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!
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…
Read MoreJimBo 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…
Read MoreAndrew 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
Read MoreScott 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
Read MoreCBop 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…
Read MoreJoe Goldmark, pedal steel guitar Mitch Polzak, lead guitar and vocals Hank Maninger, bass guitar and vocals Kenny Owen, drums The Seducers play the songs of Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and countless other giants of classic and outlaw country music. Bring $20 for the musicians! BYOB, too! Can’t make it to the shop for the show? You can view it from wherever you are on Bird & Beckett’s Facebook page or YouTube channel. Please donate to help us pay the musicians and maintain the live stream! You’ll find instructions on the screen during the stream, and you can also call us for information on how to do it. Thanks for supporting the culture!
Read MoreOver in the canyon, just up the street from the bookshop, the Gum Tree Girls Festival is slated for 10am to 3:30pm on Sunday the 10th, with live music, stirring oratory, informative history, food, drink, games and community camaraderie! You don’t want to miss it! With the Festival coming up in just a few days, they need volunteeers to help out! See the link at right! (Sunday, too, be sure to drop by Bird & Beckett after the Fest at 5pm for The Seducers, America’s favorite honky tonk band, live in the bookshop!) The Gum Tree Girls, you ask? In the mid-1960s, the Gum Tree Girls — Geri Arkush, Zoanne Theriault Nordstrom and Joan Seiwald, pictured here — and prior to that, in 1958, Minnie Straub Baxter, stood up and saved Glen Canyon from sporting a double deck, elevated “viaduct” expressway to the other side of Twin Peaks! Right over…
Read MoreSan Francisco journalist Denise Sullivan conducts a monthly series of conversations (the second Sunday of each month from 10-11 a.m.) with The City’s activists, educators, arts and cultural leaders and lesser-known workers, the everyday people who help make this place we call home, live streamed from Bird & Beckett Books. August 14th, at 10 a.m., Denise and Daveea Whitmire, co-founder of Third Parent Family, a community resource hub, established at the end of 2019, will have a conversation from our stage in a live stream viewable on the Bird & Beckett Facebook page and YouTube channel. During the pandemic, the need for Third Parent Family’s services, whether grocery and meal delivery or other needs were in high demand, especially within the African American community, will talk. Cutting through red tape of social services has been the organization’s special gift. With partner organizations and volunteers standing by to assist, we’ll hear…
Read MoreBob Kenmotsu, tenor saxophone Ben Stolorow , piano Ollie Dudek, bass Vince Lateano, drums $20 cash cover charge Doors open at 7:20pm for the 7:30pm show BYOB and a mask Can’t make it to the shop? Nothing’s like the real thing live! Ollie Dudek digs deep into the book of compositions by some of the greatest bass players in jazz, including Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford, Charles Mingus, Wilbur Ware, Paul Chambers, Red Mitchell and Sam Jones. For the occasion, he’s called up a terrific quartet of experienced players well known to Bird & Beckett audiences, well prepared to dig into the material.
Read MoreJulie Rogers is the author of three Omerta Publications chapbooks published pre-Covid that will be released on this occasion: Trading Fours and Sharing Breath, both written with her late husband, poet David Meltzer; and her own volume, Life on Earth. Her other books include House of the Unexpected, and “Instructions for the Transitional State.â€Â Two Tone Poetry & Jazz, a cd recorded with David Meltzer and saxophonist Zan Stewart, will also be available. Julie teaches creative writing and is the Director of TLC Transitional Life Care. Find her at www.julrogers.com. Peter Marti graduated from SF State University, studied at the Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. was a member of the San Francisco-based poetry collective Birthstone in the ’70s, was a rock n roll singer in ’80s, and was part of the Wordland performance poetry group in the ’90s. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2002 and has been…
Read MoreRay Skjelbred, piano Marc Caparone, trumpet Clint Baker, bass Jeff Hamilton, drums $20 cash cover charge at the door Doors open at 7:20pm for the 7:30pm show BYOB and a mask Can’t make it to the shop? Nothing’s like the real thing live! But if you want to catch it in the stream, look for it on our YouTube channel or our Facebook page. Donate to support the musicians! Chicago-born, Seattle-based pianist Ray Skjelbred returns to Bird & Beckett in the company of like-minded friends — three of the very best players the California trad scene has to offer. You’re in for an evening steeped in early Chicago style jazz on a rich program of originals and classic material. Wherever he’s been heard, Ray has been held in very high regard for the past five decades. His facility and imagination are unmatched, and his influences run deep — artists including…
Read MoreCatch some jazz on the eve of the 4th! San Francisco’s august Mission District institution, the Community Music Center, is sending a group coached by reed player Charlie Gurke for a 5pm set on Sunday July 3rd, to be followed at 6pm with a jam session open to students and budding professionals led by famed drummer Akira Tana, with Keith Saunders on piano and Eric Markowitz on bass. The Community Music Center has been a font of great local jazz musicians for generations–and has been teaching San Franciscans of all ages from all walks of life for one hundred years. The CMC ensemble, coached by reed player Charlie Gurke, on July 3rd will include: Brian Wood – alto sax Justin Willow – trombone Patrick Gallagher – piano Paul Yago – bass Wen-Hao Lue – drums Next month, on August 7th, another CMC ensemble will take the stage. That one is…
Read MoreNew York comes to Bird & Beckett tonight! Richie Vitale, trumpet star, plays with local heroes Keith Saunders, piano; Eric Markowitz, bass; and Ron Marabuto, drums. Trust Keith and Ron…you want to hear this jazzman. Doors open at 7:20 for the 7:3-9:30 show. $20 cash cover charge at the door. Call to reserve a seat – 415-586-3733. BYOB and a mask! Can’t make it down to the shop for the show. You can find it streamed live on our youtube channel and facebook page. Born in Rochester, New York, on September 23 (also John Coltrane’s birthday), Richard Vitale played with drummer Philly Joe Jones at the early age of sixteen. After moving to New York City, Richie performed with jazz luminaries Joe Williams, Barry Harris, Joe Morello and Sal Nistico, with Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennett, and with Sting and James Taylor. His experience with big bands has been no…
Read MoreDan Neville, vibes Brian Andres, drums Erick Peralta, piano Aaron Germain, bass Javier Cabanillas, congas $25 cash cover charge byob and a mask doors open at 7:20 for the 7:30 show Live streamed on our facebook page and youtube channel. Dan Neville fields an all-star Latin combo this time out at Bird & Beckett. Over the past several years, he’s brought many diverse projects to Bird & Beckett and has made several extended trips to Colombia and Cuba, studying music and connecting with musicians worldwide. Highlights include studying with the Colombian legend Diego Obregón in 2018 and 2020; in 2020, he spent an entire year helping build a recording studio, recording various ensembles, writing music and collaborating. Dan was featured on the radio in Guantanamo, Cuba in January of 2019 with his album Tenerife. Dan has spearheaded two successful crowdfunding campaigns: One for the release of his debut album Tenerife…
Read MoreDrummer Vince Lateano leads the session with Peter Barshay on bass and Ben Stolorow on piano. A lot of great players have come out of San Francisco. Get in their number. Before the saints coming marching in! No fee to play. Audience, bring a $20 to help us pay the rhythm section. BYOB
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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