This evening at Bird & Beckett, Darren Johnston, trumpet, and Heshima Mark Williams, bass, collaborate with guitarist Scott Foster for two sets of explorations in jazz. It’s the Bird & Beckett Friday happy hour! 2-1/2 hours of jazz joy and good company. Don’t neglect to take part in the culture that enriches San Francisco. We’ve just lost La Cochina’s Van Ness Boulevard food court and the storied Anchor Brewery! How important to you suppose it is to hold on to the tangible things that make San Francisco intangibly unique? Jazz at Bird & Beckett represents one of those quintessential and completely tangible delights. The jazz culture well rooted in Bird & Beckett is a collaboration of audience and musicians. You’re indispensable in that mix. We began weekly 5:30pm Friday jazz parties in late 2002 and have never flagged. Scott Foster has been on the gig since the very beginning. From…

Ray Skjelbred, piano; Clint Baker, clarinet and trumpet; Jeff Hamilton, drums, play hot Chicago jazz and plenty of blues, something Ray’s been doing for five decades and more. Katie Cavera can’t make it up for the gig, and very sad to say, Kim Cusak passed away a few months ago. Still, Katie is still in the fold, and the Cubs play on. R.I.P., Kim. Another musician gone, but their presence will be always felt in the music. Here’s video of tonight’s performance by the trio of Cubs! And here’s 2015 video from a quintet date with the full Cubs complement, including guitarist Katie Cavera and the late clarinetist Kim Cusack, gone June 2nd at the age of 84, may he rest in peace, with Clint moving to bass: and here’s Ray’s last outing at Bird & Beckett, one year ago, July 5, 2022, also with Clint and Jeff, and joined…

Every third Sunday, enjoy the simple pleasures of the Vince Lateano Trio playing two sets of great music. Vince Lateano, drums Peter Barshay, bass Ben Stolorow, piano byob and a twenty for the trio! Here’s video of the trio’s last outing, on June 18th: Vince Lateano has been an invaluable part of the San Francisco scene since he came to the City in the mid-1960s. He quickly found his place in the local jazz scene, playing, recording and touring with Vince Guaraldi, subbing around town for Johnny Markham when Markham went on the road with Sinatra and other major acts, and working extensively with Cal Tjader, Eddie Duran, Chet Baker, Clare Fisher and a host of others through the years… Later, all through the 1990s ’til it closed as such in 2003, he was the house drummer at Jazz at Pearl’s in North Beach, playing with his own trio several…

Join Neeli Cherkovski and friends for a reading to celebrate his 78th birthday! Hello I am the way I am because nobody could convince me to be otherwise, a simple thought to be not so easily deterred from the wreckage of bad behavior it’s okay to say “yes” when you mean “no” it’s okay to do your best while you grow old because no one really cares not even if they want to I am the way I am out of spite, I hold the appellation “poet” in high regard and take a simple line or two I am as I am tending the garden, fearful of court documents, wary of tax forms, I never learned how to pry open a box of butterflies I am the way I am capable of secrets despite my mouth, I turn up the volume and listen-in to real news, angry mobs in Budapest,…

Shay Salhov, saxophone Dahveed Behroozi, piano Jason Lewis, drums Dahveed Behroozi, Shay Salhov and Jason Lewis have nearly a decade of experience collaborating as a trio and as a quartet with the late bassist John Shifflett, focused on original compositions and steeped in improvisation, drawing on classical and world music elements. $20 cash cover charge. BYOB. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Find the Bird & Beckett live streams on our YouTube channel or Facebook page, and donate if you possibly can to support the musicians, the music and the venue! Donations to our general fund at this link  

Gaea Schell, piano/flute/voice Jordan Samuels, guitar John Wiitala, bass Greg Wyser-Pratte, drums play music from her new CD, “In Your Own Sweet Way” (Saphu Records, 2023) The CD features the same musicians — Gaea Schell (flute, piano, and vocals), Jordan Samuels (guitar), John Wiitala (bass) and Greg Wyser-Pratte (drums) — along with Carlos Caro (percussion on Cava dell’Isola, El Picacho, and Luna Plateada); Marco Diaz (trumpet and piano on El Pichacho). From Women in Jazz Media: While most of us stayed home during the pandemic and looked for projects to fill our time, GAEA SCHELL flew to central Mexico to play gigs with a Cuban son group, where she also swam in waterfalls in San Luis Potosi, began learning Spanish, and released sea turtles. She also went to Florence, Italy, to study opera, completed a master’s degree in composition in Vermont, won a Chamber Music America grant to work with…

