Tom Clark, born in Chicago in 1941, emerged as a major figure in poetry in the early 1960s. He was prolific and much published throughout his life by Black Sparrow Press and numerous other small presses, served as poetry editor of the Paris Review from 1963-1973, and was a key figure on the faculty of the poetics program at New College of California from 1987 to 2008. Tom passed away in August 2018. Please join us at 1pm on Sunday June 30 for a reading in his honor by a number of his close friends and peers.

The Jazz Philanthropists Union in association with Jazz in the Neighborhood presents… Rova: Bruce Ackley, soprano sax Steve Adams, alto sax Larry Ochs, tenor sax Jon Raskin, bari sax $20 cover charge https://www.rova.org/about-us/rova-quartet.html Jimmy Carter was POTUS—before ‘POTUS’ was a thing; the ‘Energy Crisis’ was waning and the Iran hostage crisis was still two years off; the first Star Wars movie had just opened in theatres; Roots was on TV; Apple II computers just went on sale. It was early fall of 1977 and a yet-to-be-named sax quartet was beginning to rehearse in a collectively run performance space on 24th Street, for a one-off gig in November. The concert was postponed, the quartet changed personnel, rehearsed a lot and came up with a name, and then emerged for their first public performance on February 4, 1978—a mere 41 years ago. During the intervening 4 decades Rova has continued to rehearse…

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 — once known as The Chuck Peterson Quintet — five musicians whose individual histories on the local jazz scene date back to the 1950s. The quintet now comprises Ray Loeckle on tenor sax, Jerry Logas on baritone sax, flute and vocals; Glen Deardorff on guitar, Dean Reilly on bass and Tony Johnson on drums. $10-20 suggested donation; $2-10 suggested for students, musicians, limited income.

Bassist Giulio Xavier Cetto showed up from the Central Valley a couple short years ago and immediately became a star on the local jazz scene. He’s got energy and chops to burn, is practically the house bassist at the Black Cat and gigs constantly all over town when he’s not on the road. He’s put together a wonderful quartet that he wants to bring into Bird & Beckett Thursday the 27th — with Remy Le Boeuf on saxophone, Javier Santiago on piano and Malachi Whitson on drums. Saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf came out of Santa Cruz with his pianist brother  Pascal to take the jazz world by storm, releasing four acclaimed albums together, leading up to Remy’s 2019 solo album “Light as a Word.” He’s based in New York now and is traveling out for some west coast gigs. Javier and Malachi are both fantastic young players that everyone’s been…

Composer Karl Evangelista leads his group through avant garde work bearing a large debt to afrological and Western musical concepts that examines “Filipinoness” in the abstract. Karl Evangelista, guitar Corey Wright, alto saxophone Crystal Pascucci, cello Rei Scampavia, keys Jordan Glenn, drums $20 donation requested; sliding scale available. https://www.bayimproviser.com/artist/338/karl-evangelista#32

Michael Blumlein has had a distinguished 30+ year career in speculative fiction, and presents his novel, Longer, today at Bird & Beckett with a little help from his friend, fellow writer, and jazz pianist Carter Scholz. Library Journal says, “Blumlein gives us Waiting for Godot, set in space, in succinct and intelligent storytelling.” We like anything that references Sam Beckett, of course, though it’s not certain how that fits this wonderful novel. Nimble and tender, poignant and thoughtful. At once complex and simple. A touch of the marvelous, floating just out of reach where philosophy and science mingle in the ether. Ultimately, it’s seems to be about the decisions the heart leads us to make about our lives and the work we do.  And about how we avoid, embrace and ponder the inevitability of death. https://www.tor.com/2019/05/28/five-books-to-read-while-staring-death-in-the-face/ https://www.tor.com/2019/05/14/getting-the-research-right-author-michael-blumlein-on-the-medical-sources-behind-longer/

A Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund event! The Passing Dreams Trio — a bass/tabla/guitar trio. Passing Dreams, led by the legendary bassist Frank Tusa, was a subset of Lookout Farm, a seven-piece band led by saxophonist Dave Liebman in the early 1970s. Lookout Farm was an acclaimed jazz/fusion/world music unit of the era that merged Indian classical instrumentation and rhythms as well as rock guitar and drum impulses into a jazz superstructure. Today at Bird & Beckett, Tusa, the original bass player in both the trio and the larger band, brings tabla player William Rossel (a disciple of tabla master Swapan Chaudhuri), in the role originally held by Badal Roy, and guitarist Randy Vincent, in the role pioneered by John Abercrombie. A date in our “Velvet Lounge” occasional sequence of adventurous, non-standard jazz bookings, named in homage to Chicago saxophonist Fred Anderson’s bar/venue — a haven for free jazz in that…

Scott Foster, guitar Ben Stolorow, piano Adam Gay, bass Omar Aran, percussion, arrangements Sandra Aran, vocals Guitarist Scott Foster brings in a group tailored made for the occasion each third Friday of the month, and tonight his long-time collaborator, the percussionist Omar Aran brings arrangements of music inspired by the great Wes Montgomery/Wynton Kelly quartet of the mid-1960s. Omar Aran was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He began playing the drums at the age of sixteen. He began his professional jazz career in 1996, performing and recording with jazz musicians from Mexico, as well as international artists such as Osmany Paredes, Gustavo Bergalli, Ken Baseman and Lila Downs. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004, where he has had the opportunity to collaborate with local musicians, including Mark Levine, Michael Wolff, Peppino de Agostino and his sister Sandra Aran. He has also taught percussion workshops at the…

J.Lee (captjrab) & Kevin Van Yyserloo will be performing a piece entitled “Motor Skills” using external found sound sources and homemade sculptures processed through modular synthesizers to create light industrial ambient soundscapes.

Pianist Grant Levin collaborates with percussionist Pepe Jacobo on two sets of jazz interplay. Come early! Today’s concert ends at 6:00 pm.

The Gray Panthers SF present anecdotes from interviews recorded with Robeson’s friends which describe Robeson’s character — his kindness, love of children, respect for social justice, world peace, labor issues and much more. Robeson

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.