Jazz in the bookshop

a tradition in the neighborhood
every Friday evening since 2002

Kids always welcome & always free!
$10 suggested donation per adult

This Friday, February 3rd, it’s Don Prell’s Seabop Ensemble, featuring series stalwart Don Prell, a Los Angeles native who started his jazz career in the 1950s and was soon a core member of Bud Shank’s renowned quartet — traveling internationally and recording albums on Pacific Jazz, Contemporary and other key record labels associated with the “West Coast Jazz” of the late 50s and early 60s. 

On the first Friday of each month at Bird & Beckett, Don shanghais a seasoned crew of jazz pros, drawing from a pool of talent unmatched by any city in the country outside of New York… Tonight, you’ll hear the powerful & lyrical tenor player Jerry Logas, young bop titan Michael Parsons on piano, and Ulf Bjorkbom, Swedish wonder of the high seas, swinging at the skins…

On subsequent Fridays of each month, it’s Jimmy Ryan’s Quintet on the second Friday, a quartet with Chuck Peterson, Scott Foster, Don Prell and Ron Marabuto on the third Friday, and The Chuck Peterson Quintet on the fourth Friday.  And so it goes!  Anytime we enjoy the luxury of a fifth Friday, we invite in a special guest — in March, it’ll be bassist Dave Parker and his quintet, a high octane group with its roots in late evening Friday nights at the old Red Rock Lounge, which preceded Le P’tit Laurent down at the corner.

Always a good time at Bird & Beckett!  Meet your friends here & enjoy the music!

Glen Park local Bill Maginnis sitting in with the regulars on a recent Friday evening. Bill started his professional career at age 14, and had to get a permit from the ABC, since he was well underage, in order to play jobs at the Yreka Inn, aka "The Snake Pit". Along the way, he's played with everyone from John Cage to Peanuts Hucko, Wingy Malone & Wild Bill Davidson.

A little history of the scene…

Back in late 2002, tenor player Chuck Peterson proposed that he’d make sure we had good musicians every week if we’d just promise to make the venue available.  We took him up on his offer and he made good– recruiting bassist Don Prell and guitarist Scott Foster and adding more players along the way, many of whom have become fixtures on the scene.

Meanwhile, vocalist Dorothy Lefkovits found her way to the shop with guitarist Henry Irvin and drummer Jimmy Ryan for a monthly Sunday session.  Jimmy was quickly added to the Friday roster to fill out the basic working unit there, and when we lost Henry a few years back, Dorothy became a regular on the Friday nights as well.

The band grew to eight pieces on occasion in the old store, and eventually we settled on the current rotation of four groups — Don Prell brings in his “Seabop Ensemble” on the first Friday of the month; Jimmy Ryan brings in a quintet on the second Friday; Scott, Don and Chuck with drummer Ron Marabuto take the third Friday; and Chuck leads his own quintet on the fourth.  All in all, a smash success that’s going strong.