Upcoming Shows

Bruce Forman Trio returns to Keys!

San Francisco’s Bard of Bop comes home for a night of jazz guitar stunts, storytelling, and mayhem. With John Wiitala-Bass and Brian Fishler-Drums,most anything can happen…and it usually does!

“Bruce Forman is one of the great lights of our age.” Barney Kessel, Jazz Times

A hectic touring schedule; twenty-one recordings as a leader,  countless sideman recordings including Ray Brown, Bobby Hutcherson, Roger Kellaway; soundtrack performances on three of Clint Eastwood’s distinguished films—most notably Academy Award-winning Million Dollar Baby; raconteur, arranger, acclaimed educator, in residence at USC’s Studio/Jazz Guitar Dept., when does Bruce Forman rest?

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $25 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

A regular at Keys with the Simon Rowe Trio, Dave MacNab brings his own trio to the club which features energetic, creative interpretations of jazz and pop classics, with the focus on interplay, groove and spontaneity.  Along with playing and recording with many Bay Area stalwarts such as Erik Jakobsen, Mads Tolling, Sheldon Brown, Scott Amendola, Paula West, Adam Theis and many others, he has played with national jazz icons Larry Goldings, Art Lande, Dewey Redman, Bob Sheppard, Mike Clark and others.  Dave has also toured and recorded with rock/pop icons Bob Weir, Barry Manilow, Shelby Lynne, Bryan McKnight and Bonnie Raitt.  Dave has also been the first call player for many Broadway touring shows for the past 20 years as well as doing symphonic work with the San Francisco Symphony, Marin Symphony and Symphony Silicon Valley. 

Dave MacNab -guitar, Tim Campbell – keys, Deszon Claiborne – drums

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $25 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

Amendola Vs. Blades

If told about a band that consisted of only keyboards and drums, one wouldn’t be faulted for thinking, “Where’s the rest of the group?” But one listen to the funky California-based duo Amendola Vs. Blades and their new album, ‘Everybody Wins’ and all fears will be assuaged. Wil Blades on Hammond organ and clavinet delivers cutting solos and deep bass lines that make for a thick stew of soulful harmony and daring improvisation, while Scott Amendola behind the kit creates beats that are simply unstoppable, simultaneously pushing the duo to heights unknown and sending the listener into a joyful sonic trance. 

The musicians first united in 2006 to perform the Duke Ellington album ‘Far East Suite’ and the ball hasn’t stopped rolling since. And despite a little distance on the horizon—Blades recently relocated to L.A.—there is no end in sight for the duo that sounds like an eight-piece band. The extra-musical bond keeps growing, too.

 “The ‘Vs.’ is about how we mess with each other,” says Amendola. “It’s one fun part of our personal connection. Our friendship. We take the art of what we do seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Gotta have fun, mess with each other . . . and keep improvising!”  

Otis McDonald

From the mind and ears of producer/multi-instrumentalist, Joe Bagale, comes a sound that is fresh but tangibly rooted in nostalgia. The name is Otis McDonald. The mission? Good Music. In 2015, Bagale released 80 tracks for free, under the name Otis McDonald. In 2019 Bagale released a full length album, “People Music,” in collaboration with his YouTube subscribers and took over Studio D at the historic Hyde Street Studios, in San Francisco. Whether it’s performing, writing, producing, or coming up with new ways to engage with his fans, Otis McDonald plans on giving the world a dose of the past while always looking to the future.

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $30 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

Keeping folks up past 10 pm in SF is no easy feat, but Key’s owner Simon Rowe has been showcasing the best of the Bay Area’s organ trios in his late night Saturday sets.

His ‘Transcendent Trio’, formed for a “Jazz on the Patio” residency during the pandemic will feature the dynamic Dave Macnab-guitar, the ebullient Brian Fishler-drums and Rowe on Hammond organ for a set of Blues, Bebop, Ballads and Banter.

Our Late Set is supported by Jazz In the Neighborhood’s Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund. Show begins at 10:30pm.

