Jazz in the Canyon – Just Us

Just Us

 

As a part of Dunsmuir’s 8th Annual Jazz in the Canyon, Pops Performing Arts & Cultural Center is please to host Just Us, a Bossa Nova & Light Funk. The performance will be be on Friday, September 27. Tickets will be $15 advanced purchased, and $20 at the door. Kids 12 and under can attend for free with adult.  Crave Pop up will be offering sliders, street tacos and smoked pizza beginning at 5 pm. Show starts at 7:30 pm.
Just Us was founded in 2017 by Tim Cain, original tenor sax player and arranger for the legendary San Francisco band Sons of Champlin.  In the ’60’s, as a member of the Sons, Tim played the great dance halls in the city (Fillmore, Avalon Ballroom, Carousel Ballroom, Winterland, Straight Theater) and toured nationwide for Bill Graham, sharing the stage with most of the iconic rock bands of the era including Santana, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Van Morrison, Joe Cocker,  Steve Miller, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Sly and the Family Stone, Chambers Brothers, Band from Big Pink, Miles Davis, B.B. King, The Byrds, Righteous Brothers, Chuck Berry, Jan and Dean, The Coasters, Charles Lloyd, even Bill Evans.  Presently he plays with Bill Champlin and the original Sons as well as his own Bossa Nova  group Just Us, who present a relaxed set of familiar Bossa Nova tunes, a few originals and some light funk thrown in for fun.
On acoustic piano is Michael McQuilkin.  He grew up in Rochester, NY studying classical piano with Eastman School of Music graduate Sylvia Cooley.  At the age of 6 he played piano for guests at his parent’s dinner parties and discovered his calling as a musical entertainer. He’s played with sax man John Handy and drummer Harold Jones (Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan).  Michael’s current show “Michael McQuilkin’s Family Music Hour” covers a range of music from Frank Sinatra to Dr. Dre and reflects Michael’s love of all styles and his talents as a pianist, producer, accompanist, band leader, and entertainer. The documentary “Music Man” tells the story of how Michael created this show, which celebrates families who play music together like Michael did in his own family years ago.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cYICX98CJ0
String Bassist David Russ began his professional career with The Fabulous Titans, a ska, reggae, dub group out of Berkeley, California. After moving to Hawaii he subsequently joined The Shakers, an American Reggae Band.  They toured with UB40, Maxi Priest, Soul Syndicate and Aswad and released their first album on Epiphany Records in 1976.  Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals liked the band so much he dubbed them “Yankee Reggae” .  After a stint in Australia, David returned to the San Francisco Bay Area where he joined Pulse Mondiale, a Latin Jazz trio which included the renowned French guitarist René Gely and Peruvian percussionist Raul Ramirez.  In recent years David has had the pleasure of backing such luminaries as Harold Jones (Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett) and Elvin Bishop (Butterfield Blues Band).
Drummer Linda ” Howie “ Cort spent her formative drumming years playing RnB Soul.  In the late 80’s, she joined the crossover country band Transistor Rodeo, who performed at many of the classic Bay Area venues – Slim’s, Great American Music Hall, Paradise Lounge, the IBeam. and the ever classic Sweetwater. In her musical travels, she has opened for: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Etta James, Doug Sahm, Dave Mason, Mink Deville and Chris Issak. Years have passed and now she finds herself delving into musical opportunities as they present themselves, such as Dunsmuir’s Jazz in the Canyon!  She also leads her own group, Howie’s Persuasion, where she shares her beloved RnB favorites.
Singer Tealy Gapinski is the Granddaughter of Ron Thelin, a San Francisco native son. During the ‘60s her Grand-pop was the owner of the Psychedelic Shop, the first store of its kind in Haight-Ashbury (or anywhere else, really).  According to Peter Coyote, Thelin founded the shop to disseminate information on the growing interest in psychedelic drugs and expanded consciousness.  Tealy is the epitome of Marin County beauty and sings sweet as a bird.  When she’s not performing with Just Us she works on an organic farm, livin’ life just like it should be.
Percussionist Mika Scott became a percussionist as a child, inspired by the rich San Francisco Bay Area musical community.  He has performed live with Steve Miller, Zero, and several members of the Grateful Dead.