Sunday 2/24/03
 Hidden amongst an army of boutique hotels, car rentals, and restaurants is the classic dinner club, Biscuits & Blues.
     Biscuits & Blues’ location in the theater district makes it perhaps makes it a vulnerable target for the countless tourists that decorate our city. Nonetheless, Biscuits & Blues is one club every local should know about. One trip down into the clandestine subterranean setting, one bite of their piping hot biscuits or spicy jambalaya soul food, or one listen to the live blues will hook you, and sooner than you know, you will be back for more.
     Dubbed “America’s #1 Blues Club,” Biscuits and Blues stands long in the tradition of preserving the blues, featuring live artists seven nights a week. Tonight’s modest crowd is gathered to see Rusty Zinn, a Bay area native who has been singing the blues for over seventeen years.
     Under the brilliant yet seductive lighting of the stage, Zinn is outfitted in a dark pinstripe suit, bearing sunglasses and a 1959 red gibson ES355 guitar. His band; Randy Bermudez on bass, Walter Shufflesworth on drums, and guest guitarists Scott Brenton, Michael Cee and Palo Alto Slim are befitting to him, displaying a well-knit design of winding southern blues. Zinn creates rascal renditions of old tunes, common and obscure, throughout the night. He cranks out covers of Etta James, Robert Cray, Junior Parker and Jimmy McKracklin, while adding zests of disco, R&B, and soul with pseduo hip-hop drum beats.
     In similar equations, he dishes out a hefty serving of his own deluxe approach to the blues. Unique and enjoyable, Zinn’s singing is only one aspect of what he does best. His cadence and projection is often striking, belting out notes over soothingly grinding guitar licks that protract into 10-15 minute songs. Instrumentally engulfing, Zinn has his crowd at full attention as he bears his raw spirit on stage. We always applaud for more.
     If you like: Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy or Otis Redding
     Try: Rusty Zinn
     Monday 2/24/03
     Some of us are so lucky as to have formed a great comraderie in our lives with a group of people. The regularity and frequency of meetings strengthening the bond, making us, individually and as a group-equally empowered.
     With this, numbers move mountains.
     As the sixteen members of the Monday night Contemporary Jazz Orchestra spill past the stage and into the audience, a sense of brotherhood is set forth in the tiny North Beach haven, Jazz at Pearl’s. Owned by San Francisco legends Sonny Buxton and Pearl Wong, Jazz at Pearl’s has cleared the stage for jazz musicians six nights a week for the last thirteen years.
     The Monday night Contemporary Jazz Orchestra has been denizens for nine of those years. On the last leg of my seven night expedition, my body tired of relentless club land, and ears begging for peace. I order a warm dinner and appreciate the falling rain outside. I have been seeking Monday night refuge here for seven years now, giving myself a chance to marinate in the infinite wisdom of the post-bebop jazz era, a time when trailblazers like Thad Jones & Mel Louis, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Oliver Nelson took center stage.
     Under direction of Alex Budman, the elegant charm of the music and the intricacies of the compositions bellow out in splendor from this group comprised of some of the top Bay Area jazz musicians. With three live albums under their belt (Jazznation Records), the C.J.O. is a sophisticated carnival for these well accomplished players. It is an arena under which, each individual member has opportunities to experiment with their talents, and indeed, moments to shine.
     The idea to move the rich tradition of big band music into a small setting such as a dinner club is unquestionably special, yet with 13 horn players (4 trumpets, 4 trombones and 5 saxes) C.J.O. is savvy enough not to blow anybody’s ear drums. Rather, these diplomats of bebop have fun while ministering music dripping with extravagance.
     As all good times must come to an end eventually, I am saddened to report that Jazz at Pearl’s will be closing their doors at the end of April due to complications with their lease. The chances to see C.J.O. in its ripest are dwindling, as they contemplate a new home for the future.
     If you like: Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, or Gil Evans
     Try: Contemporary Jazz Orchestra