Seven events over eight days…
and one more on Super Bowl Sunday (before the game!)

Friday, the 25th, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.: Come down to the shop after work for The Chuck Peterson Quintet, summoning up the golden days when West Coast jazz hipped the fans to driving bebop solos on a pillow of laid back but rich harmonic invention… This is the group also known as The 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band, led by flute player Chuck Peterson with the able reedman Howard Dudune fronting a rhythm section comprising Glen Deardorff on guitar, Dean Reilly on bass and Tony Johnson on drums.

Saturday, the 26th, 7:00 p.m.: Writers Lucille Lang Day and Herbert Gold read from their memoirs, Married at 14 (Day) and Not Dead Yet (Gold). Gold has been an important writer since the 1950s, long associated with the Beats, but that’s far from all. Day is a poet, a publisher and more, and also a woman with quite a backstory, wonderfully told in her new book. Click here for the full description of the event.

Sunday, the 27th, 2:00 p.m.: Walker Brents III gives a talk each month, this time on Walt Whitman & the Civil War. Whitman was profoundly influenced by his time in the field hospitals and on the hospital wards during the “national suicide” that was the Civil War. Walker’s talks brilliantly plumb the depths of his chosen subjects– so we think, and as his many fascinated fans are quick to agree. Detail here.

Sunday, the 27th, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.: The Mark Levine Quintet aka The Bay Area Jazz All Stars. Two sets of top drawer straight-ahead and latin jazz by five highly regarded musicians on the local scene. This band has been assembled by pianist Mark Levine (twice nominated for the Grammy for his latin jazz work) and includes trumpeter Chuck MacKinnon (who has played with artists ranging from Charlie Hunter and Will Bernard to Sam Rivers and Joe Henderson), trombonist Al Bent (who has worked with Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Bobby Short and others), bassist John Wiitala (who’s probably played with every major local horn player, pianist and drummer plus Junior Cook, Charlie Rouse, Bud Shank…) and drummer Ron Marabuto (long NYC stint on the latin side but also with Pepper Adams, Roland Hanna, Tommy Flanagan–the list goes on…). You get the idea! A terrific quintet date guaranteed.

Monday, January 28th, 7:00 p.m.: Poets Lee Slonimsky and Katherine Hastings. Lee is flying in from New York; Katherine’s driving down from Santa Rosa. The convergence of two serious poets– she also publishes poets and runs a high-profile reading series in the North Bay as well as hosting a public radio program on poetry, while he works particularly in traditional forms, the sonnet especially, though he’s tilled the free verse field as well.

Thursday, January 31st, 7:00 p.m.: Poets & Translators Richard Silberg and Willis Barnstone. Two formidable talents with long careers– read up on them at this link, then come down to the shop to hear for yourselves.

Friday, February 1st, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.: Don Prell’s SeaBop Ensemble. Always to be relied on for great bop/west coast-inspired jazz work, usually with Jerry Logas on reeds, Michael Parsons on piano and Chris Bjorkbom in drums. Bassist Prell started out in L.A. in the 50s, was a core member of the Bud Shank Trio, played 30 years for the San Francisco Symphony, is ferociously dedicated to the music! Jerry has a lovely way with the tenor sax, and also the baritone, flute & clarinet… Michael’s a fantastic bop pianist; Chris a marvelously supple & driving drummer of great subtlety… a good time guaranteed once again.

That’s the 8 day forecast! Poetic precipitation with a 90% chance of improvisation!

(Sunday, Feb.3 is the Super Bowl, duh!, so we won’t ask talented musicians to play to an empty house while everyone’s glued elsewhere to the telecast — as they, and we, are wont to be as well… in fact, I do believe we’ll close early for just that… but do come at 2 p.m. for a poetry session with Les Gottesman and Jodi Sanchez– just the human element to float you through the surging animal instincts that’ll be roused by Kaepernik & his crew as the brothers Harbaugh work through a little sibling rivalry on the national stage… Go Niners!)