* spend your time on boats in the San Francisco Bay, or gazing upon them in melancholy from the docks of the bay ’cause you have annual income less than beaucoup bucks? like, say, $60k? We love ya, and we feel for ya! You’re home free tonight at Bird & Beckett, no cover charge for you, for this Fleet Week gig on Indigenous Peoples Day weekend to hear the homegrown jazz of the Ben Slater Trio!

Ben Slater, saxophone.
Luke Schwartz, guitar.
Sam Heminger, bass.

$20 cover charge (cash at the door, please), byob.
Students, $10; kids and mariners, free.*
All ages. Wheelchair accessible.
For reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733.

Tonight, the Ben Slater Trio plays a summer’s worth of Ben’s new compositions and arrangements.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Ben Slater spent time on the East Coast and New Orleans before returning to the City. Here, he’s been a leading member of the band Mean to Me since 2013 and regularly plays around town as a leader and sideplayer in other small combos. On saxophone, he draws on the lyricism of Wayne Shorter and Lester Young; on piano, he’s internalized the rhythm-centered approaches of Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.

Luke Schwartz, also a native, is a guitarist, bassist, pianist, composer and arranger, who spent time in New Orleans and New York and returned to San Francisco several years ago. His playing is influenced by such jazz players as Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Peter Bernstein and Kurt Rosenwinkel. He also draws deeply from the idioms of funk and rock music. He leads his own small jazz combos, works in groups in a variety of styles and performs as a solo artist.

Sam Heminger, making it a trifecta of San Francisco originals, has a range of influences but is drawn most to playing music with a lot of interplay and communication between musicians. He can be found locally around the Bay Area playing with a variety of bands, including Mean to Me.