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!

Sunday, December 29th – 4:30-6:30 pm
Duncan James Trio
which way west?
Sunday concert series

$20 suggested donation; any amount appreciated Duncan James, guitar, and Jon Erikson, vibes, co-lead a trio featuring bassist John Wiitala through two sets of swinging, joyful jazz music to warm the cockles of your holiday heart.

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Saturday, December 28th – 7:30-10pm
Grant Levin Quintet
jazz club! when lights are low…
every Saturday night

$20 cover charge; sliding scale available. jazz, as it’s played in San Francisco at the end of the decade! Grant Levin, piano; Danny Brown, tenor sax; Aaron Cohn, bass; Pepe Jacobo, percussion; Mark Lee, drums. Five players among the very best in the business.

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Saturday, December 28th – 4:30pm
Elina Ansary’s Ghost Tour:
Glen Park

Ghost Tour: San Francisco memorializes collective memories of the City’s neighborhoods as an antidote to its rapid gentrification. It aims to rally a community around remembrance and in this way keep “the old San Francisco” alive. Elina Ansary has created two sections so far: one for Dolores Park and one for Bernal Hill. Each section consists of a small sculpture and an accompanying zine, an illustrated anthology of memories about the place on which it centers. Elina was born and raised in Bernal Heights. She now lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more here.

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Friday, December 27th – 5:30-8pm
230 Jones Street,
Local 6 Literary Jazz Band
jazz in the bookshop
every Friday since 2002

  $20 suggested donation; contribute what you can. Talk about your San Francisco jazz! On the fourth Friday of each month, our weekly “jazz in the bookshop” series features the 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band — comprising five consummate jazz musicians whose individual histories on the local jazz scene date back to the 1950s & ’60s. Ray Loeckle, tenor sax Jerry Logas, baritone sax, clarinet, flute and vocals Duncan James, guitar (subbing this evening for Glen Deardorff) Dean Reilly, bass Tony Johnson, drums 230 Jones Street carries on a jazz tradition at Bird & Beckett that began in 2002 when these players’ long-time friend and bandstand colleague, Chuck Peterson, inaugurated our weekly Friday-after-work jazz party. 17 years now, with never a missed Friday! Chuck’s in retirement now up in Santa Rosa, but this is his legacy band, and it swings on mightily every fourth Friday at Bird…

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Thursday, December 26th – 7:30pm
Daniel Blake Quartet
On Tour!

$20 cover charge; sliding scale available ($10 suggested for musicians, students, limited income) From New York, Daniel Blake, saxophone, leads a quartet in an NYC-SF Jazz Summit, with Jarrett Cherner, piano & Haggai Cohen Milo, bass also traveling in from the east, joined by our own Hamir Atwal, drums. Read Dan’s bio and hear samples of his music on his website. Esperanza Spalding has praised Dan for “un-packaging the avant-garde gracefully and soulfully.” A much admired composer as well as bandleader, collaborator and soloist, he has played internationally with Spalding, Julian Lage, Anthony Braxton, Kenny Werner, and many others, and has released several albums, starting with “The Party Suite” in 2006 and including acclaimed “The Aquarian Suite” (2012) and “The Digging” (2016). Here’s an August 2018 performance in Mt. Kisco, NY, an hour north of Manhattan, by Dan with The Digging, his working trio with bassist Dmitry Ishenko and drummer…

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Sunday, December 22nd – 4:30-6:30 pm
Steve Freund’s Big 3 Trio
which way west?
Sunday concert series

Steve Freund, guitar Joe Kyle, Jr., bass Pete Devine, drums $20 suggested donation Guitarist, producer and bandleader Steve Freund, praised by Rolling Stone for his “masterful, no-nonsense guitar work,” continues to share his feeling for the blues wherever he can. Developing his love for American roots music, including blues and jazz, in Brooklyn during the 1960’s, Steve moved to Chicago after meeting the legendary pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim, in 1969 at a show in Greenwich Village. Slim told Steve to “look me up when you come to Chicago.” That is exactly what the young guitarist did, arriving in 1976 and staying until 1994. During that period Freund played an average of 200 shows per year, with many being two or even three gigs a day. The list of blues masters he has worked with includes Sunnyland Slim, James Cotton, Big Walter Horton, Koko Taylor, Floyd Jones, Luther Allison, and…

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Saturday, December 21st – 7:30-10pm
Slow & Steady Records
Album Release Celebration
Bastet + CHIVES double bill!

