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!

Saturday, July 29th – 7:30-9:30pm
Dewayne Oakley Blues Ensemble

Dewayne Oakley, bass and vocals Ralph Nelson, guitar Anthony Peagram, drums $20 cover charge (cash, please) byob The Dewayne Oakley Blues Ensemble returns to play soul satisfying sets of blues, calypso and jazz. Dewayne has brought the pleasure and joy of the music to audiences all around the bay for five decades or more. For the better part of the 1980s, he was a fixture on the blues and jazz scene in Nagoya, Japan, and returned with his own record label, Naki-Do, and the Blues Ensemble. Dewayne has been a Bird & Beckett favorite and close collaborator since last March, when vocalist Jazzy Raja first brought his Blues Ensemble to our stage. Tonight’s trio date is his fifth Bird & Beckett engagement in as many months. Here’s video from his latest outing on July 8th. Plus a little something extra.

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Friday, July 28th – 9:00-10:30pm
Vocalist Kenya Moses

Prepare to be mesmerized by the captivating musical stylings of Kenya Moses; an extraordinary Afro-Brazilian American vocalist who effortlessly blends cultures, genres, and languages with her enchanting voice. Kenya Moses is a true musical nomad, fearlessly traversing boundaries and embracing the diverse influences that shape her artistic identity. With every note she sings, she seamlessly fuses the rhythmic beauty of Brazilian Bossa Nova with the soulful expressions of American jazz and Classical music, creating a harmonious tapestry that resonates with audiences around the world. As a vocalist, Kenya possesses a remarkable ability to captivate listeners with her storytelling prowess. With each lyric she delivers, she weaves a narrative that touches the depths of emotion and paints vivid pictures in the minds of her audience. Her voice, warm and heartfelt, invites listeners to embark on a journey that transcends time and space. Kenya is joined by an incredible ensemble of musicians…

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Jazz in the bookshop every Friday, 5:30-8:00pm
It’s the happiest 2-1/2 hours of the week!
Friday, July 28th – 5:30-8:00pm
The Tony Johnson Quartet

Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax Keith Saunders, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Tony Johnson, drums Bebop, hardbop, soul jazz and standards. Always swinging, always impeccably played, always with pleasure BYOB and a twenty for the band, or any amount large or small you can manage! A guaranteed fair wage starts with the revenue that can be gathered from those who enjoy the fruits of the musicians’ labor. That includes those who prefer to stay home to enjoy the live stream, naturally! If you’re in that number, pony up if you possibly can! We can tell you how, if you can’t quite figure it. This quartet represents the long run of jazz that spilled out the Haight Street bar called the Club Deluxe, lovingly run for decades, hands on, by the raconteur and singer Jay Johnson and then continued for another decade much to our delight, filling the night, and sometimes the noonday,…

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Sunday, July 23rd from 5:30 to 7:30pm
Marlina Teich Quartet

Marlina Teich, guitar and vocals; Rob Zuckerman, sax; Richard Saunders, bass; John Fisher, drums. $20 cover charge; byob. Reservations, call 415-586-3733. Marlina Teich brings an eclectic blend of bebop, swing, blues, and Latin music to Bird & Beckett this evening. She’s a San Francisco-based guitarist/vocalist specializing in swing, show tunes and jazz standards. Marlina has performed internationally at Sandals resorts in Jamaica; wineries in Sonoma County, California; and in hotels, including an engagement in Ben Swig’s Penthouse Suite at the Fairmont Hotel for the Italian Consulate. Along the way, she’s performed in countless clubs and restaurants and for private parties. She has worked a number of California prison tours with jazz bands, was a music instructor at San Quentin prison, and taught in summer sessions for the California Jazz Conservatory. She’s done studio work for radio commercials, and has played and recorded with a variety of renowned musicians including: Richie…

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Saturday, July 22nd – 7:30-9:30pm
Joe McKinley Quartet

Charlie McCarthy,  saxophone & flute Sam Cady, piano Joe McKinley, bass Alexie Berlind, drums $20 cover charge (cash, please); byob A band of veterans, giants of Bay Area jazz. The epitome of what the music has to offer those who take the time to partake.

