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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Hi Friends,
Lot's of cool stuff happening in 2015 so far. Coming up this February the Mo-Chi Quartet plays it's first gig in 2015. We'll be playing at the Hedley Club/De Anza Hotel on Feb. 21st from 8:30-12:30am. The usual cats will be there. Murray Low, Ken Okada and Wally Schnalle. And in the first set we'll have my student Christian Cotter sitting in with us along with other special guests later in the evening. In March, Morning Nichols and I will be presenting our Tribute to Billie Holiday and Sweets Edison at Woodshed Arts and Music in San Jose. Joining us will be her husband guitarist Jim Nichols, saxophonist Charlie Keagle, drummer Jason Lewis and bassist John Shiflett. It's a allstar line up and you won't want to miss this concert. For more info go to: http://Woodshed.org/. Earlier in February, I had the pleasure of playing with Jamie Cullum and his cats from England at the Palace of Fine Arts. He added local SF players to complete his big band and it was a swinging evening of hits after hits. He has a pretty loyal fan base and the show was sold out! Trumpets were Louis Fasman, Dave Scott and moi, bones were Ryan Black, John Gove and Dave Martell and saxophones were Dan McGuy, Aaron Lington, Fil Lorenz and Steve Steinburg and Tim Devine. Great band, venue and a good time was had by all. Happy New Years to everyone. Check out my calendar to see what's happening musically in the coming year.... 2014 was filled with many good times with friends, family and all of my band mates...... December was no exception! I went on a journey to Japan to honor the memory of my Mother, Hana who passed in April 2013. My brother Rich and sister Joy took her remains back to Japan in June and I was able to visit her resting with 15 generations of her family! afterwards I had the fortune to play with my good friend Sebastien Lanson in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. I also got to visit the Yamaha Atelier Shop in the Ginza district of Tokyo and had some work done on my trumpet and flugelhorn. I was fortunate to have Hideichi Aoyagi take care of my horns and they came back playing better than ever!!!! So many memories and so many wonderful people.......I'm looking forward to going back someday soon....I've got my fingers crossed! Hi Friends, I want to thank everyone for all of your birthday wishes, Bari Bari cats blowing their butts off at the Art Boutiki gig and all of the folks who sat in, took pics and the Art Boutiki for having us. Walter Wagner took some awesome pics of my Bari Bari gig. Enjoy!!! Friends, there is a lot to grateful for....The universe has been kind to me and my heart is filled with love and gratitude. Susan and I had some friends join us the next day at Solis Winery and we shared great company, wine, food with them and after, we drove to Santa Cruz and had dinner at Hula's. What a fine weekend!!! In 4 days I'm leaving for Japan to see my Mom's resting place for the first time. She is in Sanjo which is north of Osaka. She told me stories about her home and after 59 years, I am finally going to see it for the first time. I'm meeting my family there, some for the first time and some for the second. I'm also playing with my good friend Sebastien Lanson in Kyoto and Osaka. He is kind enough to let me "horn in" on his gig..........Perhaps you've seen the poster of the Kyoto Composers Jazz Orchestra. It's really nice they are letting me sit in with them. It should be fun!!!!! I'll also be going to Tokyo to see friends and the folks at Yamaha. I'm looking forward to trying some trumpets and flugelhorns (I'll be darn, I never do that!...sure...)and seeing some of my favorite trumpet players.....more to come.... Hi Friends November is here and is going to be a month filled with Jazz, traveling and my last year as a fifty-something! (I know it’s hard to believe but…) I’m not going to sit back on my hinder this last year of my 50’s and watch the world go by! I’m not ready for that rockin’ chair yet. On Friday November 7th, the Mo-Chi Quartet will be playing at the Hedley Club-Hotel De Anza in downtown San Jose from 8:30pm to 12:30am. Most of you know the Hedley Clubs reputation, shared by the general public as one of the best places to hear live music in the South Bay. Come down and enjoy this beautiful room while we present some original works as well as jazz standards loved by all. It’s a great place to hear live jazz. (cue the fanfare trumpets) On my birthday, the 15th of November, I’m playing at the SLG Art Boutiki in San Jose with one of my premier ensembles, Bari Bari. Bari Bari is a bottom heavy extravaganza that features not one, but 3 baritone saxophonists Aaron Lington, Geoff Roach, Oscar Pangilinan (who’s subbing for Fil Lorenz) and my Mo-Chi Quartet, Murray Low, Nils Johnson and Wally Schnalle. For this show, we’re adding one more person, Kristen Strom on the big horn just like we did at the San Jose Jazz Festival a couple of years ago. Bari Bari is a tribute to the Hard Bop and Cool eras of JAZZ that inspired me tremendously during my early years as a young trumpeter. Bands led by Donald Byrd, Art Farmer and Chet Baker featured baritone saxophonists Gerry Mulligan and Pepper Adams that brought forth a unique doubling of sounds. The sound of four baritone saxophones in this context is unparalleled. You have to hear it to believe it! Doors open at 7:30pm and we’ll have some special guests falling by so save the date…… Later in the month, I’ll be making a pilgrimage to Japan. Some of you know that my mother, Hana passed from this world in April of 2013. This summer, my brother and sister Rich and Joy took my mother home per her wishes to Sanjo, Japan. I am going to see her final resting place and visit my family over there. Some I’ve met years ago and some for the very first time. I’ll be going to Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo and sitting in with some groups in Kyoto and Osaka with my good friend guitarist Sebastien Lanson. We’ll be playing at Le Jazz Club in Kyoto, Blue Note Lounge in Osaka and at Live@Always with the Kyoto Composers Jazz Orchestra directed by Tomomi Taniguchi. While I’m in Tokyo, I hope to visit friends and also see the Yamaha Atelier Shop. I’m planning on visiting the Yamaha store in the Ginza and trying different model trumpets and flugelhorns that are only available in Japan. I’m enjoying my status as a Yamaha Performing Artist and am looking forward meeting and discovering new friends. More info regarding my Japan trip coming soon!!! |
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"From the moment I laid eyes on the cover of the Readers Digest Treasury of Short Stories with Louis Armstrong on the cover, I was aware 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. 2003
John L. Worley Jr. 2003
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 |
