DON ALBERTS BIO
EMail
Don:
LIVEPIANO@email.msn.com
BOOKING
CONTACT:
Don Alberts,
Direct:
(510) 528-3591
Don Alberts has
developed his music
through his relation to
well known musicians and
performers having playing
associations with great
players like Leroy
Vinnegar, Chet Baker,
Shorty Rogers and Bud
Shank with whom he toured
the Northwest, recordings
with renowned bassist
David Friesen, and a
period as house pianist
at the historic Bop City
in San Francisco in the
late 60's.
A native of the San
Francisco area, he
attended San Jose City
College as a music major
and studied with Thomas
Ryan at San Jose State.
Don has appeared in many
JAZZ venues and major
festivals throughout the
Northwest and Canada
where he studied with
Jerome Grey of Seattle.
He also has gained note
as a composer whos works
are performed often by
trumpeter Al Molina and
other San Francisco area
artists. In the period of
the 60's he wrote music
for the crossover band
"Flower"of
which he was a member,
and compositions for the
John Handy "Freedom
Band" and the Virgil
Gonsalves Group.
Don grew up in the Bay
Area and learned his
skills playing the San
Francisco clubs in the
60's which exposed him to
the challenging music of
Miles Davis and John
Coltrane, much of which
became part of his
foundation and style, a
style rooted deeply in
the modes and the blues.
The romantic side of his
playing comes from the
influence of pianist Bill
Evans.
Beginning piano at the
age of ten, his earliest
influence was the Boogie
Woogie style of Mary Lou
Williams, but eventually
he heard all the great
players and pursued their
music, these became his
heros: Teddy Wilson, Earl
Hines, Errol Garner,
George Shering, Nat Cole,
Oscar Peterson, Bud
Powell, Hampton Hawes,
Red Garland, McCoy Tyner,
Chic Corea, and most
recently the music of
Mulgrew Miller.
DISCOGRAPHY:
One of Dons early
compositions, "The
Lizard" appears on
the album "Home
Coming" with Tom
Harrell, released in 1999
by bassist Gordon Stevens
on "Life Force
Records."
More of his compositions
are found on his own
recordings with David
Friesen on "Blue Ray
Music" released in
1988 entitled "Local
Hero." Two more
compositions, "The
Blue Mirror" and
"Furnacci
Blues" can be found
on Francis Vaneks 1985
release, "Redwood
Range" on Valentine
Records. A 1981 recording
with the Northwest band
"Tangier"
included three of his
compositions:
"Nightly
Dancer," "Dixie
Flyer," and
"Tabledance,"
all of which were
published on "Cisco
Records."
ENGAGEMENTS
Don has played most of
the major hotels in San
Francisco both as a
soloist and with various
band combinations. The
list would include: The
Ritz Carlton, The Pan
Pacific, The Holiday Inn,
The Fairmont, and The
Mark Hopkins.
Don has also played
extended engagements for
Mooses, and Bix, Enricos.
He is frequently found
playing JAZZ, his
favorite music, at
Pearls, on Columbus and
also at The Cypress Club
where he has played on
Saturday nights for the
past four years with his
trio that includes, Frank
Passantino (bass) and
Buddy Barnhill (drums).
Don is included in the
historic photo "The
San Francisco Giants of
JAZZ."
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