Guitar legend John Stowell and master saxophonist Michael Zilber have enjoyed a fertile musical relationship stretching back two decades, including three critically-acclaimed cds on Origin Records. 2015’s “Basement Blues” was a Downbeat “Top CD of the Year.” Zilber and Stowell have performed numerous times together through the years at leading venues on both coasts, but the pandemic hit pause on this ongoing and fruitful collaboration. Their duo show at Bird & Beckett is the first opportunity to hear the two of them together in two and a half years. Zilber was declared “one of the true masters of modern jazz saxophone” by All About Jazz.  Stowell “plays his amplified guitar as if he were surrounded by fine crystal… (a) slow burning, sustained energy,” said Downbeat. More about both on  www.johnstowell.com and www.michaelzilber,com. $15 cover charge (cash, please); byob and a mask. Doors open 7:20 pm for the 7:30 first set.…

Anthony Blea, violin Bob Crawford, piano Mike Arnold, bass Annette A. Aguilar, drums $20 cover charge (cash please). Doors open at 7:20 for the 7:30 show. BYOB. You can find the live stream on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Donate to support the musicians and the stream! Hi-Octane Latin Jazz from some of the great practitioners of the art! Annette left San Francisco for New York at a young age thirty years ago, well grounded in the music since childhood — from family traditions and Mission District experience in an era when Santana, Azteca and Malo were shaping a sound that shook up the nation. Thirty years on, she’s a major force in the Latin music scene back East, hyper-active with her StringBeans, her annual festivals of women in Latin Jazz, her spontaneous street corner sets outside Bronx bodegas, her tireless work in the schools, her central…

San Francisco journalist Denise Sullivan’s invaluable SF Lives project lives on in a monthly second-Sunday-mornings series of live-streamed conversations from Bird & Beckett. She’s out today, but Jenna Littlejohn, who’s assisted in our livestream production of this series since its inception, will step up to take Denise’s place at the microphone. SF Lives began and continues as a print media column, casting a thoughtful and inspiring light on many dozens of individuals — activists, educators, arts and cultural leaders, and lesser-known workers, the everyday people who help make the City a place we can still call home. This Sunday, August 14th, at 10 a.m., Jenna converses with Daveea Whitmire, co-founder of Third Parent Family, a community resource hub established in late 2019, on the value and utility of their very human connection with individuals all over the city. Jenna has been active with Third Parent for several years, granting her…

Stephanie Woodford, piano & vocals Curtis Aikens, bass Brandon Farmer, drums Noah Frank, trumpet Originals plus jazz and soul classics from a brilliant young musician. $20 cash cover charge at the door. Doors open at 7:20pm. BYOB. If you can’t come to the show, you can find a live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page — no paywall, but do please donate if you take in a full set! Your donations help us pay the performers a guaranteed fair wage.  

A duo performance by a master of the Paraguayan harp together with a revered poet/musician, reprising their encounter at Bird & Beckett a year ago. No in-store audience for this one. View it on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Your voluntary donation makes it possible for us to reward the artists for their efforts.

Mia Pixley, cello/voice, plays solo followed by a duo set by Nora Stanley, saxophone, with Noah Gershwin, guitar. $20 cash cover charge at the door. Doors open at 7:20. BYOB. Can’t make it to the show? What!!??? Ok, you can watch it in the stream on the Bird & Beckett YouTube channel or Facebook page! Donate to the cause! Consider it your cover charge! Nora Stanley is a New York-based, San Francisco-native saxophonist and composer whose interests and work live at the intersection of composed and improvised music. Nora holds a B.A. and B.M. from Oberlin College and Conservatory where she studied with Gary Bartz, Eddie Henderson and Billy Hart. With strong roots in the jazz, afro-cuban and improvised music traditions, Nora’s music emphasizes interaction and collaboration. Her sound is melody-driven and reaches to expand the possibilities of the harmonic realm. Nora leads a quartet featuring her original compositions and…

Tenia Nelson, keys Brendan O’Donoghue, bass Alex Tripp, drums  As a LifeForce Jazz Records artist, pianist, percussionist, composer and arranger, and educator, Tenia Renee Nelson has 20 years-plus teaching experience in ALL levels of education (Early Childhood through University). At the present time, Tenia teaches music at Denver Language School, teaches privately in her music studio and  also teaches classes at Neighborhood Music at Stanley Marketplace. Tenia received her Bachelors of Music Education Degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2004, and her Masters of Music Degree (Jazz Studies) from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2010. Tenia is a board member of The Gift of Jazz organization, a non-profit based in Denver, which actively supports jazz performance in the Rocky Mountain region in particular, to ensure that jazz remains a creative force in Colorado. In addition to teaching, she plays jazz regularly at venues in the Denver…

