Liza Silva, vocal Ray Loeckle, sax Ray Scott, guitar Alex Baum, bass Michaelle Goerlitz, drums For well more than a decade we’d imagine, this band has held forth with the marvelous vocalist Liza Silva as the Club Deluxe’s Sunday night bossa nova band– with its roots in the Never on Sunday band that was the homebase of owner Jay Johnson’s forays into the vocal realm of the bossa nova and songbook of Sinatra and his ilk. Still to this day you can catch them at the Club Deluxe, at the storied intersection of Haight and Ashbury, Sunday nights after 10 pm or so, often with Paul Smith, Bob Blankenship and other stalwart musicians. We’re more than pleased to host them this Friday night at Bird & Beckett! Thanks Dennis Hearne for the photo here: Born in Sao Paulo, Liza Silva performs the traditional music of the Brazilian repertoire and presents…

J.B. Frame is a frequent reader in the Monday night open mic, a sometimes wry and always observant, perceptive and considered voice in poetry. We’re pleased to present him in a full-length reading tonight. James Queen is a former high school English teacher, and a lover of art, plants, and tender moments. His poetry generously explores the topics of love, loss, travel, and handsome men. Jim has a new collection of poems to present, and what’s more, many will remember him as a genial and kind presence behind the register for a few years back in the late 1990’s at Glen Park Books on Diamond Street; he remains a Glen Park resident to this day. His book is available at the store. Our twice-monthly poetry series (1st & 3rd Mondays) is hosted by peripatetic bard and troubadour Jerry Ferraz, a Eureka valley native who proves the adage that if you…

Eric Shifrin and Ralph Carney are the E and the R in EaR Candy– so that must make Joe Kyle, Jr. and Randy Odell the a… Regardless, they have a fabulous time, delving into an eccentric book of music, mostly obscure old jazz tunes and the occasional high lonesome ballad. Shifrin is a consummate saloon pianist, rolling out standards and rarities with alacrity, never at a loss for a tune and each tune embellished with perfect good cheer or heartfelt and wry… no matter the state of things out in the streets, boardrooms and political caucuses, it’s deep in his soul. Carney has a resume longer than your arm, a jazz man from another probably mythical era, well known for his association with Tom Waits who says, “Ralph’s great… He’s guided by some other source of information. He’s like a broken toy that works better than before it was broken.”And…

Bassist John Clark and drummer Mark Lee mesh to perfection with one of the West Coast’s finest jazz pianists, Mike Greensill.  And up front, the sublimely talented and well traveled saxophonist Charlie McCarthy. Consummate professionalism and improvisation for your Sunday afternoon in Glen Park. Greensill is known on both coasts, major cities dotting the continent and the boites of Europe for his talents, often as accompanist for the fine singer Wesla Whitfield and other vocalists. Today, he’s the center of a superb instrumental quartet, a jazz gem of the first water.  

Every year this time, round about the Chinese New Year, the force of nature that is Betty Anne Siu Junn Wong rounds up some fine talents associated with San Francisco’s beloved teaching institution, the Community Music Center, for a wide ranging program that might include Chinese classical music, klezmer, western classical music from Debussy to Schoenberg, and, of course, small combo jazz. It’s the jazz cats who finish it out each time, this time a combo including reed players Ken Rosen and Joe DeAndreis, pianist Randy Clark and bassist Richard Saunders. With luck, CMC Director Emeritus Steve Shapiro, a close neighbor and solid supporter of Bird & Beckett, will sit in on piano for a tune or two. Certainly he’ll play a couple of tunes with Ellen Rosenthal on bass! Betty Wong, a long-time faculty member at CMC, is particularly known for her Phoenix Spring Ensemble, exploring indigenous and Original…

……………………….. Tonight, the Quartet will focus on jazz originals by Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk, Billy Strayhorn and Bud Powell, as well as timely classics from the Great American Songbook such towering composers as Cole Porter and Harold Arlen. The leader on the date, saxophonist Smith Dobson, has this to say about his sidemen: — Kai Lyons, at just age 21, is on a mercurial rise to the top echelon Bay Area jazz guitarists. It won’t be long before his name is synonymous with jazz in these parts! — Miles Wick is another young jazz talent. A Sonoma native, Wick studied with Bay Area jazz legends including George Marsh. His talents aren’t exclusive to playing jazz bass. He is also a gifted singer/songwriter. — James Gallagher has steadily proven himself to be one of the foremost bebop drummers on the local scene. He has a deep passion and knowledge of classic jazz and it…

Katharine Harer brings along bassist Ollie Dudek to celebrate the publication of her new poetry collection, Jazz and Other Hot Subjects.

Misisipi Mike & friends spin out a trove of classic songs by giants including Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash and many many more. Kyle Patrick O’Brien on fiddle and vocals, Mike Anderson on bass, Ken Owen on drums. Mike Wolf, once a punk rocker out of Pass Christian, Mississippi, figured some years ago that the most radical thing he could do would be to turn country singer. He hosts the show on the last Sunday of the month in our “Canyon Moonlight” series.  The rest of the month he’s one of the busiest gigging musicians in town, a crack songwriter and a terrific graphic artist (witness the 14 show posters he did for our surf-a-billy swingtime concert series and the hundreds of others he’s done for friends and colleagues). With luck, tonight we’ll get Mike to sing a few of his hits… like “Daddy Drank His Vodka (Like His…

The Fred Randolph Trio Fred Randolph basses Ian Mcardle piano Isaac Schwartz drums Originals and re-imagined standards by the members of the trio plus music from Fred’s acclaimed new release “Song Without Singing.” “An exquisite project from bassist Fred Randolph whose talents as a composer and arranger are what truly makes Song Without Singing an engaging musical experience.” –Edward Blanco, All About Jazz

Juan de Yepes y Álvarez, 16th Century Spanish mystic and Catholic saint — St. John of the Cross — mystic seer, rigorous thinker, masterpiece-maker of the Andalucian renaissance, eraser of sectarian illusions. Walker Brents III provides a personal reflection on a universal thinker.

jazz club! every Saturday night, when lights are low… Tonight: Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax Ben Stolorow, piano Noah Schenker, bass Vinnie Rodriguez, drums Collaborating tonight on original tunes by each of the members of the quartet, and wailing on some perennial jazz standards!

Grant Levin, an extraordinary jazz pianist who surely ranks among the very best players in the business, plays two sets of music with Chilean bass player Ricardo Diaz.       Grant brings in a duo partner on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month, and plays in a quartet setting on the 2nd Saturday as well.   On these duo dates, you can always expect an afternoon of sublime interplay between two very talented musicians.

Zan Stewart, sax & stories; Keith Saunders, piano; Adam Gay, bass; Ron Marabuto, drums. Zan Stewart is a lifelong musician and award-winning jazz journalist. Keith Saunders, Adam Gay, and Ron Marabuto are all top-call SF Bay Area jazz artists. Together, the four made ‘The Street Is Making Music,’ the band’s debut release.