At 2:30 pm: Walker Talks!
w/painter Jim Hays
on the art of Bruegel the Elder

Walker Brents & Jim Hays collaborate to explore the world of Bruegel, whose canvases each contain a myriad of representations of the society in which he found himself.

Prepare yourself for immersion in a milieu that in the final analysis is not unlike our own, but one whose dimensions are depicted and described in such detail by a master that its contemplation produces revelation upon revelation.

A 16th century Flemish painter, Bruegel painted allegorical scenes that hearken back to the phantasmagoric work of Hieronymous Bosch but found particular expression in incredible landscapes and acutely observed depictions of peasant life, not lacking in humor and sardonic insight.

At 4:30 pm:  The Frank Jackson Quartet with Noel Jewkes

Bassist John Clark and drummer Greg Gotelli anchor this important local jazz group.  You can hear them weekly at Castagnola’s down on the wharf if you want to brave the tourist crowds, the traffic, and the parking– and the din of the restaurant.  That’s well worth it, and has its charms for sure!  But first, why not come to your neighborhood bookshop to hear them in an intimate setting that’s proven to be one of San Francisco’s favorite jazz venues?

Frank Jackson arrived in San Francisco’s Fillmore neighborhood as a young teenager in 1942, and has been a mainstay on the scene for the 70 years since!  He’s a wonderful vocalist as well as a lovely pianist.  And Noel is simply one of the very best horn players in town, and has been for decades– well respected by his peers, by young aspirants to the jazz art, and by audiences all over this jazz-crazy town.

Born in Texas, Frank Jackson has his performing roots in the Fillmore jazz scene of the 1940s– an active musician on the scene for seven decades.  Through the glory years of the ’40s and ’50s, Frank played alongside all the main musicians in town and with countless major artists passing through — some just for a fleeting moment, including Charlie Parker — others more extensively… Lionel Hampton offered him a spot in his band… he was in the house band at the Say When? when Billie Holiday played a run at the club… he roomed with Teddy Edwards, was a regular sideman with Pony Poindexter… just a taste of the history that is so alive in this town.  A fine pianist, and a terrific vocalist, appearing here with a sympatico set of skilled musicians.  A wonderful Glen Park treat…

photo by Wylie Maercklein

As for Noel Jewkes, a jazz veteran known to many in the younger set from his work with Lavay Smith,  he was born in Utah in 1940 and migrated to San Francisco as an adult to become one of the most revered local masters of the jazz saxophone, but only after playing for years, from the age of 12, in the family swing orchestra headed by his mother and father.  The Jewkes Orchestra traveled widely in the region, delivering a swinging and danceable beat to audiences of hip Indians, farmers and city slickers in rural assembly halls, lakeside resorts and downtown hotels.

Talented beyond measure on piano and trumpet as well as the various reeds, Noel is well known to the Cafe du Nord set for his work in the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, but his renown stretches far beyond that– and for good reason.  His affinity with John Coltrane’s music belies the associations some have from hearing him in swing and jump ensembles, bop aggregations, etc. A flexible and insatiably adventurous modern master.