Songs & Stories

Show Notes:

Host Steve Roby sits down with Claude McKnight, founding member of the legendary a cappella group Take 6, ahead of their four-night residency at SFJAZZ. With 10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, and a spot in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Take 6 has spent more than four decades redefining what the human voice can do.

Highlights:

• Origins at Oakwood College — Claude shares how what started as a casual barbershop quartet grew into a septet, unlocking the richer jazz harmonies that would become Take 6's signature sound.
• The moment they knew it was special — The infamous bathroom rehearsal story: when arranger Mark Kibble walked in and added a fifth part, everything changed.
• "Spread Love" turns 40 — Claude reflects on why their most beloved song still resonates: it was the first thing most fans ever heard from them, and it captured everything Take 6 set out to be.
• Rhapsody: a new jazz standards album — Claude previews the group's forthcoming record, featuring collaborations with Snarky Puppy, Dirty Loops, drummer J.R. Robinson, and trumpeter Chris Botti, plus an inventive take on Dave Brubeck's Take Five. Expect a single soon, with the full album arriving after the new year.
• Every night is different — On the joy of unscripted performance and what keeps Take 6 fresh after four-plus decades on stage.

All music used in this episode was supplied by the artist or their management and used with their permission.

See Take 6 Live at SFJAZZ Miner Auditorium, San Francisco, August 13–16Thu–Sat at 7:30 PM | Sun at 7:00 PM

🎟 Tickets and info: sfjazz.org

Steven Bernstein, the Berkeley-born trumpeter, composer, and bandleader, joins host Steve Roby for a wide-ranging conversation about five decades of musical exploration, his upcoming SFJAZZ residency, and two new companion albums that reimagine the same music through entirely different sonic lenses.

What We Talk About

• Growing up in Berkeley during the '60s and '70s — how the city's unique musical culture, the Keystone Corner jazz scene, and a school improvisation program shaped Bernstein's musical identity
• Why funk — not rock — was the lingua franca of Bay Area youth, and how Tower of Power loomed larger than The Beatles in that world
• Arriving in New York in 1979 at the dawn of the punk-funk era (Defunkt, James White and the Blacks), and finding his musical home in the downtown scene
• The origin story of Sexmob — born not in rehearsals but in late-night residencies at the Knitting Factory and Tonic, playing for live audiences and letting their reactions shape the music
• Resonation Trio and Ultra Resonance — two albums built from the same source material, one an acoustic trumpet trio, the other a full dub reimagining by producer Scotty Hard. Bernstein traces the idea back to first hearing Burning Spear's Garvey's Ghost and his lifelong love of surrealism and the magic realism of Borges and Cortázar
• Touring with Laurie Anderson and how Sexmob became one of her closest musical ensembles — and what makes "Church of Panic" a perfect example of the band's instinctive, arrangement-free approach
• A deep dive into Banacek from The Hard Way — how Julius Hemphill's Dogon A.D. still echoes in Bernstein's playing, and the enduring musical partnership with John Medeski
• The SFJAZZ residency: Sexmob Does The Bay — why Bernstein split the run into two nights of Bay Area psychedelic rock (with guitarist Liberty Ellman) and two nights of classic Latin soul (with percussionist John Santos)
• The Santana connection, the Afro-Latin heartbeat of Berkeley, and the gumbo culture that made Bay Area music unlike anywhere else
• A surprise detour into Jimi Hendrix's brief Berkeley childhood — and a hint that a Hendrix project may be next on Bernstein's list

Music Featured

• "Church of Panic" — Laurie Anderson (with Sex Mob)
• "Banacek" — Sex Mob & Scotty Hard (The Hard Way)
• All music was supplied by the artist and used with their permission.

Show Details

Artist: Steven Bernstein’s Sexmob

Venue: Joe Henderson Lab, SFJAZZ Center

Date: July 16–19, 2026 (2026 SFJAZZ Summer Sessions)

Shows: Thu, July 16 & Fri, July 17 — Bay Area Psychedelic Rock, with Liberty Ellman; Sat, July 18 & Sun, July 19 — Classic Latin Soul, with John Santos. Showtimes: Thu–Sat 7:00 & 8:30 PM, Sun 6:00 & 7:30 PM.

Tickets: sfjazz.org

Pianist, composer, and arranger John Beasley joins host Steve Roby for an in-depth discussion about his extraordinary career, his new album Invisible Piano, and an upcoming all-star Miles Davis centennial tribute concert in San Francisco.

