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!
Wednesday, 8/13, 7:30pm – Johnny Lonely & J. Raoul Brody “Lonely Under the Covers” ~##~ Friday, 8/15, 6pm – The Scott Foster Trio with vocalist Jesse Foster ~##~ Friday, 8/15, 8:30pm – The Brian Melvin Trio with guitarist Soren Lee ~##~ Saturday, 8/16, 7:30pm – The Ron Vincent Quartet with guitarist Brad Buethe ~##~ Sunday, 8/17, 5pm – Drummer Vince Lateano’s longstanding trio with pianist Ben Stolorow & bassist Peter Barshay ____________________ Wednesday, 8/20, 7:30pm – The Brian Ho Trio with guitarist Jordan VanHemert ~##~ Thursday, 8/21, 7:30pm – Walker Brents III livestreamed talk on poet Phillip Lamantia ~##~ Friday, 8/22, 6pm – Tony Johnson’s 230 Jones Street Band Charlie McCarthy, sax – Sam Cady, piano – Chuck Bennett, bass ~##~ Friday, 8/22, 8:30pm – Byrds of a Feather: saxophonist David Byrd & friends ~##~ Saturday, 8/23, 7:30pm – (tent.) Avotcja ~##~ Sunday, 8/24, 5pm – The John Calloway/Larry Dunlap…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
Sunday, 8/10, 8-10pm – jazz: The Annie Orzen / Joe Gloss Quintet – Annie is back in the neighborhood on summer break and brings a young quintet featuring Joe Gloss on vocals and Annie Orzen, piano. $25 cover charge; $10 students. Joe Gloss – Voice: Joe is a Bay Area-based jazz vocalist, educator, and trumpeter with deep ties to Los Angeles and Maui County. Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Vocal Performance at USC’s Thornton School of Music, he studies with acclaimed artists including Katie Thiroux and Grammy-winner Luciana Souza. Drawing inspiration from jazz legends like Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, and Charlie Parker, Joe brings a soulful and improvisational spirit to timeless melodies. With experience leading ensembles across California and Hawaii, his work reflects a passion for music as a transformative force—one that captures the complexity of the human experience and the power of collective expression. Annie Orzen…
Read More
Sunday 8/10, 5-7pm – Honky Tonk, Classic Country Duets & Originals: Nashville Honeymoon – Hank Maninger, guitar & vocals; Lynne Maes, guitar & vocals; Joe Goldmark, pedal steel guitar; Tim Wagar, bass; Leor Beary, drums. A duo in the spirit of George & Tammy, Loretta & Conway, Johnny & June, Nashville Honeymoon plays Bird & Beckett on the second Sunday of every fourth month, in March, August and December. $20 adults; $10 students._///_ Sunday, 8/10, 8-10pm – jazz: The Annie Orzen / Joe Gloss Quintet – Annie is back in the neighborhood on summer break and brings a young quintet featuring Joe Gloss on vocals and Annie Orzen, piano. $25 cover charge; $10 students. Joe Gloss – Voice: Joe is a Bay Area-based jazz vocalist, educator, and trumpeter with deep ties to Los Angeles and Maui County. Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Vocal Performance at USC’s Thornton…
Read More
Saturday 8/9, 7:30-9:30pm. The Ron Vincent Quartet plays Gerry Mulligan. Rob Sudduth, baritone sax. Ben Stolorow, piano. Jeff Saxton, bass. Ron Vincent, drums. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. BYOB. $25 adults; $10 students; kids 12 and under, free. Ron revisits material he played as a member of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and Mr. Mulligan’s Re-Birth of the Cool Tentet from 1989 until Mr. Mulligan’s passing in 1996.
Read More
Richard Batelaan – tenor sax. Sebastian Parker – piano. Colin Williams – bass Rick Rivera – drums. $20 cover charge. byob. Students $10. Sebastian, Colin and Rick have rorked as a trio for over a decade, rendering jazz standards and an ever growing batch of originals with elegance and hip precision. Now with tenor player Richard, the trio is a quartet and takes on a new dimension.
Read More
Eric Shifrin, piano Ari Munkres, bass Mark Lee, drums $20 suggested cover charge; byob. students $10; kids free. Reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Jazz, blues, stride and novelty tunes from a master pianist and his trio. Always a good time, the 2nd Friday of each month!
