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"From the moment I laid eyes on the cover of the Reader's Digest Treasury of Short Stories with Louis Armstrong on the cover, I knew that trumpet playing was what I would do for the rest of my life. For a shy kid, the thought of going anywhere in the world and having people understand me through music was intoxicating.
I’ve been playing ever since then." John L. Worley Jr |
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John L Worley Jr. is a well known jazz musician, trumpeter and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. His love for jazz and in particular, the trumpet, permeates his work and life. Find out more about his musical contributions and upcoming shows here.
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Upcoming Events |
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Hi Friends,
It’s with a heavy heart that we have to let you know that our concert this Saturday 12/5 is canceled. Governor Newsom has imposed a lockdown due to the seriousness of the covid spreading out of control. And even though he hasn’t closed us down 100% here in the Bay Area, we all decided to postpone the event to a safer time for all. We were looking forward to sharing our music and holiday spirit with you all but the safety of our families and friends takes priority in this situation. We will be back when it’s safe to do so. Our apologies and please take care, stay safe and healthy. Sincerely, John Worley/Johnnie Bamont Quintet Hi Friends, The John Worley/Johnnie Bamont Quintet will be playing on Saturday evening, December 5th at 6:30PM. What could be more festive for the Season? We will live stream from the Longboard Margarita Bar in Pacifica. You can enjoy this wonderful Holiday Celebration concert – perhaps with some tasty beverage or delicious homemade dinner - from the comfort of your home! For more info and to buy tickets to the LIVEstream, go to: https://howlive.tv/event/WorleyBamontQuintet to sign up and then create a login account - before 6:30pm. We will be playing Christmas favorites and a few original Jazz works too. The members of the band that night will be the talented Mo-Chi band members Murray Low, Wally Schnalle and Ken Okada. We invite you to tune in and share some Christmas spirit and all that jazz with us on Dec. 5th. It will be fun, and you will be supporting your local artists during these trying times! Stay safe and well, dear friends. We really hope to be playing for you in person before too long. All the best, John Worley/Johnnie Bamont Quintet ************************************************************* Hi Friends, Come join the Mo-Chi Quartet plus special guest saxophonist Johnnie Bamont this Saturday evening, Nov 14th and help support Pacifica Performances, a wonderful organization that has been bringing art, music and culture to the Bay Area for the last couple of decades. We will be playing a set of my original material including Listen to Yamada dedicated to jazz supporter Carl Yamada, Lovely Loire for my dear friends Sebastian and Muriel Lanson, Winds of Change composed and dedicated to President Barack Obama and other original compositions. We hope you can tune in and enjoy our live streaming event and to support this worthy venue. Cheers, John L Worley Jr Mo-Chi Quartet Scott Sorkin-guitar Doug Pohorski-bass Wally Schnalle-drums www.pacificaperformances.org Pacifica Performances presents: JOHN WORLEY & the MO-CHI QUARTET and special guest Johnnie Bamont You are invited to our first live streaming concert on Saturday November 14, at 7:00 p.m. John Worley is a Bay Area treasure. His love for jazz and in particular, the trumpet, permeates his work and life. He is an engaging and accomplished performer, composer, educator, and leader of his many varied bands. This is a free concert, but we are gratefully accepting donations on our website www.pacificaperformances.org Hi Friends, Looking for SOME thing FUN to do during this year’s Halloween that is a creative way of celebrating safely?? Wondering how you could hear LIVE MUSIC again in a safer way without the danger of going INDOORS? It’s our great pleasure to announce that the Johnnie Bamont/John Worley Jazz Quintet - with Murray Low, Doug Pohorski and Wally Schnalle will be playing LIVE in an OUTDOOR setting on Saturday, October 31st (Yes that’s right, it’s a Halloween Happy Hour!) from 3-5:30pm at the Pacific Lanai-Pacific Fine Food Catering in Alameda. The Mighty Neptunes (blues) will be playing after the jazz quintet from 6-7:30pm….. The cool thing about this gig is it is a drive-in concert! Drive your car into the very large parking area in front of the Lanai on West Midway Ave where we will be playing. Then, order Food and enjoy the music, food and drinks either in your car or set up a couple of lawn chairs next to your car. (The idea is to keep a safe, car’s length distance from your fellow revelers/music lovers..) You can order great food (even some vegetarian and gluten-free items) from the caterer, Pacific Fine Food Catering. To top it off, there will be a cocktail truck mixing your favorite tasty libations at the site. Here is where it’s all going to be happening: Pacific Fine Food Catering 2480 Monarch Street Alameda, 94501, https://www.pacificfinefood.com/ For more food ordering details, go to https://pff-lanai-menu.square.site/ You can come dressed any way you want to - or in full Halloween costume, totally your choice. Just make sure you are WARM enough. It IS Autumn and can get windy over in Alameda! Bring the KIDS and your WHOLE Family if you want to. It will be a historic way to celebrate Halloween for ALL of us THIS year! We sincerely hope that you can come and support the return of live music in our community, because well…. don’t you miss it? There is a virtual tipping jar* that helps cover the cost of having live musicians play music for your enjoyment. Make some good memories, wear a mask, be kind, generous and thoughtful regarding social distancing and most of all…Have a great time! Johnnie B and John W. *Virtual tipping for the band: Paypal address: jbsaxplr@aol.com Hi Friends, Finally! I'm starting to perform in public again after a long hiatus from working and making music with my friends. I have a couple of gigs coming up and I want to share the first one with you. Here is the promo letter for the first gig....I hope you can come by and enjoy our music! Cheers, John Hi Friends, I can’t believe how the world has changed in a short time. Gigs cancelled, teaching studio closed, can’t travel, have to stay home unless you are taking a walk or go shopping etc... I can remember times sort of like this like the Loma Prieta Earthquake, 911 but this is a whole different ballgame. I have faith that we will come thru this stronger and wiser. It’s shown me personally how important it is to have balance in one’s life. I’m teaching but only half of my normal load and it’s online. A experience that’s totally new for me and having fun with it. And feeling more relaxed and clear. I’m walking more and feel better. I have 3 meals a day with Susan and that only happens on vacation. How wonderful it is to spend time with my love!!❤️❤️ It’s great to connect with people during this time. Video happy hour, chats and seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time in normal time. I love it!!! I have gigs in the future that I hope will still be there. I’ve also been watching opera thanks to the NY Met Opera and have enjoyed it immensely. I hope to be able to play with my musician friends again soon and play for my other friends, the folks who come by to listen to us. Looking forward to stretching out with Mo-Chi again! I hope everyone is taking care of themselves and stay well, get well, find your balance in life and apply it when all of this gets back to the new normal. Sending wishes for love, hope, strength and compassion during this time in our lives. Love to all, Worl 
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Tours & Concerts |
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People Speak... |
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"Finally the world gets a chance to experience the music of one Bay Area's best kept secrets... Whether playing lead, or soloing in the bop style or sharing his vast knowledge with his numerous students, John brings a fresh approach to it all. Worley's music is from the heart..."
Ray Vega, The Bronx, 2002 |
"Telling a story, making a musical statement is something to often forgotten by artist, as they are too concerned only with their playing. Thank you John for reminding me, once again, what making music is all about."
Tom E. Politzer, Lead Tenor, Tower of Power |
Meet the Band |
Members of the Mo Chi Ensemble
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Sirens of the Pacific
L-R Top: Kat Parra, Morning Nichols
L-R Bottom: Wendy Waller, Amy Dabalos
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My Music |
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