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jazz in the bookshop
every Friday from 5:30 to 8:00pm
21 years and counting!
July 21st, the Scott Foster Trio

This evening at Bird & Beckett, Darren Johnston, trumpet, and Heshima Mark Williams, bass, collaborate with guitarist Scott Foster for two sets of explorations in jazz. It’s the Bird & Beckett Friday happy hour! 2-1/2 hours of jazz joy and good company. Don’t neglect to take part in the culture that enriches San Francisco. We’ve just lost La Cochina’s Van Ness Boulevard food court and the storied Anchor Brewery! How important to you suppose it is to hold on to the tangible things that make San Francisco intangibly unique? Jazz at Bird & Beckett represents one of those quintessential and completely tangible delights. The jazz culture well rooted in Bird & Beckett is a collaboration of audience and musicians. You’re indispensable in that mix. We began weekly 5:30pm Friday jazz parties in late 2002 and have never flagged. Scott Foster has been on the gig since the very beginning. From…

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Thursday, July 20th – 7:30-9:30pm
Ray Skjelbred & the Cubs

Ray Skjelbred, piano; Clint Baker, clarinet and trumpet; Jeff Hamilton, drums, play hot Chicago jazz and plenty of blues, something Ray’s been doing for five decades and more. Katie Cavera can’t make it up for the gig, and very sad to say, Kim Cusak passed away a few months ago. Still, Katie is still in the fold, and the Cubs play on. R.I.P., Kim. Another musician gone, but their presence will be always felt in the music. Here’s video of tonight’s performance by the trio of Cubs! And here’s 2015 video from a quintet date with the full Cubs complement, including guitarist Katie Cavera and the late clarinetist Kim Cusack, gone June 2nd at the age of 84, may he rest in peace, with Clint moving to bass: and here’s Ray’s last outing at Bird & Beckett, one year ago, July 5, 2022, also with Clint and Jeff, and joined…

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Sunday, July 16th – 5:00 to 7:00pm
Vince Lateano Trio
every third Sunday!

Every third Sunday, enjoy the simple pleasures of the Vince Lateano Trio playing two sets of great music. Vince Lateano, drums Peter Barshay, bass Ben Stolorow, piano byob and a twenty for the trio! Here’s video of the trio’s last outing, on June 18th: Vince Lateano has been an invaluable part of the San Francisco scene since he came to the City in the mid-1960s. He quickly found his place in the local jazz scene, playing, recording and touring with Vince Guaraldi, subbing around town for Johnny Markham when Markham went on the road with Sinatra and other major acts, and working extensively with Cal Tjader, Eddie Duran, Chet Baker, Clare Fisher and a host of others through the years… Later, all through the 1990s ’til it closed as such in 2003, he was the house drummer at Jazz at Pearl’s in North Beach, playing with his own trio several…

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Sunday, July 16 – 2pm
Neeli Cherkovski Birthday Reading, with Art Beck, Scott Bird, Jessica Loos

Join Neeli Cherkovski and friends for a reading to celebrate his 78th birthday! Hello I am the way I am because nobody could convince me to be otherwise, a simple thought to be not so easily deterred from the wreckage of bad behavior it’s okay to say “yes” when you mean “no” it’s okay to do your best while you grow old because no one really cares not even if they want to I am the way I am out of spite, I hold the appellation “poet” in high regard and take a simple line or two I am as I am tending the garden, fearful of court documents, wary of tax forms, I never learned how to pry open a box of butterflies I am the way I am capable of secrets despite my mouth, I turn up the volume and listen-in to real news, angry mobs in Budapest,…

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Saturday, July 15th – 7:30-9:30pm
Salhov/Behroozi/Lewis

Shay Salhov, saxophone Dahveed Behroozi, piano Jason Lewis, drums Dahveed Behroozi, Shay Salhov and Jason Lewis have nearly a decade of experience collaborating as a trio and as a quartet with the late bassist John Shifflett, focused on original compositions and steeped in improvisation, drawing on classical and world music elements. $20 cash cover charge. BYOB. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Find the Bird & Beckett live streams on our YouTube channel or Facebook page, and donate if you possibly can to support the musicians, the music and the venue! Donations to our general fund at this link  

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Friday, July 14th – 9-10:30pm
Gaea Schell CD Release!

