Noel Jewkes is a legend among Bay Area jazz cognoscenti for his 6+ decades on the scene as a master of the tenor saxophone and a number of allied instrument, a disciple of the great Lester Young, an expert in swing. Come hear him with a rhythm section comprising long-time associates, among the best in the business — pianist Grant Levin, bassist Chris Amberger and drummer Mark Lee. Jazz the way we like it! $20 cash cover charge;  byob, proof of vax; mask. For a reservations, call the bookshop at 415-586-3733. Doors open at 7:20 for the 7:30 show, and reservations are forfeited at showtime. Can’t make it to the show? Check it out in the live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.      

Henry Miller, the great novelist and essayist of mid-century (20th) American letters, Brooklyn-Paris-Big Sur, wrote prolifically on poets, particularly D.H. Lawrence, Ezra Pound (Henry’s crazy brilliant essay on Money and How It Got That Way is a reply to Pound) and of Arthur Rimbaud. Walker will ponder Miller’s thoughts, working Dante into the equation in the process, noting a certain commonality in their individual infernos and idealizations. Live stream only, on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Donate per the info on the screen to help us pay Walker for his thoughts and to keep the live streams coming.

Jazz musicians, this one’s for you. Drummer Vince Lateano leads the session with Peter Barshay on bass and Ben Stolorow on piano. No fee to play. Audience, bring a $20 to help us pay the rhythm section. BYOB Find the live stream on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Donate per the info on the screen to help us pay the trio and to keep the live streams coming.

Jessy Spino has toured through a couple of times in the past five years from Los Angeles with the band Girl Fry, playing  music she characterizes as melodic punk, centered on the guitar and charango, an Andean lute, plus bass guitar. Jessy is coming through solo this time to play with artist and musician Tasya Abbot. Come out and pay what you can. $10-20 preferably. We need your help to round up funds for the musicians. https://underneaththis.com/?s=spino https://girlfry.tumblr.com/ $10-20 cash cover charge; BYOB; proof of vaccination, a mask. Seating at 5:50pm. Reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Can’t make it to the show? Check it out in the live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.  

This afternoon at Bird & Beckett, Patrick James Dunagan calls to assembly a beatific crew to celebrate a legendary and ’til now unpublished work by poet David Meltzer.  Julie Rogers, Marina Lazzara,  Micah Ballard, Garrett Caples, Neeli Cherkovski, Gene Berson, Agneta Falk Hirschman, Sarah Menefee and Genny Lim read on the occasion of the publication of the storied poet’s Rock Tao, just released by Danny Rosen’s invaluable Lithic Press, of Colorado, & beautifully rendered by Lithic’s Kyle Harvey. The publication of Rock Tao brings to light a work that the Hawleys’ much fabled Oyez Press midwifed but left unpublished, save for some segments found in B&B’s own Amerarcana / Shuffleboil a few short years back, shaped by Nicholas James Whittington under the gaze of the grand master himself & his shrewd & wise sidekick Steve Dickison.   Rock Tao is David’s 1965 assemblage taking exuberant measure of a distressing time, the…

Always a good time when the In Crowd gathers at Bird & Beckett. Eric Shifrin, piano Rick Brown, trombone Chuck Bennett, bass Mark Lee, drums $20 cash cover charge; BYOB; proof of vaccination, a mask. Doors open at 7:20pm. Reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Can’t make it to the show? Check it out in the live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.

Solid, swingin’, straight ahead jazz & hard bop. Tony Johnson leads our fourth Friday jazz dates in the bookshop, has for many years! But tonight, we’re subbing in the estimable Smith Dobson V for Tony since he took a major spill on that bike he still rides in his eighth decade. He’ll be mending for a few weeks yet. Fear not. This is a great band, and Smith knows just how to join the swing. Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax Keith Saunders, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Smith Dobson, drums                                   $20 cash cover charge; BYOB; proof of vaccination, a mask. Doors open at 7:20pm. Reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Can’t make it to the show? Check it out in the live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.

A neighborhood party just for the heck of it! Do come! Joe the Quilter & his confreres Joshua Raoul Brody and Christopher in the Potrero Hillbillies gotta do something on a Thursday night, like play some music, and Joe’s good friend Soo Emens just needs to walk across the street from her bizness called POD opposite B&B…So we decided to throw Soo a party! BYOB and join us! Maybe Soo will bring her POD partner Kevelynne; we’ll invite the mayor’s favorite new public voice, our own Marion the haircutter from Dalere’s. Maybe Tony from Critter Fritters & Deb & Joe from Destination will come! Look for one of these neighborhood parties once a quarter. We’re thinking June 16, for Tony. It’s going to be a regular opportunity to let your hair down around folks you kinda recognize from the market, the canyon, the gym, the library, the dry cleaners… wherever…

