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, April 30th – 4:30-6:30 pm
The Bruno Pelletier Quartet

Bruno Pelletier, guitar Matt Renzi, saxophone Ken Lenga, bass Tom Hassett, drums Bruno Pelletier-Bacquaert was born in Paris, France in 1960. He says, “I grew up in a musical family and was encouraged at an early age to develop a talent as a composer and instrumentalist.” Note: Bruno asserts, “It has been said that my dad had played with gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. That is true. However, it should be mentioned that they only played pool together…” Since 1987, Bruno has been in San Francisco, where he’s built a career as a jazz musician.  Along the way, he’s  played with a who’s who of wonderful musicians — Buddy Collette, Sonny Simmons, Norah Jones, Bruce Dunlap, Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, John Zorn), Reid Anderson (The Bad Plus), Jenny Scheinman, Ben Monder, Steve Cardenas, Kenny Wollesen (Bill Frisell), Phillip Greenlief, Flip Nuñez, Jerry Granelli, Adam Levy (Tracy Chapman, Joey Baron, Norah Jones),…

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Saturday, April 29th – 7:30-10 pm
B3B4 – soulful funky organ jazz!

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents… jazz club! at Bird & Beckett–every Saturday night, when lights are low… B3B4 Tom Griesser, saxophone Kevin Gerzevitz, organ Scott Foster, guitar Dan Foltz, drums This one will make your hair stand on end… put that tingle in your spine… take your breath away, turn it around and cause it to infuse your very soul. B3B4 is steeped in blues and bop, with a repertoire that includes masterpieces by Jimmy Smith, Billy Strayhorn, Neal Hefti and Miles Davis, in addition to their own compositions. Top musicians building groove after groove to feed your soul. Hear them here!

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Friday, April 28 – 5:30-8 pm
230 Jones Street Jazz Band
jazz in the bookshop every Friday since 2002

Talk about your San Francisco jazz… On the fourth Friday of each month, our weekly jazz in the bookshop series features The 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band — five musicians whose history on the local jazz scene dates back four or five decades. Ray Loeckle & Jerry Logas, reeds Glen Deardorff, guitar Dean Reilly, bass Tony Johnson, drums

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Thursday, April 27 – 7:30-10:00 pm
Eric Shifrin & the In Crowd

Tonight, the In Crowd features Joe McKinley on bass and Pete Devine on drums. Eric met Joe in 1969, in Joe’s high school play… Joe played bass on Eric’s first piano recording “Blood Sugar” in 1988. Eric played with Pete in the “Big Money in Jazz” band with Mal Sharpe. All three were in the short lived Tom Small Big Butter & Egg Band. Bring your ears, your enthusiasm and some cash for the performers! The In Crowd is somethin’ for sure, but it ain’t nothin’ without you! With you, it’s the happenin’ thing… every last Thursday of the month, it’s just the thing to ease the pain of what’s gone by and set the stage for the pleasures to come.

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Sunday, April 23rd – 4:30-6:30 pm
The Flying Salvias
which way west? Sunday concert series

Flying Salvias is an alt-everything duo from Brisbane, CA– the City of the Stars! A quartet for this appearance, actually! We appear to be at a watershed moment with the Salvias this April! As a twosome, they’ve been characterized as everything from “Ameri-kinda Alt Everything” to “Alt Cabaret”. Henry is well known for his expressive piano style and impressive chops, and Kathleen’s voice can go from a whisper to a roar and back again with heartfelt emotional appeal. She is a musical gadabout. He is a musical sponge. Their backstory? She was in Classic Country Heaven in San Francisco. He was in Top 40 Hell in Detroit. She co-founded The Rayons, a new wave girl group, in 1982 and went on to help form the original progressive metal band Holy Mary. She also became a founding member of the Incredible 60’s Rock and Soul Review (IRS) with blues king Chris…

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Sunday, April 23rd – 2-4 pm
A Holy Trinity of Poets: Beck, Cherkovski, Shurin

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Saturday, April 22nd – 7:30-10pm
The Linchpins
jazz club! when lights are low… every Saturday night

The Linchpins, a quintet comprising the personnel of two fine trios, pivoting on their bassist-in-common. Philip Greenlief and Cory Wright, reeds Scott Foster, guitar Dan Seamans, bass Tom Hassett, drums   This quintet is an intriguing prospect, one that appears to have caught fire in the minds of these five adventuresome and very fine musicians (Greenlief, Seamans and Hassett of The Lost Trio; Foster, Wright and Seamans of the Scott Foster Trio), as they begin to pick the tunes and contemplate their collaboration on the Bird & Beckett bandstand.

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Friday, April 21st – 5:30-8 pm
Scott Foster Quartet plays Monk’s Music
jazz and bebop in the bookshop
every Friday since 2002

This will be a fun band! Wonderful musicians: David Boyce, saxophone Scott Foster, guitar Noah Schenker, bass Cairo McCockran, drums Scott Foster leads the date on the 3rd Friday of each month, assembling a new group and repertoire for each outing. We can’t remember an occasion on which we’ve been disappointed! In fact, it’s been a delight each time.

