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!
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But nothing beats being in the room with the music & the musicians!
As part of a series of Bay Area tributes to the late soprano sax specialist and innovator, Steve Lacy, we’ll present an exciting two set concert offering aspects of Lacy’s work from widely-separated periods of his career: Tips, a cycle of songs he wrote based on Georges Braque aphorisms; and a quartet set inspired by his 1966 ESP-Disk free jazz outing, The Forest and the Zoo. Bruce Ackley (soprano sax), along with Phillip Greenlief (alto sax) and Aurora Josephson (soprano voice) performed Tips several times around 2007, and feel compelled to redo it. For The Forest and the Zoo set Ackley will premiere a new quartet, featuring Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Darren Johnston (trumpet), and the remarkable poet, Clark Coolidge (drums). In between sets, Clark will read from recent work.
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Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet’s The Greenhouse, published this month by Bull City Press, won the 2014 Frost Place Chapbook Contest.  Judge David Baker praised The Greenhouse “for its interplay of restlessness and patience, its mapping of an interiority both shared and dearly personal, and its lyric and maternal primacy. Primacy is the circumstance, yet doubleness is the story, the double birth of the poet’s infant son and her own coming-back-to-language. The poems of The Greenhouse are profound, fundamental works, born of a deep interiority and making their intricate ways, phrase by phrase, toward a design both organic and artful.â€Â  Read more here. Lisa’s first book, Tulips, Water, Ash, was selected by Jean Valentine for the Morse Poetry Prize. She has been awarded a Javits fellowship and a Phelan Award; her work has appeared in The Kenyon Review, Quarterly West, The Iowa Review, and 32 Poems and in the anthologies Best New Poets and The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry. Lisa lives in Oakland, California with her husband and son. She works as a…
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Art Pepper was without question one of the most sublimely beautiful alto sax players who ever graced the jazz scene, in his music and visage both… The dozen records that bear his name as leader are testament to his incredible art, and his autobiography, Straight Life — a collaboration with his wife Laurie Pepper — is one of the key documents of a life in jazz. Laurie has just published a memoir called Art: Why I Stuck with a Junkie Jazzman that is brilliantly written and insightful.  She’ll be here for our jazz program on Friday, the 19th of September, when guitarist Scott Foster puts his quartet (Larry de la Cruz on alto, Tomoko Funaki on bass and Omar Aran on drums) through the paces to bring Art Pepper’s legacy of music to life.  Alto sax player Jerry Dodgion will be a special guest on the bandstand for the evening.  When the…
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Nancy Morejón is a highly regarded Cuban poet, essayist and literary critic, past president of the Writers’ Section of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC).  Her work has been translated into numerous languages.  In 2001, she was winner of the National Literature Prize in Cuba. She’s been in the Bay Area for the past three weeks giving readings and talks throughout Northern California. Thursday, Sept. 18th, she will be at Bird & Beckett to read a little of her work and to celebrate her 70th birthday and her farewell to San Francisco, as this is her last event before boarding a plane for home. Come to Bird & Beckett to help us extend a warm welcome to an important writer and a charming person. Her latest book is Homing Instincts / Querencias“– a bilingual book of poems exquisitely translated by Pamela Carmell from Cubana Books (2014).
