Tiburon Photos

From the Tiburon International Film Festival 2009. Sorry for the delay on these. I really enjoyed the film festival, and saw some incredible films. My favorite, Guard No. 47, won best picture, best director, Filip Renč, best cinematography, Karel Fairaisl, and best actress, Lucia Siposova. There were many other brilliant films, and unfortunately (in terms of photos), I was busier watching films than taking pictures.

I’m looking forward to the Mill Valley Film Festival, October 8-18…and may be doing more than taking pictures there.

As always, you can download these pictures for free from Flickr.

From July 2009, Servino’s Dinner Opera in Tiburon. You can download any of these photos in full resolution for free from Flickr. To watch in full screen, click the icon on the bottom right of the slideshow.

Unfortunately, there will be no opera night in August, but opera nights will return again in September.

Photos from the Tiburon Classic Car Show 2009. You can download any of these photos in full resolution for free from Flickr. To watch in full screen, click the icon on the bottom right of the slideshow.

These photos are still uploading…connectivity in Tiburon sucks, so all the photos may not be available in all sizes until after I return to Palo Alto next week.

From June 2009, Servino’s Dinner Opera in Tiburon. You can download any of these photos in full resolution for free from Flickr. To watch in full screen, click the icon on the bottom right of the slideshow.

From May 2009, Servino’s Dinner Opera in Tiburon. You can download any of these photos in full resolution for free from Flickr. To watch in full screen, click the icon on the bottom right of the slideshow.

Pictures from various dates of Jazz vocalist Paula Bradman performing live at Servino’s Ristorante in Tiburon.

Be sure to check out her review here.

And check out Paula Bradman’s website.

From May 16, The Tiburon Wine Festival 2009. You can download any of these photos in full resolution for free from Flickr. To watch in full screen, click the icon on the bottom right of the slideshow.

Opening Day Photos from June 7. It was definitely a fun and crazy weekend. I’ve been going out on San Francisco Bay for several years now…sometimes year-round, but this was the first weekend I was on the Bay for opening day (instead of squeezing out the last days of skiing). It was definitely worth it!

These photos can be downloaded full-sized for free from Flickr.

Paula Bradman, Jazz Vocalist

Sorry, but this post only has 1 picture, taken from my iPhone, and doesn’t come close to doing the lovely Paula Bradman justice. Paula Bradman has more pictures on her website. I hope to get more pictures soon when she performs at Servino’s Ristorante in Tiburon this Saturday, April 4 – 7:30pm to 10:30pm.

Paula Bradman is on of my favorite regular Jazz performers in San Francisco. It’s always a wonderful delight to find that she’s playing at a restaurant where you can make an evening of good food, drink and entertainment.

My first experience with Paula Bradman was about a year ago in front of Servino’s restaurant during the Friday Night Tiburon Street Fair. The street fair in Tiburon, always has a lot going on…and lots of kids running around. It’s fun, but a bit distracting if you’re looking to enjoy the jazz music.

Fortunately, Paula Bradman performs regularly indoors, where I’ve seen her a few times, and really enjoyed her performance.

After her last performance, she handed me a demo CD of her jazz music for review. She did so with the caveat that the first song on the CD was something she didn’t like and wanted to delete (a cover of the Rolling Stones, “Satisfaction”).

I’ve heard her perform Satisfaction live and really like it. However, when Paula Bradman performs, she works the crowd, and provides a specific mood to fit the environment throughout the evening. Being in synch and even better, driving the mood, to me, is key to a jazz performance, and Paula Bradman consistently executes this brilliantly. My guess, is that Paula doesn’t feel that this recording of Satisfaction correctly sets up what she wants the rest of the CD to be. I can’t disagree with this, but would say that it would be a shame to delete this song as opposed to providing it as an extra or bonus track at the end.

The rest of the jazz CD is an absolute delight, as expected by anyone who has seen Paula Bradman live. It lacks the visual feast that is the beauty of Paula performing, and of course the intimacy and interaction with the audience, but makes up for that with the benefit you get from being able to listen and relax to the familiar tracks you can re-listen to over and over…which I find perfect for sailing on San Francisco Bay or hanging on the boat at Angel Island.

Paula Bradman is backed on her CD by a team of talented musicians consisting of Michael Smolens (piano and electric piano), Fred Randolph (acoustic and electric basses), Eric Crystal (tenor, alto, and soprano saxes), and Alan Hall (drums).

It may not be as extensive as the Catalina Jazz Festival in Avalon, but a Paula Bradman performance in Tiburon is a much more special evening not to be missed.

March 11, 2009
Chef Angelo Servino & Vintner Giovanni Negro Present: A Menage Love Affair – Food, Wine, & Opera: The Bel Canto Technique – Featuring Soprano Elizabeth King and Baritone Joe Parks Accompanied by Pianist Robert Ashens.

Servino’s is my favorite restaurant, and this was a really fantastic experience. The opera and dinner was intimate and wonderful in every way, and I sure hope they do another one soon (and on a regular basis).

Somehow, the people at Servino’s are always able to make the restaurant seem as if nobody actually works there. You get the sense that you’re simply a very welcomed guest and these are your new friends who want you to have a good dinner, and even more so, a good time. The opera was all of this and more. Oh, and the weather and view were amazing…complete with a full moon rising over Angel Island.

The full set of pictures is available for download (18MB). Please contact me if you’d like even larger resolution copies for prints.

You can make the slideshow full screen by clicking on the icon that looks like this: