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!
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But nothing beats being in the room with the music & the musicians!
Dutch poet and novelist Nachoem M. Wijnberg, acclaimed as one of the foremost Dutch authors of the last decades, will visit San Francisco in May to read from his recent novel, The Jews (punctum books, 2016, tr. Vincent W. J. van Gerven Oei) and Divan of Ghalib (White Pine Press, 2016, tr. David Colmer). Bird & Beckett is pleased for the opportunity to present a reading by Mr. Wijnberg of these works on Tuesday, May 3rd at 7 pm, accompanied by translator Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei and Eileen Joy, founding director of punctum books. Wijnberg’s first book of poetry De simulatie van de schepping (The Simulation of the Creation) was published in 1989 and nominated as a best debut. His work went on to receive a series of Dutch and Belgian awards, including the highly prestigious 2009 VSB Prize for the best book of poetry published in the Netherlands, for Het leven…
Read MoreRon Sauer Ron Sauer is a native New Yorker and a leading light of the North Beach art and poetry scene, known for trenchant social satires and poignant love poems and for translations of Baudelaire, Aloysius Betrand, and Jacques Prevert. A troubadour of urban America, Sauer is a musician, collagist, art collector, teacher of film history and literature, polymath critic, and compulsive talker. The only formal education he admits to is a summa cum laude in Horizontal Angelology. He likes to spend his free time playing haberdasher to the happily impoverished. He is the co-founder, with artist Rebecca Peters, of Fly-By-Night Productions, which stages art exhibitions, and publishes Off the Cuff Press broadside editions of new poetry and prose. Dan De Vries Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dan De Vries has lived in San Francisco since ’91. Before then, Denver, Laramie, Vancouver, Ann Arbor, and periodically up and down the…
Read MoreGet in with the In Crowd Pianist Eric Shifrin & Friends Tom Griesser, sax; Paul Smith, bass; Randy Odell, drums Sunday, May 1st – 7:30-10:00 pm No cover charge
Read MoreMarianna August first really indulged her life-long affection for music and singing through eight years of classical vocal training, and she’s continued her vocal studies ever since, though she’s used that training in recent years in an embrace of the Broadway sounds of musical theater and cabaret, specializing now in standards of the 1930s and 1940s. Marianna continues vocal training privately with the American Conservatory Theater and she teaches voice as well. She performs in clubs and restaurants around the Bay Area, in the company of such fine musicians as Benny Watson, Noel Jewkes and Larry Vuckovich. Marianna is also a member of the Bread & Roses charitable organization, and frequently takes a band of fine, seasoned musicians she calls her “Jazz Pals” to perform in senior residences, convalescent facilities and the like. Â The late Jim Rothermel, her life partner and mentor of eleven years and a clarinet and saxophone…
Read MoreTonight, Bird & Beckett’s Saturday night jazz club! partners with the jazz presenting organization “Jazz in the Neighborhood” to bring you two sets of jazz by The  Mario Guarneri Quartet featuring Mario Guarneri, trumpet Randy Vincent, guitar John Wiitala, bass Akira Tana, drums $5-$20 sliding scale Trumpeter Mario Guarneri brings to his performances a fresh creative voice, amazing technical ease, and an intense desire to touch people with his music. His career has encompassed everything from playing with Louis Armstrong at the age of 13 to fifteen seasons with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Guarneri has recorded solo albums on the Crystal and Nonesuch labels, played principal trumpet with the LA Chamber Orchestra for ten seasons, and appeared on over 300 TV and motion picture soundtracks, most notably as soloist on Godfather III. Since his return to the Bay Area, where he was born and raised, Mario has concentrated his energies on the Guarneri Jazz Quartet. He teaches trumpet and…
Read MoreA Special Fifth Friday Guest Booking: Mean to Me Mean to Me was a huge hit when they played Bird & Beckett a year ago, and we’re excited to have them back! Mean to Me resurrects classic jazz of the 1920s through 1940s –sometimes twisted by the more modern stylings of Monk, Mingus and Ahmad Jamal– and an eclectic variety of soul-jazz and latin-jazz The three-chambered heart of Mean to Me comprises Judy Butterfield — trained as a cabaret singer but whose love is for soul music Ben Slater — a pianist interested in exploring jazz’s roots after living in New Orleans and Dave Shaff — a trumpeter drawn to more modern and funky sounds. Guitarist Scott Foster, bassist Aaron Cohn and drummer Chris Lauf drive the mix!
