653 Chenery Street
in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood
1-415-586-3733
[email protected]
Open to walk-in trade and browsing
Tuesday to Sunday
noon to six
Live Streams every weekend!
Refresh your browser to catch a show in progress!
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But nothing beats being in the room with the music & the musicians!
“In this Boomer memoir, Driving Miss Daisy meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. With lilting eloquence, Summer Brenner captures the tumultuous fifties and sixties of a genteel Jewish family in Atlanta, with the South’s oppressive segregation and anti-Semitism. The family drama is fraught: the brother is a schizophrenic, the mother a Gucci-clad Medusa, and the father a suicide. After extensive travels, Brenner frees herself in the Bay Area to become ‘more beatnik than debutante.’” –James Nolan. Dust (Spuyten Duyvil, 2024) is the latest of the many books published by Summer Brenner since her 1990 short story collection The Dancers and the Dance (Coffee House Press). Along the way, she has brought out a book of novellas, The Missing Lover, (Spuyten Duyvil, 2022) with collages by Lewis Warsh; a pair of noir crime novels and four youth social justice novels; as well as a half dozen volumes of poetry. Her…
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Drummer Akira Tana is filling in for Vince Lateano tonight; Vince has a scheduling conflict. Ben Stolorow will be here on piano, together with Peter Barshay on bass. A great opportunity to learn from three seasoned professionals, and a great opportunity for audiences to discover talents they may not even have heard of yet. $20 suggested cover charge for adults. $10 for students. Free to musicians playing in the jam session. byob.
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Jonah Cabral, alto saxophone & leader; Will Berg, tenor saxophone; Armen Krakirian, trumpet; Charles Chen, piano; Alex Farrell, bass; Kirk Duplantis, drums.$20-30 sliding scale cover charge; byob. Jonah Cabral is one of the rising saxophonists in the jazz scene today. He has played throughout the world including South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and extensively in the United States. He has shared the stage with musicians such Carl Alan, Nicholas Bearde, Tiffany Austin, Vince Lateano, Akira Tana and many others. In 2021 Jonah released his first album as a co-leader in dedication to the great Bud Powell and in 2022 he released his solo album recorded live in Tilburg, the Netherlands.
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Eli Knowles – drums; Quinn Gerard – bass; Brett Carson – piano; Rent Romus – saxophone. $20 cover charge; byob. A titan of the San Francisco avant garde scene, both as a saxophonist and with his record label, Edgetone, Rent Romus has just recently established the Spirit Quintet, with a chemistry that’s given him a massive infusion of positive energy. Rent has long led the Lords of Outland, a free improvisation unit; the Life’s Blood Ensemble, a composition-based contemporary group; and the Otherworld Ensemble, a Finnish/American collective exploring new perspectives in heritage and traditional folk. Over the years, he has recorded well over 50 albums, exploring a wide variety of musical settings which have included beat poet founder ruth weiss, and creative music pioneers Chico Freeman, John Tchicai, and Vinny Golia, Teppo Hauta-aho, Heikki Koskinen, Thollem McDonas, Stefan Pasborg, Marcos Fernandez, and Ernesto Diaz-Infante to name a few. He is…
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Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax; Ben Stolorow, piano; Eric Markowitz, bass; Tony Johnson, drums. $20 suggested donation; kids free; students $10. Tony Johnson has a monthly fourth Fridays residency at Bird & Beckett, leading his quartet in the odd numbered months and the 230 Jones Street band in the even numbered months. The players are all seasoned veterans of the San Francisco jazz scene, drawing on a deep well of material and thousands of hours sharing the bandstand over many years.
