For Immediate Release: July 7, 2010

Golden Gate Branch Library
Celebrating 20 Years of Summer Jazz

Jazz on Sundays Runs Eight Weeks, July 11 – August 29

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(Oakland, CA)—The Friends of the Golden Gate Branch Library have announced a stellar line-up for this year’s Jazz on Sundays series, which will run every Sunday from July 11 to August 29. This year’s program marks the 20th anniversary for the series, bringing jazz to the community for free.

Jazz on Sundays takes place outside the Golden Gate Branch, 5606 San Pablo Ave., with the exception of the August 22 performance, which will be held five blocks away, at Temescal Creek Park, 47th Street between Adeline and San Pablo Ave. Each week’s program begins at 3 p.m. with the featured artist, followed at 4:30 p.m. by Randy Moore’s “History of Jazz”, and an open-mic jam session at 5 p.m.

This year’s featured artists include:

Sunday, July 11 – Robert Steward

Sunday, July 18 – Ranzell Merritt Quartet

Sunday, July 25 – Bill Bell Trio

Sunday, August 1 – Herb Gibson and Combo

Sunday, August 8 – Faye Carroll & Kito

Sunday, August 15 – Terry Hilliard Quartet

Sunday, August 22 – Julius Courtney Big Band (*at Temescal Creek Park)

Sunday, August 29 – Rhonda Benin & Quartet

The Summer Jazz Series grew out of a jam session and jazz lecture at a now defunct club called Wellington’s, in Berkeley. Jazz drummer Donald “Duck” Bailey launched the series with his wife, Susie Laraine, and with the help of the Friends of Golden Gate Branch they moved the annual event to the Library in 1993. The event proved an instant success, attracting a diverse crowd – “grandmothers gussied up for church, kids clutching basketballs, jazz aficionados, and music lovers of every stripe,” according to one account. It has been drawing a devoted audience to the library ever since.

Call the Golden Gate Branch Library at 510-597-5023, or visit http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/Branches/GG/index.htm. The Oakland Public Library is a department of the City of Oakland.

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