Beasley explores his musical roots — from a household full of musicians to early influences like The Beatles, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, and Quincy Jones — and reflects on his journey through jazz, film, television, and large ensemble composition. 

He talks about how a trip to a Stuttgart art gallery, and the surrealist paintings of Max Ernst inspired the creative process behind Invisible Piano, recorded with Germany's SWR Big Band. The album includes five original compositions and two new arrangements, such as a deeply personal rendition of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain."

John also previews ‘Unlimited Miles: Miles Davis at 100,’ an all-star jazz centennial celebration at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco on May 14, featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Sean Jones, Terry Gully, and Ben Williams.

Music featured in this episode:

• “Fire and Rain” — arranged and performed by John Beasley (from Invisible Piano)
• “Invisible Piano” (title track) — John Beasley with the SWR Big Band (from Invisible Piano)
•  

Music provided by John Beasley and used with his permission.

Links:

• John Beasley: johnbeasleymusic.com
• Tickets for Unlimited Miles at the Presidio Theater (May 14th): presidiotheatre.org/shows
• Backstage Bay Area: backstagebayarea.com

Jazz trumpeter and composer David Weiss joins host Steve Roby for a wide-ranging conversation about a life built on music. From his early days in Queens, where he absorbed hard rock, fusion, and European avant-garde sounds, to leading some of contemporary jazz's most distinctive ensembles, Weiss reflects on the organic path that brought him to where he is today.

We dig into his latest album, Auteur (Origin Records) — a title he half-jokingly suggests should end with a question mark — and explore what it means to maintain a recognizable musical identity across multiple projects. David shares the stories behind two tracks from the album: "Resilience," a tribute to pianist George Cables, and "The Other Side of the Mountain," inspired by Ron Carter's reflections on perseverance and a Martin Luther King speech on the long arc of progress.

David also opens up about The Cookers — his hard-bop supergroup approaching its 20th year — the recent Kennedy Center cancellation amid the current political climate, and the challenge of keeping a band together when the musicians you love most are in their 80s and still outplaying everyone in the room.

The conversation ends with a look ahead to the David Weiss Sextet's upcoming five-city West Coast tour, featuring two sets at SF Jazz's Joe Henderson Lab in San Francisco.

Songs Featured in This Episode:

“Resilience” — David Weiss Sextet (Auteur, Origin Records)

“The Other Side of the Mountain” — David Weiss Sextet (Auteur, Origin Records)

*Both songs are from the album Auteur and were provided by the artist and used with their permission.

Show Details

🎷 Backstage Bay Area

Host: Steve Roby

Upcoming Show:

David Weiss Sextet

📍 SF Jazz – Joe Henderson Lab, San Francisco, CA

📅 Sunday, May 17th

🕕 Two sets: 6:00 PM & 7:30 PM

🎟 Tickets: sfjazz.org

Pro tip: Open seating — arrive early for the best seats.

David Weiss Sextet Members:

EJ Strickland | Myron Walden | David Bryant | Eric Wheeler | Ben Solomon | David Weiss

Album: Auteur — Out now on Origin Records

Show Notes:

In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steve Roby sits down with Swedish jazz sensation and multi-instrumentalist Gunhild Carling — a trombonist, trumpeter, flautist, harpist, bagpipe player, tap dancer, and bandleader. Known as "Sweden's Queen of Swing," Gunhild brings an infectious, high-energy blend of classic New Orleans jazz and vintage swing, earning her over 80 million social media views and fans worldwide.

We talk with Gunhild from New Orleans, where she's in the middle of a residency on Bourbon Street during Jazz Fest. She shares how she grew up in a deeply musical family in Sweden, what it means to power music with feeling, and how she approaches choosing the right instrument to tell a song's story. She also reflects on her time living in the Bay Area during the pandemic — and how it inspired some of her most personal songwriting, including a love letter to San Francisco.

Topics covered:

• Growing up in a musical family in Sweden and finding her voice at age 15
• The philosophy behind her multi-instrument performances and the influence of Rahsaan Roland Kirk
• What "Jazz is My Lifestyle" means as a personal and artistic statement
• Writing I'll Wait for You in San Francisco during the pandemic lockdown in the Bay Area
• Her upcoming shows at SFJAZZ's Joe Henderson Lab — May 23 & 24 — and what audiences can expect, including new songs, tap dancing, and bagpipes

Music featured in this episode:

• "Jazz is My Lifestyle" — Gunhild Carling
• "I'll Wait for You in San Francisco" — Gunhild Carling

Music provided by the artist and used with her permission. Both tracks are from the album Jazz is My Lifestyle, available now.

