Come see us in June and July!
Opening for The Tubes
The Independent,
Saturday, June 16th, 2007, 9pm
628 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94117, 415.771.1422
You won't want to miss a chance to see the Penguins open for rock and roll legends The Tubes at this intimate club setting in San Francisco. Get your tickets now!
The Bistro,
Saturday, June 30th, 2007, 9-11pm
1001 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541, (510) 886-8525
Join the Penguins on Saturday, June 30th as they return to The Bistro in Hayward for only the second time in over five years. The Bistro has a great selection of beer on tap, and we promise the music will be fabulous. See you there!
KKUP Jazz Marathon,
Sunday, July 22nd, 1-7pm
1241 Franklin Square, Santa Clara, CA. 95050, (408) 260-2999
Come on down to the KKUP studios for a great afternoon of live jazz. Meet the on-air personalities of KKUP's jazz department, including our own Pat Smith.
Our Story
The Penguin Jazz Quartet started as a trio in the fall of 1994. Guitarist Pat Smith and drummer Russ St. John had been playing in a blues band together when bassist Sumit Das moved to the San Francisco bay area from Chicago. Pat and Sumit had played together in several Chicago bands in the early 1980's. All three wanted to explore the jazz repertoire. They were soon joined by pianist Bill Walker, another Illinois native.
The Quartet finds inspiration in the work of jazz greats like the Gene Harris quartet and the Bill Evans trio, and has been creating their own interpretations of jazz standards.
In 1996 they recorded a self-titled compact disc featuring such songs as My Funny Valentine, God Bless the Child, and Pat's own Penguin Jazz. The Cd was recorded in two sessions at The Music Annex in Menlo Park, CA and engineered by Tom Carr. The studio piano is a Yamaha baby grand. Pat's guitar is a solid body built in 1980 by Tom Holmes. Sumit plays a six string Ransom electric bass. Russ uses D'Amico drums.
The PJQ have played at numerous Bay Area venues, including the 1996 Healdsburg Summer Series, and two appearances at the KCSM Jazz On the Hill festival. A second CD was released in mid-1999, featuring six original compositions plus four more jazz standards.
The group disbanded in 2000 when Sumit took a job with Sony in LA. Pat and Bill went on to play with the Brazilian Jazz group Nossa Bossa, a group who's accolades included being chosen by Bose to help introduce its PAS sound system. Nossa Bossa disbanded in 2004. Pat and Bill have also collaborated on original music for two shows with SF Shakespeare. Russ went on to various musical projects in the SF bay area.
In early 2006 Pat and Bill reformed the PJQ with new members, Bassist Erik Turkman and Drummer Keith Wald.