This is a Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund date. Many thanks are due to Jazz in the Neighborhood, and to you for your support of JitN and the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project.

On the fourth Friday of each month, we feature the 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band, whose roots are in tenor player Chuck Peterson’s band. Chuck’s band became a permanent fixture at Bird & Beckett in 2002; he retired and removed to Santa Rosa just a couple of years ago. Chuck’s colleagues for decades, the musicians in 230 Jones Street share individual histories on the local scene dating back 60+ years. Ray Loeckle on tenor sax, Jerry Logas on baritone sax, clarinet, flute and vocals, Glen Deardorff on guitar, Dean Reilly on bass and Tony Johnson on drums can proudly stake their claim to a fair wage; they came on the scene at a time when union protections made it possible to pursue their livelihoods comfortably and to live in economic balance. 

We’re happy to be part of a movement with a renewed union & collective action tendency that’s focused on making that goal realizable once again for jazz players after a long period of impacted earnings.

This evening, Jazz in the Neighborhood is lending its support through its Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund to allow us to pay $150 per musician. That’s a far, hopeful cry from the $75-85 these musicians are typically able to earning here at Bird & Beckett on a Friday evening. Although we guarantee our small payout, we rarely are able to exceed that amount in any significant way. Audience revenues simply aren’t typically there. 

The musicians play for that small monetary reward buoyed by the pleasure playing for you affords, but that consideration is irrelevant as a yardstick to measure equitable pay for work rendered. We all need to recognize that fair pay is not a privilege, but a right. Thanks for your goodwill and financial support as we contribute to this movement to recognize and realize that principle.

We thank Jazz in the Neighborhood for setting a bar of $150 per performer that we can reach for. It’s a remarkable incentive for staying in the movement toward a living wage for the workers, and a guaranteed income across the board.

But all of it starts with your contribution at the shows. Please join Jazz in the Neighborhood and Bird & Beckett in making this a decent payday for five seasoned veteran jazz musicians. If you usually put in $5 per set, think about putting in $10. If you typically put in $10 for the evening, make it $20 tonight. You’ll feel good about it, and so will the musicians, the bookshop and Jazz in the Neighborhood, and we’re certain that your efforts will stoke the fires of this movement.