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

Monday March 4th

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-12:30 AM Showtime… Mike Olmos Presents The Sessions. Mike is a such a great trumpet player. He leads his all star Sessions for a great night of jazz.. Highly recommended!!!! 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

Tuesday March 5th

Brick & Mortar Music Hall 1710 Mission St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime.. Celebrate Mardi Gras 2019 with Jazz Mafia Heaviest Feather an air tight eight-piece band bringing together the Bay Area’s brightest rising stars alongside its most seasoned professionals. Opening the show is one of New Orleans brightest and most accomplished record spinner DJ Lady Fingaz. This is always a fun night full of surprise guests. Highly recommended!!!!! $15 Cover Charge..

Hotel Utah 500 4th St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime.. three really good bands this evening. Headlining are The Tangelos whose music combines the juicy flavors of funk, rock, pop, indie, jam, folk, blues and soul all into one tangy hybrid. Pop rockers the Ugly Boys and folki/jazz musicians Pretty in Between round out a great night of music. Highly recommended!!!!! $10 Cover Charge..

Le Colonial 20 Cosmo Pl, 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

Bar Fluxus 18 Harlan Pl, San Francisco 9:00 PM-1:30 AM Showtime. Vibrason is another great band out of the Bay Area very reminiscent of some of the Cal Tjader bands. Highly recommended. $10 Cover Charge.

The New Parish 1743 San Pablo Ave, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime..Help celebrate Oakland Mardi Gras 2019 with two great Bay Area party bands MJ’s Brass Boppers Brass Band and The Oakland Second Line Project. Highly recommended!!!!! $15 Cover Charge.

Wednesday March 6th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes.. Bay City Blues featuring Chris Cain is a weekly showcase of world class Blues music and superb instrumental talent. Sitting in tonight with the band is special guest Tia Carroll whose style embraces the soulful traditions of jazz, blues, gospel & funk that has made her one of the most sought after female singers on the West Coast. . This event is a celebration of the Blues in all its forms and an adventure into the depth of a national genre. Tonight Hosted by the nationally recognized Chris Cain & his All-Star cast of Musicians, every week they invite a new special guest to accompany them on stage and present new, upcoming, & old talent from the blues world! Bay City Blues is our tribute and exploration into the Blues genre, it is a special event in which we all get to help, share, & “Preserve the Blues.” Highly recommended!! $20 Cover Charge.

Mr.Tipples 39 Fell St, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime.. The Midnight Moods are one of the Bay Areas best kept secrets. This is a wonderful classic jazz trio led the amazing Jacqueline Corona on vocals with Alex Farrell on bass and Julian Shipp on piano. Highly recommended!! N/C

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-12:30 AM Showtime. The Patrick Wolff Bebop Quartet is deeply rooted in the bebop tradition established by Bird, Clifford Jordan and Dexter Gordon. Patrick is absolutely my favorite Bay Area tenor player and he leads an outstanding group of musicians..N/C.

Thursday March 7th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes.. Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88s have been the torchbearers of a great American blues musical heritage, not for three years but three decades. Taking their inspiration from the great jump n’ boogie outfits of the late 40s and early 50s, they breathe fresh life into the music that gave birth to rock n’roll. Woods styled his group after the jumpin’ n’ jivin’, shoutin’ n’ honkin’, pumpin’ n’ poundin’ bands of Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, Joe and Jimmy Liggins, Amos Milburn, and Roy Milton. Adding a healthy dose of New Orleans rhythm and blues, piledrivin’ piano, and some of his own contemporary playful lyrics, Woods and His Rocket 88s forge their own brand of music they call “rock-a-boogie.” Highly recommended!!!!! $20 Cover Charge..

Slims 333 11th St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime. The Neal Morse Band is one of the great American progressive rock bands led by the Nashville based prolific multi-instrumentalist and composer based Neal Morse.. This should be a really good show.. Highly recommended!!!!! $40 Cover Charge…

SF Jazz 201 Franklin St, San Francisco 7:30 PM Showtime…. Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger Elaine Elias will be performing songs from her previously unreleased 1995 album devoted to composer Mitch Leigh’s Tony-winning score to the Broadway hit Man of La Mancha. Elias is an amzing performer and a superlative pianist and evocative singer who combines the sensuous, sun-splashed melodicism of Brazil with the harmonic sophistication of New York City. She has a great trio backing her up including Marc Johnson on bass, Tiago Michelin on drums and Manolo Badrena on percussion. Highly recommended!!!!!! $35/$55/$75/$95 Cover Charge..

