Omni Foundation to Present Brazilian Weekend

Guitarist Yamandu Costa (photograph by Rodrigo Lopes, courtesy of the Omni Foundation)

Next month the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts will present Brazil Fest, two consecutive evenings of Brazilian guitar music. The first evening will see the return of Yamandu Costa, who plays a seven-string instrument. He will be followed by a duo performance on the following evening bringing Brazilian guitar virtuoso Alessandro Penezzi together with local mandolinist Mike Marshall. As of this writing, program details have not yet been announced for either of these programs.

Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April, 10 and Saturday, April, 11. They will take place at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (1111 O’Farrell Street, just west of the corner of Franklin Street). Tickets for both concerts may be purchased for $99 from a single Web page. Tickets for single concerts will be $70, purchased from a Web pages for Friday and Saturday.

The Bleeding Edge: 3/30/2026

After several busy weeks, things will quiet down a bit on the Bleeding Edge. Unless my search engine has betrayed me, only one new event will join the “usual suspects” Bleeding Edge venues. Nevertheless, those “usual suspects” will, as in the past, have much to offer. Full details (to the extent that they are available) are as follows:

Thursday, April 2, 7 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA): This will be a two-set program. The second set will be devoted to both composed and improvised performances by Pamela Z. She will be preceded by Jon Leidecker, performing under the name Wobbly (which he has assumed since 1990). Prior to the opening, visitors will be free to view the content of the galleries, beginning at 5 p.m. Doors to the Forum, where the performance will take place, will open at 6:30 p.m. There will be no charge for admission, but those planning to attend can make RSVP arrangements through a YBCA Web page.

Friday, April 3, 6 p.m., Bric-a-Brac: This appears to be a new venue for adventurous listeners. The program will consist of five sets, three of which involve performers visiting from out of town. Coinshortage will come all the way from Chicago, while the Ben Rempel/Justin Gunter percussion duo is distributed between Los Angeles and New York City. The other visitor, Jake Parker-Scott is based in Los Angeles. “Local talent” will account for the beginning and end of the program. The opening set will be taken by flatways, which is the trio of Jordan Glenn, Sudhu Tewari, and matt robidoux. The final set will be a solo performance by Lx Rudis. The venue is located at 175 Leland Avenue. Admission will be $10, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

David Boyce with his soprano saxophone (from this week’s BayImproviser Web page for Medicine for Nightmares)

Friday, April 3, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares: This will be the next Other Dimensions in Sound performance curated by reed player David Boyce. This week Boyce will be part of a tenor saxophone trio, whose other members are Nora Free and Francis Wong. As always, the venue is the bookstore located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. There is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.

Friday, April 3, 8:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: This venue will also host a trio gig but with more diverse instrumentation. Bassist Dan Seamans will lead the group, joined by Darren Johnston on trumpet and guitarist Scott Foster. This will be the third event in a long-weekend series of concerts entitled Poetryx2 + Jazzx5 = 4/2-4/5, running from Thursday, April 2, to Sunday, April 5. For those encountering the venue for the first time, it is located in Glen Park at 653 Chenery Street. Admission will be $20.

Why Al Jazeera?

Screen shot of Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Al Jazeera English

Readers have probably noted a flurry of URLs directed toward Web pages for Al Jazeera English. This involves a somewhat elaborate story, which goes back to the fact that my first job after receiving my doctoral degree in 1971 was at the Technion, whose “subtitle” was “Israel Institute of Technology.” In other words, I completed my education at one “institute of technology” (in Massachusetts) and began my professional life at another!

I spent only two years at the Technion before returning to the United States for an Assistant Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I was glad to be back in a setting that was willing to view both Israeli and Arab cultures on common ground. Indeed, I relished that common ground the following summer, when I planned a vacation that took me to both Cairo in Egypt and Amman in Jordan.

Nevertheless, news about the Middle East that accounted for both Israel and its Arab neighbors tended to be a “sometime thing” among most United States television channels. It was not until 2006 that Al Jazeera, based in Doha, Qatar, launched a 24-hour English-language news channel. Unfortunately, while I could usually count on good cable service wherever I happened to be living at the time, none of those services seemed willing to include Al Jazeera English as a channel.

As usual, the Internet came to my recuse. United States television networks may have tried to avoid Al Jazeera English, but YouTube had no problems with creating a Web page providing a live feed! Now I get my television service from xfinity, and guess what? The service includes more channels than I can ever hope to keep up with, but it also includes an “Apps” category. It did not take me long to discover that YouTube was included in that category, making it easier for me to watch YouTube content on a television (usually with my wife), rather than on a computer screen.

My guess is that I am far from the only one to get my news this way. Indeed, that aforementioned Web page claims that “more than 270 million households in over 140 countries across the globe" account for Al Jazeera English viewers. Now, if I feel I need perspective from a source outside the United States, I have an alternative to the BBC!

Olé!

 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/30/spain-closes-airspace-to-us-planes-involved-in-war-on-iran

Does "Meaning" Mean Anything Anymore?

I have decided that, regardless of what is actually happening in the world, the Republican Party has decided to declare war on the word “meaning;” and what frightens me is that they may be winning:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/30/rubio-tells-al-jazeera-strait-of-hormuz-will-reopen-one-way-or-another 

SF Civic Symphony’s “American Sound”

Yesterday afternoon my wife and I returned to Herbst Theatre, this time for the latest program presented by the San Francisco Civic Symphony of the San Francisco Civic Music Association. The full title of the program was The American Sound - in celebration of America’s Semi-quincentennial. The ensemble was led by Music Director Paul Schrage, and the concerto soloist was pianist Daniel Glover. He departed from the usual “American” performance of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” preferring, instead, the three-movement “Concerto in F.”

Conductor Walter Damrosch had attended the world premiere of “Rhapsody in Blue” on February 12, 1924; and the following day he commissioned Gershwin to compose a full-length piano concerto for the New York Symphony Orchestra, which he conducted. It receives far less attention than the “Rhapsody;” but, here in San Francisco, pianist Hélène Grimaud performed it as concerto soloist for this season’s opening night performance for the San Francisco Symphony. Glover was just as engaging in yesterday afternoon’s account, following up with an equally high-spirited account of Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s “The Banjo.”