Tickets: $15 per show (or Free to Students or IMA members with a valid ID)

Bay Area jazz trio Charged Particles and guest saxophonist Tod Dickow will bring funky Latin jazz to the stage at Keys.  Reviewers have called Charged Particles “a tight and enormously talented trio.” (Jazz Times Magazine), “definitely dazzling.” (Jazz and Blues Report), and playing “fresh, energized jazz that showcases the trio’s individual technical mastery.” (Jazz News Magazine) According to the LA Times, the band’s performances feature “tight interplay, spark, and personal flair.”  Downbeat said their concert at Birdland in New York was “something special: inventive, invigorating, mesmerizing, and virtuosic.” Their shows at Keys will feature a mixture of repertoire composed by the band members as well as their friends in the Bay Area, plus some compositions by the late great jazz superstar, Michael Brecker, that the quartet played on the road recently with trumpeter Randy Brecker.  Don’t miss this one!

Tod Dickow-saxophone, Murray Low-piano, Aaron Germain-Bass, Jon Krosnick-Drums

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $25 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

“Bay Area vocalist and teacher Kalil Amar Wilson unites with the renowned Tammy Lynn Hall Trio for a pair of bright and festive evenings of danceable and sacred holiday standards in celebration of family, community and the season of universal gratitude and hope.”

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $30 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

Come join us for Brunch at Keys! Enjoy a special Aussie-themed breakfast and cocktails while getting down with the Dewayne Oakley Blues Ensemble.

Tickets: $60 ($20 Show Admission + $40 Food/Drink Credit)

Your ticket includes admission to the show, bottomless coffee and tea and a $40 food and beverage credit towards our delicious brunch and cocktail options!

Kenny Washington has thrilled audiences across the globe with his soulful interpretations, seemingly limitless range, and inventive scatting. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington appeared in 2013 with Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra to perform Blood On The Fields, alongside vocalists Gregory Porter and Paula West.

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come first serve seating, shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $30 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

Keeping folks up past 10 pm in SF is no easy feat, but Key’s owner Simon Rowe has been showcasing the best of the Bay Area’s organ trios in his late night Saturday sets.

His ‘Transcendent Trio’, formed for a “Jazz on the Patio” residency during the pandemic will feature the dynamic Dave Macnab-guitar, the ebullient Brian Fishler-drums and Rowe on Hammond organ for a set of Blues, Bebop, Ballads and Banter.

Our Late Set is supported by Jazz In the Neighborhood’s Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund. Show begins at 10:30pm.

Tickets: $15 per show (or Free to Students or IMA members with a valid ID)

Brian Ho is a Bay Area Organist that I’m really digging these days.  He sounds good, doing some cool stuff, and keeping the tradition alive…the future of jazz organ is in good hands.”  – Joey Defrancesco

“Brian Ho, rising jazz star.  These days, Ho is one of the region’s most promising young jazz organists.”  – San Jose Mercury News, Andrew Gilbert

Brian is fortunate to play and record with some of the finest musicians including such names as Paul Bollenback, Byron Landham, Ron Jackson, Calvin Keys, Richie Cole, Akira Tana, Mimi Fox, Josh Jones, Leon Joyce, Anton Schwartz, Ray Blue, Jason Marshall, and more. He has also played at several Jazz festivals throughout the world.

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $25 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

For this appearance at Keys,Handy pairs up with long time collaborator Marvin Smitty Smith. Together with Essiet Essiet-Bass and Joe Warner-Piano this offering will be explosive! Handy, a prolific composer with a deceptively slim discography, Handy has worked in the Bay Area over the years mostly as a sideman, including concerts with the Mingus Big Band, trumpet great Freddie Hubbard, and piano star Herbie Hancock.

“Peter Watrous of the New York Times describes Handy as…….”all grace and liquid ease..”

Marvin “Smitty” Smith, featured on more than 45 albums, additional performances and recordings augmented with Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison, Ray Brown and Phineas Newborn, George Shearing, Bobby Watson, Hamiet Bluiett, Branford Marsalis, David Murray, Emily Remler, Peter Leicht, Kevin Eubanks, Donald Byrd, Monty Alexander, Diane Reeves, Michel Camilo, and Grover Washington Jr. Currently he’s a member of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements, and The Dave Holland Quartet. Smitty conducts seminars and clinics for students in jazz workshops, both in the United States and Europe; and is currently on staff of jazz program at the Banff Centre of Fine Arts, Canada, and Drummers Collective, New York City.

