Noel Jewkes, everybody’s favorite tenor player, fronts a terrific rhythm section — leader Ollie Dudek on bass, Jeffrey Burr on guitar and James Gallagher on drums — doing what jazz musicians do best. Classic and obscure tunes beautifully interpreted, embellished and plumbed to their depths.

Pianist Keith Saunders’ formative years in jazz happened in Los Angeles, and then came a quarter century making up Keith’s New York years, notably centered around the New York HardBop Quintet, an outfit he co-led which had an eight year run, touring extensively and recording four cds, two of them with Rudy Van Gelder at the controls, one with the great Mickey Roker on the drums. When not with the quintet, he was working with top musicians including Richie Cole, Frank Wess and Hank Crawford. In his work, Keith pays deep homage to Bud Powell and flows on from there. Keith migrated to the Bay Area in 2010 and he’s been a key jazz pianist in these parts since. On a scene with more than its share of fantastic keyboard talents, Keith is at the very top echelon. The cats he works with are likewise fabulous, making ours one of…

Allison Lovejoy performs with Greg Stephens on trombone, Bing Nathan on bass and Randy Lee Odell on drums. Read up on Allison’s career in classical music and her cabaret projects at this link.

In celebration of the Year of the Rooster and San Francisco’s wonderful multi-cultural, full access Community Music Center, pianist, composer, bandleader and teacher Betty Wong will present a number of accomplished musicians performing music from all corners of the globe on a variety of traditional and modern Asian and western instruments. A jazz set by the Randy Craig Ensemble will cap the program. Community Music Center (CMC) was founded in 1921 with the mission of making music accessible to all people, regardless of their financial means. CMC offers classes for people of all ages, abilities and interests and financial aid to all who need it. For more information, and to sign up for classes, visit the CMC’s website at this link. Betty Wong’s acclaimed Flowing Stream Ensemble and Phoenix Spring Ensemble reflect her abiding interest in traditional musical forms of pan-Asian cultures with a consciousness of western classical and jazz…

In 2010, three San Francisco Bay Area musicians decided to create a rhythm section devoted to their own compositions and standards. After recording its studio demo in 2010, the trio — dubbed 3BE for its members Belasco, Bennett and Berthiaume — began performing publicly. Their recent CD, “Three Musicians”, was released under “The Bill Belasco Trio” name. BILL BELASCO started drumming at the age of 3 and went on the road with “The Graduates”, a brass rock band, at the age of 17. In 1974 Bill finally settled in the Bay Area. He played drums in the Pickle Family Circus band for fifteen years, and studied with drummers George Marsh and Tony Williams along the way. Today, Bill is a widely respected drummer on the San Francisco music scene. He played for stretches with pianist/vocalist Sharman Duran’s trio and with bassist Mario Suraci, and currently freelances with Faye Carol and Tony…