Read More
Young musicians! Come out to our monthly First-Sundays Next Generation jam session! On the first Sunday of each month, from 5 to 7pm, Bird & Beckett, with the solid support of its generous donor base, presents an ensemble of young jazz musicians demonstrating the art for a short set, then opening it up for all comers to take the stage, call a tune and make some music. Jazz is a collaborative art constantly reinventing itself from a wonderful and multi-faceted tradition. This is how that happens! This month’s session is hosted by four brilliant young talents, pursuing undergraduate degrees and contemplating professional careers, well on their way to forging a fresh path for the music. Ryan Ancheta : Trumpet Trí Pham : Guitar Sedge Green : Bass Shane Ryan : Drums No charge to play in the jam session, but we kindly request that audience members contribute as generously as…
Read More
Named for the Joseph Cotton character in Carol Reed’s “The Third Man,” The Holly Martins take on multiple roles simultaneously, promoting open-ended explorations of their material. Kasey Knudsen, saxophone. Erik Vogler, guitar. Loren Benedict, voice. $20 cover charge; cash at the door, please. byob. For information or a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. As to this material, the musicians construct mutations of normal jazz standards, transformed from their more familiar forms in the time domain. Their original compositions can be “jazz-like,” but with twists and turns resulting from asymmetric harmonic rhythms, cycling rhythmic and pitch patterns, etc. Three of the Bay Area’s foremost improvised music perpetrators — reeds, guitar and voice — bring you an evening of wonderfully pleasing perplexing music. This performance is supported by the Guaranteed Fair Wage program of Jazz in the Neighborhood, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to promoting the economic viability of gigging for the…
Read More
Steve Carter, piano. Dennis Smith, bass. Billy Johnson, drums. with guest percussionist Marquinho Brasil. $20 cover charge; cash please. byob. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. In the early 80s, Steve Carter became a first call piano player in the thriving Bay Area Funky-Latin-Jazz scene. He was Pete Escovedo’s piano player for several years and also worked with Pete’s brother Coke’s band, Sheila E., Ray Obiedo’s band, Linda Tillery, Bill Summers and Summers Heat, Benny Rietveld, Bo Freeman, Able Zarate, Andy Narell, Billy Cobham, Vicki Randle, Will Kennedy, Malo and many others. He also lived in Tokyo for eight months and played with Japanese fusion artist Miyaura Kiyoshi. In the late 80s, Steve was a member of The Freaky Executives. The “Freakies” were picked as the best Bay Area band by every bay area publication (SF Chronicle , Oakland Tribune, East Bay Express, SJ Mercury News, etc.) for…
Read More
Ben Stolorow, piano. Noah Schenker, bass. Bryan Bowman, drums. featuring vocalist Kati Schenker. $20 adults, $10 students kids free The Noah Schenker Trio, with guest vocalist Kati Pienimäki Schenker, perform standards, pop, and some Finnish tangos.
Read More
Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Silver Lining Serenaders specialize in dance music of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. Their extensive catalog features songs in the styles of swing, Western swing, early jazz and a little bit of classic country thrown in for good measure. In addition to songs in English and instrumentals, the band has songs in French and Spanish to help capture some of New Orleans’ different influences over time and to reflect the band’s travels. The band was formed in 2022 and is co-led by Ella Thomasine on violin & vocals and Scott Stobbe on guitar & vocals. They regularly play as a quartet, trio, duo and occasionally a quintet, both around the New Orleans area with its many varied, ecclectic venues as well as tours nationally and internationally, especially during the summer months. $20 cover charge byob reservations, call 415-586-3733
Read More
This book is part-travelogue, part-memoir, and part academic study, which starts in Hibbing, close to the Canadian border and finishes in New Orleans, in the Deep South. The central theme of the book is to compare the life and work of Bob Dylan with that of William Shakespeare. This gives the volume its striking originality. Prior to visiting San Francisco, Jim gave a presentation on aspects of the book at the “World of Bob Dylan” Conference at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Read More
At last! Neeli gets a book from City Lights, posthumously published on July 1, 2025, the 80th anniversary of Neeli’s birth! Neeli Cherkovski, born Neeli Cherry in San Bernardino California on July 1, 1945, passed away in San Francisco on March 19, 2024 at the age of 78, and is sorely missed. But reading from this wonderful volume is like spending a few hours over a succession of espressos at the Caffe Trieste with the loquacious poet and raconteur. And hearing his writing read by writers who knew and loved him well for decades is not to be missed! The good gay poet who proudly wore the mantle of Whitman, biographer of Ferlinghetti and Bukowski, chronicler of his literary forebears and colleagues, painter, friend of the common man, observer of wildlife and the wild life, lover of fountain pens, uncommon aesthete of many talents, Neeli was also a good friend…
Read More
Sign Up for Our Weekly Emails!
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.
____________
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!
TAKE OUR SURVEY
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
