For most of Jon Krosnick\u2019s career he\u2019s maintained separate realms for business and pleasure.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say he doesn\u2019t enjoy his work as a Stanford professor and\u00a0director of the university\u2019s Political Psychology Research Group. But he cuts a very different figure in his other persona as an adroit jazz drummer who\u2019s collaborated with some of the tradition\u2019s finest practitioners.<\/p>\n
A regular presence on Bay Area stages with his dynamic trio Charged Particles, Krosnick never sought to bring his very different creative pursuits together. But his upcoming two-week run with pianist Bill O\u2019Connell, a major force on New York City\u2019s Latin jazz scene since the 1970s, blossomed out of a rare career convergence.<\/p>\n
Krosnick got to know O\u2019Connell, a prolific recording artist and composer who made his reputation playing with Cuban conga great Mongo Santamaria, when he was asked to put a band together for a party in New York City in 2023. A longtime admirer of O\u2019Connell\u2019s work, he\u2019d seen the pianist perform many times with Puerto Rican flute star Dave Valentin.<\/p>\n
\u201cBill is an endless idea generator when he solos,\u201d said Krosnick, who cold called O\u2019Connell about the gig. After checking out Krosnick\u2019s work online he agreed. To complete the trio the pianist suggested Oakland-reared bassist\u00a0Lincoln Goines, a top New York accompanist with whom he\u2019s toured and recorded for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBill sent me two dozen tunes, and I did my homework,\u201d Krosnick said. \u201cWhen we played that party, I nailed every piece we did. We sounded like a trio immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same week, Krosnick was attending a New York City event for Cornell University\u2019s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. At past receptions for the center a student jazz combo provided music for the pack of pollsters, and Krosnick suggested upping the entertainment game with a band of veteran jazz artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you put a band together?\u2019\u201d he recalled, which provided the impetus for Krosnick\u2019s worlds to collide.<\/p>\n
Over the next two weeks, the public gets numerous opportunities to weigh in on O\u2019Connell\u2019s Public Opinion Research trio with Krosnick and Goines, starting Aug. 15 at the Hedley Club, offering a sneak peek at the Hotel De Anza\u2019s renovated music room. The run continues Aug. 19 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. After two shows at Keys Jazz Bistro in North Beach Aug. 20 the trio plays two shows at Meyhouse Palo Alto Aug. 21 and a doubleheader at Meyhouse San Ramon Aug. 22. The Bay Area residency concludes Aug 23 at Oakland\u2019s Piedmont Piano Company.<\/p>\n
For O\u2019Connell, the extended trip west is an all-too-rare opportunity to perform in a region he loves but has been absent from for decades. With more than two dozen albums to his credit as a leader, he\u2019s created inspired settings for the most formidable artists in jazz and Latin music, including Cuban reed star Paquito D\u2019Rivera, trumpeter Randy Brecker, Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez, and drummer Billy Hart.<\/p>\n
An Oberlin Conservatory-trained composer, he reached a career crossroads in 1977 when he was working with both Mongo Santamaria and trumpeter Chet Baker, whose playing and singing was as brilliant as his personal life was erratic.<\/p>\n
\u201cChet had a tour in Europe and Mongo had a tour up the West Coast,\u201d recalled O\u2019Connell, 72. \u201cPeople told me to be careful with Chet in terms of going to Europe. I was young and needed more stability, so I went with Mongo. Playing every night with a band that great does something to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He spent two years with the percussion icon, who recorded several of his tunes. It was a relationship that help lift him into New York\u2019s top ranks. In addition to his quarter-century tenure with Valentin, O\u2019Connell was in demand by the heaviest improvisers, including a stint with recently departed tenor sax legend Sonny Rollins.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you get next to someone as powerful and innovative as Sonny is a blessing,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the greatest things was listening to him play solo. Sonny didn\u2019t need a band. He was also a great guy with a great sense of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Latin front he\u2019s played at a similarly exalted level, such as a run with Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, \u201cone of the greatest bands I\u2019ve ever played with,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cYou\u2019ll hear some of that Apache vibe in what we do. I\u2019m not afraid to throw in some straight-ahead playing in a Latin tune. I\u2019m certainly not a purist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contact Andrew Gilbert at\u00a0jazzscribe@aol.com.<\/p>\n
BILL O\u2019CONNELL TRIO<\/p>\n
When & where: 7 p.m. Aug. 15 at Hedley Club, San Jose; admission TBD; www.instagram.com\/thehedleyclub; 7 p.m. Aug. 19 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz; $29.14-$31.50, www.kuumbwajazz.org; 7 & 9 p.m. Aug. 20 at Keys Jazz Bistro, San Francisco, $40, keysjazzbistro.com; 5 & 8 p.m. Aug. 21 at Meyhouse, Palo Alto, $38-$48, www.meyhousejazz.com\/paloalto; 5 & 8 p.m. Aug. 22 at Meyhouse, San Ramon, $24-$35, www.meyhousejazz.com\/sanramon; 5 p.m. Aug. 23 at Piedmont Piano Company, Oakland; $25-$30; piedmontpiano.com<\/p>\n
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