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!
Visit our Facebook page or YouTube channel!
But nothing beats being in the room with the music & the musicians!

Saturday, December 16th– 7:30-10:00 pm
Vocalist Denise Perrier
jazz club! when lights are low…
$20 cover charge
 

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 the teens and ’20s through the 1950s. Her place among the top rank of San Francisco’s jazz vocalists is unquestioned. And fortunately for us, her affection for the Bird & Beckett stage and audience brings her on occasion out to Glen Park, to our intimate room with 35 seats and space for a dozen more avid standing room guests… BYOB, if you know what’s good for you! Tonight, Denise performs with the consummate musicians Jerry Logas (baritone sax), Grant Levin (piano), Joe McKinley (bass) and Jack Dorsey (drums).

Read More

Friday, December 15th – 5:30-8:00 pm
The Scott Foster Quartet, featuring saxophonist Rob Sudduth
jazz in the bookshop
every Friday since October 2002
$10 suggested donation

Saxophonist Rob Sudduth — whose credits include work with everyone from Norah Jones to Huey Lewis (a lot of work with Huey Lewis) to Ben Goldberg and Graham Connah — joins guitarist Scott Foster, bassist Dan Seamans and drummer Tom Hassett.          

Read More

Thursday, December 14th – 7:30-9:30 pm
Steve Stein presents Doris Williams
in an early music celebration of Christmas

An early music celebration of Christmas, with a joyous nod to the swinging 1960s. Vocals and instrumental performances on lute and harp by Doris Williams, a valued musician on the Bay Area early music scene since the late 1980s. Doris is joined on the program by  viola da gamba player Kit Robberson and classical guitarist Steve Stein. Ring in your season with Bach, Mozart and Christmas carols classic and new — even some jazzy Nina Simone Christmas ballads! Bring your own eggnog!

Read More

Sunday, December 10th – 7:30-9:30 pm
The Grant Levin Trio
featuring Jaz Sawyer on drums and Giulio Xavier on bass
$15 cover charge

Hey, where’s the snare?! Jaz & Giulio make it happen. Grant sets the stage. The music at Bird & Beckett doesn’t stop.

Read More

Sunday, December 10th – 4:30-6:30 pm
Darlene Langston with the Buena Vista Jazz Band
which way west? Sunday concert series
$10 to $20 suggested donation

Drummer Greg Gotelli brings in his merry six piece Chicago-style jazz band with vocalist Darlene Langston for two sets of chesnuts to roast on your open fire!    

Read More

Saturday, December 9th – 7:30-10:00 pm
Wendy DeWitt plays Boogie Woogie & Blues for Christmas! 
jazz club! when lights are low…
$15 cover charge
 

Wendy DeWitt is the Queen of Boogie Woogie! and Blues & You Name It! You ain’t heard nothing, ’til you’ve heard Wendy rip it up! Wendy DeWitt, piano Takezo Takeda, guitar Kirk Harwood, drums The boogie woogie notes that fly out of Wendy DeWitt’s fingers connect you so passionately with her that you walk out of her performance feeling like you are close, personal friends.  – Tall City Blues Fest program notes Bay Area pianist/vocalist Wendy DeWitt (who was part of Hank Ballard’s band) sure knows how to boogie. Teamed with nifty Norton Buffalo drummer Kirk Harwood, she delivers a rousing set of blues and boogie-woogie. DeWitt wrote eight of the 11 numbers here (on DEJA RE-VU). They’re impressive – authentically emotive lyrics and strong, stirring melodies… Throughout, DeWitt’s earthy, soul-fueled vocals excite, as does her rollicking work on the keys. – Paul Freeman, Pop Culture Classics’ Recommended CDs, DVDs and Books Read…

Read More

Friday, December 8th – 5:30-8:00 pm
Smith Dobson Quartet featuring Jeffrey Burr
music inspired by Paul Desmond
jazz in the bookshop — every Friday since October 2002
$10 suggested donation

Smith Dobson, saxophones Jeffrey Burr, guitar Doug Stuart, bass Jon Arkin, drums Some Ellington, some Monk, some more… through the lens of the work of the great saxophonist Paul Desmond, a long-time associate of Dave Brubeck and a player known for a tone that evokes a fine dry martini… interpreted by some of San Francisco’s greatest young jazz artists.

Read More

Thursday, December 7th – 7:30-9:30 pm
Randy Lee Odell presents… Jill Tracy

Jill Tracy is a San Francisco-based singer/pianist, storyteller, and “sonic archeologist” who has garnered multiple awards and a passionate following for her beautifully haunting, cinematic music, sophisticated lyrics, old-world glamour—and curious passion for strange tales. Hailed a “femme fatale for the thinking man” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Jill Tracy was described by NPR’s All Things Considered as “utterly intriguing, transporting you into a magical world solely of her creation.” LA Weekly has deemed her “the cult darling of the Underworld.” Her music has appeared in film and television, including Showtime’s Dexter, CBS-TV hit Navy NCIS, and the motion picture Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  With master percussionist Randy Odell, this intimate evening of stories and music will include dark holiday carols from her album “Silver Smoke, Star at Night,” rarely performed live. Come celebrate the season and the grand finale, and coda, of the Canyon Moonlight Series!

