Welcome Simon Rowe, new Glen Park resident and also the new and founding director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Roots, Jazz & American Music program.

The “Simon Rowe Latin Project” led by pianist Simon Rowe showcases the talents of Cuban conguero Carlos Caro,drummer Brian Kendrick and bassist Gerry Pineda.

Inspired by the the way in which music from Cuba, Brazil and the Americas has found its way into the global jazz canon, this group puts a unique spin on many familiar jazz standards while also visiting the work of composers such as Ernesto Lecuona, Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie.

Executive Director of the Roots, Jazz and American Music Program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Dr. Simon Rowe is a distinguished educator, entrepreneur, and artist in the jazz field. Along with leading the Simon Rowe Trio and the Simon Rowe Latin Project, Rowe has played with many greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Bob Mintzer, Marvin Stamm, and Dianne Schurr. From 2011 to 2016 Rowe served as the Executive Director of the Brubeck Institute, where he grew the annual Brubeck Festival into a city-wide event and created an innovative jazz club (Take 5) through a private/public partnership while developing local, national and international coalitions to forward the mission of the Institute. Rowe holds a doctorate of musical arts in performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has held appointments in higher education, including directing the leading music industry program in the Minnesota State University system.

At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, in partnership with the SFJAZZ Center, Rowe has now launched RJAM (Roots, Jazz and American Music) an innovative new performance degree program, with its inaugural class of 13 incoming first-year Bachelor of Music students having just arrived in San Francisco in September! Bird & Beckett is pleased to present a monthly jam session for these students and their local counterparts on the second Monday of each month.