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Nora Stanley, saxophone
Omree Gal-Oz, piano
Luis Salcedo, guitar
Owen Clapp, bass
Matthew Buckner, drums

Saxophonist, bandleader and composer Nora Stanley was born in San Francisco and raised in Berkeley. Growing up in a musical family, she attended Berkeley High and participated in the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars and Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco and any number of other such aggregations before moving to Ohio to study at Oberlin College and Conservatory with Gary Bartz, Eddie Henderson, Billy Hart and other fine teachers, earning a B.Mus. in Jazz Studies and a B.A. in Latin American Studies. She currently plays and teaches around the Bay Area, leading her own bands and playing on others’ projects. Active bands include the Nora Stanley quintet and quartet, the East of Eden Trio (with Owen Clapp and Matt Buckner), Bankshot (with Kasey Knudsen, Ben Goldberg and Andrew Stephens) and the Noel Jewkes Septet, alongside alto saxophonist Charlie McCarthy and trumpeter Dave Bendigkeit. She has shared the stage with such greats as Ambrose Akinmusire, Gary Bartz, Dayna Stephens, Eddie Palmieri and Chucho Valdes, and has performed at Monterey Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ as well as in Spain, Cuba and Brazil.

This winter, Nora is enjoying a run of local appearances that started with a January 27 date in guitarist Luis Salcedo’s group at the Make Out Room and two dates on January 28, the first with her own quartet at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley and then a two-tenor date in Eli Maliwan’s quintet at Oakland’s Starline Social Club. February 6, Nora played in Nathan Bickart’s group at Curio Bar in the Mission and on February 7th, she leads her quintet at Bird & Beckett. Culminating the run, Nora brings her quintet into the Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ on February 22nd in its prestigious “Artists on the Rise” series.

Catch this galvanizing young saxophonist on the rise in the intimate atmosphere of San Francisco’s premier listening room, Glen Park’s own Bird & Beckett and you’ll be in on a pivotal stage in this artist’s blossoming career. Then get down to SFJAZZ two weeks hence to hear her on an internationally acclaimed stage as the rest of the world continues to catch on!

Read jazz writer Andrew Gilbert’s take on this formative moment in Berkeleyside.com at this link and visit Nora Stanley’s website at norastanley.com.