Drummer Vinnie Rodriguez leads the date on an excursion through the music of Sonny Rollins, putting his worthy constituents Jay Sanders (piano), Mike Irwin Johnson (guitar) and Noah Schencker (bass) through their paces. Nary a reed player among them, much less a wind instrument…. Jay’s well known as a trumpeter, but here he navigates the keys. Ok, so it turns out he brought his trumpet. Our gain, there. The other players? Solidly in the pocket.  It’s Mike who will provide the charts and advise on the wealth of Sonny Rollins material for the choosing. Are you ready? Drop! Go Dodgers!

Twice a month, on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays, pianist Grant Levin performs with a duo partner at Bird & Beckett.  Grant is always amazing, and the rapport he builds with his fellow musicians is consistently deep.

The crime fiction of Dashiell Hammett and Paul Auster inspired bassist Lisa Mezzacappa to cook up this project, which performed the suite recently at SFJazz.  Thanks to Marty Bigos for helping to underwrite AvantNOIR’s performance today at Bird & Beckett. And thanks to Jean Conner, whose support through the years has made our entire Sunday afternoon “which way west?” series possible. A sextet with Aaron Bennett, sax; John Finkbeiner, guitar; Vijay Anderson, drums; Lisa Mezzacappa, bass (Bait & Switch) plus William Wynant, percussion and Tim Perkis, electronics. music inspired by noir genre fiction set in New York City (LM’s hometown) and the San Francisco Bay Area (her adopted home for the past 13 years). avant-NOIR is a musical companion to Paul Auster’s abstract soft-boiled crime stories from his New York Trilogy of the 1980s, set in conversation with the West Coast classic hard-boiled 1920s-era detective fiction of Dashiell Hammett. The…

There’s no band quite like the bands Rhodessa Jones and Idris Ackamoor have been presenting these past several decades, and no concepts quite like their concepts. Tonight, you’ll see how that is. Rhodessa Jones — vocals Idris Ackamoor — alto and tenor sax, percussion David Molina — guitar, ableton computer, percussion Heshima Mark William — bass  

Guitarist Scott Foster is joined this evening by James Mahone, tenor sax; Sam Bevan, bass; and Brandon Etzler, drums, for an excursion through the work of a guitarist that influenced Scott profoundly early on and retains a fascination still. Scofield himself characterizes his music as falling in a continuum of post-bop, funk edged jazz, and R & B. According to the bio on his site, Scofield was born in Ohio and raised in suburban Connecticut, took up the guitar at age 11, inspired by both rock and blues players, and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. fAter a debut recording with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, he joined the Billy Cobham-George Duke band for two years. In 1977 he recorded with Charles Mingus, and joined the Gary Burton quartet. He began his international career as a bandleader and recording artist in 1978. From 1982–1985, Scofield toured and recorded with Miles…

Jane taught Jerry to sing. Just sing, she said, as loud as you can, and don’t stop. And lord if he didn’t! From the Meat Market Cafe to the Cafe Babar to the Noe Valley Writers’ Workshop, in one order or another, and countless living rooms along the way… Welcome home… An open mic follows, and you’d do well to read a poem in it for our pleasure. Do come.

Jinx Jones, guitar powerhouse well known to the crowds at the Saloon, Tupelo, Speisekammer and countless other spots around Northern California, is joined by the imperturbable Joe Kyle Jr. on bass and solid rocking Kenny Owen on drums for two sets of rockabilly classics with a jazz edge, and classic jazz with a rockabilly flavor. Here are some shots from the debut of this mighty little trio doing their surf thing at last month’s Surf-a-billy Swing Time show… Jinx called it the “Savage Surfer Stomp” and wasn’t it though!

Guitarist Ila Cantor, bassist John Wiitala and drummer Eric Garland join Rob Reich in a quartet formation to cover jazz standards, not-so-standards, and originals. Hear Rob, Ila and John’s take on “The Myth” with Hamir Atwal on drums and Ben Goldberg on clarinet in September 2015 by clicking here.  Rob just keeps going deeper. Thanks to Marty Bigos for helping underwrite this performance.  And thanks to Jean Conner, whose support through the years has made our entire “which way west?” Sunday concert series possible.  

Pianist Grant Levin plays with Chris Amberger on bass from 4-6 pm and returns at 7:30 with saxophonist Bob Kenmotsu, Chris on bass, and Jeff Minnieweather on drums. Bob has had a storied career, recording in 1992 with Billy Hart on drums; 1994 with Pat Martino on guitar and Jack McDuff on organ; in 1998 with Babatunde on percussion; in 1997 with Essiet Essiet on bass and Bill Stewart on drums; in 2002 with Ron Marabuto on drums; and in 2015 with David Hazeltine on piano and Billy Drummond on drums.  Born in Stockton, Bob hit NYC in the early 1990s and was a member of the Jack McDuff organ combo, and the Ruth Brown Band. He recorded ‘The Spark’, with Billy Hart and Ira Coleman, and ‘Bronx Tale’, with Pat Martino and Jack McDuff. Bob also played on Pat Martino’s ‘Nightwings’, with Bill Stewart and Marc Johnson. jazz club! when…