Cover page of a piano arrangement of the first movement of Gottschalk’s first symphony (from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

As might be expected, the concerto was preceded by an overture. In this case the source of the “American sound” was Scott Joplin with the overture to his Treemonisha opera, which was followed by Aaron Copland’s symphonic approach to the “John Henry” folk song. The second half of the program began with Joplin’s contemporary, Florence Price. Many readers may be familiar with her violin concerto, which has been performed in Davies Symphony Hall. “The Oak” is a relatively short tone poem when compared with that concerto, but it is far more visceral and definitely seized listener attention following the intermission. This was followed by William Schuman’s orchestral arrangement of “Variations on ‘America,’” which Charles Ives had composed for organ for an Independence Day celebration. This provided the “comic relief” for the afternoon, and Schrage knew just how to capture that spirit. The program concluded with Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s first symphony, given the descriptive title “La nuit des tropiques” (night of the tropics). Gottschalk was one to “pull out all the stops;” and the second of the two movements is not only raucous but also, according to its Wikipedia entry, “the first orchestral setting of a samba!”

The ensemble is a “community orchestra,” meaning that all the members have a different “day job.” I performed in such an ensemble during my senior year in high school. The conductor was not afraid to be ambitious; and the high point of that year was a full performance of Joseph Haydn’s Hoboken XXI:2 oratorio The Creation. Yesterday afternoon’s program was just as ambitious, yet another example of what happens when amateurs are willing to take their music seriously!

A “Live” Account of “Sundays at Ten”

Somewhat ironically, this morning provided me with my first opportunity to view a Sundays at Ten video compiled by Voices of Music (VoM) when it first appeared. These videos are released on YouTube every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. This particular episode consisted of four selections by four different composers; in “order of appearance” these were Henry Purcell, Maddalena Laura Sirmen, George Frideric Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Sirmen was the “wild card” in this “hand,” providing my first encounter with her music, which was limited to the first movement of a violin concerto in B-flat major. Most familiar, on the other hand, was the Bach selection, BWV 1051, the sixth (and last) of the so-called “Brandenburg” concertos.

Kati Kyme, Elizabeth Blumenstock, and Tanya Tomkins performing Bach’s BWV 1051

As one of my undergraduate colleagues pointed out, BWV 1051 was the only concerto in the set whose number was also the number of solo performers. That said, most of the virtuoso solo work was performed by two violas (Kati Kyme and Elizabeth Blumenstock) and cello (Tanya Tomkins). The other soloists were Elisabeth Reed and William Skeen (viol da gamba) and Farley Pearce (violone), with Hanneke van Proosdij providing continuo on cembalo.

BWV 1051 was also the only multi-movement composition to be performed in its entirety. The Handel concerto, HWV 325 in B-flat major, was limited to the opening largo followed by an allegro fugue; and the Sirmen movement was also allegro. Purcell began the program with his Z. 750 pavan, composed in the key of B-flat major. Taken as a whole, the entire set lasted a little over half an hour, just the right amount of brevity for an engaging Sunday morning of music.

E4TT: Next Month’s Women Composers

Poster design for the program being announced (from the Web page on the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Web site)

Next month will see the first performance in the new year by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT). The title of the program will be Women Crossing/Liminality; and, as the title suggests, all of the composers will be female. The first three will be world premiere performances of works, whose titles have not yet been announced, by Juhi Bansai, Vivian Fung, and Pamela Z. The program will also include the winner of a competition by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Technology and Applied Composition Department. The remaining two works on the program will be solo performances: “say it in your heart, say it in your sleep” by Leilehua Lanzilotti for piano and “Liminality” by Sofia Jen Ouyang for cello.

This performance will take place next month on Friday, April 17, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The venue will be the Cha Chi Ming Recital Hall, located in the Bowes Center of the San Francisco Conservatory Music at 200 Van Ness Avenue. There will be no charge for admission, and a Web page has been created for reserving seats. As will be seen on that Web page, the performance will also be livestreamed.

Chanticleer Celebrates its Home Town

Photograph of Chanticleer taken in 2014 (from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)

This afternoon the all-male vocal ensemble Chanticleer brought the third of the four programs prepared for its current (48th) season to the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The title of that program was I Left My Heart in San Francisco; and the program featured a diversity of Bay Area composers past and present, many of whom came to San Francisco and decided to stay. Unless I am mistaken, all of the composers contributing to the program were based in the Bay Area during the last and present centuries.

The program was as abundant as it was diverse, and it was performed without an intermission. In reviewing the program book, I was a bit skeptical about this being more of a strain than the audience would tolerate. However, the individual selections proceeded at a rapid clip; and I suspect that, like most of the audience, I never felt a need for a break to stretch my legs (or for any other good reason). By the same count, I never felt that the abundant program prepared for the occasion would overstay its welcome. Indeed, the diversity of the selections themselves was sufficient to sustain my attention over the course of a performance lasting about 100 minutes.

That said, I have to confess that, having just left the venue, none of those selections (except for the “title song”) had an effect on memory strong enough for me to advocate listening to it again! This may be part of the Chanticleer aesthetic. What matters is diversity, and the abundance of that diversity carries the attentive listener from one setting to another without ever worrying about an onset of fatigue. As I now sit reviewing the full two-page list of works performed, I realize that no one of those offerings rises above the others. In other words the “Chanticleer aesthetic” is about the entire journey, rather than any of the stops along the way!

Whatever my personal thoughts about that aesthetic may be, I always finding myself looking forward to the next performance!

Spoleto Festival USA: the April Release

Cover of the album being discussed (from its Amazon.com Web page)

Some readers may recall that, a little over two weeks ago, I wrote my first article about the release of a series of recordings of performances that took place last year at the annual Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. The full title of that album was Live from Spoleto 2025: Orchestra. This coming Friday will see the release of the second album: Live from Spoleto 2025: Chamber Music, Vol. 1. As of this writing, Amazon.com has created a Web page, which is processing pre-orders for MP3 downloads.

