Another great week of live in the Bay Area. Here are some suggestion for this week..

Monday February 12th

Amnesia Bar 853 Valencia St, San Francisco 9:00PM-11:30PM Showtime The Bow Ties The Bow Ties It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More A great night of bluegrass with a band I really love The Bow Ties. They are so much fun.. N/C

Mr. Tipples 39 Fell St, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime Le Hot Jazz The spirit of Django is alive and well in San Francisco. This is a great ensemble. Highly recommended!! N/C

Tupelo 1337 Grant Ave, San Francisco 9:00 PM-1:00 AM Tupelo Who’s Your Mamma Monday Jam Session Every Monday, every week. Come hear the best in Roots, Soul, R&B, and Funk that the Bay Area has to offer. Hosted by Couti Ma and Young Blake – the nastiest rhythm section this side of S. Dakota. N/C

Tuesday February 13th

Bar Fluxus 18 Harlan Pl, San Francisco 9:00 PM-11:00 PM Showtime Vibrason I saw this band recently. They are another great band out of the Bay Area. Very reminiscent of some of the Cal Tjader bands. Highly recommended.. $10 Cover Charge

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM Showtime Mardi Gras with The North Beach Brass Band Spend Mardi Gras with one of San Francisco’s premier traditional brass bands, playing early jazz and golden standards and an electrified funky jazz act playing classic blues, Motown and soul tunes. $20 Cover Charge

Boom Boom Room 1601 Fillmore St, San Francisco 9:30 Showtime Jaz Clemente Booker D and the Mellow Fellows This is Fat Tuesday come get funky show with Jaz Clemente, East Bay’s afro latin funk master along with the up and coming funk band Booker D & The Mellow Fellows. This should be a good show. $5 cover Charge

Brick and Mortar 1710 Mission St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime Chali 2na Jazz Mafia Jazz Mafia Love Riot Mission Delirium . This should be one of the best shows of this year. Three of the best party bands in the Bay Area with musician, actor, painter and renaissance man Chali 2na headlining this incredible lineup. I’ll be there!! Highly recommended!!! $20 Cover Charge

Palace of Fine Arts 3301 Lyon St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime Beth Hart Beth Hart & Jeff Beck I’d Rather Go Blind I got to see Beth a few years ago at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and she was just spectacular.. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter is riding a creative tidal wave recording and performing with guitar royalty like Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck and Slash. She is an extraordinary singer and performer. Highly recommended..$8-$200 Cover Range

Wednesday February 14th

Bar Fluxus 18 Harlan Pl, San Francisco 8:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime Shannon Bryant Valentine Spectacular Shannon is a wonderful vocalist and really good songwriter as well. I really like her vocal arrangements of classic pop, bossa nova, and international songs. This will be a nice evening to spend Valentines Day. $10 Cover Charge

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM Lavay Smith & The Red Hot Skillet Lickers Spend a swinging Valentines Day with the suberb Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. Highly recommended. $30 Cover Charge

Bottom of the Hill 1233 17th St, San Francisco, 9:00 PM Showtime My Grody Valentine with James V Dingbat Superminx Sam Bailey and the Somethings Three really talented authentic bands that deserve more recognition. I especially like Sam Bailey. This is a great night to take your Valentine out for a fun time out. $10 Cover Charge.

Cafe Claude 7 Claude Ln, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime Lori Carsillo Lori is a really good vocalist who doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. He vocal arrangements of stands especially when she sings Burt Bacharach & Hal David tunes are really wonderful. This is another great evening out to spend Valentines Day. N/C

The Fillmore 1805 Geary Blvd, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime Dan Auerbach Dan takes his solo act on the road. He is a great performer and has a really good back up band supporting him. This should be a great show. $45 Cover Charge

The Independant 628 Divisadero St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime Mike Gordon The bassist and co-founder of the seminal improvisational rock band Phish) returns with his band in support of new album, OGOGO. Gordon’s five piece band includes Scott Murawski, Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars), John Kimock, and Craig Myers. This show will most likely sell out. $30 Cover Charge

If you live in the North Bay check out

Rancho Nicasio 1 Old Rancheria Rd, Nicasio 7:30 Showtime Le Hot Jazz The spirit of Django is alive and well with this is a great ensemble of musicians. Highly recommended!! $20 Cover Charge

If you are around Santa Cruz definitely check out

Kuumbwa Jazz Club 320 Cedar St # 2, Santa Cruz 7:30 PM Showtime Tuck and Patti I can’t think of a better way to spend a Valentines Day evening than with the grammy award winning great jazz duo and two of my favorite performers. Highly Recommended!! $40 Cover Charge

Thursday February 15th

The Fillmore 1805 Geary Blvd, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime Dan Auerbach Dan takes his solo act on the road. He is a great performer and has a really good back up band supporting him. This should be a great show. $45 Cover Charge

