Catch GG after the game! GG Amos, vocals and guitar Parris Bertolucci, organ Randy Lee Odell, drums GG Amos carries the torch of the African American guitarists and singers who created a distinct West Coast blues style during World War II and the decades that followed — musicians like Lowell Fulson and T-Bone Walker and younger players, notably including Johnny Heartsman. GG has released a single, “West Coast” in tribute to the genre and to Heartsman, who recorded prolifically, primarily as a sideman, in the 1950s and 1960s, then effectively disappeared. In the 1970s, he surfaced in Sacramento and again became a widely admired player, remaining active right up to his death in 1996. GG grew up in Sacramento and became profoundly influenced by Heartsman, though she has her own thang for sure, melding funky soul, jazz and latin elements into music that’s all GG! Read more and hear clips…

  The Principles Behind Flotation (Skyhorse Press, 2017) is the first novel from Alexandra Teague, a former NEA Fellow, Stegner Fellow, and City College of San Francisco instructor, currently an associate professor at University of Idaho. She has previously published two poetry books—The Wise and Foolish Builders (Persea 2015) and Mortal Geography (Persea 2010), winner of the 2010 California Book Award. Echoing novels like Karen Russell’s Swamplandia! and Carol Rifka Brunt’s Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Alexandra Teague’s lighthearted coming-of-age debut is perfect for anyone who’s navigated the strange seas of adolescence—and lived to tell the tale. A.Z. McKinney is on the shores of greatness. Now all she needs is a boat. When the Sea of Santiago appeared overnight in a cow pasture in Arkansas, it seemed, to some, a religious miracle. But to high school sophomore A.Z. McKinney, it’s marked her chance to make history—as its first oceanographer. All…

They’re fierce, they’re funny, and they’ll make your head spin while your toe’s tappin’. Plus, the Moby Dick album is deep. The rest is beyond category. Two sets, so you’ll get a generous helping of both. No cover charge per se: $10-20 donation suggested and appreciated. After you’ve supped, you’ll want to feast on the leftovers, so put El Rio’s Shit-Kickin’ Memorial Day show on your calendar for Monday.      

“Jazz on a Summer’s Day: A Tribute to Anita O’Day” featuring Melanie O’Reilly & Trio Frank Martin – piano Fred Randolph – bass Jack Dorsey – drums “….the ideal soundtrack to a hot summer night”  (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)  Award-winning jazz vocalist Melanie O’Reilly celebrates the legendary jazz singer Anita O’Day, capturing the essence of an unconventional musical genius. Interspersing narration between the songs, Melanie tells and sings the story of O’Day, who wanted to be a jazz singer and refused to let anything stop her.  The show, created and devised by O’Reilly, tells the story of a bold unconventional musical genius who shattered the traditional role of a “girl singer” with her smoky swinging style and brilliant sense of rhythm.   Overcoming the setbacks of poverty and addiction, O’Day becomes one of the world’s most enduring jazz artists –anointed for her legendary performance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival captured in the ground-breaking film documentary “Jazz on a Summer’s Day,” O’Reilly’s riveting Anita O’Day tribute, which garnered 4-star reviews and standing ovations at the International Edinburgh Fringe Festival and from a growing number of Bay Area audiences, brings…

The literary profile of a revered Buddhist text and what it means for poets.  

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents… Dan Neville, vibes Grant Levin, piano Piro Patten, bass Miles Tune, drums Originals by Dan Neville, including tunes from soon-to-be-released Golden Circle Sextet cd (due out in August). Dan is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, jazz performer, jazz big band arranger and a full time student. His credentials include seven seasons of SFJAZZ Center’s Monday Night Big Band, arranging for Adam Theis’ Realistik Orchestra and three outstanding musicianship awards from Reno, Chabot, and CSUEB jazz festivals. In April, Dan won 1st place in the 2017 Jazz Search West competition. Dan has studied jazz arranging and improvisation with Bennett Friedman at Santa Rosa JC, studied composition and piano with Rebeca Mauleon at City College of San Francisco, and is currently studying jazz education at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, CA, working towards a BA.