Each of the eight tracks on this album involves at least one composer and/or arranger. The oldest of those composers is Alexander Borodin, represented by the “Nocturne” movement from his second string quartet in D major, best known for having been transformed into a song (“And This Is My Beloved”) for the Broadway musical Kismet. “Ricercar” was composed jointly by Trollstilt, the partnership of Dan Trueman and Monica Mugan); and the vocal line for Caroline Shaw’s “Other Song” was arranged by Steven Banks for performance on saxophone. The penultimate track is an improvisation (spontaneous?) by Mahsa Vahdat. Sadly, my impression of this new release was no better than my account of the Orchestra album. My only real satisfaction came from the string quartet account of Terry Riley’s “G Song,” performed by Alexi Kenney, Geneva Lewis, Ayane Kozasa, and Paul Wiancko.

Ébène Quartet to Conclude SFP Chamber Music

Ébène Quartet members Yuya Okamoto, Gabriel Le Magadure, Marie Chilemme, and Pierre Colombet (from the event page for their next SFP recital)

Having written about next month’s return by the Danish String Quartet to San Francisco Performances (SFP), it is not too early to announce that the 2025–2026 Chamber Series will conclude two days later with a performance by the Ébène Quartet. Cellist Yuya Okamoto recently joined the ensemble, giving the audience the first opportunity to experience his performance with the other more familiar members of the quartet: violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure with Marie Chilemme on viola. When the ensemble last visited SFP, they prepared a program with string quartets in the first half and jazz in the second.

For their return, they will hold off on any jazz (unless it shows up in an encore). The entire program will be framed by two of the “Three Bs,” both represented by “second quartets.” The program will begin with the second of the six Opus 18 quartets, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in the key of G major. It will conclude with the second of the two Opus 51 quartets by Johannes Brahms, composed in the key of A minor. The “middle” work on the program will be Claude Debussy’s only string quartet, composed in 1893 in the key of G minor.

This performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, which many (most?) readers know is located in the heart of the Civic Center at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $80, $70, and $60. As those readers probably also know, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing those tickets.

Edgar Meyer Returns to SFP Along with Dover

Edgar Meyer with his bass (photograph by Jim McGuire, courtesy of SFP)

Bassist Edgar Meyer presented his first recital with San Francisco Performances (SFP) in December of 1991, long before writing about the performance of music ever entered my mind. He returned last night making his twelfth appearance in Herbst Theatre. He contributed two of his own compositions, a set of two duets for cello and bass and a piece entitled “Quintet for Strings.” He was joined by the Dover String Quartet, whose members are violinists Joel Link and Bryan Lee, Hezekiah Leung on viola, and cellist Camden Shaw. Meyer’s addition was a departure from the usual string quintet.

Each of Meyer’s pieces was preceded by music from an earlier century. The program began with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 136 divertimento in D major. This is usually performed by a string ensemble, but the one-to-a-part performance by Dover struck me as a more engaging approach. The quartet also performed Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 80 (sixth) quartet in F minor. This was the one offering on the program that struck me as overwrought, possibly because it was composed in a dark period near the end of the composer’s life.

Meyer’s name will probably be familiar to those that have followed this site (as will as its Examiner.com predecessor) for some time. His performances have been consistently engaging, and his music has been performed by others here in San Francisco. Indeed, a little less than two years ago, two movements from his 1999 Concert Duo were performed by San Francisco Symphony bassist Daniel G. Smith and violinist David Chernyavsky. Sadly, the sense of playfulness that Smith and Chernyavsky evoked never quite came to the surface last night, whether in Meyer’s own music or in the earlier compositions.

Perhaps Dover did not provide the right partnership for Meyer, and I am hoping that I shall not have to wait too long to encounter both his music had his approach to performance in a more conducive setting.

The Commander-in-Chief reveals his priorities

 

Donald Trump displaying his priorities 

https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/trump-interrupts-a-cabinet-meeting-dealing-with-22153824.php

… and, as far as I am concerned, we have every cause to be skeptical, if not afraid! 

Volti to Partner with ODC/Dance (Again)

Screen shot from the “trailer” video for Path of Miracles (from the YouTube video)

The end of last year saw an announcement of Path of Miracles, created by Volti in partnership with ODC/Dance. At that time only limited information was available. However, the ODC/Dance Web site now has a Web page with more details, including a hyperlink for purchasing tickets and a “trailer” video on YouTube providing background about the collaboration.

As was previously announced, Path of Miracles will be given three performances at Saint Joseph’s Art Society, taking place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, Thursday, April 16, and Friday, April 17. The venue is located at 1401 Howard Street. General admission will be $98 with Supporter level tickets (to subsidize individuals for whom price is a barrier) are available for $128. A limited number of Arts Access tickets will be available for $48. All ticket purchases for all three dates will be processed through a single Web page. Tickets may also be purchased by calling 415-863-9834.

Brentano String Quartet Focuses on Haydn

Brentano String Quartet members Serena Canin, Misha Amory, Nina Lee, and Mark Steinberg (from the SFP Web page for last night’s performance)

Last night the Brentano String Quartet returned to Herbst Theatre for their eight appearance with San Francisco Performances (SFP). Three of the founding members are still performing, violinists Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, and violist Misha Amory. Nina Lee took over as cello after Michael Kannen left the ensemble of May of 1998. In other words, these four musicians have been playing as a quartet for over a quarter of a century.

If the membership has staying power, then last night’s program was devoted to a composer with prodigious staying power of his own, Joseph Haydn. Haydn is often credited as the “father of the string quartet.” Given that the number of string quartet in the Hoboken catalog runs to 83, one could stay that he sired an abundant family. (To be fair, however, each of the seven quartets in The Seven Last Words of Christ has its own Hoboken number!)

The span of last night’s program covered the last 40 years of the composer’s life. It began with the earliest selection, the fourth of the six Opus 17 quartets, composed in the key of C minor. The intermission was followed by the last of the quartets, the incomplete Opus 103 in D minor, consisting only of the full composition’s second and third movements. The first half of the program concluded with Opus 54, Number 2, in C major, the second of the first set of “Tost” quartets. The evening concluded with Opus 20, Number 4, in D major from the collection known as the Sun Quartets. This last selection concluded with a Presto scherzando movement abounding with eccentric rhythms to put a bounce in the steps of listeners leaving Herbst.

