Balkan beats, Klezmer stylings, goofball remixes and original tunes combine in the music of Oakland-based band Hernandez Hideaway.

Playing the Bay and beyond since 2009, this band is always working hard to find that sweet spot where traditional meets modern.

Bottoms up: bass (Dan Harrison), accordion (Tim Phillips), trombone (Sam Hernandez), saxophone (Claire Phillips), and voice (Lucie Duffort).

Fantastic Bay Area jazz guitarist Nick Rossi brings his jazz combo to Specs for a night of upbeat swing!

https://www.nickrossiarts.com/

An open gathering of writers, poets, artists and more around the Big Table at Specs every Wednesday from 6:30-8:30pm! This more than 40 year tradition began with writers Jack Hirschman and Agneta Falk, and continues on with hosts Agneta and writers Byron Spooner and Judith Bernhard. Join us for drinks, laughs, good conversation and become a part of this longstanding Specs tradition! Everyone welcome!

New Orleans-based vocalist, bandleader, and arranger Anna Laura Quinn is known for her particular blend of contemporary jazz, reworked gems from the American Songbook, French and Brazilian music, and more, all delivered with style, sensitivity, emotional power, and a joie de vivre that recalls the charm and mystique of a bygone era.

A 2021 graduate of the Jazz Studies masters program at the University of New Orleans, Anna currently performs leads projects under her own name, also appearing as the duo Quinn & Barrett with her longtime guitar player, Ed Barrett; and with the Unmentionables, a band she founded in 2020 that plays what she likes to call "New Orleans Getdown Music." She can be found performing all around New Orleans – from such venerable jazz venues as Snug Harbor, Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar and the New Orleans Jazz Museum, to some of the city's most well loved barrooms like Saturn Bar, Vaughan's, and BJ's Lounge. 

In 2022, Anna released her first full length album Open the Door.  The record features nine of her own arrangements, which Jazz Times critic Andrew Gilbert praises for "artfully thread[ing] the jazz needle” and “establishing her own winsome identity as a savvy vocalist and arranger with an appealing sound, unfailing taste, and expansive palette of influences."  

​Anna is propelled by her unwavering dedication to music, visual art, and collaboration, and is constantly seeking out experiences that will open the door for personal growth, self-understanding, and a deepening  sense of  community.  Whether singing Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell, or Dr. John, she brings a playful spirit to her craft as a vocalist,  leaning  into improvisation and delivering lyrics and melodies with sincerity, humor, and imagination.  Anna hopes that her music may convey a spectrum of emotions and above all a heartfelt expression of her joy.

Join us as part of North Beach First Fridays for a night of jazz with SF based singer songwriter Meredith Edgar and pianist Elihu Knowles! Check out Meredith’s music here!

Join us for an afternoon of author’s readings hosted by writers Frances Stroh (author of Beer Money) and Alan Black. 2-4pm

SHOW CANCELLED

We regretfully announce this show has been cancelled. However wonderful vocalist Mae Powell and her trio will be filling in from 9:30-11pm.

Renowned jazz vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, originally from San Francisco and now based in LA, brings her duo to Specs for a special evening of music.

Sasha got her major start on the NYC scene when she debuted at NYC Winter Jazz Fest in 2018, followed soon after by Atlanta Jazz Fest and Burlington Jazz Fest in the same year, all before age 20. Sasha was the also first US recipient of the LetterOne “Rising Stars” Jazz Award in 2019, where she headlined 10 reputable jazz festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Shortly after, Sasha was named the 2020 Downbeat Critics’ Poll winner of the “Rising Star - Vibraphone” category. She was both the first woman, and at 21, was the youngest individual in the poll’s history to be granted the win. She was voted in the top ten vibraphonists for the 2021 and 2022 Downbeat Reader’s Polls, sharing a list with vibraphonists such as Joe Locke, Stefon Harris, and Joel Ross.

Sasha’s music work remains primarily based in both New York City and Los Angeles. She has gone on to headline international venues like Newport Jazz Festival, The Blue Note, Montreal Jazz Festival, and Monterey Jazz Festival.

In addition to performing with her own band, her recent notable performances and recordings have been with musicians such as Tyshawn Sorey, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, and Cecile Mclorin Salvant. She has been a guest lecturer at esteemed universities and programs like University of Champaign-Illinois, UC San Diego, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and Berklee College of Music, and is currently a Professor of Jazz and Jazz Composition at UC Irvine.

Read more here

Fantastic jazz and blues guitarist Jose Simioni returns to Specs with his duo, playing jazz, blues and soul.

SF based jazz/soul vocalist Maralisa debuts her new quartet The Starlight Martinis at Specs for an evening of classic standards! James Gallagher on drums, Eric Markowitz on bass and Jay Sanders on piano.

Vallejo-born, Bay-raised and Nashville-based keys player Raynier Jacildo loves nothing more than a good homecoming. Current member of The Black Keys’ touring band as well as artist, Yola — Ray gathers his favorite hometown musicians at his favorite hometown watering hole for an evening of soul-jazz, pop, and r&b instrumentals. Dancing encouraged.

Dave Easley is a Hawaii born, New Orleans based pedal steel guitarist. He’ll be returning to Specs for a special solo performance on Tuesday Jan 28!

Live jazz with saxophonist and bandleader Danny Brown & his quartet

Wonderful Bay Area based vocalist and performer Valeriana Quevedo returns to Specs with her band for an evening of jazz, Latin, blues and songs from the Great American Songbook.

