Tim Armacost, saxophone.
Dean Johnson, bass.
Ron Vincent, drums.

$20 cover charge; byob.
Reservations always welcome; call 415-586-3733.

Tim Armacost has established himself as one of the most important improvisers on the New York scene today, and he’s at Bird & Beckett tonight! Drummer Ron Vincent and bassist Dean Johnson, fresh and supercharged from a sequence of dates with the Bill Mays Trio, complete the trio.

Tim is a Grammy-nominated saxophonist born in Los Angeles who came of age as a musician in Tokyo, New Delhi and Amsterdam, where he burnished his reputation as an upcoming talent with a big tenor sound and an impeccable rhythmic sense. He tours regularly around the world as both sideman and leader, and has worked with phenomenal jazz musicians including Al Foster, Jimmy Cobb, Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, Victor Lewis, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Peter Erskine, Ray Drummond, Roy Hargrove, Don Friedman and Randy Brecker. He has recorded 16 critically acclaimed records as a leader, has performed on more than 60 recordings as a sideman and has composed and arranged for Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In addition to his own groups, Tim co-leads the New York Standards Quartet and the Brooklyn Big Band, for which he composes and arranges. He is a member of Emilio Solla’s Grammy-nominated group Inestabile de Brooklyn. His most recent album, Time Being, featuring Jeff “Tain” Watts and Bob Hurst, received a four-star review in Downbeat magazine and has met with critical acclaim around the world.

Drummer Ron Vincent, a veteran drummer long rooted in the NYC jazz scene, leads his own groups as well as working constantly as a sideman and producer. From 1989 to 1996, alongside his colleague Dean Johnson, he was a member of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and the Re-Birth of the Cool Tentet and recorded four CDs with Mulligan. Ron has also recorded with Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker, Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Charlap, John Lewis and Slide Hampton, and has appeared with such notables as Art Farmer, Rob McConnell, Rufus Reid and Dr. Billy Taylor. Since setting down roots in Northern California a couple of years ago, he now pops up much more frequently in venues up and down the West Coast, much to our delight.

Bassist Dean Johnson made his mark as a bassist in New York in 1980, and over the years has worked with a raft of jazz masters including Dave Liebman, Lee Konitz, Bob Brookmeyer, Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Phil Woods, Grover Washington, Dave Grusin, Lew Tabackin, Art Farmer, Billy Harper, Helen Merrill, Sheila Jordan, Mark Murphy, Bill Frisell… the list goes on. From 1986 until Gerry Mulligan’s death in 1996, he was part of Mulligan’s Quartet, Nonet and Big Band and performed with Mulligan in symphony orchestra settings with the Israel Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His career stretches out on either side of that formative association.

A couple of nights ago, Ron and Dean wrapped up a run of three West Coast dates with the Bill Mays Trio with a stop at Keys Jazz Bistro on Broadway on the 16th. The Mays trio is one Ron’s main gigs these days, and it’s a great one, taking him all around the country and abroad. Mays, one of the great jazz pianists of our day, moves on to a trio date at Tio Leo’s in San Diego on the 26th, and Ron has taken advantage of the break in that action to play some West Coast dates showcasing Tim Armacost.

On Sunday, the Armacost trio with Dean and Ron moves on to another favorite San Francisco haunt, the remarkable and long running house concert series known as Chez Hanny, one of the secret gems among the local jazz venues. We’re proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these great San Francisco listening rooms, sharing talent and giving audiences and musicians alike the opportunity to hear amazing live jazz in unique and intimate settings. Count yourselves lucky, and never underestimate how much the musicians and the clubs appreciate your ears and your enthusiasm for their work in propagating this incredibly diverse American art form.

A jazz conversation of the highest order is in store for you tonight when Tim, Dean and Ron hold forth for two sets of adventuresome and swinging jazz at Bird & Beckett, plumbing Tim’s book of originals and some jazz classics reimagined for your pleasure.

BYOB and a twenty for the band. Call the shop at 415-586-3733 to reserve a seat.