This was the ensemble’s eighth SFP appearance. According to my records, it was the first since January of 2023, when they presented a “performance project” entitled Dido Reimagined, joined by soprano Dawn Upshaw accounting for Dido. I may not have been able to account for all of their visits to SFP; but I am almost certain that I was there for a healthy share of them, always consistently satisfied. I am also impressed that they have maintained their current membership since May of 1998, when founding cellist Michael Kannen had to leave for pressing family matters. Having thoroughly enjoyed a full evening of Haydn, I look forward to the next program they prepare!

Is YouTube a Social Network?

This morning Zoe Kleinman, Technology Editor for the BBC, decided to do the best she could in dealing with the assets and liabilities of social media. I have no idea whether or not she wrote her own headline. As headlines go, it was more than a bit on the long side; but it was still designed to draw attention, at least as far as I was concerned when I encountered it. The full text is as follows:

'A game-changing moment for social media' - what next for big tech after landmark addiction verdict?

The article involves the question of whether software classified as “social networks” does more harm than good. Kleinman wasted no time in citing a recent Los Angeles court decision that came down on the “harm” side in a seriously big way:

The tech giants in this case, Meta and Google, must now pay $6m (£4.5m) in damages to a young woman known as Kaley, the victim at the centre of this case.

She claimed the platforms left her with body dysmorphia, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Both companies intend to appeal, with Meta maintaining a single app cannot be solely responsible for a teen mental health crisis.

Google, meanwhile, says YouTube is not a social network.

At the very least, I think we need to consider the validity of that final sentence.

By way of disclaimer, I am not a particularly heavy user of YouTube; but it is still a major factor involving the writing that I do. Were it not for YouTube, I would not be able to follow those performances by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra that are live-streamed (and, yes, my thoughts about the San Francisco Symphony often involve reflecting on my experiences with similar ensembles). Basically, I watch YouTube content attentively (“live” or otherwise) when I wish to then write about the music being performed; and that is the only thing I do with the site.

Nevertheless, most (if not all) YouTube Web pages allow for comments. That service draws far more attention than attending a concert through cyberspace. Democracy Now! is a global news program that livestreams through YouTube. It is produced by Amy Goodman, who made the “great leap forward” from public radio to cyberspace. Since launching her site, she has accumulated about 3.27 million subscribers; and this morning’s broadcast already has 656 comments. As a student, I learned about how information was shared in the agora in ancient history. The scope of that agora has now grown to accommodate anyone with access to the World Wide Web.

Emma Lazarus (photograph by William Kurtz)

The British comedy group Beyond the Fringe had a joke about the danger of the Statue of Liberty. They singled out this sentence from Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus”: “Give me your tired, your poor,/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,/The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” The punch line in the joke was the problem that “people did” as a response! Those “people” are now “responding” to invitations to comment on Web pages; and sometimes the enthusiasm to respond runs way ahead of understanding the source for the response.

For better or worse, I have tended to pay more attention to getting my own thoughts in order than worrying about what other people think. Writing is an exercise to keep my cognitive capacities active. If an opinion is questioned, then answering it is just another facet of cognitive exercise. I appreciate the opportunity, even if it turns out that I was mistaken about something. Nevertheless, I am sure that I am in a minority category; but, if it continues to exercise cognition, I do not see any reason to complain.

DSQ to Balance Traditional Music with 20C

The members of DSQ, “three Danes and one Norwegian cellist” (from the event page for their next SFP recital)

Next month the Danish String Quartet (DSQ) will return to Herbst Theatre for another recital presented by San Francisco Performances (SFP). The members of the ensemble have not changed since their last visit: violinists Frederik Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, who share the leadership chair, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard, and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin. This will be their first appearance since their last visit in the fall of 2022, when they prepared a program for SFP consisting of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann, and Benjamin Britten with an encore by Joseph Haydn.

This time, the second half of the program will be devoted to arrangements of traditional Nordic music, prepared collectively by the four members of the quartet. The program will begin with another of their arrangements, this time of music by Igor Stravinsky. Suite italienne consisted of compositions by Giambattista Pergolesi that Stravinsky had appropriated for his score for the one-act ballet “Pulcinella.” DSQ rearranged this orchestral suite for string quartet. As a result, there will be only one composer on the program whose music was not arranged. That will be Alfred Schnittke, whose second string quartet will be performed after the Stravinsky arrangement.

This performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, which many (most?) readers know is located in the heart of the Civic Center at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $85, $75, and $65. As those readers probably also know, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing those tickets.

Another “On Location” Regondi Video

A little less than 24 hours ago, Omni on-Location released its latest video, entitled simply A Guitar in a Castle. If my archives are correct, this is the latest video performance of music by the Swiss-born composer Giulio Regondi since the screening of David Russell playing the composer’s Opus 21, the first of two compositions given the title “Air varié.” That video was released near the end of December of 2024, and a video of the second composition, whose full title is “Air varié de l’opera de Bellini,” was released yesterday morning.

Orlando Pellicori performing in an “acoustically friendly” area in the Castello Ducale di Corigliano Calabro

The guitarist on the new video is Orlando Pellicori, and it would be fair to say that his performance skills were perfectly conducive to the bel canto repertoire. The advance material I received credits Pellicori with bringing “Regondi’s operatic imagination, lyricism, and virtuosity to life in a striking historic setting.” That setting is the Castello Ducale di Corigliano Calabro in Corigliano-Rossano (Cosenza), which is in southern Italy. That said, it is worth noting that the video work by Alessio Falbo paid more attention to Pellicori than to the location he selected in that castle. (In the title frame, the size of the guitar is almost twice that of the castle tower!)

I appreciate that Russell’s past performances prepared me well for Pellicori’s approach to Regondi. Nevertheless, since this is basically a “bread-and-butter” approach to variations on a theme, those encountering the composer for the first time are likely to “tune in” to his rhetorical style very quickly. As a result, the new video provides the latest perspective on the virtuoso rhetoric for solo guitar that thrived during the nineteenth century.

