The Tony Johnson Quartet
Friday 9/22 at 5:30pm
Drummer Tony Johnson swam ashore from Australia in 1959 and hit North Beach swingin’. The singer Bev Kelly led a date at the Coffee Gallery in October 1960 with Pony Poindexter on saxophone, Flip Nunez on piano, Johnny Allen on bass and Tony, himself, on drums, recorded by Wally Heider, produced by Orrin Keepnews and released by Riverside Records as “Bev Kelly, Live at the Coffee Gallery.” Here’s a taste. Tony leads a date at Bird & Beckett on the third Friday of each month, this time out with his quartet featuring Bob Kenmotsu on saxophone, Keith Saunders on piano and Eric Markowitz on bass.

 

 

 

 

 

Lew Tabackin Trio
Friday 9/22 at 9pm
Lew Tabackin, the famed NY-based veteran saxophonist/flutist, will be flying in from Tokyo and tuning up here before heading down to play the Monterey Jazz Festival on Sunday. Bassist Essiet Okon Essiet and drummer Sylvia Cuenca will round out the trio!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Noel Jewkes Quartet
Saturday 9/23 at 7:30pm
Noel Jewkes is a legend among Bay Area jazz fans for his six-plus decades on the scene as a master of the tenor saxophone and any number of allied instruments, a disciple of the great Lester Young, an expert in swing. Come hear him with a rhythm section comprising long-time associates Grant Levin on piano and Chris Amberger on bass together with the young drummer Josh Setala. Jazz the way we like it!

 

 

 

Balsa de Fuego on Sunday 9/24 at 2pm
Raquel Baena – vocals/trombone
Dan Neville – vibraphone/marimba
Justin Flynn – saxophones
Andreas Fonseca – drums
Juan Sebastian Monsalve – bass guitar

Balsa de Fuego gathers the Caribbean Cumbia; the Joropo from the Colombo-Venezuelan plains; the Currulao from the Colombo-Ecuadorian Pacific coast; and the jazz from North America.

This new project lead by Colombian composer Juan Sebastian Monsalve (known as one of the precursors of the New Colombian Music with his band Curupira) assembles a diverse range of musicians from the New York music scene, achieving a powerful contemporary sound with strong roots in tradition.

 

 

And put this October date on your calendar:

Friday, October 13th – 9-11pm
From NYC
Jeong Lim Yang’s Zodiac Trio

~Santiago Leibson, piano~
~Jeong Lim Yang, bass~
~Mark Ferber, drums~

plays selected compositions from
Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite
and other compositions by the legendary pianist
Friday 10/13 from 9-11pm at Bird & Beckett – $20 / byob
(for reservations, call 415-586-3733)

Also, note that The Center for New Music will present the Jeong Lim Yang Trio, on tour from New York City, in a full performance of the Zodiac Suite –  recently recorded and released as “Zodiac Suite: Reassured” (Fresh Sound, 2022) – at 55 Taylor Street in downtown San Francisco on Saturday 10/14 at 7:30pm:  ticket information here