Walker Brents continues his exploration of the work of the great French-Algerian writer and philosopher, Albert Camus, author of novels including The Stranger, The Plague and The Fall, the short story volume Exile and the Kingdom and numerous plays, as well as key essay collections The Myth of Sisyphus, The Rebel and Algerian Chronicles. Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. Suggested cover charge: $10 / sliding scale – $1 to $100 Use the links below: Take in Walker’s talk on YouTube or Facebook Pay your cover charge Subscribe to our YouTube channel Subscribe to our newsletter

Scott Foster plays from the sheaf of compositions he’s been producing during this “special period.” This is a special opportunity to get inside the workings of his mind and the play of his creative impulses. Our live streams are now accessed on both YouTube and Facebook! Suggested cover charge: $20 / sliding scale – $2 to $200 Support live music & the musicians who play it! Bird & Beckett pays a guaranteed fair wage and supplements it as your donations allow. Use the links below: Take in the show on YouTube or Facebook Pay your cover charge / make your donation Subscribe to our YouTube channel Subscribe to our newsletter

Nothing says something like this amalgam of charm! Say the Flying Salvias, themselves, “Being locked up since March has provided much time to ponder.  The Flying Salvias are therefore finally acknowledging that what was previously described as a “lack of focus” is actually two separate identities masquerading as The Flying Salvias.  So, along those lines, we will be presenting “The Return of K. N. Right” (Country) and “Pop Goes the Jazzle” (Not Country).What you will hear: A set focusing on K. N. Right material.  We’ll revisit a couple tunes from our original Kathy N. Right country CD from years ago, add in several new tunes, and remember our dear friend Kathi Kamen Goldmark by doing the song Kathleen wrote with her, “Older Than Him”  aka “The Slut Song.”Pop Goes the Jazzle starts off with “Henry’s Hideaway” which will set the tone and mood for the rest of the set; we’ve…

Wednesday, 8/19* at 7:30 [postponed to 8/26] Walker Brents III on Albert Camus (part II). Thursday, 8/20 at 7:30 The Flying Salvias – words fail us!  Friday, 8/21 at 7:30 Scott Foster plumbs the Covid file – solo guitar, new compositions. Our live streams are now accessed on both YouTube and Facebook! Use the links below: Take in the show on YouTube or Facebook Pay your cover charge Subscribe to our YouTube channel Subscribe to our newsletter As for Scott Foster’s show on Friday 8/21 at 7:30 Scott began composing a tune a day from the start of the lockdown in March, and so has a thick sheaf of material. Towards the late summer, he began laying down recordings of some of that material. We’re looking forward to seeing where he is in the process. He’s been a Bird & Beckett stalwart, in many ways the heart and soul of…

Due to difficulties with the live stream technology, this performance has been postponed. Watch for their return on a Friday in a month or so. Despite the postponement, Kasey & Eric played two bebop tunes with elan before we decided to pull the plug for the evening–so our 18-year streak of consecutive weekly jazz dates at Bird & Beckett continues uninterrupted! Kasey Knudsen and Eric Vogler have a long history of playing music together in various configurations. They have worked together frequently with the “Holly Martins” trio, along with vocalist Lorin Benedict. For this special Bird and Beckett livestream concert, they will bring you their favorite Holly Martins repertoire in duo format, along with a few choice standards, lots of rhythmic twists and turns, and a few free improvisations.   Listen here to a sample of their interplay on the tune SubconsciousLee: Suggested cover charge: $20 / sliding scale –…

Tom Huber embarks on a solo journey across a wide swath of genres and eras, playing classic tunes and original compositions. When you drop by for our live stream, if you’re not squeezing every dime, please donate generously — $20 suggeseted — so we can meet and exceed our guarantees to some fine Bay Area musicians in a time when paying gigs are hard to come by — consider it your cover charge! This evening, Tom has chosen to pass his guarantee along to some musicians feeling the economic pinch, and Bird & Beckett is matching his generous gesture. Suggested cover charge: $20 / sliding scale – $2 to $200 Use the links below: Take in the show on YouTube or Facebook Pay your cover charge Subscribe to our YouTube channel Subscribe to our newsletter

