Jazz Caliente

Guitarist and composer Lee Waterman's Latin jazz ensemble, Jazz Caliente, percolates with infectious Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms. Jazz Caliente performs Lee’s original compositions as well as songs by the great Jazz and Latin masters including Miles Davis, Carlos Jobim, Cal Tjader, and Sergio Mendes. Don’t miss this opportunity to see these world-class musicians perform live and in person.

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Lee Waterman - Guitarist, Composer, Producer

Lee is originally from New York, where his early interest in music was nurtured by his grandmother, a locally prominent classical pianist.  At the age of nine he studied drums and later played in the school band.  In his late teens, Lee took up guitar and Latin percussion.  For the next several years he studied jazz guitar and music theory with internationally known guitarist and author, Warren Nunes. This strong foundation in the classic jazz styles plus the multicultural influences of percussion studies forged his eclectic compositional style.  Among his credits, Lee has led several Bay-Area based combos throughout the last three decades including the Silver Moon Big Band, and Jazz Caliente. He has also performed with sax great John Handy, Vocalist Mark Murphy, and Narada Michael Walden, and opened for many headliners including Tito Puente and Pancho Sanchez.

Steve Heckman - Saxophones

Steve is one of the top sax players on the West Coast. His work has been praised by saxophonists as diverse as Stan Getz, Charles Lloyd, and Pharoah Sanders. He has performed and/or recorded with Larry Vuckovich, Gine Wildon, Jackie Ryan, the San Francisco Chamberjazz Quartet, Dick Conte; Chuck Metcalf; Gerald Beckett; Heikki Koskinen; Zeena Quinn; Frankye Kellye; and Fran Foston.

Marc Levine - Electric Bass

Marc worked for two decades in L.A as a top studio musician. During that time he toured and/or recorded with Rosemary Clooney, Gerry Mulligan,  Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, Olivia Newton-John, Burt Bacharach, Melissa Manchester, and Barry Manilow. With Barry he toured for 9 years including numerous "Tonight Show" appearances.

Tommy Kesecker - Vibraphone and percussion

Tommy graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has recorded and toured internationally with world renown group Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience. Other projects include appearances with jazz piano legend Larry Vukavich and "the Different Drums and Percussion Group", which performs for and educates local children. Tommy has appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival and Russian River Jazz Festival  as well as a variety of concert venues throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Gerry Kennett - Drums

Gerry is known for his impeccable timing, crystal clear timbre, and mastery of multiple musical genres. He began his musical career on clarinet and saxophone, but switched to drums in high school. A member of the award winning University of Nevada Jazz Band, he soon branched out to performing for shows at Harrah’s, Harvey’s, and the Nugget on the Las Vegas/Reno/Tahoe circuit. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area Gerry soon began working with Val Diamond, one of the stars of Beach Blanket Babylon. Val relied on Gerry’s drumming for many years in her solo performances at the Great American Music Hall, Bimbo’s, and The Boarding House. Since then Gerry has been one of the Bay Area's most in demand free lance drummers as well as a popular music educator.