Read More

Tuesday, December 5th – 7-9  pm
Mr. B plays boogie woogie piano and much, much more
 

On tour out of Ann Arbor, Mr. B is renowned. We’re pleased and honored to present him here, brought to us and hosted by Joe Cunningham, at this magnificent juncture in boogie woogie time!

Read More

Sunday, December 3rd – 7:30-9:30 pm
The Seducers
Classic, Outlaw & Honky Tonk Country Music

Joe Goldmark! The wham of that steel guitar man makes this band! Kenny Owen on the pots drives it home! Mitch Polzak and Hank Maninger, center stage, on lead and bass guitars and trading vocals, seal the deal! You like your Waylon & Willie & Hank & Buck & George & Merle? Well, then, you’ll like this!

Read More

POETS! every 1st & 3rd Monday
Monday, December 4th – 7-9 pm
Avotcja and Jeanne Powell
hosted by Jerry Ferraz, and followed by an open mic
 

Read More

Sunday, December 3rd – 4:30-6:30 pm
Jinx Jones Jazz Trio
which way west?
Sunday concert series
 

Recorded live at Bird & Beckett this past June, the brand spankin’ new Jinx Jones Trio cd is a fantastic addition to the growing passel of recordings to emanate from your favorite neighborhood literary and jazz juke joint! Jinx is a virtuoso of his instrument, and though he’s known far and wide for his rockabilly leanings, he digs jazz and he digs deep! Nothing says “live music” like live music! So c’mon down to Glen Park’s haven of musical excellence, as Jinx takes his trio through its paces — from “Stompin’ at the Savoy” to “Flying Home” to “So What” to his own exquisite original “Alyse” its a lovely romp. John Clark on bass and Ken Owen on drum kit and bongos! Hear ’em here, and hear ’em on the cd. You shouldn’t miss it!

Read More

Sunday afternoon and evening, December 3rd…

At 4:30 Sunday, Jinx Jones brings in his jazz trio and a little thing called a cd… this one’s called the Jinx Jones Trio and, oh, it was recorded live at Bird & Beckett last June… just the perfect xmas gift, don’t you think? And at 7:30, the Seducers! Joe Goldmark on pedal steel…  

Read More

Sunday, December 3rd – 2 pm
Three on a Match: New & Improving!
Poetry & Music from Klipschutz & Friends

Bird and Beckett Books and Records Presents A Three on a Match Production KLIPSCHUTZ & FRIENDS Poetry & Music Sunday, December 3rd – 2 pm Hosted by Paul Fericano   KLIPSCHUTZ (pen name of Kurt Lipschutz) has been recognized by writers as diverse as Sharon Doubiago, Barry Hannah, Bill Knott, Antler, Robert Sward, and Carl Rakosi. He left high school to travel the U.S. by thumb, and after a brief stint at Naropa moved to San Francisco, where he took Gallup polls door-to-door and put down roots. His books include This Drawn & Quartered Moon and The Erection of Scaffolding for the Re-Painting of Heaven by the Lowest Bidder. He also writes songs with Chuck Prophet and co-edits the magazine FOUR BY TWO. His latest book is A Visit to the Ranch & other poems. He lives in the Tendernob with Colette Jappy and two tuxedo cats. klipschutz will be accompanied by Joel Hamilton on bass and accordion.…

Read More

Saturday, December 2nd – 7:30-10:00 pm
Baker-Hamilton-Young Trio
jazz club! when lights are low…
$20 cover charge
 

Clint Baker – trumpet Robert Young – reeds Jeff Hamilton – piano Classic and obscure tunes from the 1920s forward.

Read More
Cease Fire

Sign Up for Our Weekly Emails!

Fair Play Initiative

SUPPORT BIRD & BECKETT - DONATE TODAY!

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.

Due to lapses in tax filings during and post-pandemic, the BBCLP's status as a registered nonprofit was suspended at the beginning of April 2024 while we reapply, which is expected to take about six months. Donations made after April 1st will not be tax-deductible until nonprofit status is restored.

However, we continue to present a full slate of programming live music and poetry, and producing literary chapbooks, and we seek and welcome your continued financial support in the interim. If a tax-deduction is not a major reason for your support to date, we hope you'll continue to ride with us while we navigate these next several months.

Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above, drop off a check at the bookshop, or drop one in the mail to:

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.

TAKE OUR SURVEY

To take our SURVEY, click here, and help the BBCLP get to know you better! As Duke Ellington always said, we love you madly...

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

Ceasefire