Pete Escovedo and Family
510 Embarcadero West, Oakland
July 27, 2025
Yoshi’s was buzzing early on a Sunday evening.
This restaurant/nightclub is often a who’s who of the local music scene, and that is even more true when Pete "Pops" Escovedo is in town.
While the early show was in full swing, the lobby/bar area was a joyous reunion of people who grew up in a place that no longer exists. The self-selected last-night late-show crowd was noticeably full of family, close friends, and musicians.
Even though the famed bandleader opened three east bay nightclubs of his own over the years, Yoshi’s is home. This Jack London Square venue is two miles south of where he went to high school, and two miles west of where he raised his four children.
The long-time Oaklander is the longest running act in the club’s history. He has even outlived Kaz Kajimura, one of the founders of Yoshi’s, who recently passed away.
Escovedo has performed multiple farewell shows at the venue in recent years, but this year’s visit was a 90th birthday celebration. His actual birthday was July 13, when he performed in the Netherlands, but the party hasn’t stopped. In addition to playing six shows in the town, he also has a traveling art exhibit going on as well.
In the sixties, brothers Pete, Coke, and Phil formed the Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet. Pete and Coke joined Santana in 1971, before forming the band Azteca a year later.
Escovedo raised children Sheila, Peter Michael, Juan, and Zina playing music in the family’s living room. The children have all performed on stage with their father over the years, and I’ve seen his wife Juanita join them as a singer as well.
For this particular show though, it was just Pete and his sons with a backing lineup of latin jazz all-stars like Ray Obiedo (guitar), Jonathan Montes (piano), and Melecio Magdaluyo (sax, flute).
The show started off with a video tribute featuring historic photos of Oakland and pics of Escovedo throughout his life. The video included birthday wishes from notables like Mayor Barbara Lee, Governor Gavin Newsom, and musician/producer Raphael Saadiq.
Then the band led off an eclectic set with a latin version of “Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing,” followed by a mambo, Dr. Wayne Wallace’s “Esta Noche.”
After the first song, Escovedo told the audience that it’s always great to play at Yoshi’s, which he called “home.”
The international superstar, who relocated to Los Angeles two decades ago, also spoke glowingly of his hometown and its unique rizz. “It’s the vibe,” he said about what makes Oakland special. The nonagenarian jokingly added, “I’m happy to be anywhere these days.”
There was almost as much comedic banter between Escovedo and his sons as there was music; sex jokes, nap jokes, and even diaper jokes. After one particularly bawdy punchline, Escovedo quipped, “I’m 90, but I’m not dead.” All of the comedy was delivered with the chemistry of three bandmates who have been playing together for six decades.
Though he is slowing down in his old age, Pete Escovedo was still dancing in the middle of his sixth show in three nights at Yoshi's. Video by Tony Daquipa.
Starting with smooth jazz, the band also played an alternate version of Ray Obiedo’s “True or False,” which broke off into some stanky chankin on the guitar before a funky sax solo finish.
The next song, “La Cuna,” was a solo piano piece that ended with a flute solo on top of the full band.
Leah Tysse came out to sing “Ain’t Nobody” followed by an amazing blues piece that I didn’t catch the name of, but she had the crowd screaming.
Before the last song, daughter Zina came on stage to promote her father’s paintings and drawings, which were on sale in the lobby and on display two blocks away at the Grand Gallery.
San Franciscan-turned-Oaklander John Santos and Pete’s nephew René Escovedo were in attendance, and they joined the band for a grand finale that got the audience up on its feet and moving.
After a standing ovation, Escovedo thanked the crowd and said, “I want to see you all next year when I’m 91.”