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Thursday, April 20th – 7:30-10:00 pm
JimBo Trout & the Fishpeople

Come trout fishing at Bird and Beckett! Since 1992 JimBo Trout and the Fishpeople have been brewing a good-time musical gumbo made up of bluegrass, blues, ragtime, jazz, cowboy, country, early rock+roll, jug band, old-time Appalachian, and more. The band features JimBo Trout on guitar, banjo, harmonica and vocals, along with Steve Neil on bass and Paul Shelasky on fiddle. “Twang lovers couldn’t ask for much more.” East Bay Express      

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Tuesday, April 18th – 7:00 pm –
The Violin and the Cello
Matteo Montanari & Rocco Malagoli
on tour — suggested donation $10

Matteo Montanari and Rocco Malagoli are two passionate musicians from Italy with worldwide performing experience; seeking always to discover new musical ideas in the world and new environments to convey the inspiration classical music gives us every day. Their travels have brought them through San Francisco, occasioning this impromptu addition to the bookshop’s concert schedule. Both Matteo and Rocco are also enthusiastic teachers, believing in the importance of sharing their experience and passion with the next generation of musicians. The Violin and the Cello offer a wide possibility of performances and a heterogeneous repertoire. Sample program J.S. Bach – Sonata BWV 1021 A. Vivaldi – The 4 Seasons W.A. Mozart – Duet KV 423 L.V. Beethoven – Duet WoO 27 n.1 F. Schubert – Serenade J. Brahms – Hungarian Dances J. Massenet – Meditation from “Thais” F. Tarrega – Recuerdos de la Alhambra S. Joplin – Ragtimes J. Williams – Music…

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Monday, April 17th – 7-9 pm
Poet David Watts + Poets on Parnassus
POETS! Featured readers followed by an open mic
every 1st & 3rd Monday

Poet David Watts reads his work. Joined by members of the “Poets on Parnassus” workshop: Jenny Qi - Bill Vlach - Sarah Paris - Laura Moore. An open mic follows. POETS! every first and third Monday night Jerry Ferraz, m.c.

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Sunday, April 16th – 4:30-6:30 pm
Ed Ivey Orchestra
a roots/country quartet
$10-15 suggested donation
which way west? Sunday concert series

Ed Ivey hit town in the punk era with the Rhythm Pigs out of Austin, Texas. Now he’s a bandleader and padrone of the North Beach scene and its satellites… as well as a booker, erstwhile club owner (50 Mason Social Club), jam session leader (Swig and the Lucky Horseshoe) and restauranteur (Soluna across from the Asian Art Museum), and all around favorite human person. Wonderful musician, too– did we mention? The Ed Ivey Orchestra covers a lot of ground in a big little package! Rootsy, bluesy, a little Tex Mex, a little Blue Note jazz… Dylan, Hank Williams, Mexican songs, the occasional Nina Simone song… and of course some Chicano vibe in the L.A. style. Ed Ivey on guitar and vocals, Blake Ritterman on drums, Andrew Couttie on bass and Derek Fairchild on dobro.

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Saturday, April 15, 2017 – 7:30-10 pm – $15 cover
Dmitri Matheny JAZZ NOIR

Dmitri Matheny, flugelhorn Matt Clark, piano Perry Thoorsell, bass Mark Lee, drums On April 15th, Dmitri Matheny concludes a five-date swing through major Bay Area venues with a performance at Bird & Beckett of material from his 2016 release JAZZ NOIR. Dmitri Matheny, born in Nashville in 1965, became proficient on trumpet during his teens in Tucson and carried his studies further at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and Berklee College of Music in Boston. On reaching Boston, Matheny’s development on trumpet was shaped by the noted New York brass teacher Carmine Caruso, but in 1988-89, his final year at Berklee, he switched his focus from trumpet to flugelhorn under the tutelage of the great Art Farmer (1928-1999). Farmer, a key figure on trumpet beginning in the early 1950s, became the defining voice on flugelhorn after taking up the horn in about 1960. Farmer’s warmth and lyricism on that instrument…

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Thursday, April 13th – 7:30-9:30 pm
HowellDevine
canyon moonlight music series – occasional Thursday and Sunday nights

Delta blues juggernaut! Joshua Howell, guitar, harmonica, vocals Joe Kyle, Jr., bass Pete Devine, drums  

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Friday, April 14th – 5:30-8 pm
The Joe Cohen Show!
jazz in the bookshop every Friday evening

Tenor titan Joe Cohen leads dates all over town with a revolving cast of spectacularly talented local jazz musicians — it’s The Joe Cohen Show!  At Bird & Beckett this Friday, it’ll be Jeremy Lieber on piano, Ollie Dudek on bass and Mark Lee on drums. Lucky us!

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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

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