Eric Shifrin & the In Crowd: The Pitchfork Edition Eric Shifrin, piano and vocals Mark Holzinger, guitar Bing Nathan, bass Says Eric:  “The Pitchfork Trio was born at Bing Nathan’s New Year’s Day party several year’s back. While I was playing the piano at the jam session with my back to the room I heard a great guitar solo. When I turned around there was Mark Holzinger. I got him to rehearse a few times, and thought it might be fun to try to play some stuff along the lines of the Red Norvo/Tal Farlow bands. We did some gigs and developed a contrapuntal melody driven approach that has been fun. There have been lots of different bass players in the mix (that’s Ari Munkres in the picture at left), but tonight will feature our buddy Bing.” Eric’s last-Thursday-of-the-month booking at Bird & Beckett is just the thing to lift…

Bassist Charles Thomas covers jazz, R&B, funk, classical and many points in the musical spectrum, but it’s clearly jazz that absorbs him most fully, and never more fully than when he’s in the company of pianist Grant Levin and drummer Mark Lee. No better way to spend your Sunday afternoon than to be at Bird & Beckett soaking up the music!

An observant, open and analytical thinker, Sydney Gurwitz Clemens has given workshops for parents and teachers in 41 states, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Nagoya, Japan.’ Her books, written for adults about helping children grow, include Pay Attention to the Children, The Sun’s Not Broken, the Clouds Just Got in the Way and Seeing Young Children With New Eyes. Now it’s time to hear her reading poems she has written about herself. A survivor of cancer, she has written a cycle of poetry about that struggle; an activist, she writes about those thing that need to be done, or congratulated. A Q&A period and an open mic will follow Sydney’s reading.  

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents… Tonight: Frank Jackson, piano and vocals; Noel Jewkes, tenor sax; Al Obidinski, bass; Vince Lateano, drums. Frank Jackson played the Fillmore District clubs when they were in their heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, and has been a favorite of San Francisco jazz audiences ever since for his rich piano style and vocals reminiscent of Nat King Cole. $15 cover charge.

Tonight, Scott’s quartet includes trumpeter Henry Hung, bassist Adam Gay and drummer Omar Aran, all close associates of Scott’s for years, with countless bandstand encounters and collaborations among them.

Catharine Clune, violin Greg Stephens, trombone Joshua Brody, piano Zoli Di Bartolo, vocal Simply the most fun and exquisite experience you could have in town tonight! J

Meridian Trio features Chicago based-musicians Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, Matt Ulery on bass, and Jeremy Cunningham on drums. Mazzarella, the group’s leader and composer, formed the ensemble in 2014 to play a steady monthly gig ​at a club in the south side neighborhood of Pilsen where he lives. That engagement lasted three years, during which time the trio developed a tight-knit musical rapport and a repertoire of original material. Through many hours of public performance, they gradually cultivated a unique and cohesive group sound–​one ​as energetic as it is nuanced. Mazzarella’s compositions for the trio draw upon the traditions of both avant-garde and modern jazz through a synthesis of free improvisation, interval-based improvisation, modalism, elements of the blues, swinging grooves and other cyclical rhythmic structures. The common thread unifying these components is a strong melodic sensibility shared by the players, formed and continuously refined by live performances.​ To date,…

Mike Olmos, trumpet Patrick Wolff, alto Lyle Link, tenor Adam Shulman, piano Owen Clapp, bass Evan Hughes, drums

Profound and hip poets, at that. Two remarkable intellects; two deep souls.  

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents… This is some kind of a band! 7 pieces and a lot of stars. Total REX! Bang that gong! Till it makes a wreck of you.  

It’s time for the 2nd Annual Backyard Benefit Bash for Bird & Beckett at Jerry Ferraz’s place over on Mission Street near Highland. Call the store (415-586-3733) for the address. Saturday, May 13th – 1-5 pm! Live jazz by the Vince Lateano Trio! Music starts at 2 pm — jam session from 3 pm on. Musicians & poets welcome! Jerry’s famous chili, salad and garlic bread on the house. No host bar (proceeds to the bookshop) It’s a benefit, so bring your checkbook! Last year we called it a rent party, and we raised the rent almost to the penny! $5k give or take. Thank you for making sure we stay afloat, in business and on the cultural front! Bird & Beckett presents 300+ events every year, with YOUR monetary support. Thank you!  

Aaron Cohn, bass, leads the charge, with pianist Gaea Schell on the first set only, and guitarist Scott Foster, tenor saxophonist Danny Brown and drummer Omar Aran throughout!  Two sets of top flight jazz by first drawer San Franciscan jazz musicians! We present jazz in the bookshop every Friday evening, 5:30-8:00 – just like we’ve been doing for the past 15 years.  Never a missed Friday since October 2002.  $10 suggested donation per adult.  Kids free and welcome.

You heard them at the sun-drenched Glen Park Festival at the tail end of April… now dig them in the cool half-light of your favorite neighborhood bookshop. Steeped in genres ranging from rock, New Orleans funk and blues to bluegrass and jazz, Fog Swamp’s members have toured the world, having shared stages with The Meters, Wilco, Dave Brubeck, Yes, Phil Lesh, Ben Harper and others. Check out the tunes that No Depression called the 2013 “Discovery of the Year“!   Alex Wise – guitar, vocals Guitarist/singer/songwriter Alex Wise has produced twosolo albums, Blurred and Front Porch, and his funk band The Shreep‘s CD, Shreepwalkin’, was released by Gianormous Records. Wise has made numerous TV & radio appearances, has performed extensively all over the U.S. and Asia, and his songs have been used in feature films and video games. He’s shared the stage with Brian Stoltz, The Monophonics, members of The Radiators,…

Joe Goldmark , pedal steel guitar; Mitch Polzak, lead guitar and vocals; Hank Maninger, bass guitar and vocals; Kenny Owens, drums. The Seducers play Bird & Beckett on the first Sunday of each month! Classic songs by Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Bobby Bare, plus originals and a few from left field. It all makes for a lovely way to spend a Sunday evening before returning to the working grind. BYOB. Left to right: Joe Goldmark, Kenny Owen