Bastet:  Justin Rock – Guitar, Giulio Xavier Cetto – Bass, Mike Quigg – Drums CHIVES:  Steven Lugerner – Woodwinds, Matthew Wohl – Bass, Max Jaffe – Drums Find Bastet’s brand spanking new “At the Age of Zero” at Slow & Steady Records and CHIVES’ three albums to date here Read about them in the press Hear them at Bird & Beckett 12/21! Two bands, $20 cover _______________________ Led by guitarist Justin Rock, Bastet takes the art of improvisation and the art of the trio into edgy, unfiltered territory. The “grunge-jazz” or “grazz” trio brings Rock’s distinct compositional voice to life, featuring Bay Area stalwarts Giulio Xavier Cetto on bass and Mike Quigg on drums. The trio’s contagious onstage chemistry comes from years playing and touring together, as well as its welcoming spirits, bringing listeners into its exploratory, at times time-bending ambiance. With four albums to date, and on the verge of…

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POETS! every 1st & 3rd Monday
Monday, December 16th – 7pm
Kim Shuck & Jerry Ferraz, plus an open mic

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Saturday, December 14th – 7:30-10pm
Jack Tone Riordan Quartet
jazz club! when lights are low…
every Saturday night

Jack Tone Riordan, guitar Grant Levin, piano Matt Montgomery, bass James Gallagher, drums Jazz as it’s played in San Francisco in 2019! $20 cover charge; sliding scale available

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December 13th to 15th, Friday to Sunday
Eric & the In Crowd, Jack Tone Riordan Quartet, JimBo Trout & the Fishpeople… One damn fine thing after another!

Scroll down the home page for a blow by blow… then blow in here & hear ’em blow! We are so very lucky to be living in America at the end of 2019! Really! Despite its obvious shortcomings… Happy holidays!

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Friday, December 13th – 5:30-8pm
Eric & the In Crowd
jazz in the bookshop
every Friday after work

$20 suggested donation; any amount appreciated Eric Shifrin, piano and vocals, leads this incarnation of the In Crowd featuring Rick Elmore on trombone, Bing Nathan on bass, Randy Lee Odell on drums and special guest vocalist Emily Hayes! The In Crowd’s upbeat kit bag of semi-obscure and totally precious swing, latin and blues tunes will be augmented for this holiday concert to include selections which honor the memory of the irreplaceable Ralph Carney. Eric and Ralph formed a band called EaR Candy which performed several times at Bird and Beckett before Ralph’s untimely death two years ago. Ralph’s unique voice has been sorely missed in the Bay Area. All of the musicians in this evening’s ensemble enjoyed much collaboration with him over the years. The Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund’s subsidy of this date allows us to pay a “fair wage” of $150 per musician today, double our regular guarantee on…

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Sunday, December 15th – 4:30-6:30 pm
JimBo Trout
which way west?
Sunday concert series

You figure him out! Here are some hints: http://www.jimbotrout.com/ $20 suggested donation; any amount appreciated

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Friday, December 20th – 5:30-8pm
The Scott Foster Quartet
featuring Dave Len Scott, trumpet
jazz in the bookshop
every Friday after work

Scott Foster has been on the Friday evening schedule since its start in late 2002. He brings in a project every third Friday, always fresh and always deeply satisfying. This time out, he’s hosting his long-time collaborator, Dave Scott, who left San Francisco for Sedona, AZ not long ago. Dave Len Scott brings together a beautiful classical sound with high-compression lead trumpet playing, balancing power and innovation with charismatic, singing tones.  His studies include jazz trumpet with Blue Note’s Louis Smith, and he has toured and recorded with such acts as Boz Scaggs, Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, the Marcus Shelby Orchestra, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Brass Monkey Brass Band, and the Dave Scott Jazz Quartet. As a classical trumpeter, he has worked with the San Francisco, Honolulu, Napa, and Santa Rosa symphonies, and has performed as guest soloist with the SF Sinfonietta Orchestra. Dave is a fluent pianist and History…

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December 5th to 8th, Thursday to Sunday
Alan Kaufman’s The Berlin Woman, Mission Hot Club, Rhodessa Jones & Idris Ackamoor, Devine’s Jug Band — four fabulous events in four amazing days!

Thursday evening, writer, literary spelunker, promoter of avant garde excellence Alan Kaufman presents his new novel, The Berlin Woman. Friday after work, Mission Hot Club (bassist Bing Nathan and a squad of gypsy jazzers plus vocal trio, The Muted Jewel Tones) celebrate as the holiday season rockets on Saturday night, Rhodessa Jones & Idris Ackamoor take it to the heights and then Idris’s band, The Pyramids, seals the deal Sunday late afternoon, Devine’s Jug Band reaches for the sublime Detail in the posts that follow soon, but you can trust that it’s all far too good to be imagined! So don’t rely on your imagination… get down to the shop! You need the respite from the hurly burly, and, frankly, you need the fun and joy of it!

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Sunday, December 8th – 4:30-6:30pm
Devine’s Jug Band
which way west?
Sunday concert series

$20 suggested donation; any amount appreciated Pete Devine, jug, washboard, kazoo, drums Meredith Axelrod, guitar and vocals Morgan Cochneuer, mandolin, banjo-mando, fiddle Devine’s Jug Band is a San Francisco ensemble wise to the ways of the weird old South. Devine’s Jug Band IS “America’s most authentic sounding jug band”…say’s legendary radio personality Mal Sharpe, formally of KCSM Radio. Playing jug band blues, hokum, and old-style string band music – Devine’s Jug band consists of Meredith Axelrod on guitar & vocals, Morgan Cochneuer on Mandolin, Banjo-mando & fiddle, and Pete Devine blowing that old whisky porcelain jug for the bass – as well as percussion and vocals! This is a rare show for the jug band – so please don’t miss this very special event!

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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.

TAKE OUR SURVEY

To take our SURVEY, click here, and help the BBCLP get to know you better! As Duke Ellington always said, we love you madly...

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

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