Drummer Tony Johnson brings in a quartet on the fourth Friday of each month. But, heck, we’re celebrating 20 years of Friday night shows! It’s a sextet tonight–the 230 Jones Street, Local 6 Literary Jazz Sextet — with Charlie McCarthy, tenor saxophone & flute; Noel Jewkes, saxophones & flute; Si Perkoff, piano; Glen Deardorff, guitar; Chuck Bennett, bass; and Tony Johnson, drums. BYOB and a twenty for the band! Throw in an extra twenty if you can afford it! Call 415-586-3733 for a reservation. If you can’t make it into the shop, you can catch the live stream on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Your donations to help pay the musicians and support the stream are much appreciated! This is the legacy band of tenor player Chuck Peterson, who started it all back in October of 2002! In the photo below, that’s Chuck in the center, giving soloing room…

Doris Lessing’s book, Prisons We Choose To Live Inside is transcribed from lectures she gave in Canada in the mid-1980s.  Her themes have to do with the hypnotic power of mass-ideas in societies and individuals.  Although composed in what seems to us now a different juncture of time and space, her searching thoughts still pierce through to the essential issues, enriching and challenging our minds today, as the process of civilization continues its onward flow. Even more than this, we are brought closer to a living awareness of what has always been a constant presence in literature from the very beginning:  the need for an inspired basis of moral judgement, knowing the volatility that gives lies wings, even as truth takes solid steps on real earth. Walker talks on a variety of themes, typically on the  third Thursday of the month, live streamed on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel and…

Write Now! SF Bay presents its fifth anthology, Uncommon Ground: BIPOC Journeys to Creative Activism. Many of us are deeply familiar with adversity and change. Our families have been tested by war, poverty, and discrimination for generations. Our DNA is suffused with profound lessons on how to cope with challenging times. And our writing is linked with daily activism in large and small ways. If you can’t make it into the shop, you can catch the live stream on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Edited by Shizue Seigel, Uncommon Ground features the work of 22 established Bay Area writers and artists who trace their journeys as creative activists from a BIPOC (Black, Brown, Indigenous, or People of Color) perspective. The depth of their insight arises from the legacies and challenges of their roots in Native America, Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Muslim world. Their lived experience…

Tate Swindell, researcher, writer and editor, engages his friend and colleague Hilary Holladay, author of a recent biography of poet Adrienne Rich  (1929-2012), in conversation about the poet and Holladay’s experience and process, diving into the complexities of Rich’s ever-evolving thought and expression. If you can’t make it into the shop, you can catch the live stream on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Can’t make it to the show but want to contribute? Your donations to help pay the musicians and support the stream are much appreciated! Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) published dozens of influential books in her long career, gaining notice as a poet throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and emerging as a crucial voice in the anti-war, women’s liberation and other major social movements of the 1970s. She was a complex and mercurial writer whose complexities and ideas continue to fascinate.

Follow Marty’s facebook page for more information on the cancellation. https://www.facebook.com/marty.williams.5209 ———————————- Bay Area jazz pianist and vocalist, Marty Williams, was called “The Catalyst” by San Francisco Chronicle critic Phil Elwood. Anna DeLeon of Anna’s Jazz Island said: “Marty Williams is one of the Bay Area’s treasures. His piano playing and singing are passionate, humorous, and unique. Think Oscar Brown Jr. plus Mose Allison plus Monk with just a dash of Redd Foxx! Yes, unique!” Marty’s formal training came well after he received his “calling”—he tells the story of  listening to Ahmad Jamal’s album “Voices” as a turning point for him. Listening to that album and pondering the questions a young man faces in his life, Marty knew his destiny was to play the piano. As with so many great jazz pianists, Marty’s spirit taught him how to play the music he felt. Throughout his career Marty has played at…

Double your shows, double your fun! Two different bands, both led by Scott Foster Complete shows at 5:30 and 8:00pm A double decade celebration! Twenty Years of Friday Evening Jazz in the Bookshop   5:30 to 7:30pm – two sets of jazz in the sweet spot where trad and bop swing like crazy, played by a stellar quartet featuring trumpet king Mike Olmos with a delightful rhythm section — Scott Foster on guitar, Matt Montgomery on bass and Omar Aran on drums.   8 to 10pm – two sets of jazz from a quintet that knows no boundaries as it traces the echoes of the music’s roots and traditions as heard in the interstellar realms — David Boyce on saxophone, Alan Williams on trombone, Scott Foster on guitar, Kirk Peterson on bass and Brian Rodvien on drums.   Guitarist, bandleader, composer and educator Scott Foster has been a mainstay of…

