Bob Claire Orchestra - About the Band

The Bob Claire Orchestra books all types of engagements. We're always happy to talk about adding live music to an event, get in touch with us to discuss adding it to yours.

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phone 925-899-2924

The Bob Claire Orchestra, based in the East Bay cities of Oakland, Alameda, Emeryville, Richmond and Orinda has been playing a mix of dance and party music since 1999. Though the lineup has evolved over the years, the core of the band has remained constant. Central to the group is the talent of our female vocalist, Miss Darlene Langston.

Bob Claire of Bob Productions throws a party on the last Friday of each month on the San Francisco/Alameda/Oakland ferry. Board at the San Francisco Ferry Building at 5:20 pm., or immediately afterwards at Alameda or Jack London Square. For more information regarding the ferry schedule, please visit eastbayferry.com.

Darlene met up with guitarist Michael Stearns on the San Francisco to Alameda ferry, where trumpeter Jeff Oster encountered an end-of-the-month party for commuters which was hosted by none other than Bob Claire and his lovely wife Penny. Bassist Rocky Laber knew Michael through their kids and was invited to sit in around May of '99. Taking notice of the common tastes in music, a jam away from the boat was organized, which brought keyboardist Ron Tague and vocalist Gail Foster into the mix. Ron, Gail and Rocky had been involved in a musical projects dating back to the late 80's and had built up a sizable song list that covered considerable ground, drawing from from R&B, rock, jazz and even country.

Trombonist Colin Johnston sat in at an Oakland public school function in 2001, and so impressive were his singing and playing talents, it was decided that an entire horn section would greatly expand the repertoire to include even more material in which the band could thrive behind the singing of Darlene and Gail. Through an acquaintance of a spouse, saxophonist Michael Bush came into the band in 2002. The Pretty Penny Horns were officially intact. Percussionist Justin Langston, nephew of Darlene, started sitting in at the ferry parties and joined full on in January 2003. Drummer Dean Thomas rounds out the rythm section, he joined us after having played with a splinter group led by guitarist, occasional guest and friend of the band Mark Gagliardi. In the spring of 2004, vocalist Earl Harrell joined the BCO, adding a new dimension with his super soulful vocals and a knack for inciting an audience to ramp up its partying. Earl's singing and stage presence are authentically derived from the finest soul, motown, funk and R&B traditions.

The band has a huge setlist, with more and more added as we go along. We play a very wide variety of songs and styles including cocktail music, bossa novas, jazz standards, rock, R&B, motown and blues. An evening with the BCO is lively and entertaining, we also usually have a surprise or two that keeps the crowd engaged and on their feet.

And there you have it, the abridged version of the Bob Claire Orchestra story. Some day we'll see about adding a version of the BCO org chart and family tree, drawn up on a white board by Jeff right before one of our gigs. It tells a more complete story of who we've had the pleasure of playing with over all these years.