Upcoming Shows — Gunhild Carling at SFJAZZ Joe Henderson Lab 📅Friday, May 23 — Shows at 7:00 PM & 8:30 PM 📅 Saturday, May 24 — Shows at 6:00 PM & 7:30 PM

Joe Henderson Lab is open seating — arrive early for a front-row spot!

🎟 Tickets and info: SFJAZZ.org 🌐 More on Gunhild Carling, including tour dates and music: gunhildcarling.net

Backstage Bay Area is hosted by Steve Roby.

Episode Summary

Host Steve Roby sits down with Bay Area bassist, composer, and bandleader Marcus Shelby to discuss his upcoming SF Jazz performance, a tribute to Miles Davis's landmark 1949–50 sessions, later released as Birth of the Cool. Marcus reflects on his journey with the music, the genius of Gil Evans's orchestrations, and what it means to bring this rarely performed repertoire back to life with his new orchestra.

About Marcus Shelby

Marcus Shelby has spent more than two decades creating large-scale jazz works rooted in history and community — oratorios and suites that trace the Port Chicago Mutiny, Harriet Tubman's journey, and the Civil Rights Movement. Now he turns his attention to a different kind of history: the 11 tracks Miles Davis and his nonet recorded that became Birth of the Cool.

What We Talk About

• How Marcus approaches composition — researching, traveling, and even "method acting" into the stories he tells through music
• His unconventional path into jazz: a post-basketball-career pivot in his early twenties that led him straight to Miles Davis
• Why Birth of the Cool was actually the last Miles Davis music to click for him — and why that makes sense
• The specific genius of Gil Evans and the unusual instrumentation of the nonet (alto, baritone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba, rhythm section) and how those combinations create something unrepeatable
• A deep dive into two featured tracks: Boplicity — the most purely Gil Evans track on the record — and the luminous Moonbeams, and what each demands of the musicians who play it
• Rising trumpet star Skyler Tang (a Bay Area native now at The New School in New York), who has been commissioned to rearrange Deception for the concert
• Marcus's original composition Monk in the City, written for the same instrumentation as the Birth of the Cool nonet
• What a live performance offers that a studio recording cannot — the interpretive choices, the improvisational voice of each soloist, the acoustic magic of SF Jazz's Miner Auditorium
• Marcus's wider work as Artistic Director of Healdsburg Jazz (now in his sixth year), his long relationships with SF Jazz, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Stanford Jazz, and Community Living Jazz

Featured Music

• Boplicity — Miles Davis
• Moonbeams — Miles Davis

All music in this episode is used under fair use for educational commentary, with all rights retained by the original creators.

Upcoming Performance

Marcus Shelby New Orchestra: Miles at 100 — Birth of the Cool Revisited 📅 Sunday, May 10th 📍 Miner Auditorium, SF Jazz — San Francisco, CA 🎟 Tickets & info: sfjazz.org

Links & Resources

• Marcus Shelby: marcusshelby.com
• Healdsburg Jazz: healdsburgjazz.org

Backstage Bay Area is a podcast about the music and musicians of the San Francisco Bay Area. New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Podcast Show Notes:
On this episode of Backstage Bay Area, Steve Roby speaks with Daniel Ho, a six-time Grammy-winning musician, composer, producer, and slack key guitarist, ahead of his upcoming appearance at SFJAZZ’s Joe Henderson Lab.

In the conversation, Ho reflects on his musical roots in Honolulu, where the ʻukulele first became part of his daily life, and traces his path from Hawaii to Los Angeles, where he studied composition and arranging at the Grove School of Music. He also discusses the mentors who shaped him, the importance of versatility, and how he continues to study and refine his craft.

The interview also explores Ho’s broader philosophy of music-making — spanning composition, performance, recording, mastering, instrument design, and visual presentation. He discusses how that way of thinking has shaped his long career, including his years with Kilauea, his work in Hawaiian and world music, and the creative process behind his more recent recordings.

