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Tangria Jazz

The Tangria Jazz Group is acclaimed as one of the up and coming jewels of the Bay Area jazz scene. This group’s unique blend of fire, intensity and sensitivity sets them apart, moving audiences to new heights and drawing them into the closest confines of intimacy. Formed in the spring of 1997, the Tangria Jazz Group has developed a rich, captivating sound that brings new contributions to bear upon the genres of Latin and straight-ahead jazz.

Each player brings an individual style to the group, always keeping Tangria’s sound interesting and dynamic. Their influences range from Ellington to Jobim, from Miles Davis to Joe Henderson. Simon Rochester on Rhodes piano draws upon the intricate and lush contributions left by Herbie Hancock and Bill Evans; the intensity, explosiveness and melodic treatments of Tony Williams and Joe Morello are apparent in drummer Sheryl Mebane’s playing; and the melodic and soulful contributions of bass players Dave Holland and Charlie Haden are brought forth in Tangria’s bassists' playing. Honoring their influences, Tangria’s fresh, inventive expression reveals a unique identity, especially in their original compositions.

Their expressive music is an important addition to the San Francisco jazz community and is rapidly finding a place in the hearts of jazz aficionados throughout the U.S., Canada and internationally. After completing a successful radio campaign and embarking on a national press campaign, Tangria Jazz Group is excited to air their blend of originality and fire.

Players’ Bios: Sheryl Mebane plays with inventive Bay Area and North Carolina bands. Search online to read about her jazz novel, Lady Bird, and her postdoctoral environmental research.

Simon Rochester, playing professionally since age 15, has played notable Bay Area clubs and has appeared on three albums spanning 10 years with the funk band !Tang. Simon routinely plays with top musicians and does physics research at UC Berkeley.

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220
Album Review

Tangria Jazz Group: Tangria Jazz Group

Read "Tangria Jazz Group" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


On their third release, the self-titled Tangria Jazz Group continues to impress. With lots of positive press from the San Francisco Bay Area this trio, led by drummer/composer Sheryl Mebane with keyboardist Simon Rochester and bassist Justin Hellman, is thoroughly interactive and entertaining.

Founded in 1997, Tangria Jazz Group has evolved with its most accessible album to date, with two originals and four standards. Eden Ahbez's “Nature Boy" is a good beginning for the album; a familiar tune ...

182
Album Review

Tangria Jazz Group: Tangria Jazz Group

Read "Tangria Jazz Group" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Tangria Jazz Group is what happens when the academy gets bored in the classroom and decides to go blow in the studio. The trio's first recording, Songs From Lady Bird was inspired by drummer/percussionist/physical chemist Sheryl Mebane's jazz novel Lady Bird (Pearl Street, 2003). Mebane's Eleven: Tunes for Two (Blastfamous, 2007) featured an abundance of original material and sidemen. The eponymous Tangria Jazz Group brags an abundance of standards with a couple of originals that shows the group maturing.

187
Album Review

Tangria Jazz Group: Mebane's Eleven: Tunes for Two

Read "Mebane's Eleven: Tunes for Two" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


The Tangria Jazz Group is ostensibly a jazz piano trio made up of brainiacs from all over the map.

Drummer and composer Dr. Sheryl Mebane is an environmental chemist, bassist Justin Hellman is a product of the music department at the University of California, Berkeley where keyboardist Simon Rochester is currently conducting physics research.

So, what type of jazz does such a brainy bunch produce? Surprisingly, it is quite mainstream and straight-ahead. There are some sharp turns however, so listeners ...

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Performance / Tour

Tangria Jazz Kick's off Father's Day Celebration at Vignette

Tangria Jazz Kick's off Father's Day Celebration at Vignette

Source: Kari-On Productions

Appearing At: Vignette Restaurant (inside the Orchard Hotel) REQUESTING ARTIST PREVIEW/CD REVIEW/LIVE PERFORMANCE REVIEW In National Campaign for: Tangria Jazz - Mebane's Eleven Drummer, Sheryl Mebane, a San Francisco artist draws from her inner spirit and the sights, sounds and experiences of a seasoned composer and performer. As the leader of Tangria Jazz, Mebane is invigorating the jazz scene with her blend of multifarious and harmonically rich blend of instrumental jazz. The ensemble is proud to ...

Mebane's Eleven: The leader is a chick drummer with a musical education that she hasn't let go to her head enough to ruin her instincts as she follows the lead of musical heroes like Tony Williams with her own Bay area trio that plays like it wants to go the distance. ~Chris Spector, Midwest Record Recap

"The music of The Tangria Jazz Group's 'Mebane's Eleven: Tunes For Two' is like a pleated skirt swaying in a gentle, cool, crisp spring morning breeze before the temperature breaks and the heat & sizzle arrive. Their music is fresh like the early AM bird calls to which you attend before you get distracted by the sounds of the arrival of workaday world." ~Peter Poses, Host of "OverNight Jazz: The Soundz Of Surprize", KRFC Ft. Collins, Colorado

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Tangria Jazz Group

Self Produced
2008

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Mebane's Eleven:...

Blastfamous Records
2007

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Videos

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