OFS: From the “Supernatural” to the “Mercurial”

Some readers may recall that the first One Found Sound (OFS) concert to take place this year was held of February 7 with the title Supernatural. The next concert will take place in about two and a half weeks with another stimulating title: Mercurial. This adjective is inspired by the god Mercury in the pantheon of Greek mythology. He is associated with both brilliant energy and unexpected twists, attributions to be found in the two symphonies that will conclude each half of the program.

Thomas Hardy’s 1791 portrait of Joseph Haydn (from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

The first of these will be Hoboken I:59, Joseph Haydn’s 59th (“Fire”) symphony composed in the key of A major. The program will then conclude with Haydn’s former pupil, the Opus 60 (fourth) symphony in B-flat major composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Each of these “classical” composers will be preceded by a contemporary one. Carlos Simon will begin the program with “Fate Now Conquers.” The second half of the program will begin with “When Cherry Blossoms Burned” by Aidan De Guzman, winner of the OFS 2025 Emerging Composer Award.

This concert will begin at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 11. The venue will be familiar to those who have attended past OFS concerts, Heron Arts, which is in SoMa, located at 7 Heron Street off of 8th Street on the block between Folsom Street and Harrison Street. All tickets are being sold for $30. They may be purchased online through a Ticket Tailor event page.

Other Minds Releases Samuel Adams Video

Helen Kim and Conor Hanick performing Samuel Adams’ “Violin Diptych” (screenshot from the Other Minds video)

This morning I had my first opportunity to listen to a video of Samuel Adams’ “Violin Diptych,” which was recorded during a performance at the Other Minds Festival 29 last year on October 17. This is a two-movement duo for violin and piano performed by Helen Kim and Conor Hanick, respectively. Kim almost literally sails her way through intense bowing technique, and Hanick only begins to evoke the voice of the piano in the second movement. However, because the entire performance is only about twelve minutes long, there is really no opportunity for either of the two performers to overshadow the other. Such brevity should encourage serious listeners to revisit the performance, which is now available for viewing through a Vimeo Web page.

April 12 is Getting Busier!

Some readers may recall that, two weeks ago when I wrote my announcement for next month’s San Francisco Symphony performances, the second Sunday of the month included two chamber music recitals both taking place at 2 p.m., one at the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor and the other in Davies Symphony Hall. Since that time, I have been informed of two further performances taking place later in that day, the first at 4 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m. The second will be on the other side of Grove Street in the Taube Atrium Theatre, which is on the top floor of the Veterans Building on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. The first will be in the Old First Church, which involves hiking up Van Ness Avenue to Sacramento Street. Specifics for these new additions to the day’s schedule are as follows:

4 p.m.: The Old First program will be the finale of the 2025/26 Liederabend season. Ironically, this will be a solo performance by pianist Jeffrey LaDeur entitled Concert Confidential. Program details have not yet been announced; but LaDeur will present solo piano masterworks, anecdotes, comedy, and musical insight. This promises to be a very personal occasion in which LaDeur “breaks the fourth wall in a way that welcomes the audience into the musical life of a pianist in all its tragicomic glory.”

Vocalist Caroline Shaw (photograph by Kait Moreno, courtesy of SFP)

7 p.m.: The Attacca Quartet will return to Herbst Theatre to present the last of the three performances in their Contemporary Chamber concert series prepared for San Francisco Performances (SFP). The entire program will be devoted to compositions by Caroline Shaw, who will join the ensemble as both violinist and vocalist. The selections on the program have been announced as follows:

• Blueprint
• Cant voi l’aube
• Three Essays
• And So
• The Evergreen
• Other Song

As at least some readers probably already know that the members of this quartet are violinists Amy Schroeder and Domenic Salerni, Nathan Schram on viola, and cellist Andrew Yee.

The Bleeding Edge: 3/23/2026

Once again, the week will be a busy one. Pamela Z will present another installment of three performances of Arbeitsklang at Audium on March 26, 27, and 28; and the month will conclude with the next Outsound SIMM series program on March 29. All other venues are likely to be familiar, but one of them has not shown up on this site since this past October. Specifics are as follows:

Thursday, March 26, 6:30 p.m., Mercury Cafe: This will be a trio performance “generated by technology and guided by a human hand and chance.” All three performers will provide vocals. Dave Mihaly will alternate among piano, guitar, and percussion. John Merrill will add to the percussion, both acoustic and electric, along with analogue synthesizer gear. Guitarist Michael Musika will be joined by Japanese music robots. The venue is located in Hayes Valley at 201 Octavia Boulevard.

Thursday, March 26, 8 p.m., Noisebridge Hackerspace: Noisebridge will host its next monthly open mic event, Resident Electronic Music! As has already been reported, this takes place on the fourth Thursday of the month. Set duration is limited to twenty minutes. The hosts for this month will again be Franck Martin, TanukiSpiderCat, and Jah’s Tin. As in the past, the full account of performers has not yet been finalized. Performers can set up their preparations beginning at 7 p.m., and the BayImproviser Web page includes the necessary requirements for participants. There is also a Web page where they can sign up for participation. The performance will be free, but donations are suggested! Noisebridge is located in the Mission at 272 Capp Street.

Friday, March 27, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares: Reed player David Boyce will continue to host his semi-regular Friday evening series entitled Other Dimensions in Sound. On this occasion Funkonya will present “an industrial size dose of old fashioned funk.” Once again, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. As always, there is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.

David Israel Katz performing at the Golden Gate Valley Branch of the San Francisco Public Library (from the BayImproviser event page for this week’s performance)

Friday, March 28, 2 p.m., San Francisco Public Library, Golden Gate Valley Branch: Singer and improviser David Israel Katz will perform a program entitled Abstract Lounge. He will serve as “disc jockey,” presenting a wide range of avant-garde and experimental music from his vinyl collection. He will encourage his audience to “read, work, browse the collection or become absorbed in contemplation while enjoying a mind-expanding flow of sound.” For those not familiar with the venue from past articles, the library is located at 1801 Green Street in Pacific Heights; and the performance will take place over the course of three hours.