Steve and Daniel also discuss two featured songs: “Waimea Bay,” which dates back to Ho’s Kilauea years and became a familiar track on Bay Area radio, and “Ríl Dé Máirt (Tuesday Reel),” from Timbre & Echoes, inspired by the Ukulele Tuesday community in Dublin.

The songs featured in this episode — “Waimea Bay” and “Ríl Dé Máirt (Tuesday Reel)” — were provided by the artist and used with the artist’s permission.

In the final part of the interview, Ho previews his upcoming SFJAZZ show, discusses the quartet joining him onstage, and shares what he enjoys about performing in a room as intimate as the Joe Henderson Lab.

Upcoming Show:
Daniel Ho
SFJAZZ Joe Henderson Lab
Saturday, May 2, 2026
7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Links:
Daniel Ho: danielho.com
Tickets: SFJAZZ
Backstage Bay Area: backstagebayarea.com

Show Notes

Pianist Aaron Diehl joins Backstage Bay Area to discuss the early musical influences that shaped his voice, his deep connection to Mary Lou Williams, and his work bringing her Zodiac Suite back into focus. He also reflects on trio interplay, the role of patience in improvisation, and what makes a room like SFJAZZ Center such a compelling space to perform.

This episode features two tracks: “Scorpio” from Diehl’s recording of Zodiac Suite, and “Polaris” from The Vagabond. Both songs were provided by the artist and are used with permission.

In this episode:

• Early influences and musical beginnings in Columbus, Ohio 
• Discovering the music of Mary Lou Williams 
• Reconstructing and recording Zodiac Suite with The Knights 
• The art of listening and empathy in a trio setting 
• Writing and performing original compositions 
• What audiences can expect at SFJAZZ 

Featured Music:

• “Scorpio” — from Zodiac Suite
• “Polaris” — from The Vagabond

Live at SFJAZZ
Aaron Diehl performs with bassist David Wong and drummer Aaron Kimmel on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 7:00 PMat the SFJAZZ Center’s Miner Auditorium in San Francisco.

🎟 Tickets and full details: https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/

Show Notes:
On this episode of Backstage Bay Area, Steve Roby speaks with pianist and composer Lynne Arriale about her latest album, Being Human, and the ideas behind music shaped by hope, resilience, and shared human feeling.

Arriale reflects on her early musical path, from playing songs by ear on a toy piano to discovering jazz through the freedom of improvisation. She also discusses the inspiration behind Being Human, a suite of original compositions written in response to division and turmoil, with pieces centered on qualities such as passion, courage, love, faith, and joy.

In the conversation, Arriale discusses two of the album’s featured pieces, “Passion” and “Joy,” and explains how she tries to translate emotional and human qualities into music. She also speaks about what music can express when words fall short and what she hopes listeners take away from a live performance.

The songs featured in this podcast, “Passion” and “Joy,” were provided by the artist and used with the artist’s permission.

Lynne also previews her upcoming Bay Area appearance with the Lynne Arriale Trio at Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland, where she’ll perform music from Being Human alongside new compositions.

Upcoming Show:
Lynne Arriale Trio
Saturday, April 25, 2026
5:30 p.m.
Piedmont Piano Company
1728 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland

Tickets and details: Piedmont Piano Company

Show Notes:
On this episode of Backstage Bay Area, host Steve Roby speaks with vocalist, composer, poet, and multidisciplinary artist Natasha Agrama of Instant Alter ahead of the band’s Sunday, April 19, appearance at SFJAZZ’s Joe Henderson Lab.

Agrama discusses the origins of Instant Alter, the meaning behind the band’s “future fusion” sound, and the stripped-down core concept that defines the group’s distinctive voice: saxophone, bass, drums, and vocals, with no traditional harmonic instrument. She also reflects on the values behind the music, the visual and conceptual side of Instant Alter’s live presentation, and the energy that led the band to document its evolving sound in a new live release.

The conversation also explores the meaning of the songs “Sun Polaris” and “Oração Ao Tempo,” as well as the deeper themes of truth, change, and human connection that run through the band’s work. In the final part of the interview, Agrama previews the upcoming SFJAZZ shows and discusses what audiences can expect from Instant Alter live at the Joe Henderson Lab.

Songs featured in this episode:
“Sun Polaris”
“Oração Ao Tempo”

The music featured in this episode was supplied by the artist and used with their permission.

Links:
Instant Alter: instantalter.com
Tickets: SFJAZZ
Backstage Bay Area: backstagebayarea.com