Pierce Street series to feature jazz trio

  School of Business   Arts+Culture  

A trio of jazz and pop industry musicians will lead the next Pierce Street Jazz concert at La Sierra University, bringing to the stage decades of experience performing with music’s most well known acts.

Bassist Henry 'the Skipper" Franklin along with pianist Theo Saunders and drummer Ramon Banda will perform Wed., Oct. 14 at the Troesh Conference Center.
Bassist Henry 'the Skipper" Franklin along with pianist Theo Saunders and drummer Ramon Banda will perform Wed., Oct. 14 at the Troesh Conference Center.
Theo Saunders, Henry Franklin and Ramon Banda accompany vibraphonist Norm Freeman during a summer Pierce Street Jazz concert.
Theo Saunders, Henry Franklin and Ramon Banda accompany vibraphonist Norm Freeman during a summer Pierce Street Jazz concert.

Bassist Henry “the Skipper” Franklin, pianist Theo Saunders and drummer Ramon Banda will take the stage for La Sierra’s next Pierce Street Jazz concert on Wed., Oct. 14. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Troesh Conference Center of La Sierra’s Zapara School of Business.

Franklin has organized the Pierce Street Jazz concerts at La Sierra University since their inception as a summer jazz series in 2009. His broad experience includes recordings on more than 150 albums and compact discs including gold releases, many of which he produced. He released his latest albums, “Two Views” and “Three More Sounds: The Happiness of Pursuit” in December 2014 and January 2015.

Franklin has performed with many headline artists including Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, Count Basie, Freddie Hubbard and Milt Jackson and was part of the legendary Hugh Masekela’s band during the late 1960s. He has toured and performed in various parts of the United States and the world, and on Oct. 24 will embark on a weeklong tour of Moscow and Armenia. 

Saunders, one of the busiest pianists in the music business, has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals and concert halls with distinguished artists including Freddie Hubbard, Carla Bley, David “Fathead” Newman, Barbara Morrison, Gladys Knight, and many others. He recently released a CD titled “Jassemblage.”
 
He has directed music for opera productions and international musical theatre. As a composer, Saunders has numerous compositions to his credit as well as original scores for theatre, radio and multimedia production.

Drummer Banda performed 24 years with the Grammy award-winning Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band. He is a current band member with famed jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco. Banda grew up in Norwalk, Calif., part of a large musical family. He started out on the guitar but switched to drums in 1967. Banda and his electric bass-playing brother, Tony Banda, performed weekend gigs during their school years with several bands including with Poncho Sanchez. In 1996 he and Tony formed their own ensemble, The Banda Bros. Group, with Tony on upright bass. The duo has performed on numerous worldwide tours and with many famous acts. Over the past two decades, Ramon has performed on more than 22 recordings and recorded and played with such music greats as Dizzie Gillespie, Tito Puente, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Arturo Sandoval, Diana Reeves and others.

Pierce Street Jazz admission is free. For further information call 951-785-2148. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.

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