RECORDINGS - We have five recordings.
Our records are played on KCSM-FM, San Diego's Jazz 88, PRI's "Jazz After Hours" (syndicated on 70 stations), KPFA, KZFR, KKUP, KZSC, KRCB, soulandjazz.com's "The Creative Source" and more.

The newest record, "onward" features Greg Sankovich, Ross Wilson, Lincoln Adler, Russ Gold, Alan Hall, Michaelle Goerlitz, Myles Boisen, and Kurt.
It's our best record yet. It was recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley by Adam Muñoz and produced by Greg, Lincoln, and Kurt.

Purchase: You can buy Kurt Ribak's CDs, downloads, etc. online at, on iTunes and all the other usual online sources, at The Groove Yard in Oakland at 5555 Claremont in Oakland, at Bird & Beckett Books & Records, 653 Chenery St., San Francisco, at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA.

Streaming: You can also stream us on YouTube, Spotify, Qobuz and Pandora, as well as other streaming platforms.

UPCOMING RELEASE

We will release a new record - "PAST PRESENT FUTURE" May 17 2025, when we play the Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ. It will be out on LP, CD, and streaming.

The tunes are my own compositions, with the exception of a cover of Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue."

The band on the record is the band appearing at SFJAZZ show:

Kurt Ribak - upright bass, vocals, songwriter, bandleader
Greg Sankovich - piano
Lincoln Adler - saxophones
David Rokeach - drums.

Recorded at 25th Street Recording - Adam Muñoz recording engineer.  Mixed by Lincoln Adler and Greg Sankovich.

Get your tickets here!
https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/24-25/kurt-ribak/

The Joe Henderson lab only seats about 107 people, and tickets are already being reserved, so I encourage folks to get Tickets early.

If you want to hire my band for a house concert - or are a nonprofit interested in presenting or underwriting jazz performances, please contact me.

SFJAZZ - Jazz Concert Venue
http://www.sfjazz.org
Joe Henderson Lab
201 Franklin St., San Francisco, CA

Tickets: https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/24-25/kurt-ribak/ . I encourage people to reserve tickets early. My group has consistently sold out shows at SFJAZZ. If a show has sold out, keep checking - a ticket or two often become available in the final days before the event.

We will feature music for the new album we will release in May. It will mostly be Latin music - not Brazilian music or salsa so much as boleros, tangos, a cumbia, and so on, written by Kurt. We will also feature a jazz ballad version of the Elvis Costello album "Almost Blue."

A Free Taste:
So what'll it sound like? Here are some mp3s:
Monday Mambo
Just Got Paid
PseudoAfroCubanismo
Almost Blue

The band will be my Usual Suspects - all musicians I've known and played with over forty years. The musicians appearing with me at SFJAZZ are the band that recorded the tracks on the new album.

The Band:
Kurt Ribak: bassist, bandleader, singer, songwriter
Lincoln Adler: saxophones
David Rokeach: drums
Greg Sankovich: keyboards

If you've seen my band you're probably very familiar with Greg and Lincoln. Greg has been on all my records. This is the third record of mine for Lincoln. Greg and Lincoln have co-produced my three most recent records.

David Rokeach (drums) has played with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples, Lou Rawls, Dr. John, Joe Henderson, and many more.

Kurt, dressed in an SFJAZZ shirt, holding the new CD. Photo: Korina Blazeby

Special Promotion on the new record!
Special price only available at Kurt's SFJAZZ shows May 17
CDs $15 each
LPs $25 each

Price only good at the show - Credit Cards and contactless payment only - NO CASH
We want to sell out the shows, and I want to share the new record with you. At first the record will ONLY be available at the SFJAZZ shows - and at a special low price - CDs $15 each, LPs $25 each
Sorry, no bundle discounts per SFJAZZ policy

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Kurt Ribak Trio - featuring Lincoln Adler, Scott Foster and special guest Scott Larson
Saturday, June 7, 7:30 to 9:30 PM
Bird & Beckett Books and Records
https://birdbeckett.com
635 Chenery Street
San Francisco, CA 94131

$20 cash cover charge at the door; Venmo accepted as well.

