Howard Alden is a formidable guitarist with an international reputation, visiting California this winter for a number of dates with violinist Kit Eakle, well known as an historian of the violin in jazz. Alden and Eakle are embarking on a run of quartet dates around the Bay Area exploring the music of Thelonious Monk and…

 . Guitarist Howard Alden on Thursday, the 1st;   The Justin Rock Trio (Bastet) on Friday, the 2nd (early show);   Kahil El’Zabar Ethnic Heritage Ensemble 45th Anniversary Show on Friday, the 2nd (late show);   The Five Spot Jazz Quintet on Saturday, the 3rd;   Nasty Women Poets on Sunday, the 4th (2pm);  …

Two favorite collaborators join one of San Francisco’s most astonishingly talented pianists for two sets of standards, bop, little known gems and originals. Grant Levin, piano Charles Thomas, bass Pepe Jacobo, drums

Novalis, arch Romantic poet of the 18th century, precursor to Goethe, perceptive of the ancient wisdom embodied in Heraclitus’ observation, “Wisdom is a dry light.”

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents…   The Lost Shapes   Darren Johnston, trumpet Kasey Knudsen, alto sax Mark Clifford, vibraphone Safa Shokrai, bass Jason Levis, drum set   All five members contribute compositions to the band’s book.

Talk about your San Francisco jazz… On the fourth Friday of each month, our weekly jazz in the bookshop series features The 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band — once the province of the estimable Chuck Peterson — five musicians whose history on the local jazz scene dates back 60 years, to the…

Dan Liberthson is a Glen Park resident, and a poet with five published collections to his credit, including his newest, A Poetry of Birds: Poems About Birds and the Photographs that Inspired Them (2017). A Poetry of Birds comprises 38 poems about various bird species paired with photographs of the birds by naturalist and wildlife…

wordWind is QR Hand, Lewis Jordan and Brian Auerbach — 3 poets, with Lewis Jordan doubling on saxophone. Two very special guests will also be on hand — trumpeter George Sams and poet Tongo Eisen-Martin. q.r. hand, jr., voice and poetry, moved to the SF Bay Area from NYC about forty years ago. Originally published…

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents…   James Mahone, tenor saxophone; Ian Carey, trumpet; Josh Thurston-Milgrom, bass; Mike Mitchell, drums