The first Sunday of each month, Bird & Beckett is proud and pleased to host a jazz combo comprising students from a local music school, college or high school opening the program, followed by a student-oriented jam session led by the Akira Tana Trio. At 5pm we present another ensemble of musicians from San Francisco’s wonderful Community Music Center, this one coached by trumpeter Max Miller-Loran and developed at the CMC’s Richmond District campus. Drummer Jeff Pera is on board for the date.  The jam session that follows from 6-8pm is open to student players from any direction! Community Music Center Jazz Ensemble Max Miller-Loran, trumpet Robert Goodwin, alto sax Elizabeth DeCarli, tenor sax Louis Ahtty, piano Fumio Wada, guitar Ellen Rosenthal, bass with special guest Jeff Pera, drums A stellar trio under the direction of drummer Akira Tana, with Keith Saunders on piano and Eric Markowitz on bass, hosts…

Pamela Rose & Wayne De La Cruz - Hammond Organ Party! Hammond Organ Party! brings a soul-drenched singer and a prodigious B-3 practitioner into a loose and limber, movin’ and groovin’ Saturday night celebration. Pamela and Wayne, with top-shelf sidemen, are ready to romp through two sets of rare jazz standards, blues and R&B classics. Co-led by jazz organist Wayne De La Cruz and vocalist Pamela Rose, with guitarist Danny Caron and drummer Mark Lee signed on for the fun, this band is ready to Party! “Outstanding vocals…Rose hits that jazz & soul sweet spot with Wayne De La Cruz and Hammond Organ Party!”  Frank-John Hadley, DownBeat You can take it in on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, but there’s nothing like being in the room! Still, if it’s impossible to come out, you’ll enjoy the stream. Donations appreciated per the information on the screen — consider it your cover…

Tony Saunders’ smooth contemporary jazz and R&B are infused with soul… doors open at 7:20pm reservations, call 415-586-3733 $20 cash cover charge byob Nothing beats live jazz in the shop, but if you can’t make it… Find the live stream on our Facebook page or YouTube channel Two-time Emmy Award winning bassist, composer, producer, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, son of legendary Bay Area keyboardist Merl Saunders– Tony Saunders’ life has been infused with one musical adventure after another. Newly signed to Baja/TSR records, he’s recently released his 5th cd as a leader, “All About Love.” As an arranger, producer, composer and performer, Saunders has conquered the worlds of jazz, gospel, R&B, pop, rock and world music. He earned the first of his two Emmys at age 14 for collaborating with his dad on the PBS documentary Soul Is and by 17 was playing on Merl Saunders/Jerry…

Most Glen Park denizens know Joseph Tingin from the hardware store at the corner. But a few of you have heard him here at Bird & Beckett and elsewhere as a sweet, soulful and charming singer-songwriter. Drop in and say hi to him on the job, and buy a new pipe wrench or something! While he’s navigating the stock to get you what you need to fix that little plumbing leak you’ve got, or to sell you a wood screw, key fob or picture hanger, ask him what he’s got in store for you up the block at Bird & Beckett on the last afternoon of July, when we’ll be capping off another wonderful month of live music at Glen’s Park’s best little bookshop! After Joseph, we’ll offer the perfect jazz nightcap to leave you sated and satisfied for the evening. Drummer Vince Lateano and his trio — Ben Stolorow…

Live streamed on Facebook and Youtube. Neeli Cherkovski sits comfortably among San Francisco poetry royalty’s best kept secrets — a secret if only because few pay sufficient attention to the riches we have here. He’s hiding in the bright daylight of Bernal, easy to find, easy to love. Migrating from San Bernardino to Los Angeles as a young teen in the 1960s, Neeli Cherry, tight in the orbit of the legendary Charles Bukowski, flowered as a poet under the gruff old man’s influence, bringing as well the influence of his New York uncle Herman Cherry, an expressionist painter of great accomplishment–much like Robert DeNiro’s father, RD Sr–and his own father, Sam, whose photos of San Francisco bohemian life resonate to this day. Neeli’s mom was a teacher and a valued pedagogical theorist, his dad a bookseller with a shop that attracted ol’ Buk out to San Berdoo in the first…

