Kurt Ribak | SFJAZZ 2023-24 Season
Kurt Ribak
Bay Area Bass Great

Kurt Ribak: Jazz & Country

Featuring Violinist Katie Glassman

JAN 25-28 | STRINGS

Jan 28, 2024
Joe Henderson Lab

PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production


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Original show description below.

“Joyous,” “grooving,” “bluesy,” “sophisticated,” and “masterful” could all be accurately use to describe bassist and composer Kurt Ribak’s music, but perhaps an assessment is best left to the man himself, who calls his rollicking mix of bebop sophistication and body-moving grooves “Charles Mingus meets The Meters.” Ribak performs a cross-section of his favorite jazz and country tunes, and music that bridges the two.

A Berkeley native, Ribak parlayed his formative musical experiences as a cellist and member of the San Francisco Boys Chorus into a passion for the bass, studying at Cal Berkeley and Boston’s Berklee College of Music before returning to the East Bay and establishing a well-deserved reputation as one of the most respected creative forces on the scene. At the top of his creative game, Ribak suffered a devastating injury in a 2012 car accident that shattered his left arm and led to a dozen surgeries, leaving the bassist’s musical future in serious doubt.

Through extensive physical rehab and endless persistence, Ribak re-learned to play and eventually returned to the bandstand. This night brings together two sides of Ribak’s passion with an accomplished band including the masterful fiddler and singer Katie Glassman, multi-instrumentalist Tony Marcus, and the iconic Oakland-based guitarist and producer Myles Boisen.

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Berkeley-based bassist and composer Ribak performs a selection of his favorite jazz and country tunes, and music that bridges the two.

Kurt's ability to take you on a journey from the deepest waters of the Caribbean to the funky alleys of the urban jungle in one listening makes him a truly gifted original in my book.

Chris Cortez, KCSM

Kurt's ability to take you on a journey from the deepest waters of the Caribbean to the funky alleys of the urban jungle in one listening makes him a truly gifted original in my book.

Chris Cortez, KCSM

Personnel

Kurt Ribak bass & vocals
Katie Glassman violin, vocals
Tony Marcus guitar, violin, vocals
Myles Boisen guitar, lap steel

...nice big bass tone, reggae meets swing, Family Man Barrett meets Gene Harris.

Whit Browne, Berklee College of Music

...nice big bass tone, reggae meets swing, Family Man Barrett meets Gene Harris.

Whit Browne, Berklee College of Music

Personnel

Kurt Ribak bass & vocals
Katie Glassman violin, vocals
Tony Marcus guitar, violin, vocals
Myles Boisen guitar, lap steel

Watch & Listen

Kurt Ribak

Testifyin'

Kurt Ribak

Township Jive

Kurt Ribak

Testifyin'

Kurt Ribak

Township Jive

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