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!
Anne Breedlove Part-Time Nomads: Traveling the World by Bicycle Diane LeBow Dancing on the Wine-Dark Sea: Memoir of a Trailblazing Woman’s Travels, Adventures and Romance MJ Pramik Travels on the Edge: One Woman’s Journeys on a Runaway Planet Free. Seat reservations accepted by phone at 415-586-3733. Reservations honored until the event begins at 7pm. Three writers with a hunger for knowledge and experience of the wider world, their individual reasons and preoccupations and their unique insights converge at Bird & Beckett to read from their work and to entertain your own thoughts, insights and questions. ____________________ Anne Breedlove’s Part Time Nomads is part memoir, part travelogue and one hundred percent ode to taking on crazy challenges no matter your age or life situation. The book focuses on Anne and her husband’s evolution from weekend cyclists to fully loaded, self-contained international bicycle travelers. Averaging eight…
Read MoreOn the fourth Monday of each month, Kim Shuck hosts an open mic on Zoom. Here’s how to find it: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84350265713?pwd=eE84V3BYdWxiSFBHNHhmdUt1WTUzdz09 Meeting ID: 843 5026 5713 Passcode: 244211 When Monday Mar 25, 2024 ⋅ 7pm – 8:30pm (Pacific Time – Los Angeles) Location https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84350265713?pwd=eE84V3BYdWxiSFBHNHhmdUt1WTUzdz09 View map
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Never before has the Bird & Beckett stage proffered such wit and wisdom, pathos and bathos… Come to be entertained for a rewarding hour by six experienced & truth-telling women of great pluck, good humor & infinite grace. Free to all, reservations welcome (call the shop). No heckling allowed. Laughter and tears inevitable.
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Tom Griesser, saxophone Kevin Gerzevitz, organ Scott Foster, guitar Dan Foltz, drums $20 cover, byob Reservations, call 415-586-3733 Reservations are honored ’til showtime. “For the sound of today’s organ combo, look no further than B3B4.” -Pete Fallico, KCSM Radio Host and CEO of Jazz Organ Fellowship Four of our favorite players on the local scene have been thrilling audiences for years with their funky little combo called B3B4, offering a rich dive into the diverse and divine jazz organ repertoire built up in the 1950s & 1960s by the greats of the Hammond B3, including Jimmy Smith, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and countless others, and mixing in tunes that seem tailor-made for the purpose — including some of their own. Nothing but fun tonight!
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Dmitri returns! This time slinking & soaring through the Mancini catalogue! Reserve your seat now! (415) 586-3733 $20 cover charge; byob Matt Clark piano Ruth Davies bass Deszon X. Claiborne drums Dmitri Matheny, flugelhorn You know him, and you love him, but read up and drive deeper into the charm, beauty and talent that is Dmitri Matheny! Click here! https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/dmitri-matheny Haven’t heard Dimitri Matheny live yet, but love jazz in all its beauty? You’re in for a wonderful show!
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Veteran drummer Tony Johnson, a master of swing, bebop and straight ahead jazz with 65 years on the San Francisco scene, has a monthly residency at Bird & Beckett. In the odd-numbered months (January, March, May, July, September, November), he brings his quartet with saxophonist Bob Kenmotsu, pianist Keith Saunders and bassist Eric Markowitz — first call, top flight jazz players all. In the even-numbered months, Tony leads the 230 Jones Street band, which of late featured the great Si Perkoff, may he rest in peace. Tony’s band will make a special nod to Si on their April 26th date. But tonight, it’s the quartet! Tony Johnson, a native Australian, slipped down from Canada and hit North Beach in 1959 while still in his early twenties, and immediately found work in the clubs there, recording in 1960 with vocalist Bev Kelly live at the Coffee Gallery in a band that…
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Walker Talks! A monthly exploration on a diversity of topics by Walker Brents III. Tonight, The Grail. (Basically a live stream — at show time, the talk will be live on Bird & Beckett’s Youtube channel and Facebook page, but you can also come in person if you like – call 415-586-3733.) Expressed in material analogy, the Grail is a sword or stone or spear or cup. Each of these has its own poetic history arising differently in culture after culture, in age after age. The unity shared by these analogical forms is one seen not with but through the eye, and has given rise to many forms of poetic speech, residing in one source—the faculty of human poetic vision. This is the vision which has from ancient times transformed the subject matter of the literary epic from heroic exploit to sublime character formation. This is not so remote as…
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Ben Stolorow, piano Peter Barshay, bass Vince Lateano, drums with guest vocalist Ernest East $20 suggested donation per adult, byob Kids free Teens & students $5-$10 Vince Lateano has been an integral part of the San Francisco jazz community since he arrived in 1965, fresh out of the Vietnam-era military, born and raised in Sacramento. He leads this trio every 3rd Sunday, and the trio hosts a jam session on the last Sunday of each month. Bassist Peter Barshay has worked with Milt Jackson, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson and Joe Lovano, and has played everything from salsa and straight ahead to funk-fusion, avant garde and music derived from the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian traditions — he brings a wealth of experiences to every date. Pianist Ben Stolorow, since moving to the Bay Area from Los Angeles to attend UC Berkeley in 1994, has become one of the most in-demand…
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Charlie McCarthy, reeds David Udolf, piano Curtis Aikens, bass Akira Tana, drums $20 cover charge / byob Reservations: 415-586-3733 Charlie McCarthy is in a class by himself. The quartet will play several old standards and several originals, many of them quite new; and most of the old standards have been dressed up a bit for the occasion. Charlie, among the very greatest voices on reeds on the coast and renowned for decades, will front a terrific rhythm section — David Udolf on piano, Curtis Aikens on bass and Akira Tana on drums. “You won’t be disappointed,” says Charlie, signing off, “Keep swingin’, CMcC”. Jazz thrives at Bird & Beckett, a quarter century into 21st!
