When “you” becomes “we” is where absurdity transitions into meaning. Facts are cold; truth is warm. Such literary masterpieces as The Plague, by Albert Camus, offer our human souls awareness of this. And so, as if to answer a demand of the age, Walker Brents III offers a re-telling, composed before your listening eye, of this profound tale.  *  *  *  *  * No in-store audience is allowed due to the pandemic, but you can find the facebook live stream link by clicking here. Scroll down to find the video screen with the red “live” rectangle. Refresh your screen if you don’t see it–you might just be a little early to the party! You can, and we hope will, reward Walker for his prodigious intellectual investigations by sending $5 or $10 or $20 his way via PayPal at this link. or by Venmo @birdandbecket

Wake Up America Poetathon, Part II IF NOT NOW, WHEN? Live Stream, Sunday, July 12 at 2pm Poetry that speaks to Freedom, Love, Peace, Equality for All via ZOOM   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8615962043  Meeting ID: 861 596 2043 OR one tap mobile +16699006833 (CA) ,8615962043# US (San Jose) +13462487799 (TX) ,8615962043# US (Houston) OR facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/271042350933245 POETS: Dr. Kim McMillon, organizer and host Paul Corman Roberts Ayodele Nzinga Michelle Allison Safi wa Nairobi Tarika Lewis Briana Muñoz Tureeda Mikell Lucinda Clark Kim Shuck devorah major Karla Brundage Michael Young Necola Adams Rich Ferguson

Two peas in a jazzpod, Daniel Fabricant and Vic Wong live in the same building not far away, where Dan & his wife tend to their young baby, who’s getting an early introduction to roots and fifths from Dan’s serenades & lullabies on bass, while Vic posts a daily morning cup of jazz guitar to his youtube channel from the garage below. This evening, they’re traveling over to Bird & Beckett to work through a passel of tunes from the catalog Vic’s been building during these pandemic times.   Catch their B&B performance here.

  TonaLaura Jazz Duo is the musical marriage of the husband-and-wife team, pianist Laura Klein and guitarist Tony Corman.Laura’s unique, lyrical harmonic sense and Tony’s extraordinary arranging skills bring a rare richness to the duo format.  For this special performance, they’ll be playing a wide selection of tunes drawn from the Great American Songbook, bebop, Brazilian bossa nova and samba, and their own originals.   Stop by our facebook page this Friday at 7pm for a lovely evening of music. Here’s where to view the live stream:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/bird.and.beckett/videos/?ref=page_internal Here’s where to donate via Paypal: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-B-and-B To donate by Venmo: Use the Venmo app and send your donation to @birdandbeckett Give $20 if you’re able, more if you’re flush. Any amount is appreciated. No one turned away for lack of funds. Donate what you can to help our valued musicians survive, thrive and perform during this time when they’re facing a dearth…

We’re pleased to present classical guitar soloist Lyle Sheffler this Sunday evening. As a performer, Lyle is an integral part of the San Francisco music community, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He also maintains a thriving teaching studio in the San Francisco Bay Area. Besides classical guitar, Lyle is proficient on double bass, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo, and lute. He looks forward to a future of sharing his love for the guitar with his audiences and students, alike. Lyle began playing classical guitar at the age of seven and made his first public appearance at the age of eight. Acclaimed for his artistry, warm tone, and captivating programs, he has played at such esteemed venues as Carnegie Hall, Freight & Salvage Stadium, the Tilles Center, and the Hanoi Opera House, as well as numerous other concert halls around the globe. In addition to solo recitals, Lyle has…

Keith Saunders is in the very top echelon of great jazz players in the region, with decades on the scene in New York, decades more in San Francisco and environs, many years leading his own quintet back east, a deeply felt bebop ethos and a vast knowledge of the music in all its forms. He’s a go-to pianist for all the great horn players plying their trade in these parts, and many a vocalist as well. Plus, he’s a beautiful cat. Come to Bird & Beckett by way of our live stream on facebook to hear him play two sets of solo piano jazz for your Friday evening pleasure. Make yourself comfortable in your own living room, and enjoy your time with the music under the fingers of its great perfomers. Stop by our live stream on facebook for what promises to be a swingin’ and boppish foray into the…

This Thursday, 7/25, at 7:30pm, we present a live stream talk and performance by Zan Stewart — decades in the jazz journalism business and decades more as a jazz saxophonist and composer. He has stories to tell about the greats he encountered in his writing career, and notes to blow by way of illustration, tribute and self-expression. Stop by our live stream on facebook for what portends to be a fascinating, illuminating and beautiful evening. Here’s where to view the facebook live stream:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/bird.and.beckett/videos/?ref=page_internal Here’s where to donate via Paypal: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-B-and-B To donate by Venmo: Use the Venmo app and send your dough to @ bird and beckett (no spaces) Give $20 if you’re able, more if you’re flush. Any amount is appreciated. No one turned away for lack of funds. But do what you can to help a guy survive the downturn in gigs & revenues!    

