Neil Adler is one of a handful of chromatic harmonica masters who have followed the great Toots Thielemans in the past six decades. A notoriously nuanced and difficult instrument, very few have invested their time and talents in taming the beast and making it sing as well as Neil. He’s been a guest harmonica artist…

Drummer Tony Johnson brings a fine quartet into Bird & Beckett on the fourth Friday of each month. He’s a 63-year veteran of the local jazz scene, still a supercharged, swinging dynamo behind the kit belying his 80+ years of age. Tony left his native Australia and arrived in San Francisco in 1959, and was…

Walker Brents is back from his summer rambles… to plumb the tale of the Johnson County Cattle War of 1892… live stream only… You can find the live stream on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Donate to support Walker and the stream.

Trumpeter Mario Guarneri enlists some of the best jazz minds of our place and time — Erik Jekabson (also on trumpet), Randy Vincent (guitar), John Wiitala (bass) and Akira Tana (drums) — to test the boundaries and depths of some of his compositions. Catch it in the live stream if you can’t make it to…

Eric Shifrin on piano and Paul Mehling on guitar co-lead a trio with bassist Dexter Williams grounding the whole affair, taking jazz on a spin through the French countryside with a generous number of  mischievous sidetracks. 5:30-7:00pm $20 cover charge; byob catch it in the live stream if you can’t make it to the shop,…

Chicago percussionist and composer Tim Daisy has assembled a new quartet made up of some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians: Phillip Greenleaf on tenor saxophone,Kyle Bruckmann on electronics and double reeds;  and Lisa Mezzacappa on bass. The music consists of original compositions composed by both Tim and Kyle (who collaborated frequently when Kyle lived…

Guitarist Scott Foster holds down the 3rd Friday slot at Bird & Beckett, bringing in a fresh project every time out, drawing from the stellar pool of jazz players that the San Francisco Bay Area can claim. Tonight, trumpeter Henry Hung steps up to pull a phat batch of pop hits into the jazz cauldron…

Guitar legend John Stowell and master saxophonist Michael Zilber have enjoyed a fertile musical relationship stretching back two decades, including three critically-acclaimed cds on Origin Records. 2015’s “Basement Blues” was a Downbeat “Top CD of the Year.” Zilber and Stowell have performed numerous times together through the years at leading venues on both coasts, but…

Anthony Blea, violin Bob Crawford, piano Mike Arnold, bass Annette A. Aguilar, drums $20 cover charge (cash please). Doors open at 7:20 for the 7:30 show. BYOB. You can find the live stream on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Donate to support the musicians and the stream! Hi-Octane Latin Jazz from some…