653 Chenery Street
in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood
1-415-586-3733
[email protected]
Open to walk-in trade and browsing
Tuesday to Sunday
noon to six
Live Streams every weekend!
Refresh your browser to catch a show in progress!
Visit our Facebook page or YouTube channel!
But nothing beats being in the room with the music & the musicians!
Aaron Bennett, tenor sax. Mark Clifford, vibraphone. Kyle Bruckmann, modular synth. Brett Carson, keyboard. Jordan Glenn, drums. Lisa Mezzacappa, bass. $20-$40 sliding scale; byob. $10 for students; kids free. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Inspired by Italo Calvino’s nerdy, hilarious, lewd, poignant collection of short stories, the Cosmicomics, Lisa Mezzacappa ‘s suite of music takes its cues from Calvino’s stories that humanize and personify far-out and beautiful phenomena that defy human perception—the expansion of the universe, the origins of the planet, the mysterious relationsihp of the earth to its moon, the evolution of humans and creatures. Mezzacappa’s Cosmicomics was developed over the course of 2018, in a series of work-in-progress salons at the “spectacular Glen Park mainstay,” Bird & Beckett Books & Records, premiered in a pair of performances at Bird & Beckett and the California Jazz Conservatory, and then traveled on to the SFJAZZ Center and…
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Ben Ball, saxophone. Greg Jacobs, piano. Charles Thomas, bass. Michael Spencer, drums. $20 cover charge, byob. Students $10; kids free. Charles Thomas became a fixture at Bird & Beckett fifteen years ago in drummer Jimmy Ryan’s Bebop Band, alongside the fiery bop pianist Don Alberts. His history reveals much more. Charles was born in San Francisco, grew up in the Fillmore and began on cello in junior high, soon switching to bass and picking up guitar, piano and drums. He studied a wide variety of musical styles formally and informally, from Fillmore blues and San Francisco acid rock/funk, to classical and jazz, graduating with degrees in music, first from City College of San Francisco and then San Francisco State University. Over the decades, he’s been a key player in the Bay Area in the pop, reggae, jazz, and classical idioms. While completing his degrees, Charles toured the Pacific Northwest with…
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Hot off their appearance at a National Caviar Day event Saturday night south of the slot, the Evangenitals roll into Bird & Beckett Sunday morning for a hot minute to raise spirits and raise the roof with their trademark alt-folk genius… You’ve heard them many years running at El Rio’s Shit-Kicking Memorial Day Fest with regular stops at Bird & Beckett, but it’s been a few since the last one, and we’re way excited to have them back. At 1pm, they load up their van and roll back to the Southland, so catch them while you can. Get religion, Evangenitals style!
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Ben Stolorow, piano. Peter Barshay, bass. Vince Lateano, drums. featuring guest Brad Buethe, guitar. $20 cover charge, byob. Teens & undergrads & grad students $5-$10 sliding scale. kids free. Vince Lateano, a Sacramento kid, has been a mainstay of the San Francisco jazz scene since he rousted out of the U.S. Army in 1965. The drummer Johnny Markham subbed out jobs to him when Markham went out on the road with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, so Vince worked a lot right from the beginning at spots like El Matador, the Jazz Workshop, Sugar Hill, the Black Hawk, you name it, and soon was subbing out gigs himself while he went out on the road with the likes of Woody Herman and Earl “Fatha” Hines. For years, Vince led the house band at Pearl’s, on Columbus Avenue in the heart of North Beach, and has led a…
