Please join us for an urgent reading in support of the Palestinian people, organized by the poet Deema K. Shehabi. Deema will read beside her colleagues Zeina Hashem Beck, Aracelis Girmay, Nathalie Khankan and Priscilla Wathington, with instrumental interludes by bassist Marcus Shelby. Deema K. Shehabi is a Palestinian-American poet, writer and editor. She is the author of Thirteen Departures from the Moon and co-editor with Beau Beausoleil of Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here, for which she received a Northern California Book Award. She’s also co-author of Diaspo/Renga with Marilyn Hacker and winner of the Nazim Hikmet poetry competition in 2018. Deema’s work has appeared widely in literary magazines and anthologies, and her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize several times. For more information, please visit her website at Deema K. Shehabi. Zeina Hashem Beck is a Lebanese poet. Her poetry collection, O (Penguin Books, 2022) won the 2023 George Ellenbogen Poetry Award. She’s also…

    Tuesday, 11/21, 7pm: A reading for Palestine, organized by Deema Shehabi – gratis     Wednesday, 11/22, 7pm: The Vince Lateano Trio, Ben Stolorow, piano Peter Barshay, bass Vince Lateano, drums $20 adult cover charge, byob all ages; kids under 12 free teens/music students $5-10 sliding scale Friday, 11/24, two shows: 6pm: The Tony Johnson Quartet, jazz – $20 8:30pm: The New Squatoolas, New Orleans jazz, funk and R&B – $20      Saturday, 11/26: Jonathan Richman, voice and guitar, plumbs the devotional poetry of Kabir and Mirabai, with Nicole Montalbano on tambura – $30       Sunday, 11/25, 4:30pm: The Cottontails jump jazz & blues – $25-35 sliding scale     All ages; byob     For the Jonathan Richman event, plan on paying for your seat at 5pm day of the show and enter between 7 and 7:15pm. The doors will be closed between 6 and 7 so that we…

Friday 11/17, 6-8pm jazz in the bookshop the happy hour show Guitarist Scott Foster leads a quartet with trumpeter Henry Hung, bassist Ollie Dudek and drummer Omar Aran, sampling generously from the music of Bud Powell, with nods, of course, to Bird & Diz & Monk & Miles & more bebop & bop adjacent giants! byob. $20 donation per adult requested; students $10; children free. no reservations necessary. Friday 11/17, 8:30-10:00pm the late show Solo boogie woogie and blues piano from Frank Muschalle, touring for 30 years out of his home in Germany, counted among the most sought-after blues & boogie-woogie pianists working today. He has played concerts all over Europe, Paraguay, Bolivia, the United States and North Africa, and has put out fourteen cds with a variety of musicians including Carey Bell, Jean-Pierre Bertrand, Nappy Brown, Jimmy Coe, Herb Hardesty, Red Holloway, Stephan Holstein, Bob Margolin, Jimmy McCracklin, Louisiana…

Hanna Arendt escaped a short period of Nazi captivity to work for refugees in Paris until Paris fell. After finding her way to the U.S.A. she taught generations of students at the New School for Social Research in New York City. She worked hard to express for us her understanding of what was novel about the crimes that characterized the late 20th Century. Her phrase “the banality of evil” is more than a soundbite. She formulated notions of the nature of power, of action, of promise, of thinking—each one a crystallization around an arc of creative writing that has no peer. We are her legacy, as democratic citizens finding our way through a world gone mad. What’s going on in San Francisco even as the APEC conference takes place? Talks like this, in the voice of one who thinks out loud. Walker Brents III talks, every month (with a summer…

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84350265713?pwd=eE84V3BYdWxiSFBHNHhmdUt1WTUzdz09 Meeting ID: 843 5026 5713 Passcode: 244211 The featured poets this time out are K.R. Morrison and Zara Jamshed. An open mic follows.  Kim Shuck hosts. Since the pandemic, K.R. Morrison has been searching for mermaids in a sea town in Southern California, often returning to the Bay Area for her poetry nests and to play drums for two all-female fronted rock bands – Harriot and Unicröne. Morrison is a Pushcart Nominee for her poem, “Her Altar” and still enjoys readings and podcasts for Cauldrons, her first poetry collection published by Paper Press. Alongside years spent as a writer, activist, and musician, K.R. spent 17 years as a sea captain for the teens – using creative writing and books, she worked with countless students at Galileo High School in San Francisco, earning the name “Mama Mo” with many who left her classroom armed with writing and tools for healing.…

