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!
Apply for your jazz passport this month on a visit to any one of four great San Francisco jazz clubs — Keys, Tipples, Black Cat or Dawn Club and patronize those wonderful joints! We wish them all great success, and we want their help keeping San Francisco jazzy and literary! You won’t need a passport to pay a visit to Bird & Beckett, the best cozy little listening room in town, heavy in jazz and ranging freely afield week after week after week. We’ve offered steady programming for 21 years and counting — and a twenty will be plenty to get you a wonderful couple of hours of music, with the books in all their profuse glory for your browsing & buying! Bring something to sip, bring your kids, bring your friends! We’re counting on you to come on in and to proselytize to your friends, relations & airbnb guests.…
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Litquake turns 25! Litquake’s 2024 festival kicked off with the Booksellers Ball on Thursday the 10th, an opening night bash at Club Fugazi in North Beach when the Litquake community came together to fête San Francisco’s independent bookstores. It was a catered event with abundant libations and a sizzling lineup of literature-themed drag performances hosted by Joe Wadlington of Happy Endings, a.k.a Jubilee! With festive grooves from Bff.fm DJ Lead Teddy and a reading nook curated by 17 of San Francisco’s best independent booksellers — including Glen Park’s own Bird & Beckett — folks kicked up your heels with local literati and celebrated 25 years of Litquake! Find the schedule for Litquake’s 10-day literary cavalcade of events here!
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Ava Koohbor is a poet, visual and sound artist. Through sound, words, and objects she seeks to find balance in everyday’s chaos. Her latest works have been exhibited and performed at Audium, APICC Festival 2023: Reimagine Horizons, and as a part of group exhibition at RootDivision: ME in a(ME)rica. Her latest publication, a collection of her poetry, Death Under Construction, has been published by Ugly Duckling Presse. She believes that each artist is a medium to transfer the world of possibilities to what is. She holds an MFA in Electronic Music from Mills College. avakoohborarts.com Evidence Trio is an improvisational group whose points of reference are free jazz, dark ambient, and radio emissions from the early universe. Andrew Joron, theremin; Kersti Abrams, sax and flute; Michael Wilcox, electric bass. $20 suggested donation; byob.
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Friday, October 4th, 8:30-10pm, Swerve: Darren Johnston, trumpet; Kai Lyons, guitar; Rob Ewing, electric bass; and Dillon Vado, drums. Darren says the combo, Swerve, is “not a swing thing, more a collective groove band doing each others originals.” It’s always a thrill to hear what Darren and his cohorts cook up. At a simmer or a rolling boil, it’ll be delicious. _________________ Saturday, October 5th, 7:30-9:30pm, pianist Larry Dunlap’s trio with Ken Miller on bass and Akira Tana on drums. Larry Dunlap’s tenure on the San Francisco jazz scene and internationally over six decades has included memorable work in long associations with singers Bobbe Norris and Amandio Cabral. As a pianist, composer, arranger and music director, he’s among the best in the business, with wonderful stories to relate. ___________________ Sunday, October 6th, 7-8pm, Mamboléo, a six-piece latin jazz band out of Ruth Asawa School or the Arts up at the…
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Come out to the neighborhood for the Art Walk! Merchants and cafes up and down Diamond Street between Bosworth and Chenery will feature fine and graphic art for your pleasure, perusal & purchase from noon to five on Saturday. Take a leisurely stroll in the canyon after you’ve stowed your treasures in your trunk, enjoy a leisurely drink at Glen Park Station and catch dinner in one of the neighborhood’s pleasing dining establishments, then trail up to the bookshop to browse awhile and catch the great Larry Dunlap Trio from 7:30-9:30pm. BYOB and a twenty for the musicians! You’ll be pleased that you did. We’ll keep the shop open for you past our usual 6pm closing time, so you can poke around while we set up for the trio. Then at 7:30 we’ll bring the lights down, and voilà, it’s jazz club at Bird & Beckett, a Saturday night tradition…
Read MoreSara Biel is a social worker and poet in Oakland, CA. She is an editor with Colossus Press and one of the founders of Oakland’s Starting Points open mic series. Her chapbook, Prescribed Burn was published in 2023. Daphne Gottlieb stitches together the ivory tower and the gutter just using her tongue. She is the author of 11 books in at least 5 genres. Daphne is the winner of the Acker, Audre Lorde and Firecracker Alternative Book Awards. She is currently at work on a new collection of poems and a novel about the ocean that features a shark who wants to wear lipstick. An open mic follows. Sign up at the reading. Time limit 3 minutes. Michael Koch hosts.
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https://www.facebook.com/bird.and.beckett/videos/563350992916034 sound starts at the 1:42 mark… fabulous to the end! The towering master of tenor saxophone (and many another instrument), Noel Jewkes brings his fine quartet that includes Grant Levin on piano, Chris Amberger on bass and Mark Lee on drums. Exceptional jazz beautifully played. We’re always grateful when any of these four fine musicians crosses the Bird & Beckett stage and most especially when Noel Jewkes, aka Dr. Legato, is leading the charge. $20 cover charge, cash or venmo at the door. byob. reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733.
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Led by bassist Safa Shokrai, with Max Miller-Loran on trumpet, Beth Schenck on saxophone, Mark Clifford on vibes and Jason Levis on drums, the Lost Shapes is a supergroup of players with a taste for jazz on the “out” side. Superb music guaranteed. You’re gonna have a good time with this one. $20 cover charge; byob. Reservations, call the shop at 415-586-3733.