A formidable roster of poets assembles this Sunday and three Sundays later for a reading addressing the searing moment, its long time coming and its crucial path forward. We are proud to be associated with this monumental gathering of voices at this pivotal moment in time Read at the link below an extensive piece prepared by organizer and host Kim McMillon to learn about, and from, the participating poets, each a seasoned and impassioned artist, all sharing a sense of urgency that we must heed. https://www.narrativepathsjournal.com/ guest-column-wake-up-america-part-i-by-kim-mcmillon/ https://ninaserrano.com/black-lives-matter-in-the-revolution-of-the-heart/

Jazz in the bookshop, every Friday! Jazz in America, and around the world, every minute of every day since the turn of the last century… and who can say when it really started. But jazz as we know it? It’s here now! This week, we present a return engagement by pianist Walter Earl — performer, composer, arranger, bandleader. Stop by our live stream on facebook for a beautiful solo performance this Friday evening, from 7 to 8:30pm. Here’s where to view the live stream:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/bird.and.beckett/videos/?ref=page_internal Here’s where to donate: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-B-and-B Give $20 if you’re able, more if you’re flush. Any amount is appreciated. The first $200 goes to Walter, the next $100 goes to the organization, and two-thirds of any donations beyond that point go to Walter. If you love Walter and his music, then help him out; if you just think musicians shouldn’t work for peanuts, then have the…

The Elegance of Noel Jewkes Saxophonist Noel Jewkes has been a revered and well loved figure on the San Francisco jazz scene for five decades plus, and he’s turning 80 today! We’ll celebrate in the bookshop with a duo concert featuring Noel and pianist Keith Saunders. Be sure to have some cake on hand at home! Here’s where to view the live stream:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/bird.and.beckett/videos/?ref=page_internal Here’s where to donate: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-B-and-B Give $20 if you’re able, more if you’re flush.

Adam Shulman plays two sets of originals and jazz standards from swing to bop to the new thing. He’s been a driving force on the Bay Area jazz scene as ensemble player, soloist, accompanist, composer and bandleader since moving to San Francisco 18 years ago.  At 7pm, you’ll find the  facebook live stream here Scroll down to find the video screen with the red “live” rectangle. Refresh your screen if you don’t see it– you might just be a little early to the party! Please support our featured musician tonight by donating via PayPal at this link. or by Venmo @birdandbeckett $20 suggested less or more as your circumstances demand or allow Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, Adam studied jazz piano with Smith Dobson while earning a degree in classical performance at UC Santa Cruz.  Now, he has four albums laden with his own compositions and a fifth on…

Rich and Jenny have each had long careers in the jazz circles of the Bay Area, and have worked together in a variety of contexts, not least their marriage… As a “cohabitating couple” we’re able to let them stand unmasked within six feet of each other to perform from the Bird & Beckett stage, if not for an in-store audience, then at least for the whole wide world tuning in via our live stream. Together, they’ll offer a number of jazz standards and Rich will assay solo versions of tunes including Come Sunday, Del Sasser, Cheryl, Lament and Footprints. Please help us offer a decent payday to a couple of fine musicians in a time of no gigs and short bread. Consider your $20 donation via PayPal or Venmo, or by check mailed to the store, a cover charge well worth the expense! It’ll otherwise be a cheap “night out”…

Boccaccio’s Muthologos Boccaccio (whose name means “mouth”) offers to us his purpose in composing The Decameron:  “to tell a hundred tales, or fables or parables or histories, call them what you will, told in ten days by a worthy group of seven ladies and three young men formed in the recent season of deadly pestilence, along with certain songs…”           And prose-fiction, relative to all we see, hear, and speak, has never been the same.            Why?  Because of all Boccaccio says, as words upon the page.  Even as they arise from a specific location, there are further worlds in these words, composed in times as interesting, dare we say it, as our own.   No in-store audience is allowed due to the pandemic, but you can find the facebook live stream link by clicking here. Scroll down to find the video…

The 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! No in-store audience is allowed due to the pandemic, but you can find the facebook live stream link here. Scroll down to find the video screen with the red “live” rectangle. Refresh your screen if you don’t see it–you might just be a little early to the party! If you prefer, look for the stream on the Bird & Beckett YouTube channel. You can, and we hope will, pay your cover charge via PayPal at this link. or by Venmo @birdandbeckett $20 suggested and encouraged; less or more as your circumstances demand or allow! Javi and Giulio are among the finest young…

Click here to view and listen on YouTube! King of the San Francisco saloon and salon pianists, Eric Shifrin sings too, and rolls through material from Cole Porter to Hoagy Carmichael to Gene Autry.   He’s been charming the swells, swindlers and stand-up guys in bars and bistros from the Barbary Coast to Nob Hill for decades and shows no signs of flagging. Our live stream will keep you smiling this Friday evening… tune in! And pay the cover charge (donate) if you’re able to help us pay this fine musician! Reward Eric for a sterling talent and a distinguished career and also help him meet the bills in this time of few gigs and short bread! If you find $10 a stretch, then contribute $5. Consider it your cover charge, please. There’s no audience in the house, so it’s up to you in your house! Here’s where to donate:…