Pete Escovedo San Diego farewell concert, with Myron McKinley
Compared to 88-year-old percussion master Pete Escovedo, Keith Sweat, John Michael Montgomery, Frankie Beverly and the members of the Eagles and Aventura seem like, well, wimps.
Beverly is 77. Don Henley and Joe Walsh of the Eagles are both 76. Sweat is 62. Montgomery is 59. And the founding members of New York bachata-music band Aventura — brothers Romeo, Henry, Lenny and Max Santos — are each in their early 40s.
All of them are now embarked on their respective farewell tours. So is Escovedo, who rose to prominence in the early 1970s as a key member of the pioneering Latin-rock bands Santana and Azteca before becoming one of the most versatile and in-demand percussionists around.
A partial list of Escovedo’s recording partners includes Tito Puente, Boz Scaggs, Herbie Hancock, Woody Herman, Billy Cobham, Marvin Gaye, Bobby McFerrin, Barry White, Barbra Streisand, Etta James, Stephen Stills and Escovedo’s daughter, veteran solo artist and former Prince drummer Sheila E.
In 2021, he and Sheila E. became the first father-and-daughter musicians to concurrently receive Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. She is not billed to perform Saturday when he gives what is being billed as his last San Diego concert.
But her musician brothers, Juan and Peter Michael Escovedo, will be on stage. Both are longtime members of their father’s E Family Band and his brassy Latin Jazz Orchestra.
And since the Escovedo clan includes a number of prominent San Diego-bred musicians, the show could be an even more memorable family affair. And center stage will be a percussion master whose lifelong love of music continues unabated.
As an added bonus, Earth, Wind & Fire musical director Myron McKinley opens the show.
8 p.m. Saturday. Pete Escovedo, with Myron McKinley. The Music Box, 1337 India St., downtown. $50, plus service charges. musicboxsd.com
Jeff Berkley & The Banned album release concert, with Dead Rock West and Kimmi Bitter
Can a love of pot bridge the political divide and bring this intensely polarized nation closer together?
That’s the message of hope delivered by 2023 San Diego Music Awards Artist of the Year-winner Jeff Berkley on “Even the Cowboys.” Or, as Berkley puts it in this country-rocking song: “Right and left don’t matter when you’re on a higher plane.”
Weed is the key inspiration for “Even the Cowboys,” a stand-out number from Berkley’s first solo album in seven years, “Tumbleweed.” The audacious album could just as easily been titled “Weed” — if only to distinguish it from “Tumbleweed,” a poignant ballad on “Fleur de Lis,” the 2013 album by the 26-year-old duo Berkley Hart.
Berkley is a quadruple-threat as a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer who has contributed to hundreds of albums by an array of San Diego music acts. He shines equally as a solo artist, in a duo setting with fellow troubadour Calman Hart, and as the leader of Jeff Berkley & The Banned, the talent-rich group that will accompany him at his “Tumbleweed” album-release concert.
The lineup also features opening sets by longtime are favorites Dead Rock West and rising country singer-songwriter Kimmi Bitter, who is nominated in two categories in this year’s San Diego Music Awards.
7 p.m. Wednesday. Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. (858) 481-8140; bellyup.com
Jerry Bergonzi
Tenor sax dynamo Jerry Bergonzi first gained international attention for his work in the 1970s with jazz piano legend Dave Brubeck. His subsequent musical partners have ranged from Miles Davis, Quincy Jones and Eartha Kitt to guitarist Mick Goodrick, drum great Bob Moses and top German keyboardist Joachim Kuhn.
Bergonzi has several dozen solo albums to his credit, along with a well-earned reputation as a saxophonist’s saxophonist. He plays with a rich tone and his dizzying virtuosity enables him to make even the most unexpected musical twists sound inviting and perfectly logical.
Given how infrequent his visits here have been, concertgoers should welcome the fact that he is performing here on two consecutive nights this week.
The first is Thursday at San Diego State University’s Smith Recital Hall, where he’ll be featured with the SDSU Big Band, four smaller student groups and a band that will team him with four of the university’s jazz faculty members. The lineup for the faculty group includes pianist Anthony Smith, bassict Mackenzie Leighton and drummer Tyler Kreutel. In addition, Bergonzi is presenting free workshops Thursday and Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Smith Recital Hall.
On Friday night, Bergonzi will perform at the all-ages Dizzy’s with a band that features fellow saxophonist (and SDSU jazz department head) Brian Levy, trumpet favorite Gilbert Castellanos, pianist Mikan Zlatkovich, bassist Julian Esparza and drummer Kevin Kanner.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, Smith Recital Hall, 5500 Campanile Dr,, San Diego State University. $10-$15 (free for SDSU students). sdsupsfa.universitytickets.com
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8 p.m. Friday. Dizzy’s at Arias Hall (behind the Musician’s Association building), 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park. $30 general admission; $20 (students). (858) 270-7467; dizzysjazz.com