Sad to say, Jimmy Ryan passed away Wednesday morning, July 8, 2015. Jimmy was long known to Bird & Beckett regulars as the featured drummer in our long-running Friday series of neighborhood jazz parties. On Jimmy’s scheduled August 14th date, from 5:30-8:00 pm, his band will reconvene to pay tribute to this wonderful man and vital jazz musician. Vocalist Dorothy Lefkovits, who introduced Jimmy to the store way back in 2002, will be on hand on the 14th to sing with the musicians who were at the core of Jimmy’s “Bird & Beckett BeBop Band,” which had a long run in our Friday night jazz series.  Trombonist Stu Pilorz and sax player Joe Cohen are on the front line, with a rhythm section comprising pianist Don Alberts, bassist Bishu Chatterjee and drummer Ron Marabuto sitting in for the man himself.  Also on hand will be bassist Aaron Cohn and likely…

Guitarist Howard Alden returns to Bird & Beckett for a trio date with bassist Peter Barshay and drummer Vince Lateano.  $20 suggested donation.

Maurice Tani is a remarkable songwriter, with a deft touch that pulls all the angst of life right to the surface of his songs.  In bassist Mike Anderson, he has an assured and resonant foil on which to build his delivery of redemption songs and wise, funny and wryly bitter observations. San Francisco-born and bred, Maurice early on developed an ear for the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and their ilk. In his early 20s, Maurice left for central Texas to work the hardcore country, blues and rock circuit between Austin and Dallas, playing five sets a night, seven nights a week for months at a time, eventually making his way to New York City as the punk rock scene of CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City was exploding. By 1977, he was back in San Francisco and joined The Phantom Movers, Roy Loney’s hugely lauded rockabilly band, recording four…

Rocky Winslow, trumpet Grant Levin, piano Chris Amberger, bass Mark Lee, drums Grant Levin leads a quartet through two sets of originals and standards on the second Saturday of each month.  He’s just one of the very top young jazz pianists on the local scene, and he never fails to assemble a quartet of top Bay Area talent. Rocky Winslow?  Read up on him here, and get ready!  Here’s a clip of Rocky & Grant working out on Bird’s Scrapple from the Apple.

An informal late afternoon date with the pianist and bassist that will make up half of our evening quartet program.  Grant Levin is a rising star of jazz piano, especially in the Bay Area– with a reputation that has spread like wildfire.  Bassist Chris Amberger has been a stalwart of the scene for decades, had a stint with Art Blakey, and is largely responsible for getting Grant established in the San Francisco jazz scene.  The two of them have often worked as a duo, and know each other’s musical language well. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday, from 4-6 pm, Grant brings in another musician to play in this duo context.  A real treat!  Not a formal concert setting, but we have a scattering of chairs out, and the bookshelves can be browsed at will while you listen — it that’s what you’re after. We love this jazz and books world…

Come to the shop Wednesday night at 7 to hang with photographer/artist Cecilia Cacciatore, whose work will grace Gallery Ex Libris for the next month.  Poet (and B&B keystone) Jenna Littlejohn provides poetic monograms to go with the photos.  She’ll be here too.  You’ll have fun.  Don’t stay home!

Join us in hearing two new, young, and vibrant poetic voices! As usual the readings will be followed by an open mic. Casey Elizabeth Newbegin lives in Austin, Texas where she attends the UT School of Information. She holds a BA in English from Lewis & Clark College. She was born and raised in California.  Some of Casey’s work can be seen at http://www.ncls.us/ Jenna Littlejohn hails from Redding, CA and recently received her BA in Creative Writing at SFSU.  She received the Piri Thomas Award for Poetry from the Academy of American Poets and SFSU.  She can be found working at Bird & Beckett, part of the time. Some of her work can be viewed at http://jennalittlejohn.blogspot.com/ Our 1st & 3rd Mondays poetry series is hosted by Jerry Ferraz.  

Context is everything! Three generations — the beatniks, the hippies, the punks – tied together by one who has been riding through it with his eyes open & his heart big. Dave is the guy who hipped Dylan to Woody Guthrie back in Dinkytown, hard by the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis/St. Paul and he’s a near legendary figure in these parts, though easy to find and authentic in his intentions and actions Bring your own hipstory, and help Dave fill in the gaps.

As serious as your life! And the happiest you could ever be!   Richard Sears, piano, is up from L.A. for the date, joining local heroes John Wiitala on bass and Evan Hughes on drums, under the capable, nay, inspired leadership of Smith Dobson V on vibes. Does it get any better? Nah, it’s just magnificent. Do come! We’ll turn the lights down low for you.

Hear Patrick James Dunagan read from his new poetry chapbook, from Book of Kings, Tuesday evening, 7pm.  It’s a beautiful piece of work from Bird & Beckett, designed and printed at Impart Ink, an errant press. Inscrutable on the surface, but completely approachable at the same time. And he’s joined by two marvelous compatriots in the word, Jackson Measle and Julian Poirier. It’s a poetry microclimate you’ll be happy to have happened into, though many know full well what they’re in for! Rich loam to nourish your hungry soul.