Piedmont Piano Company is pleased to present
Rhonda Benin
Withers to Wonders
Vocalist Rhonda Benin breezes in with her unique combination of jazz, blues, and soul with a show featuring the tunes of Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers, along with Rhonda's original tunes. "Rhonda Benin is a tremendously assured singer who inhabits the celebratory zone where jazz, soul and blues fraternize freely." Joining Rhonda will be Tammy Hall (piano), Ron Belcher (bass), Rob Rhodes (drums), Geechi Taylor (Trumpet).
$20 - To reserve tickets with your credit card, please call (510) 547-8188
“Benin’s got a coolly hip vocal, with a bit of hush and sugar and an undercurrent of big booming power. She can bend notes with a bass, talk serenade with a piano and steam the kettle from the drums.” –Ran Pacifica Tribune
San Francisco Bay Area vocalist, Rhonda Benin has earned a reputation for not just a good voice but showmanship, magnetic stage personality, humor, and of course her great dancing. Rhonda’s impressive resume includes performances at SF Jazz, Yoshi’s, MOAD, The Healdsburg, Sonoma, Burlingame, Sausalito, Filmore, and Calistoga Jazz Festivals. In the summer of 2012 Rhonda traveled to Hangzhou, China for a 3 month engagement at the JZ Jazz Club and was 2014 USA headliner for The Kigali Up Music Festival in Kigali, Rwanda. In addition to singing, Rhonda is producer and founder of the Women’s History Month’s show “Just Like A Woman” a tribute to Bay Area Women In Music and the entertaining, informative piece, “Jazz Ain’t Nothing But The Blues”.
Benin is a 22 year member of The GRAMMY nominated vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and The Cultural Heritage. She appears on the CHC’s 7 CDs and has toured 30 countries, performing and recording with legendary artists such as Taj Mahal, Wilson Pickett, Richie Havens, Odetta. Al Green, Keb Mo, Santana, Patti Austin, Janis Ian, Jackson Brown, Hugh Masekela & Sweet Honey In The Rock. In 2006 Rhonda produced her first solo CD, A Matter of the Heart, a classic mix of jazz, blues, and soul, and is currently working on her 2nd CD.
Rhonda is on the teaching staff of Healdsburg Jazz‘s Operation Jazz Band, San Francisco Arts Project, LEAP, Cal Performances, Youth In Arts, and conducts her own school assemblies and workshops, “The Voice, The Hands The Feet,” “Twist and Shout,” and “Love Letters Make Me Misty Blue.” rhondabenin.com
Ever since she started playing the piano at age 4, Tammy L Hall knew she wanted to be a musician all her life - a good, working musician and she is doing just that. Performances with such luminary and varied vocalists as Etta Jones, Ernestine Anderson, Denise Perrier, Barbara Dane, Linda Tillery, Kim Nalley, Amikaeyla Gaston, Pamela Rose, Rhiannon, Queen Esther Marrow, Holly Near, Kenny Washington and instrumentalists/bands Houston Person, Kristen Strom, Donald Harrison, Allison Miller, Marcus Shelby, Alive! (newly reunited after 15 years) and SambaDa!, make for a rich tapestry of musical experience. Highlights this year include working with Youth Speaks and Tammy Vaitai for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration at the Nourse Theater in San Francisco; a conducting debut with the National Symphony of Turkmenistan, working with Paul Emerson’s Company E and Broadway Abroad - a cultural exchange program; working with SFJazz’s Jazz In The Middle and Jazz In Session programs at Aptos Middle School and Wallenberg Highschool; working as Musical Director for Landmark Musicals’ West Coast debut of The Boy From Oz. This year Tammy will release a solo CD entitled Just For You, a cd of listener-requested/ suggested tunes. tammyhall.com
Bassist Ron Belcher has traveled the nation and the world bringing his rhythmically buoyant, emotionally uplifting style to the stage for a wide array of jazz artists. Ron has performed or recorded with international stars Branford Marsalis, Regina Carter, John Handy, Pete Escovedo, Donald Bailey, Ledisi, Rodney Franklin and Ernie Andrews, as well as a virtual “who’s who” of the San Francisco jazz scene.
Rob Rhodes drummer from Oakland CA, has performed in the San Francisco bay area for over 20 years. Studies at College of Alameda, and San Francisco State University, Plays various styles: Rock, Jazz, Funk, Latin, Blues, etc. He has performed with Ledisi, Mary Wilson, Joyce Cooling, Ed Kelly, Robert Stewart, Mel Saunders, Faye Carol, Denise Pierre, Jenna Mammina, Tony Lindsay (from Santana), Pamela Rose, Sonya Jason, Shane Dwight, Busta Groove, Cool Jerks, The Fred Ross Project, The Starlight Room Orch. and The Black Market Jazz Orch. just to name a few. fandalism.com/robrhodz
Geechi Taylor, premiere trumpeter, entertainer and educator, commands respect from his peers in all of his areas of concentration. He is known mostly for his work as a sideman for top bands playing music that ranges from Jazz to Hip-Hop. Playing music with meaning and purpose has provided Geechi the opportunity to travel the world helping to spread positive messages through every song. For the last two years he has been polishing his Entertainment skills as a band leader and lead vocalsit. Performing for major corporate events, historic clubs and high profile weddings. Over the years Geechi could be seen performing on shows with musical Greats- Patrice Rushen, Ndugu Chancler, Rodney Whitaker, and Herlin Riley; also touring with Lauryn Hill (Miss Hill), Jackie Payne and many others. Geechi has been helping to push the music forward and keep it alive through his abilities as a multi-instrumentalist and instructor. geechitaylor.com