JIM
PASSARD — Bandleader, Featured Singer, Rhythm
Guitar
Jim's
tasteful and versatile guitar playing fronts The Lost Cats, while
his smooth voice captures your ear and refuses to let it go!
Born
and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jim’s music
tours have taken him from Alaska through the Pacific Northwest
and
back home to California. His inviting style has endeared
him to club owners and patrons for many years. Audiences appreciate
his wide range of material and the quality of his performance.
His eclectic
repertoire, performed with masterful fluidity,
includes songs with the jazzy elegance of Michael Franks, the
Latin
classics
of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and the great American standards of
Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer.
BOB
BRUMBELOE — Jazz Guitar
Bob's
playing demonstrates an impeccable command of the guitar, seasoned
with taste and
a playful
sense of musical humor. He has played every major venue in the
San Francisco Bay area, including Yoshi’s, Kimball’s
East, and The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society. He has performed
with internationally known
jazz recording artists including Bud Shank, James Moody and John
Handy. He’s well known and much appreciated for his ability
to provide solid and interesting backup for singers. When he’s not performing or
composing, Bob’s busy teaching. He has worked as an educator
with Jazz Education Friends, a non-profit organization that presents
jazz to disadvantaged young children and teens. He has been a
guest instructor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and
the San Francisco University High School. He was an instructor
at the Yamaha music school and continues to give private lessons.
KAREN
HORNER — Bass
Karen
is a versatile a performer, equally at home playing jazz,
popular or classical music. Currently a core member of the
Berkeley Symphony, she has held principal positions in many
San Francisco Bay Area orchestras including Berkeley, Rohnert
Park, and the Women’s Philharmonic whose bass section
she led for 20 years. She has played nationally and internationally,
performing at such outstanding venues as the Kennedy Center,
Davies Symphony Hall, Yoshi’s, and the Copacabana in
Brazil. She has played with many other outstanding musicians
including John Handy, Jessica Williams, and Mimi Fox. She
holds a Masters degree in performance and has continued to
develop her musicianship through post-graduate study. She
is a respected teacher having taught improvisation at Wellesley
College and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Currently
she teaches instrumental music in the Hayward Public School
system as well as privately at her residence in Berkeley.
TOM
WILLIAMSON — Trumpet
Tom started
playing trumpet when he was ten years old. By the time he
was fifteen he'd also taken up guitar and formed a six-piece
rock 'n' roll band, playing gigs in his hometown of Oakland and
throughout the East Bay. He studied music
in the jazz program at the University of Miami
and
at the
Dick
Grove
School of Music
in Los Angeles. In 1975 he relocated, first to Victoria, British
Columbia, and then to Vancouver, BC, where he formed and led
a five-piece jazz band that recorded and played in venues throughout
Western Canada. Since returning to California in 1982, he's played
and recorded with a variety of groups and talented artists. Equally
at home with jazz, pop or rock, Tom enjoys playing in all
sized ensembles from big bands to small
combos and in styles ranging from jazz to pop. His favorite,
though, is the spontaneity and musical freedom he finds playing
in a small jazz group such as The Lost Cats.
BILL BELASCO — Drums
Bill has been playing drums since
the age of three. He started his professional career at the
age
of fifteen playing with a brass-rock band. Bill then played
with various show and dance bands until coming to the Bay Area
in 1975. Soon after arriving in San Francisco, he got a steady
gig at the nite-club “Ivan Alexander’s” with a band called
Jumpstreet featuring Joahym Young. In 1980, Bill joined the
Pickle Family Circus (later the New Pickle Circus), where he
learned show drumming, and toured the United States as well
as Europe
and Japan. He has recently worked as a drummer with “Speedy Garfin and the Garfin
Gathering” in the Catskills in New York. Bill has
recorded with the “Jules Rowell Quintet” and the “Dave Miller Trio”. He also
plays with “Majestic Swing,” “Waldo Carter,” “Patrick Maier,” “Jules Broussard” and “Grant
Ewall” bands.
THE
BAND — Contact The Lost Cats
The
Lost Cats can perform as an intimate duo or as a
combination that may include jazz guitar, bass, percussion,
brass and woodwinds, to
create the right sized ensemble for any occasion. The band's
regular venues include The New Zealander (Alameda), Shelby’s (Orinda), Joe’s (Lafayette)
and Rafters (San Rafael). The band's diverse other
venues include The San Francisco Orchid Society Evening
Gala, Deloche
Vinyards (Napa), Two-day Town Music Festival (Livermore)
Union Street Fair
(San Francisco), Armando's (Martinez).
The
Lost Cats' music
is as suitable for listening enjoyment as it is for dancing.
The band is
available for bookings at supper clubs, night clubs, private/corporate
parties, weddings, festivals and
any occasion that calls for spirited jazz with tasteful vocals.
Please contact
Jim Passard to book the band:
Phone: 415·550·0490
Click to eMail Jim Passard: jim@thelostcats.com
Click
to download The Lost Cats Press packet.
The press
packet is a PDF suitable for viewing or printing. It includes photographs
and information about some of the great musicians who play with
the band.
Click
to download The Lost Cats poster for your show.
The poster is a legal-size Microsoft Word document with type-in entries for
the location, date and time of your event.
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