Friday, 2/23/24 – 6-8pm: Tony Johnson’s 230 Jones Street Band – The Return of Glen Deardorff! Along with drummer Tony Johnson, guitarist Glen Deardorff has been with the 230 Jones Street Band since before its founder — the late saxophonist/flutist Chuck Peterson — began calling it the 230 Jones Street Band (or, more accurately, the 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band). The band was named for the address of the musicians union local where Chuck and his colleagues were active in the 1960s agitating for good contracts and fair wages & working conditions for the region’s professional musicians.

Glen has been on hiatus since last February, so we’re more than pleased to have him back! Joining Tony and Glen tonight in the current iteration of the band are Charlie McCarthy on saxophone and flute, Chuck Bennett on bass and Max Perkoff on piano and trombone (sitting in for his father, Si Perkoff).

Chuck Peterson, with singer Dorothy Lefkovits, guitarist Glen Deardorff and drummer Tony Johnson, from a 2010 incarnation of the 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band.

Chuck Peterson started our weekly Friday-after-work happy hour jazz party in October 2002, when he committed to bringing in a trio every Friday evening. We paid them what we could, leaning on the patrons to contribute. Nowadays, with your help, we pay a guaranteed fair wage. So please don’t stint in your support, whether at the door or by donating to our nonprofit! The support of the community is crucial to making this work!!!

At its 2002 inception, the band was called the Chuck Peterson Trio, typically with Don Prell on bass and Scott Foster on guitar. Soon it expanded to a quartet with the addition of Jimmy Ryan on drums and then a quintet with the addition of Bill Perkins sharing the reed duties with Chuck and providing arrangements, often featuring vocalist Dorothy Lefkovits. At a later juncture, after Bill retired and after we moved up the block to our current location in 2008, Don, Jimmy and Scott each took on their own monthly slots, with Chuck taking the fourth Friday — that’s when Chuck built his quintet, with Howie Dudune on sax, Dean Reilly on bass, plus Glen and Tony.

When Chuck retired to Santa Rosa and Howie passed away, the front line came to comprise reed players Ray Loeckle and Jerry Logas, with the same stellar rhythm section (Dean, Glen & Tony), and Tony taking the reins.

Charlie McCarthy joined when Jerry passed and Ray retired, and Chuck Bennett stepped up when Dean passed. Si soon joined to fill out the quintet. Tony and Glen have provided the through line since Chuck Peterson got jazz in the bookshop in full motion 22 years ago!

The jazz transmission continues, and it’s all part of the present and the future of jazz in San Francisco, at Glen Park’s own Bird & Beckett Books & Records.

BYOB and a twenty (or, better yet, five bucks per player — $25 for a quintet), so we can make sure we can pay these musicians a fair guaranteed wage!

Chuck’s union background informs all things jazz here, including our position on paying the musicians! Before Bird & Beckett came into being, the soon-to-be proprietor spotted this advertisement in the Bay Guardian and filed it away — announcing a Local 6 organizing meeting. Turns out, Chuck was the one who organized the meeting!

Your cover charge at the show helps us guarantee a fair wage to the musicians that work here. Individual donations from a great many generous members of the Bird & Beckett community are also necessary. If you can and haven’t, please join their number. Bird & Beckett will always be a work in progress… Thanks for being part of the solution with your dollars, ears, intellect and loyalty!