Gaea Schell, piano/flute/voice Jordan Samuels, guitar John Wiitala, bass Greg Wyser-Pratte, drums play music from her new CD, “In Your Own Sweet Way” (Saphu Records, 2023) The CD features the same musicians — Gaea Schell (flute, piano, and vocals), Jordan Samuels (guitar), John Wiitala (bass) and Greg Wyser-Pratte (drums) — along with Carlos Caro (percussion on Cava dell’Isola, El Picacho, and Luna Plateada); Marco Diaz (trumpet and piano on El Pichacho). From Women in Jazz Media: While most of us stayed home during the pandemic and looked for projects to fill our time, GAEA SCHELL flew to central Mexico to play gigs with a Cuban son group, where she also swam in waterfalls in San Luis Potosi, began learning Spanish, and released sea turtles. She also went to Florence, Italy, to study opera, completed a master’s degree in composition in Vermont, won a Chamber Music America grant to work with…

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Friday, July 14th – 5:30-8:00pm
jazz in the bookshop happy hour with
Eric & the In Crowd featuring saxophonist Nancy Wright

Always a good time when Eric attracts the In Crowd to Bird & Beckett! He’s here with a fresh band on the second Friday of every month.   This time out, this is the fabulous band: Nancy Wright, saxophone Eric Shifrin, piano Bing Nathan, bass Mark Lee, drums     BYOB and a twenty for the band if you can manage it! Donations are voluntary, though necessary to support our determination to pay a decent guarantee regardless of audience turnout or financial enthusiasm. Be as enthusiastic as your pocketbook can manage, and as the music excites & pleases. Thanks for supporting live jazz in San Francisco in 2023! Here’s video+audio from Eric’s last B&B outing, the second Friday of June:

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Thursday, July 13th – 7:30-9:30pm
The Annie Orzen Trio

The Annie Orzen Trio pushes the envelope of jazz, bringing a unique repertoire of original compositions and freshly interpreted standards to the Bird & Beckett stage. Heavily inspired by their training in jazz and their collective love for modern genres of music, the group combines jazz, r&b, gospel, and funk into a contagiously exciting night of music. $20 cover charge (cash, please) $10 for students age 22 and under reservations: 415-586-3733 Pianist, composer and leader Annie Orzen, born and raised in San Francisco, is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Music in jazz and contemporary media from The Eastman School of Music (Rochester, New York), where she studies under acclaimed pianist Gary Versace. Her sound is influenced by her love for bebop, gospel, r&b, and modern jazz, all of which she combines in her jazz trio conception. Annie has performed at notable San Francisco venues including Brick & Mortar Music Hall and…

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July 13th to 15th at Bird & Beckett!

Two shows on Friday — Eric & the In Crowd featuring saxophonist Nancy Wright from 5:30 to 8:00pm followed by the Gaea Schell Quartet from 9:00 to 10:30pm; The Dahveed Behroozi / Shay Salhov / Jason Lewis Trio Saturday from 7:30 to 9:30pm; A Birthday Celebration Reading for Neeli Cherkovski Sunday at 2pm; and the Vince Lateano Trio Sunday from 5-7pm!  

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Monday, July 10th – 7pm
Poets Roopa Ramamoorthi & Vincent Calvarese featured this month in Kim Shuck’s Virtual POETS!ZOOM

Zoom links below! Join us to hear the featured poets and read one of your own in the open mic! Roopa Ramamoorthi is a scientist and poet who lives in Berkeley. Her poetry, essays and short stories have been included in 80 publications including Perspectives on NPR and various anthologies including best of 60 years of Spectrum and the Vona anthology Dismantle. Her writing also appears in India Currents, Ursa Minor, Berkeley Daily Planet and other journals. Most recently she conducted poetry workshops with people living with rare diseases and the collection Rare Sounds was published by the Ipsen Foundation. She enjoys outdoor Zumba and yoga and walking and of course reading and listening to other poets. Vincent Calvarese has been published in poetry, fiction, non-fiction and visual art. A San Francisco native, he now calls Coachella Valley his home as well as his muse. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84350265713?pwd=eE84V3BYdWxiSFBHNHhmdUt1WTUzdz09 Meeting…

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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.

TAKE OUR SURVEY

To take our SURVEY, click here, and help the BBCLP get to know you better! As Duke Ellington always said, we love you madly...

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

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