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Amos Hoffman, guitar & oud Noam Lemish, piano Miles Wick, bass Alex Aspinall drums $20 cover charge at the door (cash or venmo) byob reservations – 415-586-3733 The Amos Hoffman & Noam Lemish Quartet offers an inspired blend of jazz and Jewish folk melodies. Amos Hoffman is an internationally renowned oud virtuoso and innovator; Noam Lemish is a multi-faceted, world-class pianist-composer and professor at York University’s Department of Music in Toronto, Canada. For years, Amos and Noam have been collecting Jewish melodies from different parts of the world including Kurdish, Yemenite, Moroccan, Ladino, Russian and Israeli songs. The quartet’s lyrical and vibrant reimaginings of beloved Jewish melodies have been captivating audiences all across North America. In their work together, Hoffman and Lemish create a refreshing and compelling sound, filled with vibrant sonorities, unique instrument combinations and compelling arrangements. The renditions are simultaneously faithful to the songs’ origins and rooted in…
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The Saxophone Congress — three baritone sax players — Danny Bittker, Larry De La Cruz and Jim Peterson — with guitarist Scott Foster and drummer Dan Foltz perform music by Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman and Carla Bley! Jazz in the bookshop every Friday, 6-8pm. A weekly tradition since 2002. Scott Foster Ensemble residency every third Friday! $25 suggested donation for quintets, but pay what you can and byob. Kids under 12, free; teens and music students, $5-$10 sliding scale. Your cover charge at the show helps us guarantee a fair wage to the musicians that work here. Individual donations from a great many generous members of the Bird & Beckett community are also required to meet that commitment, and for those we are very grateful. If you can and haven’t, please join our supporters. Bird & Beckett will always be a work in progress… Thanks for being part of the…
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Hindustani Classical Music Mallar Bhattacharya, sarod Ferhan Najeeb Qureshi, tabla $20/byob Reservations: 415-586-3733 Live stream found on our YouTube channel and Facebook page / donations appreciated Mallar Bhattacharya is a sarodist of the Acharya Baba Allauddin Seni Gharana of Maihar, India. Mallar began his musical training at the age of three, learning both Western and Hindustani violin from his father Dr. Jahar Bhattacharya, a student of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Mallar became a disciple of Ustad Aashish Khan at age 15 and has also studied the music of the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California for over 35 years, having learned directly from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and his archival material over that time. Mallar recently released a single of the raga Bhimpalasi, which is available on most streaming platforms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM-ybSLfMPs&list=OLAK5uy_mRKN1uCZmznjvmUZ0wCIpIf7mS3eMCo9o. Ferhan Najeeb Qureshi is a senior disciple of the legendary tabla master Ustad Tari Khan. Prior to…
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Tim Berne, saxophone Tom Rainey, drums Gregg Belisle-Chi, guitar $20 cover charge (cash or venmo) at the door, byob Tonight, the seats have all been spoken for, but some limited standing room audience will be accommodated. (NB: Reservations for our shows are taken by phone starting three weeks before the performance date, and are cut off once 30 seats have been reserved.) For four and a half decades, Tim Berne has recorded prolifically under his own name and alongside creative innovators of the jazz avant garde including his idol and mentor Julius Hemphill as well as Nels Cline, Vinny Golia, Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Olu Dara, Herb Robertson, Hank Roberts, Mark Dresser, Ray Anderson, Michael Formanek, John Zorn and dozens more. He operates the Empire and Screwgun record labels and has recorded for Soul Note, Black Saint, JMT, ECM, Enja, Intakt and many others. His first recording on lp with…
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Raving it up on numbers by the masters of outlaw and classic country music, the Seducers entertain the regulars with tales of heartache, loneliness and wry self-aggrandizement, with the occasional trucking song thrown in for good measure. Joe Goldmark, pedal steel guitar Mitch Polzak, lead guitar and vocals Hank Maninger, bass guitar and vocals Kenny Owen, the Zen Cowboy Poet, drums BYOB and a twenty for the band.
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Tonight, Kim Shuck (San Francisco Poet Laureate, 2017-2020) presents featured poets Garrett Caples and Julian Blackmon and conducts the open mic that follows. The Poets!Zoom series 2nd Mondays sessions always features two poets reading at length followed by an open mic. The 4th Mondays are all open mic. This evening at 7pm, join by Google Meet at this link: meet.google.com/njx-navd-vmp Or join by Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84350265713?pwd=eE84V3BYdWxiSFBHNHhmdUt1WTUzdz09 Meeting ID: 843 5026 5713 Passcode: 244211 Featured Poets Tonight: Garrett Caples is a poet living in San Francisco. He’s an editor at City Lights Books. His latest book Proses: Incomparable Parables! Fabulous Fables! Cruel Tales! will appear in May from Wave Books. Julian Blackmon, also known as Protected Poet, was born in Marion, Indiana, but found his poetic voice amidst the bustling streets of San Francisco. With his forthcoming poetry book, “PEACE OF ME,” set to release in May, he continues to captivate audiences across California…
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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.
We continue to present a full slate of programming of live music and poetry readings, and produce a literary journal and poetry chapbooks, and we seek and welcome your continued financial support by way of donations through our fiscal sponsor, Jazz in the Neighborhood.
Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above. Better yet, send or drop off a check made out to our fiscal sponsor, Jazz in the Neighborhood, with BBCLP in the memo line. Our mailing address is:
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
