Jazz Singer Viktorija Gečytė Coming to SF

Poster for Viktorija Gečytė Tenth Anniversary Tour (from her Facebook Events page)

In exactly one week Lithuanian jazz singer Viktorija Gečytė will begin an extended tour of the United States. Currently based in Paris, she will be performing with bassist Gene Perla in a variety of different combo settings. This year will mark the tenth anniversary of Gečytė touring with Perla and his colleagues.

Her repertoire includes jazz standards and selections from the Great American Songbook, as well as original compositions and folk songs from her native Lithuania. Most of the tour will take place in New York City and nearby towns in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. However, after her final appearance in New York on May 25, she will come to the Bay Area, where she has lined up five dates in San Francisco between May 28 and June 1. For this portion of the tour, Perla will lead a trio whose other members are pianist Sean Gough and drummer Jon Arkin. Specific dates times and venues are as follows:

1. Monday, May 28, 7:30 p.m., Zingari Ristorante: This Italian restaurant provides live jazz in its bar. Arkin will not be part of the combo for this gig. Those interested in dining as well as listening to jazz in the bar can make reservations through the above hyperlink to the restaurant’s Web site. The address is 501 Post Street.
2. Tuesday, May 29, 8:30 p.m., Rite Spot Cafe: This place calls itself “a cozy Mission dive with live performances, local art plus Italian-American food, a full bar and an excellent wine list;” it is located at 2099 Folsom Street at the corner of 17th Street.
3. Wednesday, May 30, 8 p.m., Mr. Tipple’s: This is where you go in the Civic Center if you don’t want to get your jazz in a “concert hall” setting; the address is 39 Fell Street, which is between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street.
4. Thursday, May 31, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: Regular readers know that this is a preferred venue for those who like to be adventurous in their jazz tastes. Those who do not know the place should be able to figure out that it is a shop that specializes in books and records. The shelves are stocked with some pretty impressive offerings, making it hard to resist the urge to buy something there. The address is 653 Chenery Street. This is a short walk from the Glen Park station for both Muni and BART, making the place very accessible to all.
5. Friday, June 1, 7:30 p.m., Red Poppy Art House: Again, regular readers to not need to be told about the Poppy. For those who do not know, the venue is located in the Mission at 2698 Folsom Street on the southwest corner of 23rd Street. This will be the one event for which tickets will be necessary. Admission will be on a sliding scale between $20 and $25, and tickets may be purchased in advance through an Eventbrite event page. Given the demand for these concerts, it is likely that only a limited number of tickets will be available at the door. The Poppy is a small space; so even those who have purchased their tickets in advance should probably make it a point to be there when the doors open one half-hour before the performance is scheduled to begin.