Drummer Vinnie Rodriguez leads the band every fourth Saturday at “jazz club!”, 7:30-10pm. $10 cover.

Scott Larson – trombone; 
Scott Barnhill – saxophone; 
Jeremy Lieber – piano; 
Adam Gay – bass; 
Vinnie Rodriguez – drums. 

Tonight, five solid players under the leadership of drummer Vinnie Rodriguez trade off calling the tunes for your pleasure through two full sets at Bird & Beckett’s Saturday night “jazz club” — 7:30-10 pm; $10 cover.

Born in Daly City, but raised in Danville, Vinnie Rodriguez spent most of his childhood and teen years playing sports. Then, at 20, he bought a drum set, got deep into jazz and never looked back. Vinnie leads our fourth Saturday “jazz club” dates with deep conviction and real passion.

Vinnie studied early on with noted teachers John Maltester (LMC-Pittsburgh) and Ray Brown (Cabrillo-Aptos),  and then earned a BM & MA in jazz studies from SJSU, where he studied with Joe Hodge, Jason Lewis and Frank Sumares.  Since finishing school, Vinnie has gigged relentlessly in San Francisco and other Bay Area venues including the Club Deluxe, the Bayview Boat Club with bassist Don Prell… and Bird & Beckett Books, of course.

Vinnie’s bandstand associations have been with many of the best young players on the San Francisco jazz scene, and he’s been a fixture in our Saturday night “jazz club” sequence since the very first date in May 2014 — when he anchored a quartet led by pianist Michael Parsons that featured trumpeter Jay Sanders and bassist Charles Thomas. Michael split for Paris a few months later, and the late tenor player Terrance Tony took the helm of the fourth Saturdays with Vinnie providing terrific continuity in the drum chair. Since Terrance’s passing in April 2015, the fourth Saturday slot has been Vinnie’s, and he’s put together well over a dozen dates with some of San Francisco’s top players, playing the music of titans from Cole Porter to Ornette Coleman, Joe Henderson to Hank Mobley, and showcasing originals by his bandmates whenever the occasion arises. You can always count on a great night of music when Vinnie’s behind his kit.