Join us for our 2nd annual holiday market at Specs!

Pastry pop-up by Sol Bakery 4-6pm, live jazz with Mae Powell Trio 6-8pm, vintage clothing & homewares by Vacation, artwork, cards & jewelry by Tina Tarnoff, handmade jewelry by Fecundity (Julia Shannon Farrow), handmade clothing by Form + Fiber, and drink specials! Come sip, shop and celebrate the season with us!

Argentinean/Italian/American, Grew up in Argentina, where interest in art and music lead him to study classical piano and visual arts. He emigrated to California in 1981 to further his artistic explorations, taking classes in print making, sculpture and painting at San Mateo College, Art Institute, and Berkeley Extension. Mauro is a founding member of “849 Folsom Music”, a 13 member music and spoken word performance troop that brought vital energy to the San Francisco “South Market” artist underground scene in the pre-dot com years of the late 80’s.  

As a founding member of the Enso Art Collective and the Miles Davis Memorial Hall, Mauro has been investigating sounds with the deconstruction of pianos, becoming more able to expand the 12-tone scale. He does not subscribe to the romantic notion of a solitary artist, a suffering individual, hidden in a state of despair, creating work that only few can appreciate; instead Mauro travels the world, looking to the mundane, the sacred and the original with the same eyes, and listening to the music of diverse cultures, bringing it all home to work with it’s particular way of assimilation making art and music available to the community. 

Three Rooms Press Presents: 2024 SF ¡DADA! DO SALON

A Highly Eclectic DADA Performance Event plus the official San Francisco launch of MAINTENANT 18: Journal of Contemporary DADA Writing and Art

The event includes the official San Francisco launch of the internationally-renowned MAINTENANT 18: Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art, which features more than 250 visual and literary works by artists and writers from six continents.

Psyched! Radio presents a literary night at Specs as part of their Psyched! Fest 2024. Full lineup below with music from Mae Powell. No cover!

An open gathering of writers, poets, artists and more around the Big Table at Specs every Wednesday from 6:30-8:30pm! This more than 40 year tradition began with writers Jack Hirschman and Agneta Falk, and continues on with hosts Agneta and writers Byron Spooner and Judith Bernhard. Join us for drinks, laughs, good conversation and become a part of this longstanding Specs tradition! Everyone welcome!

Cosmo Alleycats have been a favorite of the San Francisco music scene since the band’s 2010 beginning, bringing to the stage a potent mix of swing and vintage dance music with a dynamic, soulful delivery. Led by vocalist Emily Day (“one of the major singers in her field” – Scott Yanow), Cosmo Alleycats draws from several decades of exhilarating American music, along with inspired originals, to deliver a fun and engaging performance.

With fourteen years' experience performing together, Cosmo Alleycats is a well-oiled machine. But however polished their performance may be, it’s their sense of playfulness that holds the door open for the unexpected. This dynamic is evident in their 2022 album, Old Sweet Songs, a collection of Tin Pan Alley and American Songbook favorites accompanied by their original compositions, inspired by bygone styles of songwriting.

Sip n’ Sketch drawing class hosted by Pixar’s animation art director Deanna Marsigliese! All levels welcome

BYO materials | $5-10 suggested donation | Every last Monday of the month

Trombonist Charlie Halloran seems to be everywhere at once in New Orleans. A fixture of the Crescent City's traditional jazz and Frenchmen Street scene, Charlie's 60’s-style Caribbean lounge band, the Tropicales, entertain regularly at Zony Mash, The Spotted Cat and DBA. He’s recorded prolifically, appearing on Jon Cleary’s Grammy winning Go-Go Juice and followup Dynamite and Maria Muldaur’s Grammy nominated Don’t You Feel My Leg. Charlie has released 5 albums under his own name, and made countless records alongside the Squirrel Nut Zippers, John Boutte, Rickie Lee Jones, U2, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, the Panorama Jazz Band, The Shotgun Jazz Band, the Palmetto Bug Stompers, Pokey Lafarge, Luke Winslow King, Alex McMurray, you name it. Additionally, Charlie’s horn is in the background on plenty of episodes of NCIS New Orleans, Treme, and other films and television programs produced in New Orleans.

SF based indie soul/jazz vocalist and bandleader Mae Powell returns to Specs, performing her take on classic jazz standards with a killer band! Check out her solo project here

San Francisco’s number one exotica Vibraphonist, Fisherman returns to Specs with his power trio (Ken Ball Zwerin on Bass, Brian Rodvien on Drums) for 3 big sets on Thursday, Aug 15!
Fisherman, aka percussionist Brian Lease has been exploring the roots of Exotica, a postwar American style which presaged World music with a mix of jazz, polynesian, afro-cuban and middle-eastern instrumentation and harmonic components, for over 30 years. He has built a crowd-pleasing repertoire which includes original songs as well as inventive covers of composers as far ranging as Duke Ellington, Cal Tjader, the Ventures, Martin Denny to Thelonious Monk and the Zombies….Their last show at Specs was packed, so get there early to grab a booth surrounded by the world spanning art and curios from Specs travels!

Join us at Specs for our first ever DJ night with Bay Area native Kai Killion aka DJ Yerstrooly. Spinning all vinyl selections of classic disco, boogie, funk, Latin, jazz, new wave & more! Bring your dancing shoes!

Pianist Aaron Hammerman (of Deep Basement Shakers) plays solo barrelhouse/NOLA blues! Check out Deep Basement Shakers’ music here!