Drummer Vinnie Rodriguez invites trumpeter Ian Carey, pianist Adam Shulman and bassist Noah Schenker to the Bird & Beckett stage to spotlight a number of Ian’s own compositions as well as a select number of jazz standards. Ian has just released his latest album, “Interview Music,” under the group name of the Ian Carey Quintet + 1, with Adam on piano and other exemplary Bay Area jazz talents.  He brought the group into the Oakland’s Sound Room for the album’s debut just last week and will present the band and the album again on Sunday the 24th at San Francisco’s Chez Hanny. It’s a stupendous piece of work, and you’d be well advised to see if it’s still possible to get over to Frank Hanny’s place to hear the group Sunday. In any case, you’ll be missing a bet if you neglect to buy a copy of the cd at…

Two sets of jazz from a master pianist and a wonderful drummer.

The Chuck Peterson quintet, aka the 230 Jones Street, Local Six Literary Jazz Band, features Chuck and Howard Dudune on reeds, Glen Deardorff on guitar, Dean Reilly on bass and Tony Johnson on bass, with vocalist Dorothy Lefkovits. Dorothy was singing on the stage of the Apollo Theatre back in the halcyon 1950s, when the guys in the band were getting their start as professional musicians in fabled San Francisco venues. Their performing history as a unit already dates back a decade.

Paula Tejeda is a force of nature! Want to hear her poetry? You bet you do! Open mic follows. Read about Paula’s life as the Chile Lindo empanada lady at this link, and know that this is just the tip of Paula’s own particular iceberg! Jerry Ferraz, as per usual, hosts our twice-monthly shindig.  Jerry, himself, is one of a kind. Oh, Jerry’s throwing a party for the bookstore in his backyard on May 21st.  Wanna come?  He’s making chili!  I’ll ask some jazz guys to play in his gazebo.  Whaddya say?  

Richard Sears is a highly regarded and well traveled young pianist and composer.  Raised in Palo Alto and having lived and worked for a significant stretch in Los Angeles, he’s now Brooklyn based, where he has made a solid name for himself.   His group for this engagement includes fine musicians indeed: Patrick Wolff, tenor sax John Wiitala, bass Michael Davis, drums. Sears and Davis, who is also based in Brooklyn, grew up together playing music in and around San Jose. Of Michael, Richard says he’s “one of the most original drummers I’ve played with.” As for Patrick and John, both are at the very top echelon of jazz musicians working in the Bay Area today. The quartet will feature many of Sears’ original compositions as well as redefining a number of jazz standards. Their date at Bird & Beckett will conclude a three-night swing though three of the region’s…

The Dave Len Scott Quartet: Dave Scott trumpet Scott Foster, guitarDaniel Fabricant bassSurya Prakasha drumscelebrate the release of their new cd, “Blessed Mix.” The Dave Len Scott Quartet performs regularly at the Calvary Methodist Church on Fillmore Street, as well as at festivals and venues up and down the coast.  Dave also works with numerous local ensembles (The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, Brass Monkey Brass Band, The Glide Change Band, The Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, The Realistic Orchestra, The Pacific Mambo Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony Orchestra and many others). He is also the founder and leader of TRUMPETSUPERGROUP and has been on tour and/or recorded with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Rosemary Clooney, the Glenn Miller Orchestra (as lead trumpet and featured soloist), Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack, Michael Feinstein, Toto and Boz Scaggs.  He’s a consummate player and composer, and has a deep history with the members of…

Joe Goldmark is the pedal steel king of San Francisco, and his band the Seducers just won’t quit. Mitch Polzak, the loquacious guitar wizard Mayor of Port Costa, and honey-voiced bassist Eddie Kendrick share the vocal honors, with special guest Paul Revelli on drums.  It doesn’t stop there! Henry & Kathleen Salvia join the band tonight on piano and vocal. Joe says, “Eddie will be singing Merle Haggard tunes exclusively this Sunday night, and I’m sure Mitch will kick in a few Hag tunes as well.  So bring your requests and we’ll let ‘er rip.” Every second Saturday, you’ll discover the Seducers making their way into your simple hearts. Why resist? See you down here at Bird & Beckett, when the moon is high and the coyotes howl and the cats in the canyon fear for their lives. 7:30-10 pm, $10 helps us pay the band. Merle Haggard, RIP!

Sukhawat Ali Khan is a singer and harmonium player expert in Qawwali (sufi devotional music) as well as the Pakistani/North Indian classical music of the Sham Chaurasi gharana. He is also a strong proponent of a modern, energized world music fusion that merges the danceable club sounds of many global cultural capitals. Truly, his sensibility embodies some of what we intended in calling our concert series “which way west?” and we’re proud to have presented him several times on the Bird & Beckett stage over the years. Sukhawat was attracted to music at an early age and began studying the harmonium at seven. At ten, he and his brother Shafqat Ali Khan were singing on a local radio station in Lahore, Pakistan, beginning a career that found him performing internationally. Eventually, he settled in the San Francisco Bay area, where he began to teach Indian classical music. In 1998, he…

Fred Martin has devoted the last twenty years to research on Abraham Lincoln and served two terms as President of The Abraham Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. His research has been conducted at the Library of Congress, the National Archibves, state historical societies, archieves and libraries across the nation. His book Abraham Lincoln’s Path to Reelection in 1864: Our Greatest Victory (self-published, 2013) is a culminating work on one aspect of that research, timely in this presidential election year. Martin’s career included work for the Associated Press, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and Bank of America, from which he retired in 1993 as Senior Vice President & Director of Government Relations. He lives in San Francisco, and is a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies. Pictured here: Lincoln’s 1864 Inaugural Address  

Reed player Noel Jewkes is featured at jazz club! when pianist Grant Levin leads his quartet through two sets of classic and contemporary small combo repertoire.  Bassist Chris Amberger and drummer Malachi Whitson keep the pulse strong! jazz club! when lights are low… every Saturday night at Bird & Beckett, 7:30-10 pm.  Grant leads the band every second Saturday night. Duo! every 2nd & 4th Saturday afternoon, 2-4 pm, when Grant Levin invites a duo partner to the stage for two sets of lovely interplay. This week: bassist Chris Amberger shares the honors. Grant says he ‘s probably played with Chris more often than any other single musician! Their rapport is huge and their story goes back quite a ways.  Chris’s own career in jazz is much longer and wonderfully storied. He moved to Oakland as a kid with his mom, learning directly from great players of the 1960s, was present at the…

Noah Schenker, one of San Francisco’s premier bassists, fields a quartet featuring some of the Bay Area’s finest jazz musicians — guitarist Jack Riordan, pianist Adam Shulman and drummer Jon Arkin — keeping the jazz flame burning at San Francisco’s longest running weekly jazz party.  Never a missed Friday since late 2002, and still going strong! In no small tribute to the Bird & Beckett audience, San Francisco’s top jazz musicians are always happy to play for you here. Come with some dough to help us reward them for their efforts! Not even our musicians are immune to the high cost of living in the Bay Area, and well deserve your support. In turn, they’ll reward you with very fine music bursting with creativity and sheer talent.

Mississippi delta blues by a master guitarist fronting a terrific band.  Come celebrate the release of Bill’s new cd, “Parade.” A reviewer for the German publication “Blues News” had this to say this time last year:  “I hear Lightnin’ Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb’s montone bass and Junior Kimbroughs Mississippi Juke Joint blues in Phillippe’s playing.”