Charlie McCarthy, sax; Larry Dunlap, piano; Ruth Davies, bass; Jim Zimmerman, drums. One of the great pleasures of jazz is to spend a few hours in the company of the pianist Larry Dunlap. Larry played early on in Portland with jazz greats Leroy Vinnegar and Ralph Towner, and has been based in San Francisco since the 1970s. In the late 70s, he met and later married singer Bobbe Norris with whom he’s had a life-long performing career, and around 1980 he began a musical relationship with Cleo Laine and John Dankworth that endured for two decades and included recording at Carnegie Hall. He’s also worked with Ernestine Anderson, Larry Coryell, Art Farmer, James Moody, Gerry Mulligan, Rebecca Parris, Mark Murphy & Amandio Cabral. The four musicians on today’s date have had a long and fruitful association. Jim Zimmerman and Larry have been playing music together since the 1970s, most notably the three decades they…

Escaping the chaos and emotional stagnation of the aftermath of the first world war, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke at last found the hermitage he sought in a small village in Switzerland. There, in February of 1922, he endured a visitation of such creative intensity it has become a legend unto itself. Not one but two masterworks arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, in a storm of poetic vision. This afternoon, Walker Brents III will offer a glimpse into Rilke’s inner world, through a remembrance of this time and a consideration of two great poem-cycles: the Duino Elegies and the Sonnets to Orpheus, that were its fruits. At Cháteau de Muzot. Rilke with the young violin virtuoso, Alma Moodie and the conductor Werner Reinhardt. In a letter to Nanny Wunderly-Volkart, about Moodie, he writes: “What a sound, what richness, what determination. That and the Sonnets to Orpheus, those were two strings…

This is a Guaranteed Fair Wage Fund date. Many thanks are due to Jazz in the Neighborhood, and to you for your support of JitN and the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project. On the fourth Friday of each month, we feature the 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Band, whose roots are in tenor player Chuck Peterson’s band. Chuck’s band became a permanent fixture at Bird & Beckett in 2002; he retired and removed to Santa Rosa just a couple of years ago. Chuck’s colleagues for decades, the musicians in 230 Jones Street share individual histories on the local scene dating back 60+ years. Ray Loeckle on tenor sax, Jerry Logas on baritone sax, clarinet, flute and vocals, Glen Deardorff on guitar, Dean Reilly on bass and Tony Johnson on drums can proudly stake their claim to a fair wage; they came on the scene at a time when…

Lourdes Figueroa was born in California during a trip her parents made from Mexico to the USA when they worked in the campo tilling the soil for tomatoes. Lourdes is a proud 2009 and 2011 VONA alum. Her work has been published in the SF Poet’s 11 2008 & 2010 and in Generations. She received her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of San Francisco. Her first chapbook, yolotl, was published by Spooky Actions Books. Jeremy Michael Vasquez is an artist, author, activist, and educator in San Francisco. He uses his expression of art to facilitate healing workshops for youth in the Bay Area. As a spoken word and musical artist, he has performed at many community events and correctional facilities. Serving as a keynote speaker at conferences, colleges and universities, and public high schools nationwide, Jeremy has used his pain as a platform. With his 2017 book, Unshackled,…

Grant Levin, piano; Giulio Xavier, bass; Hamir Atwal, drums. A classic piano trio, led by the most remarkable pianist we know. And that’s saying a lot in a region boasting dozens of fantastic jazz pianists.    

