Penguin Jazz Quartet

Formed initially as a trio in 1994 within the San Francisco Bay Area, the Penguin Jazz Quartet featured guitarist Pat Smith, drummer Russ St. John, and bassist Sumit Das before pianist Bill Walker joined the lineup soon after. The group draws inspiration from jazz figures such as the Gene Harris Quartet and the Bill Evans Trio, according to the musicians themselves. Their debut self-titled CD appeared in 1996, mixing jazz standards including My Funny Valentine and God Bless the Child with original compositions. The Quartet played the 1996 Healdsburg Summer Series and has maintained regular appearances at Bay Area coffee joints since that time. Their second release, On Ice, arrived in mid-'99 and pairs new material with renditions of standards like Wayne Shorter's Footprints, Bill Evans' Time Remembered, and Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man.