Beach Blanket Babylon STAR RENEE LUBIN: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin!

Seating times: 7:00pm & 8:30pm. Doors open 30 minutes early.

TICKET AVAILABILITY:  IF SELECTED TICKETS ARE “SOLD OUT”, PLEASE CHECK AVAILABILITY FOR ANOTHER TIME AND ANOTHER SEATING TYPE

Black Cat JAZZ@theEDGE Summer Festival!! Presents: Beach Blanket Babylon STAR RENEE LUBIN:  A Tribute to Aretha Franklin!

Renée Lubin – vocals
Dee Spencer – piano
Charles Thomas – bass
Mark Lee – drummer

San Francisco native and vocal jazz artist, RENÉE LUBIN, known for her memorable and rich voice is noted by the SF Chronicle as a city treasure for her 34 year run with San Francisco’s own musical revue, Beach Blanket Babylon. This iconic jazz vocalist has performed  with many local artists at such venues as SF Jazz, The San Francisco Symphony and the intimate tasting rooms of  the Napa Valley.  Renee is the former Vocal Jazz Coach at San Francisco State University; directing the Vocal Jazz Choir for 12 years.  Notable performances include the SF Gay Men’s Chorus, SF Giants, SF 49er’s, Oakland A’s and the San Jose Sharks along with a plethora of musical theatre throughout the Bay Area. Renée is a proud recipient of the SF Mayors Community Stalwart Award by the Human Rights Commission.

Dee Spencer’s piano and keyboard performance credits encompass a star-studded roster including Grammy-Award winner Ledisi, “Beach Blanket Babylon” star Renée Lubin, “Tower of Power” vocal sensation Lenny Williams, jazz legends John Handy, Jimmy Scott, Louis Bellson, Clark Terry, Regina Carter, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Bernard Purdie and X-Factor sensation Jason Brock. Her latest recording “Tranquility” was released in 2018. Dee served as music director for stage productions Dreamgirls in Concert, Hair and Chicago.

Charles grew up in the furtile heart of San Francisco’s famous Fillmore district and became a well known Bay Area player in the pop, reggae, jazz,and classical idioms. He studied formally and informally various musical styles, from Fillmore blues and San Francisco acid rock/funk, to classical and jazz, graduating with degrees in music, first from City College of San Francisco and then San Francisco State University.

While completing his degrees, Charles toured the Pacific Northwest with the great Sierra Leone guitarist and singer, Sooliman Rogie. He then was invited by Esther Phillips to join her band and tour as her bassist for 4 years. He’s also played with Les McCann, Billy Paul, Julian Priester, Lenny Williams, Karlton Hester, John Handy, Little Anthony, The Fifth Dimension, and many others.

Currently, Charles performs in the Bay Area with various well known groups and runs his company, Sea Tea Music Co., which is a production and creative force specializing in working with artist and companies with recording and sound track projects.

Drummer Mark Lee has a wealth of experience performing in the San Francisco/Bay Area music scene. He has backed vocalists Ernestine Anderson, Freda Payne, Charles Brown, Mary Lou Henner, Stephanie Powers, The Pointer Sisters and many more. Mark’s very active in the instrumental music scene and musical theater community.