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“What the hell kind of church service is this?” — STEVE KOTLER, LA WEEKLY At the ungodly hour of 11 a.m. on July 20th, The Evangenitals return to Bird & Beckett with a reprise of their Moby Dick album and much, much more. Bird & Beckett’s favorite band delivers the sacrament at a National Caviar Day booking south of the slot on Saturday, and preaches to the choir at Bird & Beckett Sunday morning before loading the van to return to the Southland and their workaday world of wonder. But first… Wednesday 7/16 – 7:30-9pm. Laborfest Writers Group. no charge, but donations can’t hurt, so honor labor, and bring some cash for the writers to share! Poetry, memoir, fiction and nonfiction by rabble-rousers, activists, leftist radicals, union members, immigrants, native-born and plain old trouble-makers. The group, formed in 2005, includes Alice Elizabeth Rogoff, Barbara Saunders, Jerry Path, Keith David…
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George Rogers – saxophone. Isaiah Harwood – piano. Graeham Guerin – upright bass. Max Simas – drums & cymbals. $20 cover charge, byob. Students, $10. For a reservation, call the bookshop at 415-586-3733. Rogers/Harwood/Guerin/Simas is a collective of contemporary jazz composers and instrumentalists with roots in both the Bay Area and Northeast Ohio. They debuted in January 2024 to a sold-out audience in Berkeley—a musical hub for three of the band members who grew up playing together. As a collective, these musicians have performed at the Back Room, Libretto, the Stowaway, and packed house concerts. As individuals, they have performed at SFJAZZ, Dizzy’s Club, Bird & Beckett, Nublu, Sam First, Lollapalooza Festival, and many more, alongside a variety of musicians including Wynton Marsalis, the Yellowjackets, members of the SFJAZZ Collective, Nicole McCabe, and Walter the Producer. The ensemble’s style synthesizes elements of traditional, modern and avant-garde jazz, while also embracing…
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Here at Bird & Beckett Books, we’ve always relied on the kindness of neighbors and strangers to make it all work; and we’ve always found that strangers don’t stay strangers long! Your tax-deductible donations to our 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project, FEIN 261906810, are the secret sauce. Book sales and cover charges at the shows are crucial, but only go so far to fill the cornucopia of culture that you’ll find here at Bird & Beckett! You can donate through our website using PayPal. Or if you prefer, you can drop off or mail us a check made out to the “Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project” — write “tax-deductible donation” in the memo line. Cash is fine if you prefer. You can also donate on a recurring, monthly basis through PayPal — which is quite a wonderful way to support us. Bright moments ahead, thanks…
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The posts that follow show you what’s come and gone. Search the videos on our youtube channel or facebook page to find evidence of what you remember, or what you missed! Then, make sure you catch the next thing that catches your fancy. The live streams are great, but live music in a room with folks you know or ought to get to know, that’s irreplaceable…
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Scott Foster, guitar. Ollie Dudek, bass. $15/adults; $5/students; kids/free. Bird & Beckett’s favorite jazz guitarist brings in a fresh aggregation of local jazz greats on the third Friday of every month. Scott has been the cornerstone of the Bird & Beckett jazz scene for nearly a quarter century, ever since the Friday happy hour show was inaugurated in 2002! Tonight, bassist Ollie Dudek joins Scott for two sets of duo interplay — musical conversations about summer and other inspiring themes, promising a low key and intimate yet lively evening of jazz.
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Poetry, memoir, fiction and nonfiction by rabble-rousers, activists, leftist radicals, union members, immigrants, native-born and plain old trouble-makers. The group, formed in 2005, includes Alice Elizabeth Rogoff, Barbara Saunders, Jerry Path, Keith David Cooley, Margaret Cooley, Nellie Wong, Robert Eugenio Rubino and Susan Ford.
