director Tim Jackson, who said, “Not only does Smith have the musical expertise to play the MJF, he has the leadership qualities to make it work. His arrangements are outstanding and uniquely his own.” Since then, Dobson has performed at everything from the San Jose and San Francisco Jazz Festivals, to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Yoshis, Kimballs, Pearls, Bacar, Brunos’, The Make-Out Room, Great American Music Hall, Bottom Of The Hill, Amnesia, The Jazz School, The Stanford Jazz Workshop, and The Intersection of the Arts. Since 2001, Smith has worked primarily on composing for his current band, which consists of John Finkbeiner on guitar, Devin Hoff on bass, Vijay Anderson on drums, Dahveed Behroozi on piano, and with Dobson on vibraphone. Smith Dobson Adam Gay, acoustic bass.

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