Read MoreSunday, April 24th, Misisipi Mike Wolf & Friends perform his 2009 debut album live, for you.  Mike says, “The Cold Hard Facts of Mike” was my redemption song, and it came about very unexpectedly. After a couple of very dark years of personal turmoil I had found myself suddenly with a clear head and a new lease on life. Suddenly songs were coming to me in whole cloth out of the blue. I had no way to document the tunes but, the way I remember it, I was speaking on the phone to my dear old friend Maurice Tani and he offered to record demos of a couple of the new tunes on his home recording machine. Long story short, I quickly made my way to his house, grabbed his acoustic guitar, and sang the song “I’ll Be Back” into his microphone. That was that. A couple of days later, Maurice…
Read MoreChanneling the sounds of Mississippi John Hurt, Fred McDowell and countless masters of the depression era delta region barely known to this day, Bill Phillippe celebrates his new cd release, “Parade,” at Bird & Beckett! Â Ivor Holloway on clarinet and Daniel Fabricant on bass complete the trio this Sunday.
Read MoreHere’s what we’ve got for you! • Dorothy Lefkovits with the Chuck Peterson Quintet • Grant Levin/Pepe Jacobo Duo • Vinnie Rodriguez Quartet • Poets of a Different Beat • Bill Phillippe Trio – rural blues cd release • Misisipi Mike’s “The Cold Hard Facts of Mike” • Glen Park Fest All in a weekend’s pleasure in Glen Park. Take a hike in the canyon when you’re out here, too!
Read MoreDrummer Vinnie Rodriguez invites trumpeter Ian Carey, pianist Adam Shulman and bassist Noah Schenker to the Bird & Beckett stage to spotlight a number of Ian’s own compositions as well as a select number of jazz standards. Ian has just released his latest album, “Interview Music,” under the group name of the Ian Carey Quintet + 1, with Adam on piano and other exemplary Bay Area jazz talents. Â He brought the group into the Oakland’s Sound Room for the album’s debut just last week and will present the band and the album again on Sunday the 24th at San Francisco’s Chez Hanny. It’s a stupendous piece of work, and you’d be well advised to see if it’s still possible to get over to Frank Hanny’s place to hear the group Sunday. In any case, you’ll be missing a bet if you neglect to buy a copy of the cd at…
Read MoreTwo sets of jazz from a master pianist and a wonderful drummer.
Read MoreThe Chuck Peterson quintet, aka the 230 Jones Street, Local Six Literary Jazz Band, features Chuck and Howard Dudune on reeds, Glen Deardorff on guitar, Dean Reilly on bass and Tony Johnson on bass, with vocalist Dorothy Lefkovits. Dorothy was singing on the stage of the Apollo Theatre back in the halcyon 1950s, when the guys in the band were getting their start as professional musicians in fabled San Francisco venues. Their performing history as a unit already dates back a decade.
Read MorePaula Tejeda is a force of nature! Want to hear her poetry? You bet you do! Open mic follows. Read about Paula’s life as the Chile Lindo empanada lady at this link, and know that this is just the tip of Paula’s own particular iceberg! Jerry Ferraz, as per usual, hosts our twice-monthly shindig. Â Jerry, himself, is one of a kind. Oh, Jerry’s throwing a party for the bookstore in his backyard on May 21st. Â Wanna come? Â He’s making chili! Â I’ll ask some jazz guys to play in his gazebo. Â Whaddya say?
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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.
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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