Voted “Best of the East Bay" and now in its 22nd year, Oakland's UpSurge! comes to the . The septet includes Tammy Hall on piano, Ron Belcher on bass, Rob Rhodes on drums, saxophonist and producer Richard Howell, trombonist Angela Wellman and poets Raymond Nat Turner and Zigi Lowenberg.
A unique fusion of eclectic jazz and provocative poetry that reaches deep into the soul. From Councilwoman Nancy Nadel's proclamation making Oct. 24, 2010 "UpSurge! Day" in the city of Oakland:
"Whereas UpSurge has coaxed, cajoled, urged, shouted, hollered and sung lullabies for us all so that we will never forget the Middle Passage, the anti-apartheid struggle, the unemployed, our libraries and literacy, and whereas UpSurge opened the historic October 2001 rally in support of our embattled Congresswoman Barbara Lee following her lone courageous vote against attacking Afghanistan ... UpSurge has been instrumental in rekindling the tradition of performing poetry with jazz striking spiritual, emotional and intellectual chords within us all.