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Bassist Adam Gay has been a key player at Bird & Beckett for decades, though he moved to Brooklyn in 2019. In New York, he’s been playing with friends such as pianists Jinjoo Yoo and James Austin, guitarist Ki Hong Jang, Saxophonist Chris Byars, and drummer Keith Balla amongst others. Adam travels to San Francisco for gigs a couple times a year, and we’re more than pleased to find a spot in our calendar for him. Thursday the 23rd from 8-10pm, Adam will lead a quartet date here with long-time colleagues Bob Kenmotsu on tenor sax and Tim Bulkley on drums, as well as a pianist who’s been making big waves on the San Francisco scene, Graham Messer. They’ll play compositions by Hank Jones, Oscar Pettiford and Gigi Gryce, and some American song book standards as well. $20 cover charge; byob. Here’s video of Adam with his quintet performing at…
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Wednesday, May 22nd – 7pm
Author event with William Gee Wong
journalist and memoirist
Sons of Chinatown
Author William Gee Wong reads from and discusses his book, Sons of Chinatown: A memoir rooted in China and America, a dual memoir of his and his father’s parallel experiences in America. The author’s father entered the U.S. legally as the “son of a native,” despite having partially false papers, and he himself was born and raised in Oakland’s Chinatown. Wong received his B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley and M.S. at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His print journalism career was spent at The Wall Street Journal (1970-1979) and The Oakland Tribune (1979-1996). He also worked for The San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco News Call Bulletin, and has written for the San Francisco Examiner, East West: the Chinese American Journal, and Asian Week, among other publications. In the mid-1960s, he served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines. From 1995-1996, he was a…
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A very big week wraps up Sunday 5/19/24 at Bird & Beckett with the monthly, third-Sundays 5-7pm residency of the Vince Lateano Trio (Ben Stolorow, piano; Peter Barshay, bass; Vince Lateano, drums) — with special guest John Calloway on flute and small percussion. Adults $20 cover; music students and teens, $10 cover. Help us pay a guaranteed “fair” wage to the trio, and a respectful guarantee to their guest, Dr. John Calloway! This current run of shows started back on Wednesday the 15th like this… — A night of Spanish poetry with Jonathan Richman and David Alvarez Wednesday 5/15 at 7:30pm, $20 cover; students 23 and under, $10 suggested. — A talk by Walker Brents III on Edgar Allan Poe Thursday evening 5/16 at 7:30pm, $15. — Guitarist Scott Foster‘s monthly third-Fridays “jazz happy hour” residency, 5/17, 6-8pm, this time out with drummer Tom Hassett mapping the territory…
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Tiffany Austin, vocals; Adam Shulman, piano; Kevin Goldberg, bass; Mark Lee, drums. $20 cover charge; byob. Born and raised in South Los Angeles, Austin grew up in a house filled with music. Her parents listened to soul and pop masters like Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, while her Louisiana Creole grandmother introduced her to jazz. “She really taught me what soul was about,” Austin says. “She had a great sense of herself, and didn’t let anyone make her feel less than herself. When I sing the blues or jazz, I draw on that Grandmama place.” Her older brother John Austin IV was also a profound influence. A celebrated emcee and rapper, he’s best known as Ras Kass. “He got signed to a record label at 17,” she recalls. “I watched him pursue his music, for better or worse, He never had a day job, and sustained himself from music. I’d…
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Sunday 5/12, 5-7pm: The Seducers! Joe Goldmark, pedal steel guitar; Mitch Polzac, lead guitar and vocals; Hank Maninger, bass guitar and vocals; Kenny Owen, drums. BYOB and a twenty for the band. Kids free. On the second Sunday of each month, you’ll hear Americana music at Bird & Beckett, and in the odd numbered months, that means it’s time for the Seducers! Indisputably America’s favorite honky tonk band. and Sunday at 7:30pm, guitarist Jan Jakut, solo… THAT’S HOW IT ENDS, THIS WEEKEND. SURE ENOUGH… How did it all start???? How did we get here? like this… Friday 5/10, 6-8pm: Eric & the In Crowd The Composers Series. This month, the focus is on the music of Richard Rodgers. The In Crowd is: ~~Eric Shifrin, piano and vocals; ~~Chuck Bennett, bass; ~~Mark Lee, drums. The Jazz Happy Hour, 22 years running! Every Friday save two since 2008! $20 suggested donation…
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Bird & Beckett makes way for the next generation on the first Sunday of each month! On the first Sunday of each month, you’ll hear what youth well schooled in jazz can do. The musicianship on display is always amazing, delightful and fills us with confidence in the future of the culture. This time out, the jazz program at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts will field two combos, and drummer Akira Tana will lead the jam session to follow, with the able assistance of pianist Parker Grant and Heshima Mark Williams on bass — three first-call musicians of the highest caliber, all well attuned to the tradition by which those finding their way in jazz learn the intricacies of playing in the moment with others they have often just met, speaking a common language and developing a conversation that has depth, joy and profundity that’s inclusive of the audience.…
