BIRD & BECKETT CULTURAL LEGACY PROJECT
Al Young was the California Poet Laureate from 2005-2008, a high point in a towering career that began in the late 1960s with novels, poetry collections and more, through the 1970s on into the present… novels that include Who is Angelina? and Sitting Pretty, poetry collections including Dancing and The Sound of Dreams Remembered, books on music like Mingus Mingus and Kinds of Blue… Although Al’s roots are in the rural south, born on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi in 1939, and in Detroit, he’s been in California since 1961 when he first came out to the Bay Area, and he has long been an important figure in the West Coast literary world. Throughout his career, he’s been indefatigable and invaluable, and his work has touched tens of thousands of readers. Jeanne Powell is a published poet and essayist. Her books in print are MY OWN SILENCE and WORD DANCING (new edition…
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OUT-there poetry & OUT-there jazz: Poets Clark Coolidge, Garrett Caples, and Andrew Joron (Caples and Joron are also the editors of the book), with bibliographer Steven Fama, plus music from OUROBOROS (Sheldon Brown & Joseph Noble, reeds; Andrew Joron, theremin; Clark Coolidge, drums) The Collected Poems of Philip Lamantia represents the lifework of the most visionary poet of the American postwar generation. Philip Lamantia (1927-2005) played a major role in shaping the poetics of both the Beat and the Surrealist movements in the United States. First mentored by the San Francisco poet Kenneth Rexroth, the teenage Lamantia also came to the attention of the French Surrealist leader Andre Breton, who, after reading Lamantia’s youthful work, hailed him as a “voice that rises once in a hundred years.” Later, Lamantia went “on the road” with Jack Kerouac and shared the stage with Allen Ginsberg at the famous Six Gallery reading in San…
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Pianist and vocalist Frank Jackson has been an important part of the San Francisco jazz scene since the early 1950s if not earlier… having moved out from Texas with his family in 1942. Today, he’s respected as a swinging elder statesman of the music and he’s going strong. Read up on him at this link: AllMusic: Frank Jackson. On reeds, we’ll have the legendary musician’s musician Noel Jewkes — a towering figure on the local scene for decades. Known in some quarters as Dr. Legato, Noel is heir to a lovely, swinging style that many associate in their minds with the great Lester Young, though he’s fully his own man — and a terrific composer and pianist in addition to his considerable skills on saxophone and clarinet. Leader John Clark on bass and drummer Rob Gibson provide the structure for this consummate quartet date.
Read MoreThis group meets the 2nd Thursday of each month to consider books on current issues or with some historical relevance to what’s going on now… This month’s selection is The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz. Next month (October 10), the group will discuss a pair of unpublished manuscripts by Greg Harmon, “Commentaries from a Correspondence on Locke and Property” and “Locke on Property.” All welcome! ______________________________________ Allegra Fortunati, a long-time participant in this book group, wrote the following review of the Stiglitz’s Price of Inequality: According to Wikipedia, economics as “dismal science†was coined in the 19th Century by historian Thomas Carlyle in response to Malthus’ predictions of starvation due to projected population growth exceeding the increase in the food supply. Carlyle is quoted as saying “the controversies on Malthus … are indeed sufficiently mournful. Dreary, stolid, dismal, without hope for this world or the next ….â€Â Reading Stiglitz’s The…
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The piano wonder from down under…a Bird & Beckett favorite from three previous tours through our fair city…is squeezing in an hour’s show for you before making his way to the airport and thence to New Orleans, Alabama, etc., etc… Don’t miss this chance to hear some new material & some old favorites by a wonderful piano player, singer, songwriter and composer. Live recording today for KCSM’s “In the Moment” (Thursdays at 9pm) on 91.1 fm.
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which way west? Sunday concert series. All ages welcome! No cover charge, but your generous donations make it possible for us to pay the musicians. Sunday, September 8th – 4:30-6:30 pm: The Betty Shaw Quartet, with Ian Carey (trumpet), Robb Fisher (bass) & Ron Marabuto, drums. Live recording today for KCSM 91.1 FM’s “In the Moment” by Jim Bennett A local legend, pianist Betty Shaw is known for a love & deep understanding of jazz that’s led her to play anywhere, anytime, with top flight collaborators — with a commitment born of nothing so much as pure joy in the music. She first learned the instrument as a depression-era kid, born in Albuquerque and raised through the teen years around Denver, lucky to have a piano to play on. Eventually, the family moved to the L.A. area, and once she reached adulthood, the need to make a living took her away from the music for what seemed to her a…
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Six writers converge from various points on the West Coast and New York City for an afternoon of readings hosted by Laura Ruberto, co-chair of the Berkeley City College Department of Arts and Culture. On hand for the afternoon will be Giovanna Capone (Oakland); Jennifer Lagier Fellguth (Santa Cruz); Paul Fericano (Santa Barbara); George Guida (New York City) ; Tommi Avicolli Mecca (San Francisco); and James Tracy (San Francisco). These writers share an Italian-American background that has had a hand in shaping their work.  Several have devoted their attention largely to poetry, plays and fiction, while Avicolli Mecca, Tracy and Fericano have long track records as activists as well, their writing and agitating going hand in hand…
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~~Through Labor Day~~ New release hardcovers 12% off! Buy $20 or more in used books and take a 20% discount. Buy $10-20 of used books and take a 10% discount. Store hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sunday & Monday For those who look longingly through the new releases but have trouble with hardcover prices on those freshly reviewed & tantalizing titles, we’ll ease your pain by offering a 12% discount on the new release hardcovers in the bookcases opposite the register and on the display tables up front.
