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!

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!

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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
 

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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!

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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…  

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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.…

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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.

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Friday, December 1st – 5:30-8:00 pm
Oop Bop Sh’Bam 
jazz in the bookshop
every Friday since October 2002

Last chance to hear Oop Bop Sh’ Bam in 2017! Five cats who swing like nobody’s business and navigate the bop changes like it’s second nature. A Jazz in the Neighborhood Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund date! This  means Jazz in the Neighborhood will help us reach a guarantee of $150 per musician for this show. That’s a $750 payout–$450 of which is on us! So we’ve got some heavy lifting to do to get there. That being the case, we’re asking you to dig deep in your pockets and put an extra $5 or $10 in the donation buckets tonight! They’re playing for you, after all! Since it’s BYOB at B&B these days, it’ll still be a cheap night out for you, and these musicians deserve it! This is a great band of seasoned professionals, and we’re pleased to be part of a movement that recognizes they should be decently compensated…

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Thursday, November 30th – 7:30-9:30 pm
Eric & the In Crowd

The In Crowd this time around will feature Grammy-awarded Pete Cornell on sax and Joe McKinley on bass, reunited with pianist Eric Shifrin almost 30 years after helping him with his debut piano recording “BLOOD SUGAR.” It was that legendary album that revealed the fool-proof formula which became the blueprint for later Shifrin-led groups:  Swing, Blues, Latin, ballads and novelty numbers. Unbeatable, and so hip! Eric’s monthly booking at Bird & Beckett is just the thing to lift you out of another trying month in America! Just two chances left to catch him at Bird & Beckett in 2017 — this Thursday and the last Thursday in December. So get on down here! 7:30-9:30 pm $10 suggested donation per solvent adult More if you can manage it never hurts! BYOB!  The State in its wisdom has forbade the dispensing of alcohol by management to our patrons. Arcane licensing laws and…

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Sunday, November 26th – 7:30 pm – $15 cover charge
The Grant Levin Quartet, featuring saxophonist Noel Jewkes
David Ewell, bass; Jeff Minnieweather, drums

Colleagues across generations. Masters of jazz! Pianist Grant Levin and reed player Noel Jewkes have a developed a deep mutual admiration and a collaborative relationship on the bandstand that always produces beautiful music. David Ewell on bass and Jeff Minnieweather on drums provide all the finesse and foundation that could be desired on such an occasion.

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Sunday, November 26th – 4:30-6:30 pm
The Cottontails
which way west? Sunday concert series
  

Karina Denike, vocals Michael McIntosh, piano Tom Griesser, sax Ari Munkres, bass Randy Odell, drums The Cottontails romp through vintage classics of the jazz age, swing era hits and 50s R&B without a care. They’ve played at jazz clubs, dance halls, cabarets and art events, at venues including SF City Hall, California Academy of Sciences, Bimbo’s 365 Club, Palace of Fine Arts, Amoeba Records, SF Legion of Honor, Yoshi’s SF/Oakland, San Francisco Maritime Museum, Cell Space, Great American Music Hall, and clubs, concert series and jazz festivals in Northern California, New York City, Tokyo, England, and Germany, and hold down a 3rd Friday slot at the Club Deluxe. No better way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the afterglow of your Thanksgiving holiday. BYOB. The State echoes the sentiment that God helps the child that’s got his own.

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Sunday, November 26th – 2:30-4 pm
Walker Talks!

Walker Brents III addresses Herman Hesse’s novel, The Glass Bead Game

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Saturday, November 25th – 7:30-10:00 pm
New Squatoolas
jazz club! when lights are low…
$20 cover charge

NEW SQUATOOLAS! New Squatoolas Celebrate the Musical Spirit of New Orleans! Jim Peterson, sax Scott Foster, guitar Joe Kyle, Jr., bass Larry Vann, drums Music inspired by New Orleans jazz, funk and soul pioneers — The Meters, Smokey Johnson, Fats Domino, The Nevilles, The Wild Tchoupitoulas and ‘Fess.  Come on out to Bird & Beckett!  

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Friday, November 24th – 5:30-8 pm
230 Jones Street, Local 6, Literary Jazz Band
jazz in the bookshop every Friday since 2002

Ray Loeckle (tenor saxophone); Brad Buethe (guitar), Dean Reilly (bass) and Tony Johnson (drums) carry on the tradition that began with Chuck Peterson’s weekly Friday trio date that started it all back in late 2002. This band showcases the music we love best– straight ahead, bebop-based, swinging jazz. It’s a lively time in the neighborhood every Friday evening — in the venue that many a jazz player has declared the best place to play in town.  That tribute is in no small way due to the audience that comes to enjoy the music and the convivial vibe.  Come enjoy the music and the company. All ages are welcome, and there’s no cover charge. But if you can spare the dough, ten dollars or whatever you will for the band is much appreciated.

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POETS! every 1st & 3rd Monday
Monday, November 20th – 7-9 pm
Barbara Paschke & David Volpendesta
followed by an open mic
Jerry Ferraz, m.c.

Barbara Paschke has been involved in translation for over thirty years, both as a translator and editor. Her publications include Riverbed of Memory (by Daisy Zamora), Clamor of Innocence, and Volcán (City Lights Books), Clandestine Poems (Curbstone Press) and short stories and poetry in the literary travel companions to Costa Rica, Cuba, and Spain (Whereabouts Press), New World, New Words (Two Lines Press), First World Ha Ha Ha (City Lights), Literary Amazonia, and The Empire for 1 Poem. She has also contributed translations to a number of literary journals. She was an important contributor and consultant to Red Poppy’s multilingual anthology of Latin American Poetry in Resistance. Currently, she is a board member of the Center for the Art of Translation, where she coordinates the annual Northern California Translation Award. Her other passion is music; she has been and continues to be part of several choral groups in the Bay Area. David Volpendesta at this link reads his “Psalm to Federico Garcia Lorca” A tear in the eye of a puppet…

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 Sunday, November 19th – 7:30-9:30 pm
The Grant Levin Trio
featuring
Chris Amberger and Rodney Ruckus
$15 cover charge

Why are these musicians smiling? Maybe it’s because your cover charge tonight, plus what we, as charter members of the Jazz Philanthropists Union, put in, plus a wage subsidy from the Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund (created by Jazz in the Neighborhood) will combine to pay a decent guarantee (“a fair wage”) to the musicians who make up… The Grant Levin Trio Saturday, November 19th Grant Levin is an extraordinary jazz pianist, nearing the end of a seven-month residency at Bird & Beckett! Only five dates left on his schedule before the end of the year! Don’t miss this trio date with “Jazz Messenger” Chris Amberger, bass, and the vital young drummer Rodney Ruckus. For this Grant Levin Trio date, Jazz in the Neighborhood’s Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund, in collaboration with Bird & Beckett and the Jazz Philanthropists Union, will be supplementing your generous contributions at the door to make sure the…

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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," 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.

Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above. Better yet, make a check out to the “Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project” and drop it off or mail it 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.

____________

We're immensely appreciative of Jazz in the Neighborhood for having stepped in as our temporary fiscal sponsor for a few months, while we straightened out some paperwork to get nonprofit status restored to the BBCLP. We're happy to say that's been done, and all past, present, and future donations made directly to the BBCLP are fully tax-deductible!

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

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