Marco Diaz – trumpet
Charlie Gurke – saxes
Julio Perez – percussion
Sa̼l Sierra Рbass.

$20 cash cover charge; BYOB; proof of vaccination & masks, please. Doors open at  7:20 for the 7:30 show. Audience capacity – 20. Call for reservations (415) 586-3733. Also viewable live streamed on the Bird & Beckett Facebook page or YouTube channel. Your donations are appreciated.

Bassist, composer, arranger and educator Saúl Sierra, born and raised in México City, began playing professionally in 1990 and graduated from the Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1999. He has performed, toured or recorded with Poncho Sanchez, Paquito D’ Rivera, Zakir Hussain, Arturo Sandoval, Jerry Gonzales, Jerry Medina, Walfredo de los Reyes, Peter Erskine, Donny McCaslin, Charlie Musselwhite, Pete Escovedo, Ernesto Oviedo, Steve Turre, Ray Vega, Hector Tricoche, Paquito Guzman, Antonio Sanchez, Arturo O’Farrill, Larry Harlow, Bobi Céspedes, Jimmy Bosh, Herman Olivera, Nestor Torres, Miles Pena, John Santos, Jesús Díaz, Johnny Rodríguez, Eddie Montalvo, Orestes Vilató, Jimmy Branly, Raul Piñeda, Loui Romero, Mark Levine, Rebeca Mauleon, Mike Spiro, Jackeline Rago, Wayne Wallace, Aquiles Báez, Marco Granados, Anthony Blea, María Márquez, Dr. Loco, Chuchito Valdés, Greg Landau, Alexander Livinali, Doug Beavers, Jerry Medina, Sandy Perez and Maria Marquez, among others. For the past 20 years Saúl has been a member of some of the leading bands in the Bay Area, including The John Santos Quintet/Sextet, Bobi Cespedes’ band, Dr. Loco’s Rocking Jalapeño Band, El Tren Trío, Anthony Blea y su Charanga, The Snake Trío, Jesús Díaz y su QBA, The Bay Area Afro-Cuban All Stars, The Venezuelan Music Project, Corazón Sur, Sababa band, Cascada de Flores, SJZ Collective and,LaTiDo.

Saúl is a founding member and co-leader with Marco Diaz and Carlos Caro of Visión Latina and the VLTrio. Two of his newest projects include The Saúl Sierra Trio, a contemporary jazz fusion jazz group, and The Saúl Sierra Quintet a pianoless latin jazz ensemble.

Trumpet player, pianist, composer, arranger and educator Marco Diaz, a graduate of San Francisco State University and faculty member at the Community Music Center, has two albums to his credit as a leader and has performed with Cachao, Jimmy Bosch, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, and Jovino Santos Neto. Marco is a founding member of Visión Latina and has worked extensively with the John Santos Sextet, Charanson, Jesus Diaz, and Mazacote, and is musical director of the Bobi Céspedes band.

Saxophonist, composer and educator Charlie Gurke leads his own ensemble, Gurkestra and works with Cuban son quintet Latido, the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra and the salsa band Candela. Charlie teaches jazz ensembles and jazz history at Laney College in Oakland, CA, has been an artist-in-residence at the SF School of the Arts, and a performing artist with the SF Symphony’s Adventures in Music program. Charlie directs the Community Music Center of San Francisco’s Jazz Ensemble. He holds a BA in music composition from Cal State East Bay, and an MM in jazz studies from the University of Oregon, where he was a graduate teaching fellow.

Puerto Rican percussionist Julio Pérez can be heard at this link. Bio yet to come… stay tuned.