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which way west? Sunday concert series. All ages welcome! No cover charge, but your generous donations make it possible for us to pay the musicians. Sunday, September 1st – 4:30-6:30 pm: Vocalist Sandra Aran + Quartet. Live recording for KCSM’s “In the Moment” Born in Mexico City, Sandra Aran evinces an unabashed love for singing in her native Spanish as well as English, and her solid grounding in the jazz tradition has engendered in her a true passion for rendering the standards with wonderful fidelity and creativity. She’s a singer with a profound understanding of her repertoire, offering lovely readings of tunes from the great American songbook. incredible excursions swinging deep into bop territory, and beautiful, soulful travels thorough Latin American boleros, Brazilian bossa nova and samba, and more. Sandra has been performing in the Bay Area for the past five years, and has developed a rapport with her bandmates that’s thrilling to hear. Sharing the stage with Sandra at Bird & Beckett for this…
Read MoreOnce in awhile we’re treated to a five-Friday month, and when that happens we get to bring in a favorite pinch-hitting band– this one led by one of the key players on the Latin jazz scene in San Francisco for several decades already… a top musician, a valued educator, the Jazz Commissioner… Dr. John Calloway. For the date, John has assembled a quintet that features Daniel Casares on tenor sax, Mike Smith on guitar, Mike Arnold on bass and Yoel Bibas on drums and percussion. Read up a bit on John at this link: http://www.flutebayarea.com/calloway/ Then come hear him lead this band through the rhythm changes from the Bird & Beckett stage!
Read MoreSunday, September 1st – 4:00-6:00 pm: The Jimmy Gallagher Quartet — Note the early start/finish this Sunday! and don’t miss a note… or a beat! — Tenor player Patrick Wolff Guitarist Jeffrey Burr and bassist John Wiitala  join drummer Jimmy Gallagher A stellar Sunday date! which way west? Sunday concert series  All ages welcome!  No cover charge, but your generous donations make it possible for us to pay the musicians. Note: Hawkeye, a terrific band originally scheduled for today, had to cancel– but we’ll get them rescheduled down the road apiece.
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Jazz in the bookshop… every Friday without fail. San Francisco’s longest running neighborhood jazz party. Joining guitarist Scott Foster at Bird & Beckett this Friday are vibes player Jim Zimmerman, bassist Ken Lenga and drummer Curt Moore, playing a repertoire steeped in the work of the Brazilian masters Jobim, Gilberto, Lins & more…
Read MoreMichael Koch, born in New York City of Slavic and Jamaican heritage. He is a painter, poet, translator, amateur percussionist and avid salsero. Gerald Nicosia is a biographer, historian, poet, playwright and novelist. His biography of Jack Kerouac, Memory Babe, won the Distinguished Young Writer Award from the National Society of Arts and Letters and was called a “great book†by Allen Ginsberg and “by far the best of the many books published about Jack Kerouac’s life and work†by William Burroughs. It is still widely regarded as the definitive work on Kerouac. His book Home to War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans’ Movement won numerous honors and was named one of the Los Angeles Times “Best Books of the Year†in 2001. He is currently at work on a biography of Ntozake Shange. Nicosia lives in Corte Madera, California.
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Steven Ash (coauthor and editor) will present this new edition (Taunton Press, 2013) of the valuable book by William Olkowski, Sheila Daar and Helga Olkowski — who pioneered the non-toxic alternative “Integrated Pest Management” approach. IPM provides an environmentally friendly approach to controlling insects and diseases that can afflict lawns, edible and ornamental gardens, and shade trees, including:Â aphids, slugs, moles, root maggots, cutworms, powdery mildew, crabgrass, Japanese beetles, gypsy moths and a host of other pests. IPM relies on a combination of common-sense practices — using current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. The IPM approach can be applied to both agricultural and non-agricultural settings, such as the home,…
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Little Kabul comes to San Francisco! 2:00 pm – “Secrets of Little Kabul: The Inside Scoop on Afghans in America” A panel discussion with journalist Fariba Nawa, memoirist Atta Arghandiwal and poet/fiction writer Nahid Fattahi. 4:30 pm – A concert of music by Afghan-American vocalist Abu Sofyan with tabla accompaniment performing modern and traditional music Fariba Nawa is a journalist, speaker and author. She reports on various issues, including immigrant communities, women’s rights and the global drug trade. Her work has been published in numerous publications, including The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, the Daily Beast, the Sunday Times Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Mother Jones. She is an expert on Afghanistan and has been interviewed by prominent news organizations from MTV to NBC to FOX. Her book Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords and One Woman’s Journey through Afghanistan (HarperCollins, 2011) is a mix of memoir and reportage focused on women’s roles in…
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