Friday, March 28, 8:30 p.m., The Lab: Moin is a trio, which brings percussionist Valentina Magaletti together with the British Raime duo Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead, whose instruments include cello and guitar. The other set will be taken by guitarist Ava Mendoza, who composes her own music. Doors will open at 8 p.m., and the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission will be $29 at the door and $27 for advance purchases. For those that do not yet know, the venue is located in the Mission at 2948 16th Street, a short walk from the 16th Street Muni station.

Rabelais Takes in on the Chin from Hanes

Gargantua eating a salad of pilgrims (etching by Gustave Doré for Chapter 38 of Rabelais’ novel, from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

This Friday will see the release of GARGANTUA, a suite on seven movements composed by Simon Hanes for three drum sets, three electric basses, three trombones, three French horns, and three soprano voices. Presumably, the music was conceived as a reflection on the novel by François Rabelais with the same title. The was the author’s second novel, published in the mid-sixteenth century. For those with some command of French, the full title of the novel is La vie tres horrifique du grand Gargantua, père de Pantagruel jadis composée par M. Alcofribas abstracteur de quinte essence. Livre plein de Pantagruelisme. One might almost say that the magnitude of the protagonist is reflected in the length of the full title!

Those of my generation may recall that this author was a target of a priggish Midwestern community, which was the setting for Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man. (He was actually one of several targets, which included Geoffrey Chaucer and, the one receiving the most attention, Honoré de Balzac.) Rabelais had a gift for comic ribaldry, which began with Pantagruel and then continued with Gargantua.

Sadly, Hanes’ music never does justice to Rabelais’ talents. The advance material I received describes the score as “bracingly excessive in its every aspect.” That description is then elaborated as follows: “Pendulum swings from lyrical beauty to corrosive noise, jarring stylistic shifts that collide the transcendent mysticism of Hildegard of Bingen with the blistering metal of Behemoth; the polyphony of Tibetan Buddhist singing with the sonic sculptures of Edgard Varèse and the salacious swagger of Led Zeppelin.” Personally, I never was able to buy into this; and, before I had experienced even half of the ten tracks on the album, I was ready to scream “Enough already!” (To be fair, however, I was definitely amused by the throwaway quote from Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring!”)

Hanes clearly had a massive undertaking in mind, but his mass needed to be made of “sterner stuff.”

Richard Goode to Conclude SFP Piano Series

Pianist Richard Goode (from the event page for his next SFP recital)

Next month will see the last of the four recitals prepared by San Francisco Performances (SFP) for its Piano Series. The recitalist will be Richard Goode, who had last concluded the 2021–2022 Piano Series. Each half of the program will be devoted entirely to one major composition associated with what musicologist Charles Rosen has called “The Classical Style.”

As might be guessed, the composers will be Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert. The first half of the program will present Beethoven’s Opus 120, whose full title is “33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli.” The intermission will then be followed by Franz Schubert’s D. 960, his final piano sonata composed in the key of B-flat major.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10. The venue will be Herbst Theatre, which many (most?) readers know is located in the heart of the Civic Center at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $85, $75, and $65. As those readers probably also know, SFP has created a Web page for purchasing those tickets.

DSO’s Mendelssohn-Schumann Connection

Jörg Widman on the DSO podium (screen shot from last night’s YouTube’s video feed of the performance)

Once again, dinner at home provided the setting for the latest live-streamed performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) yesterday evening. The title of the program was simply Mendelssohn and Schumann, the former providing the concerto and the latter concluding the evening with the symphony. The “overture” for the occasion was composed by the visiting conductor, Jörg Widman, a musical whirlwind entitled, appropriately enough, “Con brio.”

The concerto was, of course, Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 64 in E minor. This was his mature effort, following up on an earlier (1822) concerto in D minor (which is almost never encountered in performance). The soloist was Robyn Bollinger, who usually occupies the Concertmaster’s chair. Mendelssohn composed no end of technical hoops to challenge the soloist, and Bollinger deftly sailed through all of them. Given her “day job,” her engagement with her colleagues could have not been better, as was her awareness and responsiveness to Widman’s conducting technique. As might be expected, the audience demanded an encore after Bollinger took her bows. Mendelssohn’s career included a strong commitment to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, so it was appropriate to select an encore from that composer’s repertoire. Bollinger’s choice could not have been more familiar, the opening “Preludio” movement to the third of the solo violin partitas (BWV 1006 in E major); and, once again, the crowd in the audience roared with approval.

The spirit of Mendelssohn lingered on after the intermission. He had conducted the premiere performance of Robert Schumann’s Opus 28, his first symphony given the title “Spring.” This has a relatively extended Andante un poco maestoso introduction, which came across as a bit shaky under Widmann’s baton. However, all was in order by the time the Allegro molto vivace got under way; and sailing through all four movements could not have been more enjoyable. On the other hand, the title of Widman’s composition was never quite captured in the performance and quickly overstayed its welcome.

Living Earth to Host Album Release Concert

Travis Andrews, Lynn Breedlove, and Andy Meyerson taking a break while preparing for their next Roar Shack gig (from the Eventbrite Web page for next week’s performance)

Trust Me is a trio, two of whose members are the duo of guitarist Travis Andrews and drummer Andy Meyerson, known to regular readers as The Living Earth Show (TLES). They have joined forces with vocalist Lynn (also known as Lynnee) Breedlove to create their debut trio album, Why I Like Dead Guys. Breedlove had previously appeared with TLES on COMMANDO (along with four other vocalists). That album was released about four years ago.

The album will be released through all streaming platforms this coming Friday, March 27. However, Trust Me will play an album release show this coming Wednesday, March 25. The performance will take place at The Roar Shack, which is located in SoMa at 34 Seventh Street (just south of Market Street). The entire performance will be for 90 minutes. Admission will be on a Pay What You Can basis with a Web page for purchases.

After the conclusion of the performance, Trust Me will fly to Knoxville, Tennessee, to give the same performance at the Big Ears Festival.

