Pianist Grant Levin has been heard at Bird & Beckett time and again, in many formations– as leader, as sideman… in duos, trios, quartets, quintets… Tonight, he’s leading a trio with two players making big waves– bassist Giulio Xavier Cetto, out of Stockton, and drummer Louis Sweatt, out of Brentwood. Grant himself was born in San…

Like all great songwriters/storytellers, Maurice uses humor, pathos, and metaphor…to spin tales of sometimes heroic, sometimes conniving, seductive and/or hapless characters. Characters deep in the throes of urban/country angst, unrequited love, love affairs gone wrong—in a nutshell—country noir. A master of clever lyrics and gorgeous melodies…Maurice’s warm powerful voice animates the songs into a kind of…

The voice with a heart! Denise Perrier is known for her elegant contralto, for her phrasing and swing, for her unparalleled interpretation of tunes drawn from the “Great American Songbook” — the timeless popular music that poured out of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and the little offices and garrets of songwriters across the land from…

Don Prell captains the ship of jazz for another evening of bebop and standards. Don’s been keeping this thing afloat at Bird & Beckett since late 2002, when he joined the Friday night crew. His career in jazz reaches back to the 1950s, however, when he was a key participant in the Los Angeles jazz…

Mad Mama and The Bona Fide Few came together in San Francisco in 2011 with its current lineup — Mad Mama, herself, on uke and vocals; Steve Egelman on guitar and vocals, Tony Velour on bass and Paul Monteiro on drums. They played their own mix of whiskey-soaked Americana music at the Glen Park Festival…

Reprising a great match up from last year, drummer/producer PC Muñoz meets madcap aleatoric classical/free jazz pianist Ira Kamin for another afternoon of exploratory duet. Click here for a taste of their July 12, 2015 outing at Bird & Beckett. Ira Kamin got his start in Chicago, making his mark on keyboards with the great…

Walker considers the work and life of César Vallejo: Elemental Peruvian surrealist, whose book Trilce is one of the unacknowledged masterpieces of modern poetic speech, whose thematic background encompasses indigenous Andean villages, metropolitan Paris, and the Spanish Civil War.

“Broken Shadows” – Darren Johnston – trumpet/voice; Jordan Samuels – guitar/voice; David Phillips – pedal-steel/voice; Miles Wick – upright bass/voice. With songs that place an emphasis on lyrics and story-telling, and with world class instrumental playing that prizes spontaneity and dialogue, this highly adaptable collection of musicians under the leadership of trumpeter/composer Darren Johnston brings…