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Luxurious guitar and exotica. Cool swing and soul with a hot trio. That’s Jinx’s jazz bag! Long-time Bird & Beckett fans know that bag well, though most beyond our cozy niche know him only for his rockabilly twang and train songs, whether wafting out the swinging doors of the Saloon across from Caffe Trieste or ringing loud from the stage of the annual Glen Park Festival. You can nudge Jinx that way for a minute if you want to try, he’s a reasonable man. But his true compass points to the jazz north star tonight, and a star he is in that glistening firmament. It’s jazz and Swedish pastry you’ll get from Jinx and his trio tonight! Welcome a true and capable apostle of the many towering gods of the jazz guitar traditions, from Freddie Green to Charlie Christian to Tal Farlow to Wes Montgomery to Barney Kessel to Joe…
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Macy Blackman, piano and vocals; Bing Nathan, bass; Jon Otis, drums. The late show! $20 cover charge cash or venmo at the door for a reservation, call 415-586-3733 Macy Blackman has been steeped in rhythm & blues since he was a youngster in Delaware. Born in 1948, by his high school years he was leading a local combo that touring vocal acts including the Orlons, Lee Andrews and the Hearts, and The Tymes hired for their local appearances. Throughout his career, Macy has ranged far and wide musically — you’ll hear evidence tonight! Says jazz writer Andrew Gilbert in Berkeleyside, “Macy is as comfortable rockin’ Ellington and Gershwin as he is swingin’ Joe Turner and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson.” New Orleans R&B has been his beating heart since the late ’70s, when he formed a tight bond of friendship with one of its masters, drummer Charles “Hungry” Williams. Tonight,…
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Thursday 5/2 at 7pm: Poets James Cagney and Thomas Dunn, followed by an open mic hosted by Jerry Ferraz and Michael Koch. Featured poets and an open mic presented monthly since 1999. Free to all, though donations are always appreciated. James Cagney is the author of Black Steel Magnolias In The Hour Of Chaos Theory, winner of the PEN Oakland 2018 Josephine Miles Award. His newest book, Martian: The Saint of Loneliness is the winner of the 2021 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. For more information, please visit JamesCagneypoet.com Thomas Dunn is a multi-media artist, poet, and experimental filmmaker from Midland, Michigan. A proud graduate of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Thomas is a Cave Canem Fellow and is completing his MFA in Writing at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. _______ Friday 5/3, 6-8pm: The Francis Vanek Trio. ~~Francis Vanek, saxophone; ~~Randy…
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Join the precociously talented undergrads from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s B.Mus. “Roots, Jazz & American Music’ program to help celebrate the end of another semester. Some will be back next year, some will head for the bright lights of another big city… it’s the now that counts! Bring a donation to help us cover some expenses! The evening starts at 5pm with a jam session led by drummer Vince Lateano with pianist Ben Stolorow and bassist Fred Randolph. At 7pm, several ensembles from the Conservatory will each play a set, with the music and party continuing to 9pm. Thanks for being in our corner all these years. In a few days, the 25th anniversary month begins!
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Your donation to the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project helps us pay for a multitude of operating expenses necessary to present, promote and preserve local music, poetry, and more.
Help us keep the arts alive and thriving!
The Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project was created in 2007 "to present, document and archive the creative work of significant living writers and musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, for a neighborhood audience and future generations." We've been doing that very thing for more than a decade and a half, continuing the work we began when the store was established in 1999.
We continue to present a full slate of programming of live music and poetry readings, and produce a literary journal and poetry chapbooks, and we seek and welcome your continued financial support by way of donations through our fiscal sponsor, Jazz in the Neighborhood.
Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above. Better yet, send or drop off a check made out to our fiscal sponsor, Jazz in the Neighborhood, with BBCLP in the memo line. Our mailing address is:
Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project
653 Chenery Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
Call us at (415) 586-3733 to find out how else you might lend your support.
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The Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project
Our events are put on under the umbrella of the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project (the "BBCLP"). That's how we fund our ambitious schedule of 300 or so concerts and literary events every year.
The BBCLP is a [Read More ]
The Independent Musicians Alliance
Gigging musicians! You have nothing to lose but your lack of a collective voice to achieve fair wages for your work!
The IMA can be a conduit for you, if you join in to make it work.
https://www.independentmusiciansalliance.org/
Read more here - Andy Gilbert's Feb 25 article about the IMA from KQED's site
