The party kicks off at 7pm Wednesday, April 2nd, when SFPL Western Addition branch librarian Moazzam Sheikh, a skilled writer of novellas and short stories, and Moazzam’s good friend, the acclaimed, perspicacious and quirky novelist Elizabeth McKenzie, host their mutual good friend from Chicago, the writer and editor Syed Afzal Haider, who will read from his recent volume of short stories (The Dying Sun, Weavers Press, 2024). Donations welcome, byob.

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Thursday at 7pm our monthly poetry session convenes, with featured readers Maria Medina, Francisco Orrego and Michael Koch followed by  an open mic hosted by Jerry Ferraz. Donations, welcome, byob.

 

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Friday April 4th, there are two shows, as usual:

NY-based pianist David Janeway is joined in a trio by Peter Barshay and Sylvia Cuenca from 6 to 8pm. $20 cover for adults, byob. Teens and students, $10; kids free.

The San Francisco Syncopators take the stage from 8:30 to 10, with guitarist Craig Ventresco, pianist Rob Reich and drummer Benny Amón setting the table for tenor saxophonist Kamrin Ortiz and bass saxophonist Ryan Callahan. $25 cover, byob.

 

Saturday evening from  7:30 to 9:30, we welcome back vocalist Marina Crouse singing jazz, blues and boleros with her trio — Danny Caron on guitar, Ruth Davies on bass and Mark Lee on drums. $20 cover, byob.

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Sunday from 5 to 7, trumpeter Ryan Ancheta returns with current and former students from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (Nico Colucci, tenor sax; Gene Wadsworth, piano; Alan Jones, bass; Miles Turk, drums) to play a set of jazz and then conduct a student-centric jam session. Your donations help us pay the musicians! $20 suggested for adults; teens & students $10; kids $0.

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You can reserve seats for our shows.
Just call the shop at 415-586-3733 during store hours.
Pay at the door when you arrive.
Reservations are held only until the show starts.

Cash is king when attending the shows.
Venmo also accepted, but cash is quicker,
easier for us, and much appreciated.

Cover charges for adults typically range from $20-$30 depending on the size of the band and the distance the musicians have traveled to play for you. Usually, it’s $20 per adult; $10 for teens and students; kids free and welcome.

Living on a minuscule income? Ten is enough from you. Five even. Just ask! Pay what you can. We want everyone to have access to this music! That goes for folks with mobility problems as well.

Donations to our nonprofit help make this work. A lot!
Many thanks to y’all for what you do in that regard!
Want to know how to donate? See the sidebar on this website’s homepage.

Jazz in the bookshop has been continuous on Friday evenings since late 2002, and we’re never gonna give it up–good craic, as our sound engineer Tom Misage’ll tell ya.

So get yourself down here and enjoy some jazz music and the company of friends old and new. Call one of those old or new friends & tell ’em to meet you at Bird & Beckett!

Win Garden, the excellent, sweet and comfortable Chinese restaurant down on Diamond Street around the corner from the shop (just past those guys with the shovels), is open ’til 8:15, so grab a bite to eat before or after the first show. Tekka House, the fab sushi/ramen joint across the street and down the block from Bird & Beckett is open noon to nine, so that’ll get it as well. And right next to Win Garden, is Manzoni, offering exquisite Northern Italian cuisine. Open 5-9pm, it’s where Manhal from the Higher Grounds coffee house hangs out after work. Oh, wait! It is work! Manhal operates both joints–Higher Grounds from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon, then Manzoni from five to nine. When does that mad genius sleep, one wonders?

After the second show, you’ll have to content yourself with a beer at the formidably cheerful watering hole called Glen Park Station, down around the corner on Diamond Street towards the traffic light, just before the taqueria and the pizzeria.

Up that way just a little further, opposite the BART station (also known as Glen Park Station) is a fabulous Thai restaurant, One Waan. It opens at 5 and closes at 9, so time a meal there. You won’t regret it. It’s the neighborhood’s best kept secret, and arguably its best restaurant!

Besides all that grub down the street… in the shop, there’s music and poetry to spare!