Matt Renzi’s Shoebox Orchestra Trio marked his debut on the Bird & Beckett stage back in December 2016… after a decade or two as an internationally renowned figure leading his own groups in New York and Rome, between which he split his time before returning to his hometown… Now, add another horn — trumpeter Erik Jekabson — alongside SOT members Peter Barshay (bass) and Hamir Atwal (drums) and we’ve got the full orchestra… well the quartet version, anyway! Matt is a unique voice on saxophone, a prolific composer, a marvelous re-interpreter of the jazz canon. Think on One! Four well-traveled jazz players join forces on the Bird & Beckett stage tonight! Matt Renzi is the son of the late Paul Renzi, principle flute for the SF Symphony from 1944 to 2004. Matt was born, grew up and came of age in San Francisco, then established himself in both New York…

Denise Perrier, vocals Jerry Logas, sax Alan Steger, piano Paul Breslin, bass Bob Blankenship, drums Consummate professionals with decades on the San Francisco jazz scene getting together again to show how it’s done in the City That Knows How! $20 suggested donation. $10 per set, if that suits you. Pay what you can or what you will! More won’t hurt us if it won’t hurt you; less, if it’s all you can manage. BYOB while you’re at it.  

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 $10-20 suggested donation. $5 for students/musicians/fixed income

Michael Zisman, mandolin; Jason Vanderford and Scott Foster, guitars;Joe Kyle, Jr., bass. Certainly the darlings of all San Franciscans who’ve ever witnessed their family ruckus at the Deluxe, the Americano Social Club is led by Michael Zisman on mandolin and features guitarists Jason Vanderford and Scott Foster and bassist Joe Kyle, Jr.   They play music for “la dolce vita”: a mix of romantic and eclectic melodies from all over the world. Charming and fantastic, both!

Enrique Chagoya discusses his book, Aliens (2019, Kelly’s Cove Press) and its context.  

Pianist and composer Adam Shulman leads a septet through some new original tunes in the style of the LA bands from the ’50s such as Lennie Niehaus, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers etc.

Darren Johnston, trumpet Wil Blades, organ Jon Arkin, drums

Victor Grossman, a U.S. Army draftee stationed in Europe during the McCarthy Era, left his barracks in Bavaria one day in 1952, and swam across the Danube River from the Austrian U.S. Zone to the Soviet Zone. The Soviets moved him to East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic. There he remained, observer and participant, husband and father, as he watched the rise and successes, the travails, and the eventual demise of the GDR socialist experiment.

Ken Fowser – tenor sax Josh Bruneau – trumpet Peter Zak – piano Vince Dupont – bass James Gallagher – drums $15-25 cover charge; sliding scale. The quintet is traveling en masse from NYC, with stops at Cafe Stritch in San Jose, the North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, Bird & Beckett, and then four nights at the Black Cat before leaving on that jet plane and heading back east. Ken, Josh and Peter have all carved out substantial careers and reputations in New York and have each made memorable appearances at Bird & Beckett in the last year or two, while James Gallagher, a North Coast native and for years a mainstay of the San Francisco jazz scene, has played here many, many times — particularly before he moved to NYC last year. As for Vince, we’ll let his Smalls bio tell the tale: New Hampshire native Vincent…

Cal Calamia is a queer trans bilingual educator and poet living in San Francisco. Always busy, they are a marathon runner and a crowd surfer when they’re not writing or teaching. Their work is centered on on universalizing personal experiences, and is largely performative. Cal’s work can be heard on calcalamia.com and at readings across the Bay and beyond. Vincent Calvarese is native to the San Francisco Bay, writing in poetry, creative non-fiction and fiction every day. Born to a broken home in Contra Costa County, he found his wings amongst his heroes of Eureka Valley and for the last 30 years, his pen has been escorted by love, scorn and joy-induced tears. His poem “Mother, In Pieces” and his fictional character Jada in “The Artists Palette” are a few of the strong female voices in his published work. He continues to focus on San Francisco as his canvas. highlighted…

Improvising/avant garde saxophonist Yoni Kretzmer has relocated to the Bay Area for a spell from his base in Brooklyn. He’s joined by renowned San Francisco bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and his frequent collaborator in Brooklyn, the drummer Kjell Nordeson. Kretzmer has two new recordings out now from OutNow Recordings — “Mis-Stake” by his 2Bass Quartet and “Bring” by his trio with Daniel Sarid and Michael Evans. It’s free jazz, but there’s a cover in the Velvet Lounge! $20 (sliding scale available). Here’s a nice, rambling interview with Yoni from about a year ago that’ll give you a pretty good background going into tonight’s gig… https://www.jazzrightnow.com/interview-saxophonist-yoni-kretzmer/ And here’s a bit of audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0IH3DufrDQ           Before moving to NYC in 2010, Jerusalem born tenor saxophonist and composer Yoni Kretzmer was an active member in the growing Tel Aviv nu-music scene. Since relocating to Brookklyn, Kretzmer has led his own…

Ed Coletti will read from Apollo Blue’s Harp And The Gods Of Song, accompanied by Steve Shain on upright bass. North Bay poet David Beckman will also read several poems.  

Quartet: Patrick Wolff, tenor saxophone Richard Sears, piano Josh Thurston Milgrom, bass Hamir Atwal, drums Sextet: Patrick Wolff, tenor saxophone Matt Renzi, reeds Erik Jekabson, trumpet Richard Sears, piano Josh Thurston Milgrom, bass Hamir Atwal, drums   This evening will feature two distinct sets of original music and arrangements by Patrick Wolff. The first will focus on recent works, composed for a soon-to-be-released record with free jazz legend Louis Moholo-Moholo. These are loose compositions that live in the thematic and harmonic world of the South African expatriate jazz that Moholo-Moholo helped invent throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Wolff’s associations with pianist Richard Sears and drummer Hamir Atwal stretch past a decade; their own deep improvisational approaches make them ideal partners, and bassist Josh Thurston Milgrom’s fusing of melody and pulse will keep the heat on. In the second set, the band will add trumpeter Erik Jekabson and reedman Matt Renzi,…

$20 cover charge; sliding scale available. Gumbo on the house at the break! Mean to Me resurrects classic jazz of the 1920s through ’40s filtered through the unique sensibilities of the band, which boasts a proclivity for bop, soul and latin jazz as well. Think Monk sauntering up Tin Pan Alley and turning onto Bourbon Street… Sweet and low down, and always swingin’. Mingus is there… Ahmad Jamal, too… Mean to Me’s core comprises Judy Butterfield, trained as a cabaret singer but with an abiding love for soul music; Ben Slater, a pianist whose interest in exploring the roots of jazz grew from time spent living in New Orleans; and Dave Shaff, a trumpeter drawn to some more modern and funky sounds. All three grew up in San Francisco and have played together on and off for ten years now. They know how to have a good time, and so…