Auckland Jazz and Blues Club

Club Management

Welcome to the home of jazz in Auckland

Birkenhead RSA, Recreation Drive, Birkenhead.

Please see EVENTS section for weekly concert details and GALLERY for weekly concert photos.

($15 members/$25 non-members - cash only - includes raffle draw for bottle of wine.)

Optional $2 raffle - $60 cash prize.

Non-member contact registration required at time of entry.

Restaurant (downstairs) open 5 - 8.30pm. Full bar service.


The club was formed around 1992 to further the interests of jazz & blues music in Auckland.

The club has a membership of around 250 and has regular club nights every Tuesday evening at the Birkenhead RSA.

Concerts start at 7.30pm and finish at 9.30pm with a break at half time. Meals are available before the concert. Full bar service.

Ample off-street parking. Come early to secure your seating.

Each night features a different local or out of town band.. Sometimes an International star makes an appearance.

Back to All Events

KE LO KE

  • Birkenhead RSA Recreation Drive Auckland, Auckland, 0626 New Zealand (map)

Ke lo Ke is a contemporary Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble dedicated to exploring and honouring Cuba’s rich musical lineage — from traditional roots to modern innovation — performed by an international collective of accomplished jazz and Latin musicians.
Drawing inspiration from seminal Cuban artists, including: Celia Cruz, Irakere, Buena Vista Social Club, Juan Formell and Los Van Van, Afro-Cuban All Stars, and Alexander Abreu y Habana D’ Primera, Ke lo Ke’s sound sits firmly within the Afro-Cuban tradition while embracing the harmonic language, improvisation and rhythmic sophistication of modern jazz. Influences from leading Afro-Latin jazz figures such as Poncho Sanchez
further inform the band’s dynamic, groove-driven approach.

The ensemble is led by Isbert Ramos Mediaceja — known as ‘Vivio’ — a pioneering figure in the development of Cuban music and dance in Aotearoa New Zealand. Vivio brings together a seasoned line-up of musicians whose backgrounds span jazz, Afro-Cuban, and Latin American traditions. The band features Chilean vocalist Marcelo Valencia; Colombian vocalist Tatiana Jimenez; Chilean conguero Edwin Westermeier; Chilean
drummer Ignacio Valencia; Scottish saxophonist Pete France; New Zealanders’ Karl Benton (piano), Alex Griffiths (bass), and Mike Booth (trumpet).

Ke lo Ke has appeared at the National Jazz Festival, Kerikeri Jazz Festival, SkyCity Auckland, Ponsonby Social Club, Salsa Tumbao Festival and Crown Range Lounge, among others, earning a reputation for performances that balance deep rhythmic authenticity with expansive improvisation and high-level ensemble interplay.

This is Afro-Cuban jazz with authority, vitality and soul — music that speaks equally to the
dancer, the listener and the serious jazz devotee.

More information:
https://www.facebook.com/KeloKeBand

Members $15 cash
Non-members $25 cash
No EFTPOS
Non-member contact registration required at time of entry.

Earlier Event: March 3
THE AISHA QUARTET
Later Event: March 24
SIMONE WADDELL