$20 suggested donation; any amount appreciated Noah Frank, trumpet Grant Levin, piano Chris Amberger, bass Genius Wesley, drums A brilliant young trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader, staking out classic jazz territory for 2020 in the company of some fine players bridging the generations!

$20 suggested donation / any amount welcome The Seducers have had a monthly gig at Bird & Beckett for three years, playing classic, outlaw and honky tonk songs by the likes of Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Bobby Bare, plus originals and a few from left field. Look for the Seducers every second Sunday in San Francisco’s premier little bookshop/listening room. Bring a beer if that’s your inclination, but for one outing a month you’ll get a nice break from the barroom clatter that can sometimes obscure the beauty of these fabulous bits of American genius. You won’t regret it for a minute. BYOB and kick back. It all makes for a lovely way to spend a Sunday evening before returning to the working grind. Joe Goldmark, pedal steel guitar Mitch Polzak, lead guitar and vocals Hank Maninger, bass guitar and vocals Kenny Owen, drums

Vibraphonist Yancie Taylor has been a cornerstone of the Northern California jazz scene for decades, most reliably heard for the past decade at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle in downtown Oakland where he’s long held forth with a combo and hosts a jam session that’s legendary. Tonight, he’ll lead a quintet at Bird & Beckett featuring saxophonist James Bailey, pianist Joe Warner, bassist Ravi Abcarian and drummer Ron Marabuto. $20 cover charge; sliding scale available

Tonight, the Mike Olmos Quartet Mike is just the best! And what a quartet he’s fronting tonight at Bird & Beckett… Mike Olmos, trumpet Adam Shulman, piano Joshua Thurston-Milgrom, bass Evan Hughes, drums Clarinetist Rob Barics was slated to front this band as a quintet, but had to bow out at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances. We’ll miss him badly, but we’re in good hands, believe you me! Jazz as it’s played in San Francisco in 2020! You’ll want some of this! Bring $20 for the band if you can afford it. Less if you can’t and more if you’re a silver baron! We love our jazz musicians in this town, and we want them to meet the rent so they can stay on the scene!      

Come to the fundraiser at the bookshop this Thursday! Scroll down for details! You can also click here to donate on-line.   Q. R. Hand, a key poet here in the Bay Area for many decades, needs a hand as he battles the ravages of cancer with scant economic resources. Turn out at Bird & Beckett on January 9th to hear colleagues read in his honor and to raise funds to sustain and cheer him through this difficult period. Click here to donate on-line. Q. R. is a towering figure of the American beat culture, hailing from New York and published in 1968 in the groundbreaking anthology, Black Fire. The cd “We Are of the Saying” by the a cappella poetry ensemble wordWind Chorus, comprising Q. R., the late Reginald Lockett, Lewis Jordan and Brian Auerbach, was released in 2001, and a volume of Q. R.’s new and selected poetry,…

Jerry and Josiah fix trumpty in their sites as 2020 commences and the battle for sanity is waged. You can contribute in the open mic.  Kim Shuck, San Francisco’s Poet Laureate, presides. No charge, but bring a few bucks for the featured poets if you can.

Mystery writer Bevan Atkinson ~~perhaps better known to you as Susan McGowan, a Chenery Street neighbor for many years~~ presents The Hierophant Card the sixth in her projected 22-book series of “Tarot Mysteries” entertaining and intriguing with the Tarot as Sue Grafton has done with the alphabet & as Cara Black has done with the neighborhoods of Paris

$20 suggested donation; any amount appreciated   Modupue! Bay Area Blues Hall of Fame Jazz Group of the Year 2005 and 2010 Soulful, righteous and joyous, no one mobilizes such amazing musicians as Avotcja! Their devotion to her and her music and poetry speaks volumes. Avotcja, poetry and small multi-percussion Francis Wong, saxophone & flute

$20 cover charge; sliding scale available The supremely charming and talented vocalist Lavay Smith returns to Bird & Beckett with her merry crew of skillet lickers, Danny Armstrong on trombone, Ron Belcher on bass and Chris Siebert on piano, for two sets of small combo jump blues and hot jazz!

$20 suggested donation; any amount appreciated   Keith Saunders, piano Ollie Dudek, bass Myron Cohen, drums horn player tbd

As the solstice leads to the new year, may we all find the kindness to love those we meet along the way. Photos by Michael Hacker, Los Angeles, December 13, 2013

Turtle Point Press, an independent publisher that has wedded literary excellence to superior design for thirty years, is very excited to bring out a new work of fiction by (former) San Francisco author Jonathan Tel, Scratching the Head of Chairman Mao. Join us for this pre-publication reading and celebration! Read a quick rumination by the author on his book here. Jonathan lived in San Francisco for many years, attended Stanford and now teaches at Stanford Berlin.

Come out and have some fun with us and a mighty little trio! Locomotive Sunflower Darren Johnston, trumpet Wil Blades, organ Jon Arkin, drums 7:30-10pm $30 cover charge

Seven events in the six consecutive days leading into 2020… Thursday, the 26th, saxophonist Dan Blake from Brooklyn with his East Coast collaborators Jarrett Cherner on piano (a transplanted San Franciscan) and the Israeli bassist Haggai Cohen-Milo, plus local hero Hamir Atwal on drums.  Esperanza Spalding has praised Blake for “un-packaging the avant-garde gracefully and soulfully.” Visit his website at http://danielblake.net/. 7:30-9:30pm, $20 cover, BYOB. Next, the 230 Jones Street Band closes out the year’s Friday-after-work “jazz in the bookshop” parties. They’re our sweet and swingin’ legacy band with roots in the Chuck Peterson Trio, which got the ball rolling 17 years ago, in the fall of 2002! We’ve never missed a Friday in all those years, and don’t intend to miss any going forward. Come hear what it’s all about. By donation, contribute what you can! 5:30-8pm. Then, Saturday night, when lights are low, we proudly present pianist Grant…