Just one show Friday the 28th instead of our typical Friday double header, but you’ll get two swinging sets, starting at 7:30pm, and a twenty gets you the evening when The 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band takes the stage. Long a staple of Bird & Beckett’s bookings, this quartet has its roots in the earliest days of our steady weekly jazz programming. We’ve never missed a Friday (save two during the pandemic) in 22 years. 230 Jones Street was the address of the Musicians Union Local 6 headquarters back in the late 1950s and early 1960s when these musicians were getting their start as professional jazz musicians and enjoying the rabble rousing of agitating for fair pay while living the gigging life. The four musicians in this band — Tony Johnson leading the charge from the drum kit, Charlie McCarthy on sax and flute, Sam Cady on piano, and Chuck Bennett on bass — have had no trouble through the years navigating the swing from bop through hard bop and post-bop without breaking a sweat and, yes, always swingin’!

Come and have a good time! Bring something to sip if you’re inclined. We have a cork puller and cups!

Saturday the 29th, again at 7:30pm, we’ll present the NOLA vibe of the New Squatoolas. It’s a Thanksgiving weekend tradition at Bird & Beckett that goes back years. Again, twenty gets you in ($10 for students, free for the little kids) and you can feel free to bring something to sip. Sax player Jim Peterson, guitarist Scott Foster, bassist Joe Kyle, Jr. and drummer Larry Vann have a magic way with the groove and a gusto that will keep your spirits riding high.

Sunday the 30th, come at 5pm for the rollicking, exuberant jump rhythm & blues of the Cottontails. Karina Denike is as dynamic a singer as you’ll find anywhere and has this six-piece outfit in the palm of her hand. Joined on stage by Tom Griesser on saxophone, music director Michael McIntosh on piano, Vic Wong on guitar, Joe Kyle, Jr. back for the second night in a row on bass, and the wonderful Randy Lee Odell on drums, the Cottontails jump, jive and wail ’til 7pm, when you’ll stumble out satiated, satisfied and soul blessed. Bring $30 for these six players and we’ll get them a fair wage for their joyful labors. Money well spent, you’ll agree!

This Thanksgiving weekend, make Bird & Beckett the centerpiece of your post-turkey day spread. Leftovers never tasted so good!