The Gail Dobson Band

Native San Franciscan Gail Dobson brings her smoky, amber contralto and decades of Bay Area jazz history to Bird & Beckett with a quartet that merges traditional jazz harmonies with Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms. Her performance history traces back to legendary North Beach venues like the Purple Onion, the Hungry i, and the Jazz Workshop, and she spent 23 years as featured vocalist for Ray Brown's Great Big Band.

Dobson's approach emphasizes natural musical unfolding through player interaction and extended soloing—a philosophy that comes alive with her quartet of top Bay Area musicians. Guitarist Kam Mombasser joins bassist Aaron Cohn, a mainstay of the San Francisco jazz scene who has performed with pianist Don Alberts and drummer Art Lewis, and drummer Omar Aran, founder and executive director of the Bay Area Jazz Mobile who has supported over 330 local musicians through more than 210 free outdoor concerts.

The evening draws from the "Dobson Songbook"—music spanning Wayne Shorter, Gershwin, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Abbey Lincoln, and Nat Adderley. These are songs Dobson describes as being about "love, loss, family, hope, laughter, promise, future." Her performances often include special guests from her "Youth in Jazz" ensemble, young vocalists who have appeared at venues from San Francisco City Hall to the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Dobson's musical legacy runs deep through her family: she recorded and toured for three decades with her late husband, pianist Smith Dobson, and her children include vocalist Sasha Dobson and multi-instrumentalist Smith Dobson V. Her recent EP "How Fragile We Are" showcases the intimate, deeply expressive side of her artistry that has made her performances throughout the Bay Area so compelling.