Agustin Hadelich Makes his SFP Debut

Agustin Hadelich and his accompanist, Francesco Piemontesi (from the SFP Web page for last night’s performance)

Last night violinist Agustin Hadelich made his debut with San Francisco Performances (SFP) as a soloist in the Shenson Great Artists & Ensemble Series. Many readers may recall having seen him in Davies Symphony Hall, where he made his last visit in November of 2023, when he was the soloist in the San Francisco Symphony performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 53 violin concerto in A minor. For his visit to Herbst Theatre, he was joined at the piano by Francesco Piemontesi for a program structured around three sonatas for violin and piano. In “order of appearance,” the composers were Claude Debussy Francis Poulenc, and César Franck.

Each of these sonatas was preceded by a sharply contrasting composition. Debussy’s sonata followed “Récit du chant de l’hymne précédent” (recitative on the melody of the preceding hymn), composed in the late seventeenth century by Nicolas de Grigny, organist at the Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral. Poulenc was preceded by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a selection from his Pièces de Clavecin en Concert collection. Finally, the concluding Franck sonata followed the most recent work on the program, a set of three short pieces by György Kurtág composed in 1979.

It would be fair to say that the overall breadth of the program was balanced by the depth of each of the sonatas. The fact is that the only thing the sonatas had in common was an association with the history of French music. That said, Hadelich knew how to evoke just the right rhetorical interpretations for each of those sonatas; and, where Poulenc was concerned, Piemontesi seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Hadelich. Taken as a whole, this was a “no frills” program; but both soloist and accompanist knew exactly how to mine engaging rhetoric from each of the selections. Just as engaging was the encore entitled simply “C.” This was an arrangement for violin and piano of the first piece in Poulenc’s vocal work, Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon.

Hadelich always gives the impression that he enjoys visiting San Francisco, and I am glad to acknowledge that I have enjoyed every one of my encounters with him.

Jordi Savall Turns to Charpentier Choral Music

Cover of the album being discussed

One week from today, Alla Vox will reissue an album of music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier originally released in December of 2025. This is a choral offering with Jordi Savall leading the Choir of La Capella Reial de Catalunya. Instrumental accompaniment is provided by Le Concert des Nations. The primary selection on the album is the composer’s multi-movement setting of the H. 146 Te Deum hymn. This is coupled withe the H. 416 setting of the canticle “In nativitatem Domini.”

H. 146 is given a rich instrumental account, complete with trumpets and drums. There are five vocal soloists: soprano Flore van Meerssche, mezzo Kristin Mulders, countertenor Andrés Montilla-Acurero, tenor Cyril Auvity, and baritone Mauro Borgioni. There is also alternation between the full chorus and a “Petit chœur.” The text is basically a celebratory one, which establishes the overall disposition of the hymn setting itself. On the other hand, as the title suggests, H. 416 is a reflection on the Nativity in which the context is established through three instrumental movements.

Some readers may recall that, this past December, the California Bach Society presented another Charpentier setting of “In nativitatem Domini,” his H. 314. Given that this happened three months ago, I am in no position to “compare and contrast” the two settings! Suffice it to say that there is a generous share of instrumental music to establish the festive mood of the celebration of the Nativity. It also goes without saying that H. 146 is just as festive with its vigorous performance established by the interplay of brass and percussion at the very beginning.

Taken as a whole, the album serves up an entirely satisfying listening experience; and those that cannot wait to listen can pre-order the album through its Amazon.com Web page.

David Garner Faculty Artist Recital on Monday

Composer David Garner (from the Web page for the event taking place next week)

The next Faculty Artist Recital performance to be presented by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music will take place this coming Monday. The faculty member will be David Garner, Professor of Composition, Chamber Music, and Theory. The program will conclude with a world premiere performance of his second “Trio for 5 Instruments.” Harpist Jennifer Ellis will be the only member of the trio to play a single instrument. Tori Hauk will alternate between flute and alto flute; and, in a similar vein, oboist Laura Reynolds will also play English horn. The program will begin with mezzo Christine Abraham singing two song cycles, accompanied by pianist Dale Tsang. The first of these is Three Blake Songs, which Garner composed in 1985, followed by his 2002 Cinco Poemas de Jaime Manrique.

The performance will take place in the Sol Joseph Recital Hall, beginning at 7:30 p.m. this coming Monday, March 23. The venue is located in the 50 Oak Street Conservatory building, a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. There will be no charge for admission, but there is a Web page for reserving seats. That Web page also includes a hyperlink for livestream viewing (and listening).

Undiplomatic

Sanae Takaichi maintaining her capacity for diplomacy during today’s visit to the White House

According to the Dictionary.com Web page, “undiplomatic” is a British adjective, not an American one. Nevertheless, in today’s news, it is better associated with the President of the United States than with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Al Jazeera has posted a brief video clip recording Sanae Takaichi, the current Prime Minister of Japan, meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. These days, I approach just about any news story about our President with a “Here we go again” prefix. However, as some of us say at Passover, this was a day different from just about all other days. The text below the video clip says it all: “Trump compares Iran strikes to Pearl Harbor as he meets Japan’s PM.” The one thing we learn from this video is that Takaichi clearly understands diplomacy far better than our President ever will!

Vernaculars Returning to Bird & Beckett

Vernaculars musicians Chris Trinidad, Francis Wong, and Karl Evangelista (from the Bird & Beckett event page for the performance being discussed)

Some readers may recall that this month began with a performance at Bird & Beckett Books and Records by the Vernaculars quartet, whose members are percussionist Jimmy Biala, Karl Evangelista on guitar, bassist Chris Trinidad, and Francis Wong on saxophone. Those musicians will return to that venue this coming Saturday joined by David James, also on guitar, to make a quintet. The performance will be a tribute to free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock with an encore performance of his final album, Ask the Ages.

For those that do not already know, the venue is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station that serves both BART and Muni. Admission will be a cover charge of $25, and students will be admitted for $10. Given the limited space of the venue, reservations are necessary and can be made by calling 415-586-3733. The phone will be answered during regular store hours, which are between noon and 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday.