School’s out for summer! Stanford Jazz Workshop faculty hightail it up the highway to San Francisco to Bird & Beckett for a blow out double header tonight! Quartets at 6:30 and 8:30. Come for the early show and stay for the late show at half price ($20 cover charge for each / $30 for the pair – cash at the door, please!) Please bring cash for the cover charge. All of the musicians comprising these two quartets are working professional musicians & must be compensated; it starts with your cover charge! Donations to the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project help as well. Click on the donate button in the navigation bar at the top of this website. As for yourselves, byob if you’re so inclined! Alto saxophonist Caroline Davis headlines tonight at 8:30pm with a stellar group featuring Caroline and Kasey Knudsen on saxophones, Curtis Aikens on bass and…

  Jazz! Two sets Bring a twenty for the band & byob Also viewable on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Donations appreciated per the information on the screen!   Kai Lyons, guitar Jaimeo Brown, drums Hans Glawischnig, bass   If you don’t know who Kai Lyons is or what a terrific jazz guitarist he is, you should. You should come to the show! No live stream can ever be as good as the real thing. Kai is a homegrown San Francisco talent of epic proportions. No kidding. Jaimeo Brown is news to us. We’ll take it on faith from Kai that he’ll be an asset to the trio. We’ll learn at the show. Always something new when you venture out! Oh, a little research… Jaimeo is the son of bassist Dartanyan Brown and saxophonist Marcia Miget! Two formidable talents giving life to another! In the early years of the…

Soul singer extraordinaire Derek Evans and guitar master Todd Swenson make This Side Up a band whose contents will not settle upon shipment. Come & get stirred up, little darlin’s! You’ve got a deluxe experience in store… $20 cash cover, and an extra fiver if you’ve got it. Five great musicians making you feel like a million bucks. Guaranteed. BYOB. No need to curb your enthusiasm! Todd Swenson, guitar Derek Evans, vocals Ian Ratzer, keyboard Paul Olguin, bass Ken Owen, drums Below, that’s Ken Owen looking a lot like Robin Roth… Anyone recollecting that aggregation’s latest outing gets a prize. Extra points for horizontal stripes on Sunday. You can find the live stream on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Donate to support the musicians and the stream!

Citta di Vitti Phillip Greenlief, saxophone Lisa Mezzacappa, bass Jason Levis, drums $20 cash cover charge at the door Reservations, call 415-586-3733 byob and a mask Citta di Vitti, 15 years from its inception, revisits the music inspired by the films of Michelangelo Antonioni composed by Phillip Greenlief, and performed by Greenlief, Lisa Mezzacappa and Jason Levis.   Phillip Greenlief writes, “Several years ago (2007, if i am not mistaken), I wrote nearly 40 fragments while watching Michelangelo Antonioni’s trilogy: L’AVVENTURA, LA NOTTE, L’ECLISSE, featuring the great Italian actor Monica Vitti. The music was inspired by the films in a big way, and in particular i was interested in the way Antonioni uses setting as a character, or how the environments might reflect or influence the narrative. “Once I developed the fragments into compositions, I contacted Lisa and Jason … for many years they had worked as DUO B, and…

Sony Holland and her guitarist/husband, Jerry, spent a good part of the pandemic lockdown focusing on a tribute to one of the greatest female rock stars in the music industry, Linda Ronstadt, whose iconic recordings and memorable concert performances include mega-hits like “When Will I Be Loved,” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,”  “Desperado,” “Blue Bayou” and many more.  Sony will sing these hits, weaving in gems from some of Ronstadt’s subsequent projects and periods — songs in Spanish rooted in her family’s Mexican culture, jazz chestnuts, work “in every style and genre you can imagine… a treasure trove…” Interviewed by Richard May for his piece in the July issue of the Noe Valley Voice, Sony noted that “My show is one of gratitude to one of the finest, strongest and most gracious females in the music industry. Linda Ronstadt is a force. She took on one musical challenge after another, scouted…

Attend in person, or catch the live stream on our YouTube channel and Facebook page. Doors open at 6:30pm. No charge. Books available for purchase. Keith Hatschek’s new book, The Real Ambassadors: Dave and Iola Brubeck and Louis Armstrong Challenge Segregation (University Press of Mississippi, 2022) delves into the largely untold story of Dave and Iola Brubeck’s partnership with Louis Armstrong to stage a jazz musical fighting for equal rights in the 1950s and 60s. The heart of the story is the allyship that developed between Satchmo and the Brubecks, and how important taking a stand against racism was to all of them, as well as the rest of the talented cast that premiered the show at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival.  “With well-researched details and clear-eyed passion, Hatschek relates the story of the Brubecks’ creation, of the stars it brought into alignment (Louis Armstrong, Carmen McRae, the vocal trio…