HowellDevine returns to the Bird & Beckett stage! If you’ve never heard them, and certainly if you’ve never heard them live, you’ll be blown away. Gale force blues in store for you! $20 cash cover charge; BYOB; proof of vaccination, a mask. Doors open at 4:45pm. Reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Can’t make it to the show? Check it out in the live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page. Here’s a taste of what’s in store for you: Shack-Shaking Music “There is no blues band performing today as different as HowellDevine—nor as delightful.”  ~ Lee Hildebrand, Living Blues Magazine/SF Chronicle Triple threat talent, Joshua Howell (guitar, harmonica, vocals) and percussion savant, Pete Devine (drums, washboard), plus veteran upright bassist, Joe Kyle Jr. deftly mix Delta/Country Blues with wildly syncopated rhythms to create a rollicking present-day sound rooted in early blues. HowellDevine breaks from the norm, providing rich and complex textures integral to the music rather…

Greg Abate, saxophone & flute Ben Stolorow, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Michael Mitchell, drums $20 cash cover charge; doors at 7:20; show at 7:30. BYOB, proof of vaccination and masks, please. Reservations, call the store at 415-586-3733 during store hours (Tuesday to Sunday, noon to six) Can’t make it to the show? Check it out in the live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page. Alto player, flautist, composer, arranger and educator Greg Abate returns to San Francisco for two sets of jazz with three fine San Francisco musicians who’ve worked wonderfully with him here on previous bookings. Expect consummate skill, heart and commitment to his beautiful, soulful and hard driving music. Whether playing a lyrical ballad or gentle samba, or taking a blistering turn through a hard bop standard, Greg shows that he’s among the top alto players at work today. “Magic Dance” (Whaling City Sound, 2021), Greg’s…

Reprising a trio that worked together 15 years ago, guitarist Scott Foster has invited bassist Marcus Shelby and trumpeter Darren Johnston to reunite for a concert offering songs of peace and and other compositions, including Ornette Coleman’s “The Blessing” and Joe Henderson’s “Serenity.” Doors open at 7:20; show at 7:30. No reservations. The concert will also be streamed on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. 50% of the first $1,000 in contributions collected at the door will be donated to World Central Kitchen to support Ukraine’s war-besieged population, while 50% will go the support the musicians and sound engineer as a “guaranteed fair wage.” 100% of all additional door revenues will be donated to World Central Kitchen. Contributions can be made by cash or by check to the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project (please notate “Reunion Trio” in the memo line). If watching online, please donate via…

Pearl Ubungen dances in the intimate space of Bird & Beckett within the sound envelope of the San Francisco ensemble led by saxophonist Salim Washington — Scott Foster on guitar, Charles Thomas on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. An opportunity to absorb Washington’s “new synoptic vision of what jazz can be and do,” as Dr. Cornell West puts it. Dr. West goes on to say that “the fundamental spirit behind this music…lives on in new ways and novel sounds.” This event bringing together Ubungen and Washington unfolds in anticipation of the melding of movement and sound Ubungen has envisioned for an immersive community-based residency exploring the theme of Sacred City: Winter in America. Ubungen and Washington will mark the transition from winter into spring culminating in a ritual performance amongst the ruins of Sutro Baths at Lands End, at 6 pm on March 20th. Audience capacity is limited; for a reservation,…

Tonight’s reading features Olivia Soule and Brian K. Turner, with an open mic to follow. Olivia Soule completed her M.F.A. in poetry at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2018.  She has a B.A. in English and Italian from UCLA. Her poems have appeared in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, Pudding Magazine and Q/A Poetry, among other publications. She has also written about Italian literature in translation. Brian K. Turner grew up in California, fascinated by its natural diversity. He worked in a variety of manual labor jobs after high school, then enlisted in the military and was sent to Iraq, was made a Sergeant and manned an M1A1 tank as a gunner. He now operates an animal sanctuary, is a born-again heretic and an avowed neo-Marxist. His collection of poems, The House of Wolves, was published in 2020 by Blue Light Press. Fifty of his poems have been published…

Jonah Raskin has invited Steve Wasserman and Garrett Caples to join him in a bookshop celebration of the centennial of Jack Kerouac’s birth, March 12, 1922. Jonah’s recent novel Beat Blues: San Francisco 1955 is an evocative take on that era and the way it felt here when the Beats were tuning into a whole new sense of society and finding the words and the rhythms to express it.         Garrett Caples is a poet who lives in San Francisco. His most recent book of poems is Lovers of Today (Wave Books, 2021). He’s an editor at City Lights Booksellers and Publishers, where he curates the Spotlight Poetry Series, and has worked with Beat Generation legends like Michael McClure, Diane di Prima, David Meltzer, and Joanne Kyger. He occasionally served as Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s personal assistant. He has edited several books by Philip Lamantia. Jonah Raskin, is a professor emeritus…

Back at last! It’s been a few months’ hiatus, but the time has come. America’s favorite honky tonk band returns to their bookshop home for a couple sets of outlaw & classic country music. Mitch Polzak, Hank Maninger, Joe Goldmark and Kenny Owen deliver rave-up joy every time out! And tonight, Seducer emeritus Eddie Kendrick is dropping by! $20 cash cover charge. Doors open 10 minutes before showtime. Reservations, call the store at 415-586-3733. Capacity is limited. BYOB, proof of vaccination and a mask. Can’t make it to the show? Check it out in the live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page. Donate!