David James presents a work-in-development, Mission Rebel No. 1., a musical examination of his father, Rev. Jesse James, written for, and performed by the sextet GPS: David James – guitar, voice.Beth Custer – clarinets, voice.Alan Williams – trombone, voice.Keith Lawrence – viola, voice.Lisa Mezzacappa – bass.John Hanes – drums. BYOB and cash for the $20 cover charge. Doors open at 6:45pm for the show. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733 If you can’t make it into the shop, you can catch the live stream on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Your donations to help pay the musicians and support the stream are much appreciated! Bird & Beckett adheres to the guaranteed fair wage standard promoted by the Independent Musicians Alliance. This project is supported by the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Ben Davis, cello Erik Jekabson, trumpet James Fei, soprano and alto sax Jordan Glenn, drums BYOB and cash for the $20 cover charge. Doors open at 7:20pm for the show. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733 If you can’t make it into the shop, you can catch the live stream on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Your donations to help pay the musicians and support the stream are much appreciated! Bird & Beckett adheres to the guaranteed fair wage standard promoted by the Independent Musicians Alliance. Last heard at Bird & Beckett in April 2022, Ben Davis’s Bay Area group has expanded from a trio to a quartet with the addition of reed player James Fei. Compositional structures, lines and wild loose grooves are gauged open and explored in impassioned play between instruments—gut-wrenching dissonance to sonorous deep tones. This new Bay Area group was brought together by…

Paul Corman-Roberts stands in as host of tonight’s reading for regular host Kim Shuck, who’s out on tour with her poetry. Two featured readers followed by open mic tonight. See the zoom info below. On the fourth Friday, come back for an all-open reading! Tonight, here’s what you need to know: Linda Noel is a Native Californian of the Koyungkowi tribe who grew up in Willits. The former Poet Laureate of Ukiah has presented her work at various venues across the western United States and has most recently been both a featured reader and workshop presenter at the Redwood Coast Writers Conference, the Watershed Project, The Conference of American Indians; Humboldt State University, and Santa Rosa Junior College to name a few. Her work has been published in a variety of magazines, journals and anthologies including The Dirt is Red Here, by Heyday Books. She will be included in the…

New album, new date at Bird & Beckett. Country music, sweet, tart and pretty. Bring your sweetie, or just bring yourself, and bring a twenty for the band. Byob, if you care to. Bird & Beckett is a guaranteed fair wage venue; your cover charge stakes us to the band’s guarantee. Can’t make it to the show? View it live on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Your donations to help pay the musicians and support the stream are much appreciated! But nothing beats making the trek into the shop to be with the musicians and hear them up close and personal. It’s a beautiful thing.

SF Lives Live Talk: Ericka Scott, Director of Projects with the African American Cultural District in conversation with journalist Denise Sullivan Catch the live stream on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Tune in at 10am to watch it live, or watch anytime in the archive at the same links. San Francisco journalist Denise Sullivan conducts a monthly series of conversations (the second Sunday of each month from 10-11 a.m.) with The City’s activists, educators, arts and cultural leaders and lesser-known workers, the everyday people who help make this place we call home, live streamed from Bird & Beckett Books. Ericka Scott is the Director of Projects with the African American Cultural District in San Francisco. Born and raised in the historic Fillmore District/Western Addition we’ll talk with Scott about her multiple roles as a small business owner of Honey Art Studio, where she hosts art and fashion…

Tammy  is just the best! Tonight, she’s in the company of bassist Brian Juárez and drummer Brandon Farmer. Two sets of soul satisfying music. Doors open at 7:20pm for the 7:30pm show. $20 cash cover charge Bird & Beckett is a guaranteed fair wage venue; your cover charge stakes us to the band’s guarantee. BYOB Can’t make it to the show? View it live on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Your donations to help pay the musicians and support the stream are much appreciated! But nothing beats making the trek into the shop to be with the musicians and hear them up close and personal. It’s a beautiful thing.

Doors open at 7:20pm for the 7:30pm show. $20-25 cash cover charge; sliding scale. Bird & Beckett is a guaranteed fair wage venue: your cover charge stakes us to the band’s guarantee. BYOB Can’t make it to the show? View it live on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Your donations to help pay the musicians and support the stream are much appreciated! Saxophonist/flutist/composer Jean Fineberg’s latest quintet features first-call keyboardist Frank Martin,  5-album guitarist Nancy Wenstrom, Pride & Joy bassist Marc Levine and Cold Blood drummer T. Moran. The ensemble will perform tunes from Jean’s latest album, Jean Fineberg & JAZZphoria, which is currently enjoying airplay on more than 50 radio stations, including the Bay area’s KSCM. Bandleader Jean Fineberg has performed and/or recorded on more than 40 albums, including stints with Melba Liston, David Bowie, Laura Nyro, Cornell Dupree, Mo’fone and The Montclair Women’s Big Band. Her compositions…

