BIRD & BECKETT CULTURAL LEGACY PROJECT

This extended weekend, May 8 to May 11… Hindustani music, the jazz of Jelly Roll Morton, music on the out side Friday and Saturday, honky tonk duets Sunday!

Thursday the 8th at 7:30pm, a Hindustani recital featuring sarodist Souryadeep Bhattacharya and tabla maestro Ferhan Qureshi. Ferhan has been kind enough to curate a wonderful series of Hindustani and Carnatic concerts at Bird & Beckett, roughly once a month for the past many months, with no end date in mind. Souryadeep is a talent vast as the sea.

Friday, the jazz is back again with two shows, the first at 6pm and the second at 8:30pm, each with a $20 cover charge (cash, please, as always, and as for all of our shows, byob).  Feel free to call the shop at 415-586-3733 to reserve. Pay at the door when you arrive.

The May 9th 6pm show will feature the marvelous pianist and raconteur Eric Shifrin, playing the music of Jelly Roll Morton, the man who — he claims — invented jazz! That’s not that far from the truth, and at the very least, Jelly made the Spanish tinge a perfect element of the music. Eric has the amazing Ryan Calloway on reads, and the world’s hippest bass player, Ari Munkres, and the tasty and talented drummer Jason Hansen. We’ll be all ears! $20, byob. (Keep in mind that teens and students of the music typically get in for $10 and that kids are free.)

At 8:30pm on Friday, we’ll ride to the further reaches of jazz, in the capsule of bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and in the company of Aaron Bennett on tenor saxophone, Mark Clifford on vibraphone, Brett Carson on piano and keys and Jordan Glenn on drums. Expect adventurous original jazz with literary inspirations. $25 for this quintet. Catch both shows this Friday and we’ll knock five bucks off the second show.

Saturday the 10th, Japanese vocalist/singer-songwriter/improvisor Saki Minakimoto brings a fabulous group of Bay Area jazz geniuses to realize her conception: Ian Carey on trumpet, Beth Schenck on saxophone, Matt Wrobell on guitar, the aforementioned Lisa Mezzacappa on bass and the very great drummer, Jon Arkin.  Saki will be performing “Songs From My Attic,” presenting music reminiscent of her adolescence and which has been stored in her mind for a long time, waiting for this moment to be renewed. She will be performing original music, and nostalgic pop songs, from standards to Kenny Wheeler, Carla Bley, Tristano, and Bernstein, with a unique sonic palette and ethereal soundscapes. Hang onto your hats! It’s gonna be a fun ride! Six players at $5 per, figure a $30 cover charge. BYOB. Call to reserve.

And closing it out, on Sunday the 11th we invite you to fall in love, get hitched and enjoy a Nashville honeymoon in the charming and capable company of Nashville Honeymoon, with Lynne Maes singing and playing rhythm guitar on some of her own terrific tunes and a passel of country classics, alongside her husband, the fabulous Hank Maninger, sharing the vocals and doing the lead guitar work. Bassist Tim Wagar and drummer Leor Beary round out the ensemble and pedal steel master Joe Goldmark slathers the buttered sound of steel over the whole lovely concoction. Spend your time with us. You’ll love it. Hats off to Jean Conner, Glen Park resident, seminal artist, gardener, observer, human, for making country music affordable for many years at Bird & Beckett!