Black Cat Supper Club 400 Eddy St, San Francisco 6:30 PM-9:30 PM Showtime Ben Misterka Trio This is such a fun band. I love Ben’s energy and the way he blends different genres drawing on influences from jazz/funk, gospel, and psychedelic soul. He is also along with Collectivity are great musicians. Highly recommended!! $15 Cover Charge

Le Colonial 20 Cosmo Pl, San Francisco 7:00 Pm-10:00 PM Showtime Nick Rossi One of the best jazz trio’s in the Bay Area. Nick is a great guitarist and his trio is amazing. Plus a great venue to see him. Highly recommended. N/C

Revolution Cafe 3248 22nd St, San Francisco 8:30 PM-11:30 PM Showtime Adrian Gormley Jazz Band Just started listening to this group. They pretty much play straight ahead jazz from the 40’s through the 60’s. I am looking forward to seeing them. N/C

Sweet Water Music Hall19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 8:00 PM Showtime
Bill Frisell Thomas Morgan This is going to be a great evening of music performed by two virtuosos master guitarist Bill Frisell and one of the great bassists on the jazz scene Thomas Morgan. Highly recommended.. $50 Cover Charge

Friday February 16th

Boom Boom Room 1601 Fillmore St, San Francisco 9:30 PM Showtime Mike Clark Donald Harrison Two legendary jazz artists team up with Will Blades for what promises to be a great night of music. Clark was a founding member of the legendary jazz fusion group the Headhunters and Donald Harrison is one of the great sax players to come out of New Orleans. Opening the show are The Magic Beans The Magic Beans Live A Colorado based funk, rock and electronica band. Highly recommended!! $18 Cover Charge

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 10:00 PM – 1:00 AM Showtime Cosmo Alleycats This is one of my favorite Bay Are jazz ensembles. The Alleycats are so good and so much fun and one of the better jazz bands in the Bay Area. Highly recommended. N/C

Feinstein’s At The Nikko 222 Mason St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime Mary Wilson Mary Wilson, founding member of The Supremes, will make her Feinstein’s at the Nikko debut in an intimate evening of both classic Supremes hits and favorites from the Great American Songbook plus a few stories from her legendary career. $48.75-$85 Cover Charge

Neck Of The Woods 406 Clement St, San Francisco 9:30 PM Showtime The Fixins Another great up and coming San Francisco band. I saw The Fixins last year and really liked them. They play a wide catalogue of original music, including mostly rock and upbeat folk music with a touch of some groovy psychedelic jammage. Highly recommended!! $10 Cover Charge

The Fox Theatre 1807 Telegraph Ave, Oakland Lettuce Lettuce is such a great band..For more than two decades Lettuce has brought a new vitality to classic funk, matching their smooth and soulful grooves with a hip-hop-inspired urgency. I have been lucky enough to see them a few times. I highly recommend them!! $31.50 Cover Charge

If you are in the San Jose area check out

Cafe Stritch 374 S 1st St, San Jose 8:00 PM-11:00 PM Showtime Ronnie Foster Trio Ronnie Foster is a jazz legend and one of the most influential jazz organists to come out of the 1970s. His albums on Blue Note Records, including The Two Headed Freep and On the Avenue have become cult favorites among a new generation of listeners raised on acid jazz. Foster was a sought-after funk and soul-jazz keyboardist and producer in the 70s, 80s and 90s, working with George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Stanley Turrentine, Earl Klugh, Lalo Schifrin, Jimmy Smith, David Sanborn, Grover Washington Jr., Lee Ritenour and the Temptations. In recent years, his own records have become some of the most-sampled in Blue Note’s catalogue, mined by A Tribe Called Quest, Kendrick Lamar, Madlib and others. Highly recommended $25 Cover Charge

If you are in Santa Cruz be sure to check out

Moes Alley 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz 8:30 Showtime The Blasters One of my all time favorite rock and roll bands. Phil and Dave Alvin are LA rock and roll royalty. Growing up in the southeast Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California under the tutelage of T-Bone Walker and Big Joe Turner to their emergence as central figures in the eclectic LA punk/rock scene of the early ‘80s to their current status as internationally-renowned influences in their own right, the Blasters have spent their lives exploring and expressing the deep and diverse musical legacy that is best described by the title of their first album American Music. Highly recommended!! $25 Cover Charge

Saturday February 17th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:00 PM & 9:30 Showtime Otis TaylorOtis Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include the guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals. He has a great supporting band with Annie Harris on fiddle, Larry Thompson on drums Todd Edmunds on bass and Beth Rosbach on cello. I saw Otis about 3 years ago and he puts on a great show. Highly recommended!! $30 Cover Charge

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime Mr. Sun This is a project by legendary jazz/bluegrass fiddler extraordinaire Darol Anger along with Joe Walsh on mandolin, Grant Gordy on Guitar and Aiden O’Donnell on bass. This is a wonderful band lead by a favorite musician of mine Darol Anger. Highly recommended!! $20 Cover Charge

