BBX Blog

We may not have bands playing on every street corner or at every bar, as they do in New Orleans, but Cafe Van Kleef is the next best thing. Stop by for a stiff cocktail and performances that include soul, jazz, blues and R&B. Get in the Mardi Gras mood on the first Saturday of the month with Crescent City-style brass music by the Blue Bone Express. Continue reading →

“Clad in kittenish heels, tiny two-pieces, and alluring accessories, [Hot Pink Feathers] shimmy through an exuberant original revue that mixes Brazilian samba, showgirl moves, cancan kicks, and lots of cheeky moves. On Saturday, Oct. 3, see them shake their tail feathers at Cafe Van Kleef during their monthly First Saturday showcase, accompanied by the New Orleans/barrelhouse-brothel party jazz of Oakland-based Blue Bone Express.” Continue reading →

New Orleans style jazz is often related with the great figures of jazz such as Louis Armstrong or more recently Harry Connick, Jr. However, Oakland-based bandleader jara Queeto and his Blue Bone Express band are reinterpreting the music of New … Continue reading →

“Their eclectic mix of original tunes and old favorites (I was grooving to Axel F and the funky music from the Star Wars bar scene) guaranteed that even the creakiest knees were flexing and bouncing on the narrow dance floor.” Continue reading →

“This isn’t Be-bop or Swing or the New Thing. This is the Real Thing. This is living, breathing, spitting Jazz music. It’s not revival music. It’s not museum music. It’s music inspired by a tradition and informed by it’s own time.” Continue reading →

” Remember the geeks in the marching band that we all used to tease so much? Well, watch out, because they’re back and somehow they’ve become talented and sexy party boys…

They are (dare I say) as entertaining as any rock show I’ve seen in the Bay Area … Overall, this show is a must see … even if you aren’t a big jazz fan.” Continue reading →

“The coolest jazz brass band in Northern California.” Continue reading →

“Oakland-based, New Orleans-style jazz and parade brass band Blue Bone Express and SF dance troupe Hot Pink Feathers will somehow cram themselves into Oakland’s Cafe Van Kleef.” Continue reading →

“Blue Bone Express [is] an eccentric little combo mixing NOLA-style Dixieland with bop, blues and bachelor-pad improvisation…. One song and you’ll know these people love to play jazz as much as anyone’s ever loved anything..” Continue reading →

“Even though it’s a bunch of white guys from California, they know what they’re doing, from the shuffling pace of their dirges to the joyous bang the tuba starts when he just can’t hold back any longer.” Continue reading →

“Once you hear [Blue Bone Express] you’ll only wanna hear them for the rest of your life, whenever you walk down the street you’ll wish they were at your side. They play your biography, they play everyone’s. No matter what mood you are in somehow they tell your story.” Continue reading →

“Straight outta Oakland, Blue Bone Express — nothing but lively traditional Dixieland jazz here.”

“If there’s any hope for the future of [traditional jazz] music it’s going to come from musicians like these. Players who are willing to do something more with the music than simply ape past masters. There’s nothing hackneyed or contrived in what these guys play. They sound utterly natural doing what they do.” Continue reading →

2nd Place, World Contemporary Music (with Hot Pink Feathers) Continue reading →

“Oakland-based jazz band Blue Bone Express spices up the already caliente Carnaval SF” Continue reading →