Mr.Tipples 39 Fell St, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime.. Ken Husbands Trio is the explosive combination of three very active players on the Bay Area jazz scene: Ken Husbands on guitar, Aaron Germain on electric and acoustic bass and Otto Huber on drums. Their live shows combine original music with interpretations of standards. I liken them Pat Metheny meets the Meters. Highly recommended!!! N/C

If you live in and around Santa Cruz you might want to check out

Moes Alley 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz 8:30 PM Showtime. The Rebirth Brass Band is an institution. Formed in 1983, the band has long since graduated from the streets of New Orleans to theaters and festivals all over the world. Rebirth is committed to upholding the tradition of brass bands while at the same time incorporating modern music into their show. Their signature brand of heavy funk has placed them among the world’s top brass bands and they are the hands-down favorite among the younger generation. This is a show not to be missed!! Highy Recommended!!!!!!! $30 Cover Charge..

Friday March 8th

August Hall 420 Mason St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime.. The Rebirth Brass Band is an institution. Formed in 1983, the band has long since graduated from the streets of New Orleans to theaters and festivals all over the world. Rebirth is committed to upholding the tradition of brass bands while at the same time incorporating modern music into their show. Their signature brand of heavy funk has placed them among the world’s top brass bands and they are the hands-down favorite among the younger generation. This is a show not to be missed!! Highy Recommended!!!!!!! $235 Cover Charge..

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 10:00 PM Showtimes.. Shawn Holt & The Teardrops‘ high energy, hard-driving sound of is getting rave reviews and has been rocking audiences. Shawn is the son of blues legend Magic Slim and has tailored the band’s unique sound and energy after Magic Slim’s band. Highly recommended!!!! $24 Cover Charge..

SF Jazz 201 Franklin St, San Francisco 7:30 PM Showtime…. Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger Elaine Elias will be performing Elaine Elias:My Songs, An Anthology. Elias is an amazing performer and a superlative pianist and evocative singer who combines the sensuous, sun-splashed melodicism of Brazil with the harmonic sophistication of New York City. She has a great trio backing her up including Marc Johnson on bass, Tiago Michelin on drums and Manolo Badrena on percussion. Highly recommended!!!!!! $35/$55/$75/$95 Cover Charge..

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 8:00 PM Showtime. Jorma Kaukonen is one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and Americana, and at the forefront of popular rock-and-roll. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient, he is a founding member of two legendary bands, Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna. Jorma Kaukonen’s repertoire goes far beyond his involvement creating psychedelic rock; he is a legend and one of the finest singer-songwriters and master instrumentalist in music today. Jorma tours the world bringing his unique styling to old blues and writing new songs with insight and imagination. Highly recommended!!!!!! $60 Cover Charge…

The New Parish 1743 San Pablo Ave, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime.. Midtown Social is a nine-piece tour-de- force. I just saw them for the first time last Friday at the Independant and they immediately became one of my favorite Bay Area bands. The musicianship and fresh vocal arrangements of ranging from funk ,rock hip hop and soul had the place rockin’. The band has great energy and stage presence. Soul/funk/jazz band No Lovely Thing opens the show. Highly recommended!!!! $15 Cover Charge

Blue Note 1030 Main Street, Napa 7:30 PM Showtime. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a great spiritual experience. I love their melodies filled with the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions. Highly recommended !!!!! $37.50-$57.50 Cover Charge

Saturday March 9th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes.. Cafe R&B is one of the most exciting live acts in the Blues genre, and beyond. Their sound is firmly rooted in electric Blues, but theirs is a tapestry of Blues, Rock, Jazz, R&B, and Americana. Hailing from Los Angeles Cafe R&B features the raging female vocalist “Roach” who has been described as Etta James riding a Harley out of an active volcano. Cafe R&B will knock you on your butt. Highly recommended!!!!! $24 Cover Charge…

The Lost Church 65 Capp St, San Francisco 7:30 PM Showtime. Two of the Bay Area’s guitar virtuosos Dave Ricketts and Craig Ventresco will be in performance.. Dave has been leading Gaucho since 2002 and has performed with many great contemporary musicians including Dan Hicks, David Grisman and Father Guido Sarducci. Craig has been a fixture in the Bay Area music scene for more than three decades. This should be a great show… Highly recommended!!!!! $20 Cover Charge..

August Hall 420 Mason St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime.. The Rebirth Brass Band is an institution. Formed in 1983, the band has long since graduated from the streets of New Orleans to theaters and festivals all over the world. Rebirth is committed to upholding the tradition of brass bands while at the same time incorporating modern music into their show. Their signature brand of heavy funk has placed them among the world’s top brass bands and they are the hands-down favorite among the younger generation. This is a show not to be missed!! Highy Recommended!!!!!!! $35 Cover Charge..

SF Jazz 201 Franklin St, San Francisco 7:30 PM Showtime…. Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger Elaine Elias will be performing Elaine Elias:Songs From Brazil.. Elias is an amzing performer and a superlative pianist and evocative singer who combines the sensuous, sun-splashed melodicism of Brazil with the harmonic sophistication of New York City. She has a great trio backing her up including Marc Johnson on bass, Tiago Michelin on drums and Manolo Badrena on percussion. Highly recommended!!!!!! $35/$55/$75/$95 Cover Charge..

