New Jazz Venue to Open in North Beach

In a little less than three weeks’ time a new venue for jazz will open in North Beach. Keys Jazz Bistro will be co-owned by Dr. Simon Rowe, jazz educator and pianist, and Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and founder and CEO of Automattic. The plan is to present music and dinner four nights a week with two sets and two seatings and with three sets on Fridays and Saturdays. The venue, located at 498 Broadway at the corner of Kearny Street, will be able to seat 125 people. It will provide a Yamaha Concert Grand piano and a Hammond B3 organ, along with a state-of-the-art sound system. Admission will be $25. Tickets may be purchased online through the Upcoming Events Web page on the Keys Jazz Bistro Web site.

The Grand Opening will present three-nights with an all-star cast of jazz luminaries. Specifics are as follows:

1. Thursday, November 10, 7 p.m.: Festivities will launch with a single-set evening with two leading jazz vocalists, Mary Stallings and Clairdee. They will be accompanied by the David Udolf Trio. Pianist Udolf will perform with Chris Amberger on bass and Akira Tana on drums.
2. Friday, November 11, 7 p.m., 9 p.m., and 11 p.m.: The title of this program will be The Horns of San Francisco, with the noun “horns” applying to both saxophones and trumpets. The program will be hosted by the Patrick Wolff Quartet with saxophonist Wolff leading a rhythm section of Adam Shulman on piano, Eric Markowitz on bass, and James Gallagher on drums. The sets will feature guest appearances by four other saxophonists (Noel Jewkes, James Mahone, Tony Peebles, and Kristen Strom) and two trumpeters (Erik Jakobsen and Mike Olmos).
3. Saturday, November 12, 7 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m.: Shulman will shift from piano to organ for this final Grand Opening concert, and Rowe will join him in making that same shift. Rhythm will be provided by guitarists Kai Lyons and Dave Macnab and drummer Brian Fisher. There will be guest appearance by saxophonists Jesse Levitt and Andrew Speight.