The featured poets tonight are Greg Pond and Tony Aldarondo. An open mic, hosted by Jerry Ferraz and Michael Koch follows.  Our ongoing series is scheduled for the first Thursday of every month, with the doors opening at 6:45pm for the 7pm reading. You can also view the reading live on our Facebook page or YouTube channel   Greg Pond has written four books of poetry: “aftermoon“ – “Blackened Blue” – “4:00 a.m. (DARK)” and “4:00 a.m. LIGHT).” He is a member of the Revolutionary Poets Brigade, board member of Clarion Performing Arts Center, curator for Queer Rebels, and volunteers as facilitator of Poetically Speaking, a weekly conference-call program for seniors.   Tony Aldarondo has performed music and poetry in venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, overseas and once while standing up on a Jet Blue airplane! He is also a theater and film actor and voice-over artist. Tony…

Avotcja, poet and prose writer, musician, musicologist, dj and cultural warrior, has just brought out With Every Step I Take 2 (Taurean Horn Press, 2022). Join us at Bird & Beckett for a publication party and help us celebrate with Avotcja and master percussionist & steel pan wizard Val Serrant. No charge! Donations appreciated. Call for a reservation: 415-586-3733 The event can also be found in a live stream, and can also be viewed later in the archive, on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Your donations help us to pay the artists and to meet the expenses of streaming. “Introducing herself as storyteller, ‘wild woman,’ a ‘bonafide sound junkie,’ nothing slows or dampens Avotcja’s passion for the power and wonder of music. Guided by ancient, ancestral wisdom, she refuses to separate poetry and storytelling from song or dance. In ‘Blue To the Bone,’ her rhapsodic tribute to Oakland’s uncrowned poet…

Phillip Greenlief saxophones Adriana Camacho Torres, bass Scott Amendola, drums $20 cash cover charge at the door BYOB The live stream can be found on our Facebook page or YouTube channel Mexico City born, raised and based bassist Adriana Camacho Torres takes improvised music wherever it wants to go in the company of local heroes Phillip Greenlief and Scott Amendola on saxophones and drums, respectively. Phillip Greenlief was born in Los Angeles in 1959. Scott Amendola was born in New Jersey in 1963. Each has been in the Bay Area for three to four decades. Two Bay Area musicians with global reputations. Such are the musicians we can boast of here, and such are the international connections they provide. Read an interview with Adriana here. Visit her website here.

Dig the vibes! Erik von Buchau, vibraphone Matt Clark, piano Giulio Cetto, bass Jeff Marrs, drums BYOB and a twenty for the band! For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733 Also live streamed on our Facebook page and YouTube channel Your donations help us pay the musicians a guaranteed fair wage. Here’s a taste! Catch Erik at the 11:30 mark!  

You’ll find Walker’s Talk on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please donate to help us pay Walker for his heroic & eloquent locution. Tonight, Walker Brents III delves into the thought of Henry David Thoreau, whose genius lay in seeing nature for itself, with no need to be any other thing. We grow spontaneously in our understanding as we read him, which is why the cosmos arising from his pages strangely resonates with our own, in all we see and do not see. His gift to us is an awareness of the value of education as it relates to the needs of the living mind. The world before us is inexhaustible in what it can teach us, and in the ways we can learn to protect it.

  Free blues & boogie woogie tonight! No cover charge! The German Consulate of San Francisco has offered to sponsor a free performance by renowned boogie woogie and blues pianist Frank Muschalle for your listening pleasure! Mr. Muschalle has been touring worldwide for three decades to all points of the compass, spreading boogie woogie pleasure wherever he finds a good piano, and Bird & Beckett has one for him! Come sample his wares, courtesy of our friends at the Consulate! Doors open at 7:15 for the 7:30pm show. Get a taste of Frank’s boogie woogie from the video below. Visit his website here (in English) or here (auf Deutsch).  

No cover charge. Donations help us maintain the tradition and pay the trio! Come prepared if you want to play!

Piano jazz by the deep, soulful and wonderful Rudi Mwongozi is one of our favorite things! Click on the youtube link below for a blazing and wonderful trio rendition of “My Favorite Things” from an outdoor performance at a lovely & festive NYC Eid-Al-Fatir celebration in 2017. A master musician thriving on the vibe. Rudi will play a solo set at Bird & Beckett Sunday the 25th at 5pm. Don’t miss it! $5 to $25 sliding scale cover charge requested. All ages welcome. Call ahead to reserve a seat at 415-586-3733.

