Jazz Tales with Bassist Pepe Gonzalez

Presented by Jazz Alive, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, Jazz Tales is a live YouTube broadcast. Your purchase of a stream pass supports our mission of providing educational support in developing future artists and preserving this great art form through school and community programs.

Hosted by pianist Fred Hughes, the show features performances and interviews with invited guests talking about their careers, musical influences, and interesting tales from their years in the music business.

January 13th Jazz Tales welcomes Bassist Pepe Gonzalez

Pepe started his music career playing the electric bass in his late teens, when he formed one of the first integrated bands (between African Americans and Hispanics) in the Washington, DC area. The band, ZAPATA, opened for many great bands such as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Ramsey Lewis, Weather Report, Rashan Roland Kirk, Sly and the Family Stone, and the Isley Brothers. ZAPATA became one of the top bands in the Mid-Atlantic region, receiving great acclaim by the media and the audience alike.

Performing largely within the jazz idiom, Pepe has had the pleasure performing and recording with many national and international icons such as, Pepper Adams, Clifford Jordan, Slide Hampton, Dave Valentin, Bryon Morris, Hilton Ruiz, Paul Hawkins, Jeannie Bryson, Sheila Jordan, Dorothy Donegan, Carter Jefferson, Clark Terry, Malachi Thompson, Bill Hardman, Junior Cook, Giacomo Gates, Delfaeyo Marsalis, Horacio Icasto, and many others.

Pepe has performed for U.S. Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, the United Nation President Kufi Anan, and Vice President Al Gore. He has played at the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference, the Blue Note and the Jazz Times Convention all in New York City. He has played the Carribean, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and the Soviet Union. Festivals include Curacao Jazz Festival, San Remo Festival, East Coast Jazz Festivals II thru X, Syracuse Jazz Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival, San Antonio Jazz Festival, Harrisburg Jazz Festival, and the Cape May Festivals 1996 – 98 and 2000.

Be sure to join us for a new season of Jazz Tales and hear from one of the DC areas unsung heroes of not only the stage, but the classroom.