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.  

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.