Live music occupied by indigenous culture! Dysfunktional is a new funk/jazz/pop quintet serving up improvised music from classic standards to funky fan favorites. Their repertoire includes personal takes on Stevie Wonder,  Bill Withers, Vulfpeck, Lawrence, D’Angelo (the band’s favorite), and much, much more. Consisting of San Francisco’s most beloved tech workers and two jaded graduate students, Dysfunktional aims to bring verve and youthfulness to San Francisco’s improvised music scene. Dysfunktional is: Grace Cheng, Piano, Flute, Melodica, Voice Tharun Sankar, Trumpet, Piano Ross Taylor, Drums, Voice Tory Johnston (Quinault), Guitar Jared Marx-Kuo, Bass, Voice Live in the shop, and also viewable both as a live stream and after the fact on YouTube or Facebook By donation, but $20 per is very much appreciated. Bird & Beckett pays a guaranteed “fair” wage to the musicians on our stage, and can’t do that without serious audience buy-in. BYOB. No food in the shop…

Lewis Jordan, reeds, poetry Bruce Ackley, reeds Sandra Poindexter, violin, voice Ollen Erich Hunt, bass Jimmy Biala, drums, percussion Lewis Jordan presents Music at Large, a Bay Area ensemble that brings music, poetry and an open spirit of improvisation. Saxophones, violin, bass, percussion and drums come with a large helping of original material. The group crafts its performances to highlight solo instrumental voices as well as collective interaction. With ears for a tradition that encourages innovation, the group has an interdisciplinary approach that works well with artists from a range of experiences. The group has just released its fourth CD, Critical Mass (Innova 073). $25 cash cover charge byob and masks; doors at 7:20pm reservations, please call 415-586-3733 Catch the stream on our facebook page and youtube channel a voluntary donation if using the stream to hear the show is needed and appreciated photos by Jeremy Allen

Bob Kenmotsu, saxophone Keith Saunders, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Tony Johnson, drums Bebop to bossa, and always swingin’ $20 cash cover charge – doors open at 7:20 for the 7:30 show BYOB and a mask, as covid still stalks the fringes of the land… capacity is just 25 at the moment to make for some breathing room! call 415-586-3733 to reserve a seat Live in the shop and viewable as a live stream on YouTube or Facebook Tony has been a force on the San Francisco jazz scene for over 50 years. He arrived from his native Australia in 1959 and was immediately playing and recording with great musicians including sax player Pony Poindexter and vocalist Bev Kelly. Tony toured with Earl “Fatha” Hines, George Shearing and Peggy Lee, and played the Sullivan show with the Vagabonds (Las Vegas Tropicana Hotel house band) on a bill that included Sammy Davis,…

Avotcja and her band Modupue have been a cultural nexus for many years. She works with a large revolving cast of musicians, fantastic talents with experience and acclaim far beyond the Bay Area, and with long association with Avotcja, herself. Avotcja turns 81 this month! Help us celebrate! This evening, Modupue will be a quartet. They’ll convene in the bookshop, with the doors to the public tightly shut but the live stream to the public wide open. Settle in to take in the live stream tonight! But PLEASE DONATE! That’s our only revenue stream to pay the musicians! You’ll find the performance on our YouTube channel or Facebook page. You can donate per the instructions on the screen, or using this DONATE BUTTON No audience in the shop, just musicians converging with Avotcja at the center, to play for you in your living rooms, from the living room that is…

Judith Serin’s Gravity, a collection of short stories and the title novella, has just been brought out by Eyewear Publishing.  Her collection of poetry, Hiding in the World, was published by Diane di Prima’s Eidolon Editions, and her Days Without (Sky): A Poem Tarot, seventy-eight short prose poems in the form of a tarot deck with illustration and book art design by Nikki Thompson, was published by Deconstructed Artichoke Press. Judith writes fiction and creative nonfiction as well as poetry, and her work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. She teaches literature and writing at California College of the Arts. www.judithserin.com “In stories that are ethereal and haunting, Judith Serin portrays the inner world of women who confront their desires and constraints. Imaginative, captivating, sensual, and fierce, Gravity invites you to know yourself as well as Serin knows her characters.” — Julie Lythcott-Haim   Zack Rogow is the author,…