Read Moreplus Thurs., Sept. 18 @ 7pm writer Nancy Morejon, from Cuba. Sun., Sept. 21 @ 2pm poets Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet & Robert Thomas. Tues., Sept. 23rd @ 7pm poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan. and in October Sun., Oct. 5 @ 2pm Taurean Horn 40th Anniversary Reading Thurs, Oct. 16 @ 7:30 pm a Bird & Beckett Litquake reading! Seth Amos, Neeli Cherkovski, Patrick James Dunagan, Marina Lazzara, Jessica Loos Sun.,. Oct. 19 @ 2 pm poets Diane di Prima & QR Hand with Walter Earl on piano
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Sunday “which way west “series always 4:30-6:30 pm Today, September 14th, THE LOST TRIO celebrates the release of their new cd, MONKWORK Phillip Greenlief, sax Dan Seamans – bass Tom Hassett – drums Join us to hear one of the Bay Area’s longest standing trios (now celebrating 20 years!) perform works from their newest CD, featuring an all-Thelonious Monk program presented in fresh arrangements by the Lost Trio. . . Saturday jazz club series — always 8:00 to 11:00 pm 9/13 – THE GRANT LEVIN TRIO FEATURING NOEL JEWKES Noel Jewkes, reeds Grant Levin, piano Glenn Richman, bass Mark Lee, drums ‘ ‘ ‘ Friday “jazz in the bookshop” series — always 5:30 to 8:00 pm 9/12 – THE BIRD & BECKETT BEBOP BAND Hart Smith, flugelhorn Stephen Norfleet, tenor sax Sam Kady, piano Aaron Cohn, bass Jimmy Ryan, drums. . . . $10 suggested donation Friday and Sunday $10 cover charge for jazz club on Saturday (jazz club members…
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Smith Dobson V — widely regarded a key young musician on the San Francisco jazz scene on vibes, drums and sax — leads Bird & Beckett’s first Saturday jazz club dates. He is heir to several generations of jazz talent — his father, Smith Dobson IV, was one of the very best jazz pianists in the Bay Area and his mother, Gail Dobson, is a wonderful vocalist who will be bringing her own groups into Bird & Beckett in a few months, as her cd “How Fragile We Are”, with Smith on vibes and a wonderful group of musicians, debuts.  Smith’s sister Sasha is a vocalist based in NYC, whom we hope to lure out early in 2015 to share a date. When Smith was coming up, legendary jazz drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, said of him, “He has the talent, determination and persistence as a musician, combined with the dedication necessary to…
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Charles Curtis Blackwell, though his vision is profoundly impaired, is a renowned painter as well as an incredible poet, steeped in jazz.  His books include Lou Next Door and Is, the Color of Mississippi Mud.  Just out is the latest poetry collection, title to follow. An exhibition of Charles’ paintings — “The Mood, The Music, The Passion in Art” — is up through September 6th at the Oakland Public Library’s 14th Street branch.  More info available by clicking here.
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Live music from the Bird & Beckett bandstand three nights a week, EVERY week! Fridays, it’s “jazz in the bookshop” from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. Saturdays, “jazz club” from 8 to 11. Sundays, our “which way west?” concert series from 4:30 to 6:30 pm — mostly jazz, plus a few other things to broaden our horizons Friday, August 29th – jazz in the bookshop – 5:30-8:00 pm – special fifth Friday booking – The Dave Parker Quartet Plus One, with Charles Hamilton, trombone; Jerry Logas, sax; Hal Richards, sax; Dave Parker, bass; Bob Marshall, drums.  CD release party!  Jazz is My Religion – recorded live at Bird & Beckett! Saturday, August 30th - jazz club – 8:00-11:00 pm - Pacific Jazz Connection, with Jerry Logas and Smith Dobson, reeds; Keith Saunders, piano; John Wiitala, bass; Tony Johnson, drums – live recording session!.  $10 cover , or $7 for jazz club members ($75 annual dues). Sunday, August…
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Join us for a Friday evening celebration of a fantastic recording! Â The Dave Parker Quartet — with Dave on bass, Charles Hamlton on trombone, Jerry Logas on baritone sax, guest artist Hal Richards on soprano sax and Bob Marshall on drums will convene at Bird & Beckett to celebrate the quartet’s live CD — “Jazz is My Religion” — recorded right here! Bassist Dave Parker has fielded a quartet at Glen Park venues for over a decade — memorably at the Red Rock Lounge and now P’tit Laurent down at the corner of Diamond & Chenery, and many the fifth Friday booking at Bird & Beckett has been his. Â The last three dates have yielded a bumper crop of recordings, which he’s boiled down to this exquisite CD. Join us for the music and the party!