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents… Drummer John Cavalier leads a quintet showcasing fellow students in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s “Roots, Jazz & American Music” undergraduate program. They’ll play two sets of jazz standards, bebop and original compositions. Jackson Cotugno, saxophones Skyler Nolan, saxophones Michael Potter, piano Spencer Hoefert, guitar Cris Carrera, bass John Cavalier, drums All six musicians on the bandstand tonight are first- and second-year students in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s “Roots, Jazz & American Music” undergraduate program, now in its second year. You’ll be amazed at what these talented youths are capable of. Amazed and well pleased! The musicians in the SFCM’s RJAM program have been drawn from all over the country to take part in the SFCM’s first foray into jazz education, after 100 years of focus on classical music. The RJAM program is directed by recent Glen Park resident Simon Rowe and…

$10-20 suggested donation; $5-10 suggested for students, musicians, limited income. Guitarist Scott Foster puts together a new line up every third Friday, and its always amazing. This time out, maybe more amazing than ever! Three giants of the local jazz scene join forces with Scott on originals and jazz standards. Scott Foster, guitar Rob Reich accordion/keys Dan Seamans bassEric Garland drums  

The book club convenes on Wednesday, February 13th at 7pm to discuss The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of Nuclear War Planner, by Daniel Ellsberg.  In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press in hopes they would help end the Vietnam War. He looks back on his early days as a national security analyst in The Doomsday Machine. Rose Rosenthal, a book club member at Bird & Beckett since its inception in the mid-1990s, declares that this is among the best books she’s ever read. Note: The bookshop sells the book club selections at a 10% discount to people attending the book club. To defray costs and keep our spirits up, we encourage and very much appreciate a $5 donation to the shop from those attending the book club who aren’t interested in buying the book from us. Join the email list for the book club by emailing [email protected]

2nd year! Students in the SF Conservatory of Music’s “Roots, Jazz & American Music” BMUS degree program host their peers from Bay Area colleges and high schools. No cover charge. Donations to support the bookshop that supports the students are very much appreciated.

Close up the honky tonks! Hank & Lynne are hitched and don’t need to be hanging out in those dimly lit dens of debauchery when they can be warbling in the bookshop instead! Though, truth be told, we suspect they enjoy singing in the bars, too… their songs ring true there, for sure. Hank Maninger & Lynne Maes, guitars and vocals; Joe Goldmark, pedal steel guitar; Tim Wagar, bass guitar; Kenny Owen, drums $10-20 suggested donation. $5-10 suggested for those of limited means. But you’ll be b-ing y.o.b., so this’ll be a cheap night out for you. Go ahead and be generous toward the musicians. It’ll make you feel like a right decent human being!

Liberty Street plays Americana and roots music, including a bit of jazz and a bit of old blues. They’ve mostly been gigging at farmers’ markets, street fairs, holiday parties and the like for the past three years. The band consists of: Al Carlson – Bass Dave Johnson – Guitar and Vocals Jeff Faulkner – Guitar and Vocals Stephanie Johnson – Vocals Ben Howard – Mandolin, Violin Ron Gersten – Guitar (Gibson L5)

Vocalist Ed Reed celebrates his 90th birthday in a sequence of Bay Area concerts culminating in this Bird & Beckett date, in the company of Adam Shulman on piano, John Wiitala on bass and Lorca Hart on drums. Mr. Reed, recording and performing jazz singer, and 2014’s #1 Rising Star Male Vocalist (DownBeat magazine Critics Poll), has been singing all his life, though it was not until 2007 that he recorded and released his first album, just before his 78th birthday. He has since recorded three additional critically acclaimed albums, performed in many of the world’s prominent jazz venues, including three sold out nights at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, been reviewed in major jazz publications, was a guest on the legendary Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz NPR radio program, and was profiled by Nat Hentoff in the Wall Street Journal. His story of addiction, incarceration, recovery…

Jules Broussard, legendary sax player and a Bay Area treasure, is featured with pianist Grant Levin’s quartet at Bird & Beckett Friday evening, 5:30 pm. With Chris Amberger on bass and Hamir Atwal on drums. Four top notch musicians on one bookshop stage! Best jazz anywhere! B.Y.O.B. and some cash for the donation buckets. $10-20 per solvent adult requested; less is fine, if  you haven’t got your rent fully covered! Whether you’ve got the scratch or no, come dig the jazz! You won’t find a better venue than Bird & Beckett for getting intimate with the music and those that make it swing!