The Annie Orzen Trio pushes the envelope of jazz, bringing a unique repertoire of original compositions and freshly interpreted standards to the Bird & Beckett stage. Heavily inspired by their training in jazz and their collective love for modern genres of music, the group combines jazz, r&b, gospel, and funk into a contagiously exciting night of music. $20 cover charge (cash, please) $10 for students age 22 and under reservations: 415-586-3733 Pianist, composer and leader Annie Orzen, born and raised in San Francisco, is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Music in jazz and contemporary media from The Eastman School of Music (Rochester, New York), where she studies under acclaimed pianist Gary Versace. Her sound is influenced by her love for bebop, gospel, r&b, and modern jazz, all of which she combines in her jazz trio conception. Annie has performed at notable San Francisco venues including Brick & Mortar Music Hall and…

Two shows on Friday — Eric & the In Crowd featuring saxophonist Nancy Wright from 5:30 to 8:00pm followed by the Gaea Schell Quartet from 9:00 to 10:30pm; The Dahveed Behroozi / Shay Salhov / Jason Lewis Trio Saturday from 7:30 to 9:30pm; A Birthday Celebration Reading for Neeli Cherkovski Sunday at 2pm; and the Vince Lateano Trio Sunday from 5-7pm!  

Zoom links below! Join us to hear the featured poets and read one of your own in the open mic! Roopa Ramamoorthi is a scientist and poet who lives in Berkeley. Her poetry, essays and short stories have been included in 80 publications including Perspectives on NPR and various anthologies including best of 60 years of Spectrum and the Vona anthology Dismantle. Her writing also appears in India Currents, Ursa Minor, Berkeley Daily Planet and other journals. Most recently she conducted poetry workshops with people living with rare diseases and the collection Rare Sounds was published by the Ipsen Foundation. She enjoys outdoor Zumba and yoga and walking and of course reading and listening to other poets. Vincent Calvarese has been published in poetry, fiction, non-fiction and visual art. A San Francisco native, he now calls Coachella Valley his home as well as his muse. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84350265713?pwd=eE84V3BYdWxiSFBHNHhmdUt1WTUzdz09 Meeting…

The second Sunday of every odd month, we welcome the Seducers to take us to the sweet, beating heart of the country, where everyone suffers the same heartache and joy. Don’t miss a good thing! BYOB and a twenty for the band!

On Sunday, Warm Spell & Ouroboros join forces to help put Bird & Beckett fully back on our feet! Bird & Beckett is safe in the world with friends like you, and these wonderful musicians, poets at heart… please come hear them in your neighborhood bookshop, and bring what you can to donate to the cause of keeping Bird & Beckett afloat and helping it thrive in San Francisco, in California, in the Americas, in the world, in 2023 and beyond… Taken together, these two bands bring us a dozen exploratory improvisers, many of them supporting their music jones working day jobs as poets.  Warm Spell comprises Marina Lazzara, Brian Lucas, J. Lee, Kevin Van Yser Loo, and sometimes Richard Marriott, but this time Tammy Fortin. Ouroboros is the concoction of Clark Coolidge, Sheldon Brown, Joseph Noble and Andrew Joron. Are they poets wielding musical instruments or instruments wielding poets?…

Saturday, July 8th from 7:30 to 9:30, the Dewayne Oakley Blues Ensemble featuring pianist Vincent Khoe and drummer Jon Krosnick plays two sets of blues, calypso and jazz. Dewayne has brought the pleasure and joy of the music to audiences all around the bay for five decades or more. For the better part of the 1980s, he was a fixture on the blues and jazz scene in Nagoya, Japan, and returned with his own record label, Naki-Do, and the Blues Ensemble. Dewayne has been a Bird & Beckett favorite and close collaborator since last March, when vocalist Jazzy Raja first brought his Blues Ensemble to our stage. Tonight’s trio date is his fourth Bird & Beckett engagement in as many months, the last two in duo with guitarist Ralph Nelson. On Sunday, it’s a benefit concert by Warm Spell & Ouroboros to help put Bird & Beckett fully back on…

Don Neely, tenor saxophone Duncan James, guitar Eric Shifrin, piano Jim Kerwin, bass Greg Gotelli, drums $20-$25 suggested donation. pay what you can! byob. Jazz rooted in the early 1900s New Orleans musical traditions. It was a time when guitarist Danny Barker — born in 1909 into the famed Barbarin family and a great chronicler of the early music — grew up amidst the creative ferment of Jelly Roll Morton, Jimmy Noone, Baby Dodds, Kid Ory, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong…  so many giants of the time. Duncan James pays homage and plays for today.  

