Want to listen to live jazz when when in San Francisco? You have a great chans to enjoy the frequently featured solo jazz pianist Grant Levin at Grant Levin at the Kanpai Lounge located in Hotel Nikko, SF. This upcoming week four evenings from 9:30-11:30pm, wednesday – saturday. Continue reading
Save the date: april 16, 2020 at SFJAZZ
Grant Levin will be returning to the Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ Center next April with this group: Jaz Sawyer and Jeff Marrs at SFJAZZ Hotplate.
“Bay Area jazz drumming luminaries Sawyer and Marrs revisit the 1959 joint Mercury studio album from iconic drummers Buddy Rich and Max Roach.”
PERSONNEL
Jaz Sawyer drums
Jeff Marrs drums
James Mahone saxophones
Grant Levin piano
David Ewell bass
Save the date: Thursday april 16, 2020 – Read more and book your tickets here.
Upcoming show at the Back Room: Noah Frank/Grant Levin Jazz Duo
Noah Frank is an SF-based jazz trumpet player, composer, producer, engineer, DJ, and educator. He has performed at jazz clubs and festivals nationwide, including the PDX Jazz Festival in Portland, Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Jazz Club in LA, and Paris Bistro in Philly. Noah’s recording credits include Chance the Rapper, Saba Pivot, and Mr. Carmack. He splits his time between Brooklyn NYC and the SF Bay Area.
Grant Levin is a San Francisco-based contemporary pianist and composer who performs in various configurations from intimate settings to concert halls and festivals. His style showcases the piano as an infinitely dynamic instrument, allowing the listener to experience the sonic blend.
Together, Noah and Grant will be exploring the jazz repertoire from the 1920s thru today, re-imagining songs from jazz greats like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and many more.
Tickets are $20 general admission. Advance tickets are available at the link below, or you may purchase your tickets at the door the night of the show. Doors open one half hour before show time. We accept cash only at the door (ATMs are nearby).
The Back Room is an all-ages, BYOB (for those 21+) space, dedicated to (mostly) acoustic music of all kinds. You are welcome to bring your own adult beverage with no additional corkage fee. If you need more information or have any questions, please call us: #510-654-3808. Thank you for your support!
Read more and tickets here : Eventbrite * The Back Room
Pennies From Heaven by Jazz in the Neighborhood
Grant Levin was the first featured pianist at the first Bird and Beckett Books and Records fair wage event in November 2017. Read the write up about the program here:
Pennies From Heaven: New Fund Boosts Pay for Local Jazz Musicians – A Bay Area nonprofit has cash for fair wages. Can it convince more venues to play along?
New CD: Grant Levin Trio, Live in California – Grant Levin, Greg D’augelli & Lew Langworthy
This is a classic and modern jazz standards with a fresh interpretation by a contemporary piano trio.
When listening to this live recording, one can clearly hear the joy and warmth between the musicians and the audience. The pieces of music presented are personal favorites of each member of the trio. The three of them have had a close musical friendship for over a decade. From 2006-2009 Levin and D’Augelli were colleagues in the music department at Chico State University. During this time they would frequently call upon Langworthy to join their ensemble on gigs. This concert in 2018 marks a very happy reunion for the trio.
The record is available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify.
Enjoy the first track “Con Alma (live)” from the new record here:
All Out at Black Cat SF
This coming week, Grant Levin will give it all at Black Cat. In 8 different shows during 8 days, you can enjoy his music performed with both local and stellar musicians visiting the Bay Area.
For the early birds, Grant Levin will be playing the early sets at Black Cat with Jaz Sawyer Trio this Friday and Saturday February 16 and 17 starting at 6:30pm.
LA PERCUSSION STAR JAZ SAWYER AND HIS TRIO
Jaz Sawyer (with one “Z”) began playing drums at age of 2 in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco, California. His musical studies has taken him through the music programs at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Stanford Jazz Workshop and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Continue reading
Ken Fowser Quintet is back at the Black Cat
If you did not get a chance to enjoy the music of Ken Fowser Quintet last spring – now is the chance: they will be playing five nights in a row at the Black Cat San Francisco.
Here is their write-up:
NYC POWERHOUSE KEN FOWSER QUINTET FT. JOSH BRUNEAU ON TRUMPET
From NYC, the hard-hitting Ken Fowser Quintet featuring trumpet impresario Josh Bruneau. Debuting their new highly-acclaimed album “Now Hear This” (on Positone), Ken brings “hard bop fans a solid set of free wheeling jazz with a swagger…and with a polished sheen…that keeps your attention and swings mightily.” Audiophile Audition.
Regularly featured in the top NYC jazz venues, Ken is a rising star in the national jazz scene. If you like jazz — if you like MUSIC — you don’t want to miss this group!
See Itinerary for the full agenda 2018.
No Tipping Allowed: Mario Guarneri Is Betting on Jazz in the Neighborhoods
Mario Guarneri founded the Jazz in the Neighborhood (JITN) organization, to advocate for better compensation and working conditions for jazz players. JITN will launch its new Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund for jazz musicians with a performance by the Grant Levin Trio at Bird & Beckett Books and Records in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood on Nov. 19. The Bird & Beckett bookstore has advocated financial respect for musicians since owner Eric Whittington first started hosting live jazz there, in 1999.
Read the full article at The San Francisco Classical Voice (SFCV) here.
This Weekend: Fillmore Jazz Festival 2017
This upcoming weekend the jazz event of the San Francisco summer will take place:
The 33rd Annual Fillmore Jazz Festival
Saturday & Sunday, July 1 & 2, 2017
Fillmore Street ~ Jackson to Eddy
San Francisco, CA
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM ~ FREE
Don’t miss when Grant Levin is playing with Noel Jewkes Quartet and special guest Kay Kostopoulos on the California Street Stage- Jazz Stage, July 2nd, 2017 at 12:30 – 2:00pm.
… 2, 3, 4 – New Concert Series at Bird & Beckett Books and Records
Starting in June, Grant Levin will lead a concert series every second, third and fourth Sundays of each month.
These will take place in the evening from 7:30-9:30 pm, with a $10-15 cover at Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 653 Chenery Street in San Francisco’s Glen Park. 1-415-586-3733
The line-up during the first month is:
June 11: Grant Levin Duo with Giulio Xavier, bass
June 18: Grant Levin Trio w/Giulio Xavier, bass, and Jeff Minnieweather, drums
June 25: Grant Levin Quartet w/Francis Vanek, sax; Chris Amberger, bass; Jeff Minnieweather, drums
Local treasure Grant Levin, a jazz pianist of extraordinary range, sensitivity and swing, holds forth in duo, trio and quartet formats every 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sunday night.
Bird & Beckett Books and Records