Daniel Villareal

On a beautiful summer evening in San Francisco, Micah and I visited SFJazz for a “late father’s day” session. Daniel Villareal, a drummer, was leading his band in the intimate Joe Henderson room. Villareal plays with a rock-steady, hypnotic, driving pulse. Nothing too fancy, yet very engaging. He was joined by Brazilian-American vibraphonist Victor Vieira-Branco and upright bassist John Moran. Victor was very intense and vibraphone worked really well in a trio format and in a small room.

Villareal’s two daughters live in San Francisco, and they joined the band on violins for two songs. They weren’t professional musicians yet it was a nice family moment and echoed the father’s day theme that Micah and I were celebrating.

Before the 7 pm show, Micah and I went to Nojo for ramen, and I had their classic bowl with a chicken leg. Micah tried a new one called “Tokyo”–traditional-looking ramen. It was excellent.

Details