In these tumultuous times, we need Tin Cup Serenade’s tragic songs of hope more than ever. Rolf Wilkinson writes the tunes, by and large, sings them and plays guitar, Larry Leight plays trombone and Safa Shokrai plays bass. Nashville Music News glowingly reviewed their most recent album, using the phrase “exuberant melancholy” and that pretty well describes the…

Alan Watts, born near London in 1915, was drawn to Buddhism at a young age, and published his first book in 1936 at age 21, The Spirit of Zen: A Way of Life, Work and Art in the Far East. Though he later came to view that book as somewhat naive and superficial, it marked…

Jeff Hamilton plays piano! A trio with Clint Baker on trumpet and Robert Young on reeds. There are at least two drummers named Jeff Hamilton in the world of exquisite music… the big band (Clayton/Hamilton) drummer and this one. And don’t we love this one! I mean, just take a look at that album cover…

Listen to this track, and come down to the show! “Take the Crowell Train” – written for saxophonist and Bay Area educator Ken Crowell. It burns! Greg Abate, a multi-instrumentalist and an alto player in the tradition of Phil Woods, is a road warrior, says Simon Rowe, director of the SF Conservatory of Music’s new…

Michael? First time Jerry booked him, I mentioned it to a couple regulars. Michael Koch!? Now I know what they mean. You’ll like this reading, so come out…. open mic follows. Jerry Ferraz runs the whole shebang. Ronald Sauer, nb surrealist, pinch hits for Robert Anbian tonight. Welcome to Birdnbeckettlandia!

Soul singer Derek Evans, with wicked Todd Swenson on guitar, Willie Riser on bass and Larry Vann on drums! Yeah, you bet! You don’t want to miss this.

  Grant Levin, piano. Chris Amberger, bass. Jeff Minnieweather, drums. . . . 2, 3, 4 Count it off with Grant Levin! Duos, trios, quartets… every 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sunday of the month  

Celebrating the first two seasons of titles from the independent publisher, Magra Books (magrabooks.com). Gillian Conoley will read from her just published chapbook, Preparing One’s Consciousness for the Avatar, along with Martha Ronk reading from her 2016 title, Unfamiliar Familiar; Art Beck from his new translation, Martial, Epigrams; Dennis Phillips from his Desert Sequence chapbook;…