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S.E. Willis & the Willing. $20/adults; $10/students; kids/free. S.E. Willis, piano, accordion, harmonica & vocals. additional personnel to be recruited from the available willing, including the Excelsior’s own guitar wizard Takezo Takeda. S.E. plays classic and original blues, boogie, rock, zydeco and country, all with soul, conviction and authenticity–to paraphrase S.E. himself and the late, great music writer Lee Hildebrand. Born in West Virginia, S.E. has been playing the piano and harmonica since the age of six, and organ and accordion since his teens. He started playing in rock and roll bands along Arizona’s stretch of Route 66 in 1967. Willis has supported Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Albert King, Jimmy Rogers, Roy Gaines, and, since 2000, Elvin Bishop. He sang tenor with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. And he worked three years with Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste. Fifty years in the business and counting, S.E.Willis knows a lot about American roots…
Read MoreSF Lives/Live Talks on the second Sunday of each month via our livestream. Find it on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Independent reporter Denise Sullivan brings the SF Lives series to Bird & Beckett for a Sunday morning livestream: This month’s guest is Ingrid Valdez, BCBA, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who brings a behavioral lens to some of the most human experiences—grief, loss, suicide prevention, and emotional support. Her work focuses on the idea that our environment plays a powerful role in how we cope, connect, and find resilience. Ingrid develops and delivers training that make these topics more approachable, offering simple, actionable strategies to help individuals and communities prevent burnout, navigate crises, and support one another through emotional challenges. She’s especially interested in how we understand grief in today’s fast-paced, often disconnected world—and how we can create more compassionate spaces for healing. The SFLives…
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Ron Marabuto Quartet. $20/adults; $10/students; kids/free. Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax. Ben Stolorow, piano. Ravi Abcarian, bass. Ron Marabuto, drums. Ron Marabuto, the son of John Marabuto, a key Bay Area pianist/arranger throughout the 1950s-1990s, was raised in the East Bay, graduated from UC Berkeley, and spent over a decade in New York City working extensively with such jazz greats as Pepper Adams, Tommy Flanagan and Roland Hanna. Upon returning to San Francisco, he picked up work with Buddy Montgomery, Bruce Forman, Mark Levine and countless other master jazz musicians who have populated the local scene. These days, Ron gigs frequently while teaching and mentoring a new generation of musicians at Oaktown Jazz Workshops (directed by the bassist on tonight’s date, Ravi Abcarian), and has also taught for years at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, JazzCamp West and the Monterey Jazz Festival Education Program. Ron has been on the bandstand at Bird…
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Luis Peralta, piano Jed Holtman, guitar Isaac Coyle, bass Genius Wesley, drums Genius Lee Wesley auditioned on drums for Oaktown Jazz Workshops at the age of eight, launching his education in jazz and building relationships at OJW and through the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars with the members of the quartet you’ll hear tonight. By age 14, fully recognized as a prodigy, Genius was gigging five days a week throughout the Bay Area. The past few years, he’s been studying in Switzerland, and his visits home are avidly awaited. Meanwhile, his quartet mates have become stars right here at home.
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GG Amos Band plays post-war west coast blues. $20/adults; $10/students; kids/free. GG Amos, guitar and vocals Kevin Gerzevitz, organ and piano Vicky Grossi, bass Randy Lee Odell, drums GG has learned the lessons from all the great blues records, countless gigs leading her own bands, and personal experience in the bands of legendary and obscure blues players including Johnny Heartsman, Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, Guitar Shorty, Karen Lawrence, Duffy Bishop and John Lee Hooker.
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SUPPORT BIRD & BECKETT - DONATE TODAY!
Your donation to the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project helps us pay for a multitude of operating expenses necessary to present, promote and preserve local music, poetry, and more.
Help us keep the arts alive and thriving!
The Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project was created in 2007 "to present, document and archive the creative work of significant living writers and musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, for a neighborhood audience and future generations," continuing the work we began when the store was established in 1999.
We continue to present a full slate of programming of live music and poetry readings, and produce a literary journal and poetry chapbooks, and we seek and welcome your continued financial support by way of donations.
Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above. Better yet, make a check out to the “Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project” and drop it off or mail it to:
Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project
653 Chenery Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
Call us at (415) 586-3733 to find out how else you might lend your support.
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We're immensely appreciative of Jazz in the Neighborhood for having stepped in as our temporary fiscal sponsor for a few months, while we straightened out some paperwork to get nonprofit status restored to the BBCLP. We're happy to say that's been done, and all past, present, and future donations made directly to the BBCLP are fully tax-deductible!
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To take our SURVEY, click here, and help the BBCLP get to know you better! As Duke Ellington always said, we love you madly...
The Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project
Our events are put on under the umbrella of the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project (the "BBCLP"). That's how we fund our ambitious schedule of 300 or so concerts and literary events every year.
The BBCLP is a [Read More ]
The Independent Musicians Alliance
Gigging musicians! You have nothing to lose but your lack of a collective voice to achieve fair wages for your work!
The IMA can be a conduit for you, if you join in to make it work.
https://www.independentmusiciansalliance.org/
Read more here - Andy Gilbert's Feb 25 article about the IMA from KQED's site
