$20 cover charge; $10 for students/musicians/low income Kwela-kwela is the lively music of Cape Town, South Africa that originated in the 1950s, centering on the pennywhistle and fusing South African tribal/folk music of the 40s and 50s and the original music of Malawi, with plenty of reference to American jazz and the British skiffle music that itself was a revival of an American street jazz style of the 1920s. The word kwela is usually translated from the Zulu as “get up,” and kwela-kwela was also common street slang for the police vans that descended regularly on the residents of the townships.  The young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners often served as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the shebeens of the arrival of the police. Inside, the pennywhistle, augmented by horns, guitars, bass and drums, energized the dance music. Jim Peterson, saxophone Rolf Johnson, trumpet Scott Foster, guitar Dennis Criteser, guitar…

$10-20 suggested donation; $5 for students, musicians, low income. . Two of San Francisco’s top saxophone players go head to head, backed by an all-star rhythm section . . Smith Dobson and Andrew Speight, saxophones Keith Saunders, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Tony Johnson, drums

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.

Joe Goldmark, pedal steel guitar Mitch Polzak, lead guitar and vocals Hank Maninger, bass guitar and vocals Kenny Owen, drums The Seducers are well into their third year of monthly (2nd Sunday) shows at Bird & Beckett, delivering country classics and originals, honky tonk laments and outlaw anthems.

A holiday season tradition at Bird & Beckett, we welcome the return of this eight-strong all-star trad jazz outfit featuring Andrew Storar – trumpet, John Hunt – trombone, Don Neely – clarinet, Si Perkoff – piano, Duncan James – guitar, Al Obidinski – bass, Greg Gotelli – drums and the fabulous vocalist Darlene Langston!  

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents… Jayden Clark (tenor sax) Brett Karner (trumpet) Spencer Hoefert (guitar) Julian Esparza (bass) Julian Archer (drums) Jazz standards plus original work by each of the members, all students in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s “Roots, Jazz & American Music” (“RJAM”) degree program

$10-20 suggested donation; $5 for students/musicians/low income. .. Some of the brightest talents on the San Francisco jazz scene visit Bird & Beckett’s long-running jazz party .. Lyle Link, saxophone Dahveed Behroozi, piano Jeff Denson, bass Dillon Vado, drums

City Jazz is made up of musicians who’ve played for decades as well as musicians who are new to jazz. The group has 3 vocalists, 2 pianists, 5 horns, a small string section, and a rhythm section that includes fretless electric bass. They’ll be playing a collection of their favorite tunes including several original arrangements and some beloved standards.

Mia Ayumi Malhotra is the author of ISAKO ISAKO (Alice James Books, 2018), winner of the 2017 Alice James Award. She holds a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from the University of Washington, and her poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including Indiana Review, The Greensboro Review, Best New Poets, and DISMANTLE: An Anthology of Writing from the VONA/Voices Writing Workshop. A Pushcart Prize nominee and a founding editor of Lantern Review, she has received fellowships from the VONA/Voices Writing Workshop and Kundiman, an organization dedicated to the cultivation of Asian American writing. Mia lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Julia Bouwsma, Poet + Farmer + Librarian + Editor, is the author of Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018) and Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017). She will be traveling to San Francisco for this reading from her home in western…

Wendy Burch Steel and Redwood play a unique cross-section of genres incorporating all the good and sweet aspects of folk, old-time, country, bluegrass and blues. Bluegrass icon Laurie Lewis produced, played and sang on Wendy’s debut CD, “Open Wings” in 2012, which has received rave reviews nationally and internationally, airplay and interviews on various radio shows and Americana and Bluegrass publications. Wendy is known for her deft angelic voice and spiritually touching original material. She was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year for the past two years, with the Northern California Bluegrass Society. Her band members include some of the best Bluegrass and Americana players and singers in California and beyond: Butch Waller, mandolin and vocals, is known locally and nationally for his innovative and tradition-based approach to his instrument. Butch was one of the first to play bluegrass music in Northern California, and founded his own band, High…

The Jazz Philanthropists Union presents… Pianist Grant Levin leads a quartet featuring the flutist Lori Bell, up from San Diego for the date! David Ewell on bass; Hamir Atwal on drums. Bell is an award-winning musician “of admirable depth and broad musical sympathies whose recordings and live performances over the years have set new and higher standards in contemporary jazz and classical music.” (note post-performance: all that and more!) Lori taught Grant’s flutist father while Grant was a tot, and in 2006 she recorded an exquisite CD as a featured artist with the Grant Levin Trio comprising Grant on piano with Hans Halt on bass and Rufus Haeriti on drums (Beezwax Records, 2007). She’ll be back with the same trio as worked with her live tonight, Grant, David and Hamir, insha’Allah, on the first Saturday of December in 2019!

Brett Karner – trumpet Xander Johns – baritone saxophone Jackson Contugno – tenor saxophone Spencer Hoefert – guitar Cris Carrera – bass Robert Chapa – drums Top talent from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s “Roots, Jazz and American Music” program play Brett’s arrangements of some holiday chestnuts and a few numbers by the Ink Spots & the like! 1-hour program — mark your calendar and don’t miss it!

$20 cover charge; $10 for students/musicians/low income. Trumpeter Geechi Taylor is a cornerstone of the Bay Area jazz scene. He’s bringing a slammin’ quartet into Bird & Beckett tonight for your pleasure Geechi Taylor, Trumpet/Vocal Michael Aaberg, Piano Ollie Dudek, Bass Michael Mitchell, Drums.