most events start at 7:30, doors at 7:20. byob. for reservations/information, call the shop at 415-586-3733. cover charge is typically $20 to $25 — cash, please! Saturday, Sept. 24 – 7:30pm jazz club goes roots reggae for one glorious night! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlW23PtWLB0 The Baytals Safaa Modir, guitar Connor Sablan, keyboards Russell Vazquez, bass Hafez Modirzadeh, tenor sax Keshav Batish, drums Sunday, Sept. 25 at 5pm – Rudi Mwongozi solo piano home on a visit to family, from NYC at 7pm – Vince Lateano’s Doggone Jazz Jam Session with Ben Stolorow & Peter Barshay _________________________ can’t make it down to the shop? you’re missing out on a good thing! but you can usually catch the livestream on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please donate to help us pay the musicians! A recurring monthly donation can give you unlimited guilt-free consumption of the stream and our sincere gratitude. Bird & Beckett guarantees…

Bob Kenmotsu, tenor sax Keith Saunders, piano Eric Markowitz, bass Tony Johnson, drums Catch the show here:

Art Hirahara, piano John Wiitala, bass Tim Bulkley, drums $20 cover charge (cash at the door, please) Doors open at 7:45pm BYOB Reservations: 415-586-3733 Livestream on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please donate to help us pay the musicians! Art Hirahara is a jazz keyboardist and composer based in New York City. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Art moved to New York in 2002 to be challenged by its pool of world-class musicians. There he has honed his craft, performing in a wide range of musical situations ranging from straight ahead standards to time cycle-based progressive jazz to working with singer/songwriters. Art has had the privilege to perform with Don Braden, Stacey Kent, Freddy Cole, Akira Tana, Rufus Reid, royal hartigan and many others. He has performed around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East and extensively around the United States. As a bandleader, he has released seven recordings…

Poets converge at Bird & Beckett tonight, 9/21, to honor Gregory Corso, reading from The Golden Dot: Last Poems, 1997-2000, edited by Raymond Foye and George Scrivani, is newly published by Lithic Press. Co-editor Scrivani will join Scott Bird, Neeli Cherkovski, Agneta Falk, Sarah Menefee and Tate Swindell to read from the book, and to contribute poems of their own in tribute to this key figure in modern American poetry. Nothing can rival the experience of being at the reading with poets that knew Corso as a friend and colleague. But if you simply can’t, we encourage you to take in tonight’s reading in the live stream that’s to be found at 7pm on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. If you like what you hear in the stream, and value what Bird & Beckett puts on offer there, please donate to help us pay an honorarium to the participating…

intimate conversations in jazz Mas Koga, saxophones & flutes Frank Martin, piano Peter Barshay, bass Bryan Bowman, drums $20 cover charge (cash at the door, please) Doors open at 7:20pm for the 7:30pm show BYOB reservations, call 415-586-3733 Tonight’s show can also be found on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. If you like what you hear in the stream, and stick around for more, donate to help us pay the musicians!

No charge. Donations appreciated! Live in the shop! The live stream can be found on our Facebook page or YouTube channel The Oaktown Jazz Workshops at Jack London Square have been cultivating and training young talent for three decades now. Recent alumni of the program come to Bird & Beckett on Sunday, October 2nd at 5pm to perform as the Oaktown Jazz Workshops’ Youth Mentors. At right, OJW Youth Mentors Jordon Dabney – tenor saxophone Maximilian Ehrhardt – trumpet Anthony Mills-Branch – bass Pepe Tekpa – drums This quartet shows how early training, talent, intense study and a strong community-based environment like the OJW can combine to produce the next generation of jazz giants. Oaktown Jazz Workshops employs a cascading mentorship model, where “near-peers” comprised of OJW alumni serve as inspiring Youth Mentors for the incoming, younger musicians.  Visit the Oaktown Jazz Workshops website at this link.      …

LEVITATOR textured & ferocious music Safa Shokrai, bass Kjell Nordeson, drums Darren Johnston, trumpet $20 cover charge (cash at the door, please) Doors open at 7:20pm for the 7:30pm show BYOB reservations, call 415-586-3733 Tonight’s show can also be found on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. If you like what you hear in the stream, and stick around for more, donate to help us pay the musicians!

After Thursday evening’s blowout, we sweep up, and it’s back to jazz as usual! jazz in the bookshop every Friday since 2002, twenty years and counting… Scott’s been holding on the gig ever since we started. THE SCOTT FOSTER TRIO a cool vibe Scott Foster, guitar Sam Reider, accordion Daniel Fabricant, bass Scott has been on the job since jazz in the bookshop became a weekly thing at Bird & Beckett, way back in late 2002… next month we’ll mark twenty years of Friday shows! In all those years, we’ve only been without jazz on Friday evening twice. Come out tonight for a unique and very special trio date. And mark your calendar now to join us for Scott’s next date, October 21st, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of jazz in the bookshop. You can count on Scott to bring a whole new band and a whole new concept, at…