Members of the Japanese-American community and their friends observe February 19th as a Day of Remembrance, as it marks the date in 1942 when Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, leading to the internment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps spread throughout the country. Tonight, Shizue Seigel, Hiroshi Kashiwag, Mia Ayumi Malhotra and Peter Yamamoto read prose and poetry in observation of this dark chapter in American history — a chapter which seems to be endlessly rewritten, as it is being rewritten today in this era of unspeakable travesties and cruelty. An open mic follows the featured readers.  

Rural blues from the San Francisco masters of the form HowellDevine Joshua Howell, harp, guitar, vocals Pete Devine, traps, washboard, percussion, jug Joe Kyle, Jr., bass

Lyle Link, tenor sax  •  Greg Jacobs, piano  •  Chris Amberger, bass  •  Mark Lee, drums

Read more (and hear them) by clicking here! Jazz lives!

Songs that bear a message… The Scott Foster Trio Scott Foster, guitar Richard Hall, piano Andrew Higgins, bass  

Poetry! Stephanie Baker Jess Rowland Ava Koober / Marina Lazzara / Patrick James Dunagan collaboration Music! J & Kevin BYO Bottle, Ears, Minds, Heart 

El Guajiro plays the gamut of popular music from Latin America, including cha cha, boleros, Latin jazz, as well as different varieties of Cuban music. El Guajiro is el guajiro Johnny Escobedo’s group, with a number of associates that include Norman Downing, the Razons Bo and Richie, Mario Vega and others. For this concert, he’s joined by Norman and Mario, who also make up the trio on his just-released (2017) cd entitled… El Guajiro. We’re pleased to welcome El Guajiro back to Bird & Beckett on February 11th.

Don Alberts, known to Bird & Beckett audiences as a fine jazz pianist, is also a prolific writer, and reads this afternoon from his autobiographical novel, The Rushing and his short story collection, The God Fire Mantras — just a sliver of the poetry and prose he’s produced over the course of a rich career. He’ll have a major assist from fellow writer, and marvelously stentorian reader, Jeff Kaliss.  Visit Don’s website, here, for a snapshot of some of the books and music he’s published. Read his bio here. He’s a local hero, and then some.   They’ll start anywhere from 1:30 to 1:45, so come early if you can. Don’t worry, though. At 2, we’ll make sure they  make a fresh start for those who haven’t gotten the word. But shortly after, Jeff will have to fly and Don will take it from there. He’ll have the piano handy if he…

The George Cotsirilos Quartet celebrates its new CD on OA2/Origin Records featuring George on guitar, Keith Saunders on piano, Robb Fisher on bass and Ron Marabuto on drums. Read the San Jose Mercury piece on this recording at this link. Originally from Chicago, George Cotsirilos has been a member of the San Francisco Bay Area jazz community for many years. He has performed with a wide variety of artists, from San Francisco jazz fixtures like Eddie Marshall, Mel Martin, Pharaoh Sanders and Mark Levine to internationally recognized blues singer Etta James, Bill Evans bassist Chuck Israels, and the jazz/soul vocal group, The Whispers. In addition to working as an accompanist, he was co-leader of the San Francisco Nighthawks which included legendary drummer Eddie Marshall, Bobby McFerrin pianist Paul Nagel, and former Cal Tjader bassist Robb Fisher and played the Monterey Jazz Festival. Cotsirilos graduated from the University of California at…

Denise Perrier has been called “The Voice with a Heart” and is known internationally for her warm, swinging contralto. She’s joined tonight by tenor sax player Joe Cohen, pianist Grant Levin, bassist Joe McKinley and drummer Jim Zimmerman for two sets of songs from Cole Porter to Billy Strayhorn to Blare & Martin…

Justin Rock, guitar Owen Clapp, bass Mike Quigg, drums

Come out to celebrate the new long-playing album — an actual lp! — by the Paul Sanwald Quartet! No cds on this one, just vinyl! Don’t own a turntable? All the more reason to come hear the music live!!   Wataru Uchida, tenor sax Spencer Caton, piano Paul Sanwald, bass Dan Foltz, drums