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. Doors open at 6pm, shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $25 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

In a career that has spanned over 65 years, international jazz vocal legend Mary Stallings has earned a unique place in modern jazz. After decades of performing around the globe alongside a who’s who of talented collaborators, while quietly accumulating a series of thoughtful and well respected recordings, she still continues to challenge her boundaries and creative potential. Yet it is her deep connection to her roots and the community that nurtured her talent that reveal her artistry. Utilizing a wide and diverse repertoire, Stallings music expresses a profound spiritual essence combined with a love for that community that supported her. “This music is deep. lt is a life force. lt is a history of people’s lives and struggles. It is not just a bunch of notes., she explains. For this historic  debut performance at Keys, Mary returns to the Neighborhood where she first began her artistic journey, decades ago.

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $30 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

Keeping folks up past 10 pm in SF is no easy feat, but Key’s owner Simon Rowe has been showcasing the best of the Bay Area’s organ trios in his late night Saturday sets.

His ‘Transcendent Trio’, formed for a “Jazz on the Patio” residency during the pandemic will feature the dynamic Dave Macnab-guitar, the ebullient Brian Fishler-drums and Rowe on Hammond organ for a set of Blues, Bebop, Ballads and Banter.

Our Late Set is supported by Jazz In the Neighborhood’s Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund. Show begins at 10:30pm.

Tickets: $15 per show (or Free to Students or IMA members with a valid ID)

Over the past twenty years, Tony Peebles has performed in many different genres with such artists as: Fred Wesley (James Brown), The Grammy Award-Winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra, Karl Denson, Don Carlos, Lenny Williams (Tower of Power), Wil Blades, The Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy, Kenny Washington, John Lee Hooker Jr., Karl Perazzo (Santana), Katchafire, and Doc Severinsen to name just a few. Tony has toured Europe, Africa, North and South America with reggae legend Don Carlos, and throughout Europe, Australia and the Pacific islands with New Zealand’s busy, international touring band, Katchafire. With these groups and others, Tony has played numerous major music venues and festivals worldwide, from Monterey to Montreux. 

Tony maintains a very busy schedule in and around the SF Bay Area, performing with a wide variety of groups at the area’s best music venues: Yoshi’s, Black Cat, Mr. Tipples, Keys Jazz Bistro, The Independent, The Fillmore, Madrone Art Bar, The Boom Boom Room, and Mama Kin, where he hosts a popular weekly jazz jam session.

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $25 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

Handy returns for his second round of Holiday musings with his Keys allies.

A prolific composer with a deceptively slim discography, Handy has worked in the Bay Area over the years mostly as a sideman, including concerts with the Mingus Big Band, trumpet great Freddie Hubbard, and piano star Herbie Hancock (at the concert that christened Yoshi’s on Jack London Square in 1997). This week, Handy is back at Keys to reprise his stellar Christmas debut run with Jazz Messenger Essiet Okon Essiet.

“Peter Watrous of the New York Times describes Handy as…….”all grace and liquid ease..”

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $25 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

The Ray Obiedo Group is made up of some of the Bay Area’s finest contemporary jazz musicians.

Chloé Jean is prominently featured on a number of her self composed songs as well as reimagined Jazz & Soul classics.

The group has been described as a jazz fusion band, but the group goes beyond the typical fusion format by exploring the exciting musical avenues of Brasilian, funk and Latin Jazz. Influenced by such diverse artists as Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, James Brown and Miles Davis, the group fuses it’s collective knowledge by creating a uniquely electrified world of funk, jazz & soul.

Happy Hour 5pm – 6pm. First come, first serve seating. Shows begin at 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets: $30 per show

Students and IMA Members can purchase tickets for $15 in person for the 7pm and 9pm shows and may attend 11pm shows free of charge (with proof of valid ID).

Keeping folks up past 10 pm in SF is no easy feat, but Key’s owner Simon Rowe has been showcasing the best of the Bay Area’s organ trios in his late night Saturday sets.

His ‘Transcendent Trio’, formed for a “Jazz on the Patio” residency during the pandemic will feature the dynamic Dave Macnab-guitar, the ebullient Brian Fishler-drums and Rowe on Hammond organ for a set of Blues, Bebop, Ballads and Banter.

Our Late Set is supported by Jazz In the Neighborhood’s Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund. Show begins at 10:30pm.

Tickets: $15 per show (or Free to Students or IMA members with a valid ID)