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Pianist James Mitchell, with his trio that includes Curtis Aikens on bass and Evan Williams on drums, pays tribute to Bud Powell, born September 27, 1924. Bud Powell was one of the true geniuses who spurred the evolution of modern jazz in the 1940s and ’50s. $20 cover charge, cash or venmo at the door, byob. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733.
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Drummer Tony Johnson’s quartet takes the stage at 6pm with Smith Dobson on saxophone. Keith Saunders on piano and Eric Markowitz on bass. Count on two sets of hard swinging bop and beyond. This was Smith’s quartet in the halcyon, much missed days of the Club Deluxe on Haight Street. Tony leads the charge now at Bird & Beckett. $20 cover charge; byob. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Tony has a residency at Bird & Beckett on the fourth Friday of every month, alternating month to month between his quartet and the combo called the 230 Jones Street Band.
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Drummer Elé Salif Howell, a Bay Area native, plays Monterey in Chief Adjuah’s band on the Jimmy Lyons Stage Friday the 27th… but you can catch this young lion of jazz close to home at Bird & Beckett on Tuesday the 24th and Wednesday the 25th! We first heard Eli here on two dates in 2015/2016 when he was about 14 years old and he’s been here four more times since last December. We were pretty darned impressed by him in those early dates and have been absolutely floored now that he’s fully matured as one of the great drummers working in jazz today — touring for some years now with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and also the past couple of years with the New Orleans based trumpeter Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah; he was recently on tour with vocalist Jaqui Naylor and pianist Art Khu. He’s a busy fella, and for…
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Tuesday: The Elé Salif Howell Trio feat. Ryoma Takenaga, bass; Cecil Alexander, guitar – 7:30pm – $20___ Wednesday: The Art Khu Trio feat. Elé Salif Howell, drums, Ryoma Takenaga, bass – 7:30pm – $20___ Thursday: The James Mitchell Trio salutes Bud Powell – 7:30pm – $20___ Friday: The Tony Johnson Quartet – 6pm – $20___ Friday: The Lost Shapes – 8:30pm – $20___ Saturday: The Noel Jewkes Quartet – 7:30pm – $20___ Details follow! Read on! ___________________________________ Drummer Elé Salif Howell, a Bay Area native, plays Monterey in Chief Adjuah’s band on the Jimmy Lyons Stage Friday the 27th… but you can catch this young lion of jazz close to home at Bird & Beckett on Tuesday the 24th and Wednesday the 25th! We first heard Eli here on two dates in 2015/2016 when he was about 14 years old and he’s been here four more times since last December. We…
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The San Francisco Sextet plays the classic hard bop repertoire of the Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, and Hank Mobley, and many more; as well as beautiful ballads and blues. Erik Jekabson, trumpet John Gove, trombone Charlie McCarthy, saxophone Benny Watson, piano Jeff Saxton, bass Greg Gotelli, drums $25 cover charge; byob Drummer Greg Gotelli fields numerous great bands in the Bay Area, from the SF Quintet with vocalist Darlene Langston to the Buena Vista Jazz Band with clarinetist Don Neeley to vocalist Lorretta Gooden’s Hammond B3 combo. Many of the great veterans of Bay Area jazz have found a berth with Greg’s groups, including Noel Jewkes, Si Perkoff, Al Obidinski, Frank Jackson, Duncan James, Glen Pearson, Chuck Bennett, Denise Perrier, Mike Greensill, Marty Eggers, John Hunt, Andrew Storar, John Clark and a host of others. A modest but dapper guy keeping good time at the kit, Greg is…
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“AVOTCJA’s poetry is music and Avotcja’s music is poetry. Both are as hot as fire and as soothing as snow flakes. And in both she brings the best of her talent in Spanish and English. Listen to her. Read her. Enjoy her. Celebrate her.” • Camincha – Peruvian Poet/Novelist; & Pacifica Poet Laureate, 2017-2021. _______________ Poet/Playwright/Essayist/Fiction Writer/Multi-Percussionist/Photographer/Teacher, Avotcja is a Bay Area icon with her group Modúpue. At Bird & Beckett tonight, Modúpue will be a sextet with Avotcja joined by pianist Rudi Mwongozi, violinist Sandi Poindexter, saxophonist Francis Wong, bassist Heshima Mark Williams and drummer Myron Cohen. Modúpue was named best jazz group of the year twice, in 2005 and again in 2010, by the Bay Area Blues Hall of Fame. Avotcja herself was named a “Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association. Her radio shows on KPFA – Bebop, Cubop & the Musical Truth (Tuesdays, 8-10pm), and KPOO…
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Mutant Audio Mini takes jazz on a deep excursion into the pedal extremities. A half-decade of electronica exploration. David Boyce/saxophone; Scott Foster/guitar. $20 suggested, byob. Students/teens – $10. Kids free. https://www.facebook.com/bird.and.beckett/videos/811531316984745
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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.
We continue to present a full slate of programming of live music and poetry readings, and produce a literary journal and poetry chapbooks, and we seek and welcome your continued financial support by way of donations through our fiscal sponsor, Jazz in the Neighborhood.
Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above. Better yet, send or drop off a check made out to our fiscal sponsor, Jazz in the Neighborhood, with BBCLP in the memo line. Our mailing address is:
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