Swedish American Hall 2174 Market St, San Francisco 7:30 PM Showtime.. The 2019 Noise Pop Festival is presenting Black Midi which has made a name for themselves in the UK for being ‘the best new band in the UK that no one knows anything about’ (NME 2018). BMB’ sold out its 300 copies almost instantly and had to be taken to repress within the first week.Their minimal online and press presence has caused the music world to gravitate towards them and their incredible live shows. They recently had a sold out headline show at Electrowerkz and have a fast-selling UK tour in January planned. Their insoluble mix of electronic, hardcore and math rock married with their uncompromising youth gives them a wisdom beyond their years, and a sound that feels beyond this world. Black Midi are a band impossible to put your finger on, but equally impossible to ignore. Highly recommended!!!!! $14 Cover Charge…

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Showtime. The Americano Social Club plays music for “la dolce vita”: a mix of romantic and eclectic melodies from all over the world including pop, jazz, folk, classical, rock, opera, the music of Brazil and Europe’s cafés as well as some great original pieces. This is a great ensemble. Highly recommended!!!! N/C

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-1:00 AM Showtime.. Howell Devine is the massively talented NorCal trio featuring Joshua Howell (Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica)Pete Devine (Drums & Washboard) and Joe Kyle Jr.(Upright Bass). Howell Devine deftly mixes sinuous Delta/country blues with wildly syncopated rhythms to create a rollicking present day sound from the past. HowellDevine breaks from the norm, providing rich and complex textures integral to the music rather than simple backing for a soloist. The result is a sound which stands in stark contrast to the typical blues heard in bars these days and would more likely be shaking the floors of a Southern juke joint some 70 years ago. Highly recommended!!!! No Cover Charge.. N/C

Revolution Cafe 3248 22nd St, San Francisco 5:00 PM-8:30 PM Showtime.. Westside Jazz Club, lead by the wonderful tenor saxophonist Scott Silverberg, is a collective of innovative jazz musicians performing jazz standards, challenging modern compositions and freshly-updated classics. I have seen this ensemble a number of time and they never dissapoint.. Highly recommended!!! N/C

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison Street Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime.. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a great spiritual experience. I love their melodies filled with the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions. Highly recommended !!!!! $56.00 Cover Charge..

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 8:00 PM Showtime. Jorma Kaukonen is one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and Americana, and at the forefront of popular rock-and-roll. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient, he is a founding member of two legendary bands, Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna. Jorma Kaukonen’s repertoire goes far beyond his involvement creating psychedelic rock; he is a legend and one of the finest singer-songwriters and master instrumentalist in music today. Jorma tours the world bringing his unique styling to old blues and writing new songs with insight and imagination. Highly recommended!!!!!! $60 Cover Charge…

The Backroom 1984 Bonita Ave, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime… Steel Guitar Hall of Famer Bobby Black, the living legend of West Coast pedal steel guitar, headlines Moonlight in Hawaii, a special evening of Hawaiian steel guitar, hapa-haole classics, and hula dances. Bobby will be playing many of his favorite Hawaiian songs, backed by special guest musicians, singers, and hula dancers, with an opening set by Bay Area Hawaiian band Haopinaka. Bobby will be backed by Bay Area jazz veterans including Myles Boisen (Tom Waits, Club Foot Orchestra), Tony Marcus (Cheap Suit Serenaders, Laurie Lewis) and others. Special guest vocalists include Sheilani Alix (Sheilani Alix Quartette, Kurt Ribak Trio), Jill Rogers (Crying Time, Imperial Jazz Co.), and Hawaiian music artists Casey and Nadine Vargas. Highly Recommended!!!!!! $15 Cover Charge..

If you live in and around Santa Cruz you might want to check out

Moes Alley 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz 9:00 PM Showtime. Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds are the Brooklyn, New York-based seven-piece soul/rock band led by singer Arleigh Kincheloe. This band just blew me away when I saw them at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass a few years ago. This is a rockin’ soulful band. Highly recommended!!! $25 Cover Charge..

Sunday March 10th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes. Ron Thompson is a legendary rhythm and blues guitarist and master keyboardist whose career began in the rough and tumble world of East San Francisco Bay nightclubs and bars in the early 1970’s. During many years of touring coast to coast with John Lee Hooker, Hooker was quoted as saying, “Ron Thompson, he’s my main man!” Not many living blues musicians can say they have performed with and recorded for legends like Big Mama Thornton, Tina Turner, Bruce Willis, Luther Tucker, Jimmy McCracklin, Pee Wee Crayton, Carla Thomas, Booker T. Jones, Percy Mayfield, Etta James, B.B. King, and Jimmy Reed. Highly recommended!!!! $20 Cover Charge..