Poet Michael Warr and poet/translator Chun Yu, co-founders of Two Languages / One Community, present work that has evolved out of the project, which includes contributions from renowned authors from Chinese American and African American communities. The collaboration—which emerged during a period defined by COVID, injustice, violence, and social division—reflects the possibility of unity rooted in creativity. An open mic follows. Michael Koch and Jerry Ferraz host. _________________ Two Languages / One Community (TLOC) is the product of two poets born and raised in profoundly different countries (China and America), who spoke dramatically distinct languages and grew up in cultural and social environments with seemingly little in common. Through poetry, Yu and Warr found powerful connections and built the project to bridge the two cultures and peoples. TLOC’s first public program was a workshop series that used writing, storytelling, and translation to exchange culture and life experiences between Chinese American…

  Scott Larson,  trombone Keith Saunders, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Smith Dobson, drums Four swingin’ cats showing how hard bop is done in 2023! $20 cover charge byob

Tomorrow’s jazz tonight! Mario Ramirez, tenor sax Isaiah Harwood, piano Zach Gamble, guitar Jonny Kaminek, bass  Sheldon Alexander, drums New takes on the old standards, tunes that speak to the musicians’ individual sensibilities and originals from four young players well schooled in recent years at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley and now gigging in all the ways you do when you’re a working freelance musician in America. Read drummer/leader Sheldon Alexander’s bio here. $20 cover charge byob

  Powerhouse saxophonist Nancy Wright joins the Fishpeople for an evening of Western-swing, ragtime-blues,and honky-tonk rock+roll JimBo Trout, guitar & vocals Nancy Wright, saxophone Steve Neil, bass Pete Lind, drums Happy hour show; two sets, byob, $20 suggested cover charge

    Wednesday 6/28 at 7pm. A Memorial Reading to Celebrate Nancy Wakeman. Poets gather to celebrate one of their own, a lovely poet and a fine friend of Bird & Beckett.   Thursday 6/29 at 7:30pm. Poets Angie Minkin, Heather Estes Saunders, Robin Michel & Kevin Dublin — plus Magic Dan. Poets read their work. No charge.         Friday 6/30 — two shows – 5:30 & 9:00pm. JimBo Trout & the Fishpeople 5:30 to 8pm – $20 at the door. Western-swing, ragtime-blues, and honky-tonk rock+roll Nancy Wright, sax; JimBo Trout, guitar & vocals; Steve Neil, bass; Pete Lind, drums Sheldon Alexander Quartet 9 to 10:30pm – $20 at the door. Young players show the way to Bay Area Jazz as it’s evolving in mid-2023. check the video on Sheldon’s website at this link Mario Ramirez, tenor sax; Zach Gamble, guitar; Jonny Kaminek, bass;  Sheldon Alexander, drums…

Tony Peebles, saxophone Christian Tumalan, piano Aaron Germain, bass Brian Andres, drums $20 suggested cover. Pay what you can! BYOB. Four giants of the San Francisco Bay Area’s Jazz, Latin & Latin Jazz scenes celebrate the release of their debut cd “Los Gatos Negros.” At this link, you can hear a track and read more:  https://www.brianandres.com/brian-andres-quartet Leader Brian Andres has a deep resume. Long a key Bay Area drummer, composer and bandleader, Brian was raised by professional musicians in Columbus, Ohio. There, he gained early professional credentials from performances with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Little Anthony and the Imperials and Tony Award winner and Broadway star Faith Prince, as well as with such artists as Leroy “Sugar” Bonner from The Ohio Players, blues greats Sam Myers and Lonnie Mack and television and movie star Woody Harrelson. Brian’s growing interest in Latin music and culture brought him to…

Jam Session! All serious jazz musicians welcome! Last Sunday of every month hosted by the Vince Lateano Trio. Vince Lateano, drums. Peter Barshay, bass. and special guest Gaea Schell, piano. No charge to play. Audience donations appreciated, $10-20 suggested, to help us pay the trio.

Paul Hanson has played bassoon all over the world, in jazz clubs and jazz festivals, concert halls and back rooms, and notably for three years with Cirque du Soleil in Tokyo. In 2008, Paul was invited to create his own role as electric improvising bassoonist in Cirque Du Soleil’s ZED – a resident show at Tokyo Disney Resort. This unique creation performed 380 shows a year from 2008-2011. To this day Cirque Du Soleil auditions bassoonists because of the ZED role Paul helped develop and create. Before and since the Cirque run, Paul has traveled the globe, stunning audiences with the flexibility of his conception and execution on a challenging instrument not known for its flexibility. Paul is home in the Bay Area now, and played here at Bird & Beckett recently with his friends in the Berkeley Choro Ensemble. Now he’s bringing a duo project into the store for…

Friday, Tony Johnson’s 230 Jones Street Band at 5:30pm – $20 suggested donation ……………….– a quartet: Noel Jewkes, sax; Si Perkoff, piano; Chuck Bennett, bass; Tony Johnson, drums                 Jazz the Glass at 9:00pm – $20 at the door ………………–a trio: Daniel Heffez, saxophone; Adam Shulman, piano; Omar Aran, drums Saturday, Paul Hanson/Dave MacNab Duo at 7:30pm – $15 at the door ………………..–bassoon & guitar Sunday, Jam Session with the Vince Lateano Trio at 5pm – $20 suggested donation ………………–Ben Stolorow, piano; Peter Barshay, bass; Vince Lateano, drums

