Eddie Jefferson Lives! And David Byrd channels the spirit! Eddie Jefferson was the founder of vocalese (putting great recorded solos to words, blazing to fame with the groundbreaking “Moody’s Mood for Love”). Chicago saxophonist David Byrd was at Jefferson’s last gig, at Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase in the Windy City. and engaged Jefferson in conversation after the show. But Eddie Jefferson, at age 60, was shot and killed at his next gig on May 8, 1979 outside Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. The performance Byrd witnessed at the Jazz Showcase left an indelible mark on Byrd as a musician, and he has been inspired to make his own fame in the fine art of vocalese. He’ll bring the spirit of Eddie Jefferson to Bird & Beckett Sunday afternoon, May 7th, with a fine band comprising himself on sax and vocals, Nick Tocco on guitar, Joe McKinley on bass and Dylan Garrison on drums.…

A reading from a new anthology, Truth to Power, with contributors Almaz Abinader, Connie Post, Dean Rader, William Pitt Root, Natasha Singh and Pam Uschuck. Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts has assembled and published this collection of works, as powerful, compelling and incisive as they are timely. Individually and collectively, the pieces in this anthology trumpet a stirring call to action on today’s most crucial issues. Copies of Truth to Power will be available for sale, to be signed by authors. All proceeds beyond the cost of production go to the ACLU, Standing Rock Water Protectors, Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood and Friends Of The Earth.

Jim Grantham, tenor saxophone Keith Saunders, piano Justin Carney, bass Jack Dorsey, drums Consummate pros share the bandstand tonight. Jim Grantham was on the scene at San Francisco’s famous jazz club Keystone Korner in that club’s late 1970s-1980s heyday, playing there and in other Bay Area jazz venues with key musicians including Bobby McFerrin, George Cables, Eddie Moore, Mark Isham, Ed Kelly, and Frank Tusa, among many others, and recording with trumpeter Eddie Henderson and pianist Jessica Williams. At Keystone Korner,  in 1977, Jim started a series of workshops and lessons in jazz theory and improvisation that formed the basis of a jazz method influencing a generation of professional musicians.  He was also on the Board of Directors for Bay Area Loft Jazz and The San Francisco Jazz Society. He studied music at the University of California at Santa Barbara and is a graduate, Cum Summa Laude, of Berklee College…

Trumpeter Al Molina and reed player Jerry Logas are at the core of bassist Don Prell’s Seabop Ensemble these days, with drummer Steve Nelson joining the group this Friday. Bassist Prell got his start in L.A. in the 1950s, traveling for several years as a member of the Bud Shank Quartet. He’s been a cornerstone of the Bird & Beckett Friday night jazz series since its inception in 2002, and leads a group here on the first Friday of each month.

At midnight, anything can happen. Twelve Chimes, It’s Midnight creates and podcasts original “radio” dramas of mystery, suspense, and horror! They’ll create one before your eyes and ears at Bird & Beckett tonight, with a live score performed by the Kurt Ribak Trio!

Tony Robles, born and raised in San Francisco, is co-editor and a revolutionary worker scholar of Poor magazine, and recently published Cool Don’t Live Here No More: A Letter to San Francisco. In 2010 he was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by Mythium Literary Journal for his short story, “In My Country.” Robles is also a housing rights advocate and board member of the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, and has written two children’s books, Lakas and the Manilatown Fish and Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel. Tommi Avicolli-Mecca, born and raised in the infamous South Philly, is a former member of Gay Liberation Front who has never stopped being an activist for queer and social justice causes. He is editor of Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation (City Lights Books), and co-editor of Avanti Popolo: Italians Sail Past Columbus (Manic D Press). Avicolli-Mecca’s writings have appeared in…

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),…

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!