SF Jazz 201 Franklin St, San Francisco 7:00 PM Showtime…. Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger Elaine Elias will be performing Elaine Elias:Songs From Brazil.. Elias is an amzing performer and a superlative pianist and evocative singer who combines the sensuous, sun-splashed melodicism of Brazil with the harmonic sophistication of New York City. She has a great trio backing her up including Marc Johnson on bass, Tiago Michelin on drums and Manolo Badrena on percussion. Highly recommended!!!!!! $35/$55/$75/$95 Cover Charge..

Bird & Beckett Books and Records 653 Chenery St, San Francisco.. 4:30 PM-6:30 PM Showtime.. Howell Devine is my favorite Bay Area blues band…The massively talented trio plays a mix of old Delta/country blues but with a rollicking present day sound that really sets them apart from other blues bands. The group consists of triple threat talent Joshua Howell (slide guitars, harmonica, voice), percussion savant Pete Devine (drums, washboard) and snappy doghouse bassist Joe Kyle Jr. deftly mix sinuous Delta/country blues with wildly syncopated rhythms to create a rollicking present day sound from the past. Nice setting to see them perform as well. Highly recommended!!!! $10 Cover Charge..

The Lucky Horseshoe Bar 453 Cortland Ave, San Francisco 4:00 PM-7:00 PM Showtime.. Bernal Hillbillies.. A great three hours of bluegrass music at a really great venue reminiscent of the jams at the Old Paul Saloon many years ago. Highly recommended!!!! N/C

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 8:00 PM Showtime. Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, the Brooklyn, New York-based seven-piece soul/rock band led by singer Arleigh Kincheloe, just blew me away when I saw them at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass a few years ago. This is a rockin’ soulful band. Highly recommended!!! $25 Cover Charge..

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society 311 Mirada Rd, Half Moon Bay 4:30 PM Showtime… Roger Glenn Presents Beware The Vibes Of March… Master multi-instrumentalist, composer and entertainer on the flute, sax and vibraphone, Glenn will be zeroing in on the vibes. The vibes are an instrument that are sometimes overlooked as part of the inventory of Jazz and Latin music. To showcase the importance of the instrument, four vibists will perform music from some of the great icons who have made the instrument famous. Glenn has performed and recorded with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Mongo Santamaria, Herbie Mann and Pete Escovedo. Roger’s flute playing is featured on many notable recordings including Cal Tjader’s Grammy Award winning album, La Onda Va Bien. You can be assured of an afternoon of infectious entertainment with multiple vibes on the stage! Joining Roger Glenn on vibes flute & sax are Yancie Taylor on vibes, Tommy Kesecker on vibes, Dillon Vado on vibes, Murray Low on piano, Robb Fisher on bass, Leon Joyce Jr. on drums and Estaire Godinez on percussion. Highly recommended!!!!!! $34-$45 Cover Charge…..

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison Street Berkeley 2:00 PM Showtime.. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a great spiritual experience. I love their melodies filled with the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions. Highly recommended !!!!! $56.00 Cover Charge..

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison Street Berkeley 7:00 PM Showtime.. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a great spiritual experience. I love their melodies filled with the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions. Highly recommended !!!!! $51.00 Cover Charge..

If you live in and around Santa Cruz you might want to check out

Moes Alley 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz 9:00 PM Showtime. Chris Cain‘s brand of blues is unforgettable. Cain’s jazz-tinged, blues soaked guitar and deep, warm vocals have the maturity and authenticity of bluesmen many years his senior. His expressive style is the result of a lifetime of study and the relentless pursuit of music mastery. His passion and intensity are a blend of his mother’s Greek ancestry and his father’s soulful black heritage. His powerfully deep vocals and jazz inspired, blues guitar riffs are unforgettable; uniquely his own, while reminiscent of the legendary BB King and Albert King. Highly recommended!!!!! $20 Cover Charge…

Video Pick Of The Week!!

As Mardi Gras week is upon us I would like to recommend a great documentary celebrating this joyful holiday and the city most associated with it.. Always For Pleasure is a look at the spirit of New Orleans. First a funeral: Allen Toussaint explains that you arrive slow and cut up afterwards. Then it’s food, with a lesson in eating crayfish at Frankie and Johnny’s. Next, a St. Patrick’s Day party: New Orleans celebrates holidays on the streets. Then it’s preparation for Mardi gras, with roots in slave days, when slaves gathered on Sundays to prepare for the one holiday they could celebrate. The Wild Tchoupitoulas society makes Indian costumes to honor the help Indians gave slaves. At Mardi gras, we’re with this society parading, singing, and partying. We end with the annual parade for St. Joseph, the saint of the people. More music, dance and ritual.