Chuck Peterson, who leads his quintet on tenor sax and flute this evening, started this ball rolling over twelve years ago… six hundred fifty Fridays ago!

And not once since that start in late 2002 has Bird & Beckett been without the sounds of live jazz on a Friday night.

We feel that’s quite an accomplishment– as is the fact that we added a Sunday afternoon series eight years ago that’s still going strong; added a Saturday night series last July that has its own special momentum; and added a monthly Sunday noon-time good-time rave up last November that’s one of those delightful things that gives you hope, despite the cold-hearted capitalist times we’re living in.

You’re betting with your kind hearts, precious time and hard-to-come-by dollars when you come down to Bird & Beckett for the music and poetry and throw money in the pot to let us reward the artists for their toil! We can pat ourselves on our collective back for fighting the good fight — and enjoying ourselves hugely — in San Francisco’s little Glen Park neighborhood.

Come on down to the bookshop this evening, May 15th, for Chuck’s band, with Howie Dudune sharing the honors on reeds, Glen Deardorff on guitar, Al Obidinsky subbing for Dean Reilly on bass, and Tony Johnson on drums.

And come to the shop again next Friday evening, May 22nd, when we’ll mount a special program to tip our collective hat to Bird & Beckett’s sweet sixteen milestone.  We founded this puppy in May 1999, and we’re not quittin’ anytime soon.