Read MoreA voice in poetry like Ayo’s does not come along often.  Attend to it and see what you find there.  Ayo’s father, Ra-Ta, will ride along on saxophone.  “some kind of poetic musical endeavor…” says Ayo… “or musical poetic endeavor…whatever. Me reading, my dad playing etc. Come on down, invite a friend, have a drink (there’s usual wine at these things).” An open mic follows, kicked off by our long-time host Jerry Ferraz… always an interesting, often a brilliant, time…
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Aggressively whimsical and charmingly incoherent. Reconnaissance Fly deliriously mixes Spam poetry, found texts and original lyrics with jazz, progressive rock, funk, samba, free improvisation, a small Chinese gong, and an arsenal of wind instruments all deployed against the forces of tedium! Amanda Chaudhary with keyboard and electronics; Rich Lesnik playing clarinet, bass clarinet, and soprano and tenor saxophones; Polly Moller with voice, flutes and guitar; Larry the O on the drums, and Tim Walters on bass guitar and electronics. On January 17, 2014, Edgetone Records opened a small cat carrier and released Reconnaissance Fly’s debut album, Flower Futures, into the wild. Live shows in support of this CD will be many and varied, including this one at Bird & Beckett.  In the fall you can run down to the Mojave Desert for some kinda seriously out of pocket experience, or wait ’til November and catch them here in town in the midst of a major Sun Ra extravaganza.  Dig the drummer today,…
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which way west? Sunday afternoon concert series. Never a cover charge, but your donations help us pay the musicians! $10 to $15 suggested for this date, but it’s totally your call. Sunday, August 17th from 4:30-6:30 pm: Vocalist and harmonium player Sukhawat Ali Khan brings in an ensemble with a second vocalist plus flute and tabla to perform music rooted in his family’s 500-year old Sham Chorasi tradition, shaped by his travels in today’s international, transcultural club and concert world. Sukhawat’s father and uncle, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Nazakat Ali Khan, were the preeminent classical vocal artists in Pakistan throughout the 40s and 50s, extending the Sham Chorasi gharana tradition that had been passed down through many generations within the Ali Khan family — a tradition that continues in the work of Sukhawat, his sister Riffat Sultana, and several of their brothers who remain in Pakistan. Sukhawat and Riffat…
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A new documentary film on Sangeeta Michael Berardi, avant garde jazz guitarist. Sangeeta will be on hand, along with director Burrill Crohn. Sangeeta Michael Berardi, from the 60s through the late 1990s, was a fantastic guitarist playing with the top musicians on the “out” side of jazz — Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Rashied Ali, Eddie Gomez among them — and made memorable recordings that sound fresh to this day In 2000, Sangeeta contracted Parkinson’s disease and a film on Sangeeta — “Playing with Parkinson’s” by director Burrill Crohn — is now nearing release. The film delves deeply to show us a musician whose intellect, talent, creativity and engagement have not dimmed an iota, regardless of the physical effect on his body. Sangeeta lives in Pacifica now, and his daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren live close by Bird & Beckett. It’s been very much a pleasure knowing…
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Scott Foster guitar, leads a stellar quartet, with Charlie McCarthy, sax; John Clark, bass and Omar Aran, drums, in a program of Bird, Monk and more.
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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.
Due to lapses in tax filings during and post-pandemic, the BBCLP's status as a registered nonprofit was suspended at the beginning of April 2024 while we reapply, which is expected to take about six months. Donations made after April 1st will not be tax-deductible until nonprofit status is restored.
However, we continue to present a full slate of programming live music and poetry, and producing literary chapbooks, and we seek and welcome your continued financial support in the interim. If a tax-deduction is not a major reason for your support to date, we hope you'll continue to ride with us while we navigate these next several months.
Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above, drop off a check at the bookshop, or drop one in the mail to:
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