. . . Sometimes words just get in the way…

Mitch Polzak –  lead guitar & vocals Hank Maninger – bass guitar & vocals Joe Goldmark – pedal steel guitar Paul Revelli – drums You’ll find the Seducers playing songs of longin’ and lovin’ at Bird & Beckett on the second Sunday of every other month —  January, March, May, July, September & November, the odd numbered ones… Twangtastic tunes and gorgeous convergence in honky tonk heaven. Every second Sunday of the year, you’ll find sin & redemption, mourning and celebration in an Americana vein… December 10th, Maurice Tani & the American bass player Mike Anderson…February 11th, Jim Campilongo & Sam Reider… There’s so much more than just jazz at Bird & Beckett, though we do love our jazz more than you know… Join us! BYOB and a twenty for the band. That’ll git it!  

An immense amount of amazing jazz the weekend of 11/9-12, a packed roster of fantastic, well-traveled musicians of all ages, and a honky tonk band beyond compare to wrap it all up in a glittering package! Kicking it all off on Thursday, 11/9 at 7:30pm, the young drummer Ben Esposito brings the esteemed saxophonist Howard Wiley, the sharp & fantastic young bassist Isaac Coyle and the amazing emerging pianist Luis Peralta. You might want to call for a reservation for this one… 415-586-3733. Bring twenty for the cover and something to sip. Jazz is thirsty work! Under 21? Bring soda pop! Students, pay what you can afford. Five or ten bucks will do it for you, and you can use venmo. What’s not to like about that? For most of our shows, a twenty dollar bill is the starting point, sometimes a bit more for larger ensembles, ________________________ Two shows…

Marina Albero, piano Billy Edwards, bass Josh Setala, drums Pianist Marina Albero is the toast of the Seattle jazz scene — drummer/trio leader Josh Setala’s hometown. To gain her participation in this concert is a tribute to Josh’s abilities and, for him, a dream scenario. Bassist Billy Edwards adds a brilliant dimension. Expect an intensely engaging and enjoyable evening  of jazz! Marina was born in Barcelona and toured as a child on stages all around the world with her family, picking up whatever instrument they needed her to play, performing Iberian and early music, creating new shows wherever they went. She studied in Barcelona’s Conservatory (El Bruc) and later in La Havana (ISA), where she finished her classical piano studies with the great professor and pianist Mrs. Teresa Junco. She’s never stopped exploring, delving into jazz, flamenco, early music, Andalusie, classical Indian, Latin son & Latin jazz. $20 cover charge…

Good times! That’s why they call it Happy Hour! Eric Shifrin, piano Carl Herder, bass Garry Williams, drums As seen on tv and at your finer estabishments! BYOB and a twenty for the band! No reservations necessary. All ages welcome.

Howard Wiley, tenor saxophone Luis Peralta, piano Isaac Coyle, bass Ben Esposito, drums with special guest Tiffany Austin

Celebrate the release of a new Noertker’s Moxie CD—in flitters (49 bits from B*ck*tt)—with bassist/composer Bill Noertker and his cohorts, woodwindist Annelise Zamula, pianist Brett Carson, and drummer Eli Knowles. During the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic, as a way of staying sane, bassist Bill Noertker began composing strange and repetitious little ditties. As he re-read Samuel Beckett’s Watt—a book whose enigmas had long intrigued him—he saw the similarities between his compositions and Beckett’s absurdist novel. He was compelled to create a sonic universe that paralleled Watt. The result is in flitters, a suite of 49 short and whimsical pieces brought to life by the brilliant members of his long-standing ensemble Noertker’s Moxie. Byob and a twenty for the band!    

Two great San Francisco-based jazz artists unite for two sets of flute & piano duo work. $15 cover charge (cash or Venmo at the door, please), byob. An intimate and thrilling evening of music guaranteed. Gaea Schell’s new album “In Your Own Sweet Way” (Saphu Records, 2023) prominently features her flute work and vocals alongside the piano chops that have made her an important contributor to contemporary jazz. She  made her California debut as a twice-featured performer at the San Jose Jazz Festival and has been performing professionally and internationally in diverse contexts all along the way. Recently, work on flute with Cuban son groups has captured her devoted attention. Her experience includes everything from teaching elementary school flute choirs, trio to quartet to orchestral performance. Notable artists she has shared the stage with include Nancy King, John Stowell, Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath, Clare Fischer Big Band, PJ Perry, Marcus Shelby,…