Two More Performances on March 29

Some readers may recall that this month began with the announcement of an Outsound SIMM Series concert taking place on the last Sunday of the month, March 29. That evening performance will be preceded by two mid-afternoon performances. These will both involve American composers, but there will be a broad diversity of genres. Specifics for the afternoon are as follows:

3 p.m., Herbst Theatre: The full title of the program to be presented by the San Francisco Civic Symphony of the San Francisco Civic Music Association will be The American Sound - in celebration of America’s Semi-quincentennial. Pianist Daniel Glover will be the soloist in the performance of George Gershwin’s only piano concerto. Charles Ives’ “Variations on America,” composed for organ, will be presented in the orchestral arrangement by William Schuman. The program will begin with the overture to Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha. The remainder of the program will consist of “The Oak” by Florence Price, Aaron Copland’s arrangement of the folk song “John Henry,” and the first symphony composed by Louis Moreau Gottschalk. The ensemble will be led by Music Director Paul Schrage. There will be no charge for admission; and, as might be expected, donations will be accepted.

4 p.m., Jazz Chez Hanny: Chez Hanny will close out the month with a performance by the Grant Levin Quartet, led by Levin on piano. He will be joined by reed player Noel Jewkes, who will probably alternate among different saxophones and clarinets. Rhythm will be provided by Dwight Augustin on bass and drummer Alcide Marshall.

Pianist Grant Levin

Those familiar with Jazz Chez Hanny probably “know the drill” by now. The venue is Frank Hanny’s house at 1300 Silver Avenue, and the musicians play in the downstairs rumpus room. The price of admission is $25. There will be two sets separated by a potluck break. As a result, all who plan to attend are encouraged to bring food and/or drink to share. Seating is first come, first served; and the doors will open at 3:30 p.m. Reservations are preferred by sending electronic mail to jazz@chezhanny.com. Masks are optional, but attendees should be vaccinated. Vaccination will be based on the honor system. Finally, volunteer efforts for cleaning up after the show are always appreciated.

Belated “Sundays at Ten” Released Yesterday

Hanneke van Proosdij performing Handel’s HWV 375 flute sonata with William Skeen on baroque cello and David Tayler on baroque guitar

Those wondering what happened to this past Sunday’s Sundays at Ten video compiled by Voices of Music (VoM) will be happy to learn that Episode 10 of Season 6, given the title Sperantes is now “in the system.” To appropriate an old Sesame Street idiom, the entire program was “sponsored” by the key of E minor. It was framed by two violin concertos composed by Antonio Vivaldi. The opening video of Augusta McKay Lodge playing the violin solo for the RV 278 violin concerto in E minor is the most recent video to be released by VoM. Chloe Kim was soloist for the concluding concerto, RV 277, given the title “Il Favorito.” (For those that prefer opus numbers, this is the second of the six concertos in Vivaldi’s Opus 11.) The concertos framed a recorder performance by Hanneke van Proosdij. Her selection was the “Minuetto” movement from movement from George Frideric Handel’s HWV 375 in E minor, the second of his three “Halle” flute sonatas.

The electronic mail announcing this release concluded with a quote by Johann Mattheson, who was a close friend of Handel. Mattheson is best known as a music theorist. This particular quote is taken from his 1713 treatise Das neu-eröffnete Orchestre as follows:

E minor is pensive, distressed, and sad; yet in such a way that one still finds some consolation in it; this key has something hopeful about it, whatever one may do with it, for otherwise it cannot tolerate any joy.

Bearing in mind that all twelve of Vivaldi’s Opus 11 concertos have fast-slow-fast structure, one can assume that Mattheson was referring to the slow movements! (To the best of my knowledge, “neu-eröffnete” translates into English as “reopened.” Perhaps Mattheson was writing about an ensemble that had disbanded and was subsequently revived.)

Would it be fair to say that, for the three selections on this program, Lodge, Proosdij, and Kim each had her own way of expressing those characteristics that Mattheson cited? Having revisited portions of this video, I would go at least as far as a decisive “maybe!” On the other hand, I am not sure that music theorists listen to performances the same ways that the rest of us do. (Full disclosure: I took several music theory courses in my student days.)

More importantly, the entire listening experience took only about half an hour; and, as far as I am concerned, that time could not have been better spent!

The Bleeding Edge: 3/16/2026

Another busy week lies ahead! Pamela Z will present the next installment of three performances of Arbeitsklang at Audium on March 19, 20, and 21. In addition, as previously reported, Welsh guitarist Gwenifer Raymond will present her full-evening performance entitled Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark at The Lab on March 20. The following evening, The Lab will showcase music from two recent albums, A Danger to Ourselves and The Patterns Lost to Air. All of the “usual suspects” venues will also be giving performances as follows:

Lisa Mezzacappa with her bass (from the Web page for her performance at Mr. Tipple’s)

Wednesday, March 18, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club: The Lisa Mezzacappa Quartet will perform two sets. Mezzacappa leads on bass performing with tenor saxophonist Aaron Bennett, Mark Clifford on vibraphone, and Eric Garland on drums. This will be the first of three consecutive programs this week. For those that do not yet know about this venue, Mr. Tipple’s is located at 39 Fell Street, on the south side of the street between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street.

Thursday, March 19, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club: The second performance at this venue will be by the Joyce Todd McBride Quintet, led by McBride on piano. The front line will be shared by Ian Carey on trumpet and alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen. Rhythm will be provided by Stacy Starkweather on piano and drummer Scott Amendola.

Friday, March 20, 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club: The last of the “daily” performances at Mr. Tipple’s will be the Beth Schenck Quartet. Schenck leads on saxophone, and she is also a composer. The other members of her quartet will be Mezzacappa, Brett Carson on piano, and drummer Jordan Glenn.

Friday, March 20, 7 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares: That same Friday will also see the next performance in the Other Dimensions in Sound music series curated and hosted by “Boohaabian multi reed player” extraordinaire David Boyce. This week David Boyce will host a visit from a trio that calls itself Spring. The performers are Bruce Ackley on saxophones, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Zachary James Watkins on electronics. As always, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. There is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.

Friday, March 20, 8:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: After performing in a quintet on Thursday, Amendola will take his drums over to Glen Park. He will play in a trio led by Knudsen. The remaining member of the trio will be Mat Muntz on bass. The venue is located at 653 Chenery Street. There will be no charge for admission, but visitors should give in to the temptation to buy a book!