Seating limited. For reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733

Bird & Beckett is a very special place. It's in the charming Glen Park neighborhood, they book lots of live music, AND it's an outstanding bookstore. It's also close to the Glen Park BART station,

For me a good neighborhood has good coffee and a good book store. I grew up in Berkeley and spent much of my life prowling the great bookstores of Berkeley - most of which are now sadly gone. Bird & Beckett is still here. You can BYOB to the show - there's a store on the corner if you want something to drink during the show. This store has a great inventory- lots of books you won't see elsewhere, including lots of local authors. They also have a small but select choice of CDs and LPs.

I'll lead a group featuring Lincoln Adler on sax and Scott Foster on guitar. Most of you have seen me play with Lincoln but may not know Scott. Scott is one of the best guitarists on the scene. We've played together over 30 years. Super player and great person.

Trombonist Scott Larson will be a special guest on trombone. He's played with my group before and he and I also go way back. Likewise a fine player and person.

The show is underwritten by Jazz in the Neighborhood through its Guaranteed Wage Fund. This worthy program helps make performing sustainable for musicians. Jazz in the Neighborhood is worthy of support - I donate and support them.

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Kurt Ribak Trio - Original Jazz
Friday, June 19, 7 PM to 9 PM
regular gig - third Friday of every month
Roxx on Main - California Cuisine - INDOOR SHOW
https://www.roxxonmain.com
627 Main Street, Martinez, CA 94553
Call 925-370-7699 for reservations

My band returns to Roxx on Main in Martinez. We'll be INDOORS. Make reservations, as seating is limited.

Roxx received multiple Reader's Choice awards from the East Bay Times:

Roxx on Main wins the 2024
East Bay Times Reader's Choice Awards

1st Place categories:
* Best place to hear live music
* Best specialty cocktail
* Best American food

Roxx also won "Best Live Music Spot" from Diablo Magazine - https://www.diablomag.com/2024-best-of-the-east-bay-complete-list-of-winners/article_bc083c32-39c0-11ef-a516-d7987581ae6a.html

Executive Chef Lesley Stiles and Chef de Cuisine Tony Lauro consistently create outstanding food. I've repeatedly come on my own time and dime to eat here and cheer on other bands. The restaurant was featured on the KQED-TV show "Check, Please." The food, California Cuisine, is exceptional - Go here for a YouTube link to the episode featuring Roxx - the episode features three worthy restaurants, but the segment about Roxx on Main starts at 14:27.

The restaurant serves food until 8:45 PM and there is a full bar. Make reservations by calling 925-370-7699 - Roxx is a popular place.

Downtown Martinez has become a center of live music, as this SFGATE story notes - https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/martinez-bay-area-live-music-concerts-16717883.php. You may want to walk around and check out various other bands playing nearby - it's become quite the scene, with brewpubs, BBQ restaurants, etc. The town itself is worth exploring, dating back to Gold Rush days. The downtown has many historic buildings, and the train station is worth checking out.

Cool Record Store and Band Alert:
There's a really cool used vinyl and vintage stuff on Main Street two blocks from Roxx - Devine Records & Vintage: https://devinerecordsandvintage.com/.
I've bought a bunch of records from Pete and Sandie. Pete also is a fine drummer, working as a sideman and leading his own blues band, HowellDevine. Go check out the store and the band.

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videos - we have a YouTube Channel

PRESS

Links to two articles about the Vallejo show back in January 2020:

Fairfield Daily Republic article

Vallejo Times-Herald Article

KCSM Announcer Chris Cortez
Kurt's ability to take you on a journey from the deepest waters of the Caribbean to the funky alleys of the urban jungle in one listening makes him a truly gifted original in my book."

SFJAZZ
Some nice press about us from SFJAZZ:

“Joyous,” “grooving,” “bluesy,” “sophisticated,” and “masterful” could all be accurately used to describe bassist and composer Kurt Ribak’s music, but perhaps an assessment is best left to the man himself, who calls his rollicking mix of bebop sophistication and body-moving grooves “Charles Mingus meets The Meters.” Ribak brings his superb working quartet, performing music from their most recent album Onward.

BLOG

You can see my blog post at SFJAZZ about my injury and recovery here - https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/kurt-ribak-interview/

PODCAST

Kurt was interviewed by Bandleader / singer/songwriter / guitarist George Cole for his Hot Jazz Network podcast - you can find the podcast on Spotify, Amazon, Podtail, Apple Podcasts, and elsewhere.

STREAMING AUDIO

Just want to hear some audio of us? We are on Spotify, and you can also hear us here.

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Kurt Ribak

(pronounced REE-bok, like the shoes)

gigs and other stuff

UPCOMING RELEASE