Such a month, February. The careful, and the brave knew & know that there’s nothing like live taking in some live music and poetry alongside a few friends and companionable strangers.

Audience capacity is 20 in the shop for the time being, so call ahead if you want to be sure of a seat, then wash your hands, check for your vax card, grab your mask and come to the little village that is Glen Park to enjoy another fine night of San Francisco culture in one of the City’s sweetest listening environments! Bring cash for the talent, as well as something to sip! It’s BYOB at Bird & Beckett.

Catch our live streams on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Donate per the information on the screen if you can. The stream is a crucial artist/audience lifeline in a tough time, and the support of the home viewing audience is also crucial to make it sustainable.

If you’re attending in person, expect a $20 cash cover charge for trios and quartets; higher for larger ensembles. Can’t afford it? Let us know at the door. No one turned away for lack of funds, only lack of seats.

We pay a guaranteed fair wage to the musicians, and use your cover charge to help us get there. Generous neighborhood and far flung donors (maybe including yourself!) help us bridge the gap.

Thursday, 2/3, 7pm
Poets Jessica Loos & Marina Lazzara
Bohemian North Beach meets the Bohemian Mission District
Two important poets who are coincidentally under-sung tho’ hugely appreciated pillars of contemporary San Francisco culture. No joke! Jessica & Marina are central figures in two overlapping poetry communities.
open mic follows. Bring a poem. Video here.
Jerry Ferraz and Michael Koch host

 

Friday, 2/4, 7:30pm
Sueños
Trumpeter Noah Frank’s combo drawing on everything from hard bop & bebop to hip hop & jazz rock. With Greg Jacobs, piano; Curtis Aikens, bass; Brandon Farmer, drums. Skilled young players with years of fruitful collaboration behind them and nothing but promising future ahead. Video here.

Saturday, 2/5, 7:30pm
San Francisco Jazz Quintet
Andrew Speight, alto saxophone; Charlie McCarthy, tenor saxophone; Greg Jacobs, piano; Ari Munkres, bass; Akira Tana, drums. This is one of many bands that drummer & jazz philanthropist Greg Gotelli has been fielding one fabulous jazz combo after another around this town, many of them concurrently, from the Wharf to the Haight, from Bird & Beckett to the Peninsula to the North Bay & points east, covering jazz genres from bop to swing to soul to trad, always with seasoned musicians of the kind San Francisco still lovingly harbors. This combo draws particular inspiration from the 1950s/60s hard bop of Art Blakey, Clifford Brown and Sonny Clark. Masterful players swinging for the fences, knocking it out of the park on tune after tune. Video here.

 

This weekend, 2/10 to 2/13
(detail found in the individual posts on the website’s home page):

Thursday, 2/10: The Ray Blue Trio. Video here.

The Sam Priven Quintet on Friday 2/11. Video here.

The Charlie Gurke Quartet played Saturday 2/12. Doors opened at 7:20pm for the 7:30 show for 20 folks, each with 20 dollars cash in hand; well, almost all of them had 20 dollars; as noted above, no one is turned away for lack of funds, only for lack of seats.

A full house of 20 at $20 each gets us 2/3 of the way to a quartet’s guarantee; individual donations small and large from dozens and dozens of patrons help us build up a fund to bridge the gap. The musicians must be paid! And we appreciate your help in paying them.

Ask your favorite venues how they manage it; and be scandalized if they tell you it’s just the tip jar or a percentage of the door revenue or a percentage of the bar. Tell them there’s a far better way, the IMA way!

We’re keeping it cool here, best way we know how. It’s BYOB at B&B, still requiring proof of vax and a well- and consistently worn mask. Thanks ever so much, those of you who can make their way to the shop for a show! You’re guaranteeing yourself a lovely time, and you’re supporting your culture. How important & rewarding is that??? Love you madly for it!

Here’s video of the 2/12 quartet: Charlie Gurke, bari sax; Erik Jekabson, trumpet & flugelhorn; Josh Tower, bass; Smith Dobson, drums — and sitting in on drums for a couple tunes with Smith moving up to the front line on tenor, our old friend from Stockholm & Paris, swingin’ Ulf Bjorkbom! Enjoy the show!

On Sunday, 2/13, three shows!
— Super Great at 2pm – gratis, though it’s ok to tip! Video here!
— Maurice Tani + Henry Salvia: Love Lessons at 5pm – $15 cash if you can do it. Video here.
— A trio w/ Bruce Forman, guitar; Al Obidinski, bass; Vince Lateano, drums at 8pm – $20. Video here.

Monday, 2/14, a VirtualPoets! reading hosted by Kim Shuck on Zoom, a celebration of writer and activist Elana Dykewomon, with readings by Avotcja, Jewel Gomez, Lourdes Figueroa and Kim Shuck, plus an open mic, with nearly 100 in virtual attendance.

Moving along through the month, look for music Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm,
many Sundays at 5:00pm, and more!, including:

     — Byron Spooner reading new short stories and engaging in conversation
with interlocutor Robert Mailer Anderson on Thursday 2/17. Video here.

     — Mutant Audio with David Boyce, saxophone; Scott Foster, guitar; Charles Thomas, bass; Cairo McCockran, drums on Friday 2/18 – $20. Video here.

     — The trio of Daveed Behroozi, Shay Salhov and Jason Lewis on Saturday 2/19- $20. Video here.

     — A Walker Talk: Walker Brents III considers Robinson Jeffers on Thursday 2/24 (online only) – donations help us pay the poet/philosopher, a Bird & Beckett treasure since 1999! Video here.

     — Tony Johnson’s 230 Jones Street Band pays tribute to Chuck Peterson, with Charlie McCarthy on tenor sax & flute, Glen Deardorff on guitar, Al Obidinski on bass and Tony on drums, Friday 2/25 – $20. Video here.

     — Jean Fineberg & the JAZZphoria Quintet on Saturday 2/26 – $25
Jean Fineberg – tenor saxophone/flute; Erika Oba – keyboards/flute/piccolo; Nancy Wenstrom – guitar; Jodi Durst – basses; Jeremy Steinkoler – drums/percussion.

— Purple Gums, an avant garde trio of epic proportions, comprising Bobby Bradford on trumpet, William Roper on tuba and Francis Wong on saxophone, joined by poet Genny Lim on Sunday 2/27 at 5pm- $20

…with a jam session to follow at 8pm, helmed by Keith Saunders, piano; Peter Barshay, bass and Akira Tana, drums. All welcome. No charge, but tips to help us pay the rhythm section are appreciated. BYOB. Guest vocalist & drummer Gregory Piere will return to the stage for a tune after far too long an absence!

February 28, a Monday, we’ll rest on our laurels in the shuttered shop, though Kim Shuck will conduct her VirtualPoets! all open mic fourth Friday reading on Zoom at 7pm.

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During the day Monday, we’ll be getting the usual order into our book distributor for Tuesday delivery. Books must be sold! The shop is open for that sort of business Tuesday to Sunday, noon to six.

Call us at 415-586-3733 if you need a book or want a reservation for a show.

Thanks for supporting your local bookstore and jazz joint with your frequent patronage and generous donations to the nonprofit Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project!

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Musicians!
Gain a collective voice – join the Independent Musicians Alliance!
Shape the future of San Francisco jazz now!
https://www.independentmusiciansalliance.org/

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Remember January? Here’s Russian Telegraph on stage Friday, January 29th: