Each year, Betty Wong calls in the talents from San Francisco’s Community Music Center to celebrate the breadth of music that catches her ear and keeps her creative juices flowing. Marking the Year of the Dragon, she’ll bring a cavalcade of musicians – students, faculty and friends — to play music from a variety of cultures and traditions around the globe, capping the afternoon as always with a trio of jazz players that are long-time colleagues and friends — saxophonist Ken Rosen, pianist Randy Craig and bassist Richard Saunders.
Following the trio, pianist/flutist Steve Shapiro, director of the CMC for 30 years until his retirement several years ago, will join his wife, the bassist Ellen Rosenthal, for a short set.

Betty Wong is a bona fide treasure. Read this article to get a bit of a sense of what a power she is! And here are the Wikipedia facts.

And starting at 5pm, we’ll host a pair of student jazz combos from CMC, followed by a jam session hosted by the Akira Tana Trio, open to music students from any direction!

The Community Music Center, now over 100 years old, has recently expanded its facility on Capp Street in the Mission District and also maintains a campus in the Richmond District. It’s an amazing institution, providing high caliber, low and no-cost instruction to generations of San Franciscans. Want to learn the zither or the stritch or the piano or the guitar or whathaveyou? Look no further! We love this institution and its faculty, staff, students and extended family!

Donate, if that’s in your wheelhouse! The CMC relies on and is supported by its generous donor base: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/lhSPOQ

Your cover charge at the show helps us guarantee a fair wage to the musicians that work here. Individual donations from a great many generous members of the Bird & Beckett community are also necessary. If you can and haven’t, please join their number. Bird & Beckett will always be a work in progress… Thanks for being part of the solution with your dollars, ears, intellect and loyalty!