POSTPONED: The REO Trio brings together three instrumentalists deeply committed to collective improvisation. Larry Ochs and Don Robinson have worked as a duo over the past 10 years, extending to three decades their association in a number of collaborative settings. Ochs says: “Our playing together has evolved to a really special place, I think. We’re definitely coming out of the tradition of horn-drum duos from John Coltrane & Rashied Ali to Wadada Leo Smith & Louis Moholo-Moholo, but we’ve found our own space after a long stretch of shows together.” Their duo sets include original material, with some high-energy playing and things that are more spatial, as well as some homages to more popular music. “In a sparse setting like this,” Ochs continues, “the music hits a listener right away – nothing is obscured, everything is clear.” With the incorporation of Karl Evangelista, the trio structure promises an exponential expansion…

David Murray is considered to be the most influential tenor saxophonist of his generation. He has recorded more than 300 acclaimed projects. He has worked with many of the giants, such as Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Jack DeJohnette, Chico Hamilton, Elvin Jones, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Randy Weston, the list goes on. He is cofounder of the World Saxophone Quartet and leads the famed David Murray Quartet, David Murray Octet and David Murray Big Band. Sir Kahil El’Zabar, was Knighted by the Council General of France for his Global contributions to the Arts. He has performed with luminaries including Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Pharoah Sanders, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Archie Shepp, Eddie Harris, Donny Hathaway, Paul Simon, Ntozake Shange, Nona Hendryx, Neneh Cherry, Lester Bowie, Hamiet Bluiett, Malachi Favors and Gene Ammons, to name a few. Sir Kahil El’Zabar has recorded over 100 acclaimed projects and founded and…

Meister Eckhart. The supreme exemplar of a wholly original interpretation of a perennial teaching. From the thirteenth century to the present day, the influence of his thought is totally unique wherever it appears. This is true timelessness. From what ground has this living organism of thought grown? How have his expressions flourished all these centuries? How did he respond to accusations of heresy? His story inspires. Each passing era reveals a different nuance of its richness. Walker Brents III presents a talk on diverse subjects midweek midmonth, except July and August when he’s traveling and December when there are other reasons to be distracted from the task. Tune in to our live stream on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.

Every third Sunday, enjoy the simple pleasures of the Vince Lateano Trio playing two sets of great music. Vince Lateano, drums Peter Barshay, bass Ben Stolorow, piano byob and a twenty for the trio! Vince Lateano has been an invaluable part of the San Francisco scene since he came to the City in the mid-1960s. He quickly found his place in the local jazz scene, playing, recording and touring with Vince Guaraldi, subbing around town for Johnny Markham when Markham went on the road with Sinatra and other major acts, and working extensively with Cal Tjader, Eddie Duran, Chet Baker, Clare Fisher and a host of others through the years… Later, all through the 1990s ’til it closed as such in 2003, he was the house drummer at Jazz at Pearl’s in North Beach, playing with his own trio several nights a week and backing up any number of musicians…

The Prodigal Son Returns!!!! After 5 years! A night of Reminiscing and Live Cuban music with Sandor y Su Mecanica! Tonight, Sandor’s Mecanica features Ivan Camblor on tres  and vocals, Carlos Caro on congas, Yadier Noa on bass and special guest Nicha on trumpet, plus Sandor his own self on timbales. A favorite son of la jazz familia de la bahia, whose travels have taken him away to Miami, Costa Rica and Cuba these past six years, returns on a visit to reunite in music with friends old and new just in time to help the Bird & Beckett proprietor celebrate his 67th birthday! _____________________________________ Below, the March 2018 edition of Sandor’s Mecanica at Bird & Beckett – Sandor, second from right, with (left to right) Juan Ceballos (flute), Fito Reinoso (tres & vocal), Gabriel Navia (guitar) and Sandy Perez (congas)

Guitar madness is in store when John Schott joins Scott Foster for the late show at Bird & Beckett this Friday. Guitarist Scott Foster has been holding down our third Friday happy hour booking for many years, and tonight he’s doubling down with a second show in our late slot. He’s invited a fellow pluctrum-wielding genius, the inimitable John Schott, to share the stage. They promise a madcap quartet date for your pleasure, with two more wonderful musicians joining the fun: bassist Carla Kaufman and drummer Jason Levis. You don’t want to miss it! Two sets starting at 9pm $20 cover charge (cash please, sliding scale available if need be) byob Don’t miss Scott’s 5:30-8:00pm trio with bassist Dan Fabricant and drummer Brandon Etzler, either! You can grab a little dinner at Tekka House or another of our fine Glen Park gustatoriums from 8 to 9, then get back to…