The Joel Frahm Trio presents music from the new album The Bright Side (Anzic Records, 2021) Joel Frahm, tenor saxophone Dan Loomis, bass Ernesto Cervini, drums $20 cover charge at the door (cash please) byob and a mask reservations: 415-586-3733 Coming off nine consecutive bookings in Europe in April (with dates in France, Germany, the UK, Norway and Sweden) and two consecutive bookings in Ontario, Canada (at the Ottawa Jazz Festival and the Jazz Bistro in Toronto), the Joel Frahm Trio heads west for seven shows from San Diego to Seattle, including this exclusive San Francisco date at Bird & Beckett, celebrating their new CD, “The Bright Side.”   joelfrahm.com Catch the trio’s performance in the live stream if you can’t make it to the shop. Please be sure to donate to help support the musicians and the venue if you do! We can’t do this without you! YouTube  …

Kathryn Waddell Takara, visiting from Hawaii & celebrating the release of her new collection Seasons in Haiku, will read this evening together with Bay Area poets Karla Brundage, Lucille Lang Day, Shizue Seigel, Amos White and, Maw Shein Win If you’re unable to make it down to Bird & Beckett this evening, you can view the live stream on the store’s YouTube channel or Facebook page. Donations appreciated to support the poets and the stream. 60% of your donation will be shared with the poets; 40% will support the streaming expenses. Information on how to donate will be found on the video screen There’s also a link at the top of this website. View the reading here: YouTube              Facebook _________________________ Kathryn Takara is an Afro-futurist, eco-poet, and warrior for social justice. She has published 11 books of poetry, most recently Seasons in Haiku. With a long…

Touring from NYC The Kazemde George Quintet Kazemde George, tenor saxophone Sami Stevens, vocals Manuel Schmiedel, keyboard Giulio Xavier Cetto, bass Adam Arruda, drums $25 cover charge (cash, please); byob. catch it in the live stream if you can’t make it to the shop. be sure to donate to help support the musicians and the venue. we can’t do this without you! YouTubeFacebook Kazemde George, an African American jazz saxophonist, composer and beat-maker raised by Caribbean parents in Berkeley and based in Brooklyn, has a gift for direct melodies articulated with a beautiful tone and “a certain guiding restraint.” He’s touring through with his New York band, with his partner Sami Stevens on vocals and local hero Giulio Cetto on bass! Welcome home, Kaz! Kaz was exposed to a wide range of musical styles as a youth and began playing piano, saxophone and percussion at an early age. During high…

JimBo Trout, guitar and vocals Steve Neil, bass Ken Owen, drums JimBo Trout is walking the line, playing his heart out, and having a good time! JimBo’s music is a good-time gumbo of bluegrass, rock+roll, honky-tonk country, old-time, ragtime, blues, western-swing, rockabilly, jug band, jazz, swing, Cowboy, New Orleans, and more. But he would never let tradition stand in the way of a good time. Whether solo or with his band JimBo Trout and the Fishpeople, an energetic, entertaining and engaging show is guaranteed. JimBo Trout is based in San Francisco, but traveling the world in a quest to bring great music to you. With over 700 songs on his list,  he will surprise you with his range. The appeal extends to fans of traditional music as well as those with more modern tastes, young and old, and in-between. JimBo Trout and the Fishpeople is a collective of top musicians…

Andrew Stephens, trumpet Ben Goldberg, clarinet Rob Reich, accordion and piano  Adam Kubota, bass But of course! It’s the joy you would naturally expect! Doors open at 7:20pm $20 cash cover charge, please byob & masks Reservations, 415-586-3733 or catch it in the live stream if you can’t make it to the shop. be sure to donate to help support the musicians and the venue. we can’t do this without you! YouTube       Facebook  

      Scott Foster, guitar Charles Thomas, bass Omar Aran, drums A look behind the curtain. reservations, 415-586-3733 byob and a mask $20 cash cover Nothing beats live jazz in the shop but if you can’t make it… Find the live stream on our Facebook page or YouTube channel

CBop returns to Bird & Beckett to present their third EP, “Three’s A Charm” recorded at the Oakland Riviera by CarnyMusic Recording in late 2021 The EP is a nod to some of CBop’s favorite composers (Sonny Rollins and Burt Bacharach, to name two). They’ll perform two sets of music in what they say is their favorite San Francisco venue. We’ll trust them on that, and will be delighted to present them. Please come share these bright moments with us. Dan Keller – Bass Mark Secosh – Saxophone Bob Johns – Piano André Custodio – Drums Playing music by luminaries Coltrane, Duke, Monk, Bird and more! The quartet’s origins began in San Francisco as coordinated venue jam sessions that included noted luminaries of the jazz world. CBop prides itself on delivering and communicating groove with sophistication. The quartet has played festivals, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, openings, fundraisers, and corporate events. Above…