Sandra Poindexter, born and raised in Oakland,  studied classical violin from early childhood, and her musical experience flourished over the years to jazz, Cuban, mariachi and flamenco. For fifteen years, from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, she recorded and toured with alto saxophone giant John Handy ‘s group, John Handy with Class, performing before adoring audiences at the great jazz venues and festivals of the world. She currently plays with Orquesta La Moderna Tradicion, Avotcja & Modupue, and Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids, and teaches mariachi performance at Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy in San Pablo. Sandy is the recipient of the Premerio Artistico all Violinista award for the 2017 Novara Jazz Festival in Novara, Italy, as well as the Bay Area’s Jazz Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. Joining Sandy this evening are bassist Skyler Stover and drummer Sage Baggott. Skyler tours alongside Sandy with Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids;…

As an acoustic player, Valerio’s repertoire spans from the classics of blues fingerpicking and the golden era of Chet Atkins to contemporary artists such as the legendary Tommy Emmanuel, Franco Morone, Pierre Bensusan, and Daniele Bazzani incorporating sounds from the Irish tradition, American folk, jazz, ragtime, and world music. In his hour of fingerstyle at B&B he will touch popular tunes such as cannonball rag and deep river blues, play fresh compositions of contemporary steel-string composers, and won’t forget to pay a few tributes to rock and pop music. Please join us for an hour of fast-moving strings, rhythm, melodies, and entertainment! Suggested cover charge: $20 / sliding scale – $2 to $200 Use the links below: View/Listen – YouTube or Facebook Pay your cover charge Subscribe to our YouTube channel Subscribe to our newsletter  

Missed the show? You can view it and hear it here. Jump in at 5:40 and enjoy it. Up ’til then, it’s the logo and silence… This show was worth every penny! You’re indebted to the kind folks who donated to make it possible for these musicians to get a nice paycheck! Trumpeter Andrew Stephens & bassist Dexter Williams — two sets of trad, swing, bop & more. No audiences allowed in the shop these days, just the musicians and the proprietor, but thousands of you can listen & watch from home. If you can drop by for our live steam this Friday evening at 7:30, and you’re not squeezing every dime, please do donate so we can meet and exceed our guarantee to these musicians in a time when paying gigs are hard to come by — consider it your cover charge! Use the links below: View/Listen     …

Tune in for two sets of jazz classics & originals by two of the Bay Area’s stellar young musicians, captured for you by rising star Nico Mesa — the man who made our last live stream with this duo shine so brightly. Want to quickly get to the heart of the matter? Go to the 22 minute mark, and catch their treatment of Wayne Shorter’s “United” — you’ll be dazzled and ready for tonight’s show. Giulio Cetto / Javier Santiago duo Giulio Cetto / Javier Santiago duoThe bassist Giulio Xavier Cetto and the pianist Javier Santiago, both prominent figures on the San Francisco jazz scene, share an apartment here in San Francisco; fortunately, that cohabitating status allows us to book them as a duo for our live stream series, and we welcome them back! Posted by Bird & Beckett Books on Friday, May 29, 2020 For obvious reasons, pianist Javier…

Friday, July 17th at 7:30pm Rest in Peace, John Lewis the art of the duo Tammy Lynne Hall, piano Mads Tolling, violin watch it here Sunday, July 19th at 7:30pm The Music of Alice Coltrane duo explorations by Grex Karl Evangelista, guitar Rei Scampavia, keyboards watch it here   We cannot yet host in-store audiences for our events, and thus your donations are crucial and hugely appreciated so that we may adequately compensate the artists for their talents and their labors. Suggested “cover charge” for our music live streams: $20 for duos / $25 for trios for book events and talks, we suggest $10-20 ~~~sliding scale $0 to $100~~~ pay what you can but please don’t fail to pay something! drop a check or cash by the shop, or use Paypal at this link: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-B-and-B or use the Venmo app, sending your funds to @birdandbeckett Why patronize Bird & Beckett’s…