Slims 333 11th St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime Sam Chase & The Untraditional I saw this band at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass last year and really loved them. They are a great folk based rock group and Sam is very funny and personable on stage. Highly recommended!! $31 Cover Charge

Neck Of The Woods 406 Clement St, San Francisco 10:00 PM Showtime Jacob Jolliff Band Jacob Jolliff is one of the country’s premier contemporary mandolinists. He reminds me a lot of Sam Bush. Before joining Yonder Mountain String Band, Jolliff was an integral member of beloved New England roots band, Joy Kills Sorrow. Thsi is Americana bluegrass at its best. Highly recommended!! $15 Cover Charge

Red Poppy Art House 2698 Folsom St, San Francisco 7:30 PM-10:00 PM Showtime Grupo Falso Baiano Grupo Falso Baiano is a choro group that offers a window into the history and diverse culture of Brazil. Choro is one of Brazil’s earliest popular music, dating back to the late 1800s, and, similar to jazz, it reflects the melding of African rhythms with a melodic and harmonic structure closely resembling Baroque classical music. The group’s exploration of choro spans nearly 100 years, including everything from the traditional to more contemporary versions and jazz- influenced reinterpretations. Highly recommended!! $20 Cover Charge

Feinstein’s At The Nikko 222 Mason St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime Mary Wilson Mary Wilson, founding member of The Supremes, will make her Feinstein’s at the Nikko debut in an intimate evening of both classic Supremes hits and favorites from the Great American Songbook plus a few stories from her legendary career. $48.75-$85 Cover Charge

If you are in the San Jose Area check out

Art Boutiki and Gallery 44 Race St, San Jose 8:00 Pm-10:00 Pm Showtime La Misa Negra La Misa Negra is a 7-piece band from Oakland, known for their unique blend of heavyweight cumbia and high-energy, Afro-Latin music. On stage, they deliver an electrifying performance that explodes with dance grooves and punk rock energy powered by horn and accordion-driven riffs, a fierce rhythm section, and a vintage-inspired sound. Highly recommended $15 Cover Charge

Sunday February 18th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:00 PM & 9:30 Showtime Otis Taylor Otis Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include the guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals. He has a great supporting band with Annie Harris on fiddle, Larry Thompson on drums Todd Edmunds on bass and Beth Rosbach on cello. I saw Otis about 3 years ago and he puts on a great show. Highly recommended!! $30 Cover Charge

Bird & Beckett 653 Chenery St, San Francisco 4:30 PM-6:30 PM Showtime HowellDevine Without a doubt the absolute best Bay Area Blues Band. Rural blues from the San Francisco masters of the form HowellDevine..This is a nice venue to see them. Highly recommended. $10 Cover Charge

The Fillmore 1805 Geary Blvd San Francisco, 8:00 PM Showtime Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagon Trees The extraterrestrial time traveling gynecologist and surgeon from the planet Jupiter returns to the San Francisco Fillmore for one night. This is a long awaited appearance. Highly recommended!! $35 Cover Charge

Bottom of the Hill 1233 17th St, San Francisco, 9:00PM Showtime Turbojugend 17th Anniversary Party with Thor Flex Bronco LA Nightmare Party Force Smoke TurbonegrA A night of heavy death metal. From the 4 bands my personnel favorite is TurbonegrA which is an all girl tribute to the infamous boys of Oslo – Turbonegro. $18 Cover Charge

The Lucky Horseshoe Bar 453 Cortland Ave San Francisco, 4:00 PM-7:00 PM Showtime The Bernal Hillbillies A great late afternoon of bluegrass music. N/C

If you are in the San Jose area Check out

Hammer Theatre 101 Paseo De San Antonio, San Jose 7:00-8:30 PM Showtime Dee Dee Bridgewater with the San Jose State University Jazz Orchestra The multifaceted Grammy and Tony Award-winning jazz giant performs with the SJSU jazz orchestra. Dee Dee is a great jazz singer and a wonderful performer. This should be a great show. $25 Cover Charge.

Cafe Stritch 374 S 1st St, San Jose 4:00 PM-5:30 PM Showtime Jacob Jolliff Band Jacob Jolliff is one of the country’s premier contemporary mandolinists. He reminds me a lot of Sam Bush. Before joining Yonder Mountain String Band, Jolliff was an integral member of beloved New England roots band, Joy Kills Sorrow. Thsi is Americana bluegrass at its best. Highly recommended!! $20 Cover Charge

Video Pick Of The Week

For Mardi Gras week I am recommending a New Orleans music scene I knew absolutely nothing about. The Punk Rock movement. Almost Ready: The Story of Punk Rock in New Orleans Almost Ready: The Story of Punk Rock in New Orleans Trailer .. Al Champagne and Pablo Romero-Estevez documentary talks about the New Orleans Punk/New Wave scene of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Bands include The Normals, Red Rockers, The Cold, Lenny Zenith’s RZA, Sexdog, The Sluts, Shell Shock and many more.