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653 Chenery Street in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood
Open to walk-in trade and browsing Tuesday to Sunday noon to six
phone: 1-415-586-3733 email: [email protected]
David Byrd, sax & vocals. Toho Saunders, bass & vocals. Carlos Caminos, guitar. Eli Goldlink, keys. Jordan “J Bird” Davis, drums. $20 cover charge, byob. Students $10. For a reservation, call 415-586-3733. Byrds of a Feather introduce their two fresh recordings, now in release: Vampire President and Garden of Delight. Vampire President aims to encourage resistance and a solution for the pollution of the current administration. David Byrd is unique in his penchant for infusing a heavy reggae vibe into his bebop and modal jazz, though just as often he stays right there in solid jazz territory, always with massive respect paid to the influences of Charlie Parker & John Coltrane, Eddie Jefferson, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt and the whole body of Chicago and Detroit players… He was born and raised on the musical mecca of 47th street in Chicago, where his uncle, Red Saunders was the drummer and bandleader…
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Tom Griesser, saxophone. Kevin Gersevitz, organ. Scott Foster, guitar. Dan Foltz, drums. $20 cover charge at the door. Cash, please! BYOB. Students $10. Kids free. For a reservation, call the bookshop at 415-586-3733. Reservations honored until show time. Doors open at 7:15pm. “For the sound of today’s organ combo, look no further than B3B4.” -Pete Fallico, KCSM Radio Host and CEO of Jazz Organ Fellowship. Four of our favorite players on the local scene have been thrilling audiences for years with their funky little combo called B3B4, offering a rich dive into the diverse and divine jazz organ repertoire built up in the 1950s & 1960s by the greats of the Hammond B3, including Jimmy Smith, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jack McDuff, and, pictured below, Jimmy McGriff & Richard “Groove” Holmes, and mixing in tunes that seem tailor-made for the purpose — including some of their own. It’s a high standard,…
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Wednesday, June 24th — 7pm. no charge. buy a book! San Francisco Poets Ava Koohbor, Of Flesh and Frequency: A Poetics of Sound Making. Jessica Loos, Tambourine. Marina Lazzara, The House Begins an Alphabet. Music by Blind Van de Monk. _____ Thursday, June 25th – 7:30pm $20/byob Students $10. Tango No. 9 Catharine Clune, violin. Greg Stephens, trombone. J Raoul Brody piano & accordion. Zoltan diBartolo, tenor. _____ Friday, June 26th – 7:30pm, $20. Byrds of a Feather: Vampire President & Garden of Delights jazzreggae resistance & solution. David Byrd, sax & vocals. Toho Saunders, bass & vocals. Carlos Caminos, guitar. Eli Goldlink, keys. Jordan “J Bird” Davis, drums. _____ Saturday, June 27th – 7:30pm, $20. B3B4 – organ jazz classics and originals. Kevin Gerzevitz, organ. Tom Griesser, saxophone. Scott Foster, guitar. Dan Foltz, drums. _____ Sunday, June 28th – 5pm. donate! Jam…
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The posts that follow show you what’s come and gone. Search the videos on our youtube channel or facebook page to find evidence of what you remember, or what you missed! Then, make sure you catch the next thing that catches your fancy. The live streams are great, but live music in a room with folks you know or ought to get to know, that’s irreplaceable…
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Once there was a bandoneon player named Isabel, all the emotional yearning of tango can be summed up in that memory, and yet the stirring of the spirit is strong and will not be quashed. There came along the dandy Zoltan. He gave heart and fortitude to the others, to Catharine whose sturdy palimpsest could again hold and quill inscribe anew an expansive melody of desire, hope, regret, exultation, to Greg, plosives opened by the svarabhakti vowel, the drop of water that opens the whiskey, to Joshua, an ocean of orchestration at his expressive command. Come back, Kamikaze. Come back to the living. Come to Bird & Beckett and live some more. Catharine Clune, violin Greg Stephens, trombone Joshua, J Raoul, Brody, piano Zoltan diBartolo, voice $20 cover charge at the door, cash please / byob Students, $10. For a reservation, call the bookshop at 415-586-3733.
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Jonah Hieb, trumpet. Brahm Sasner, piano. Isaac Coyle, bass. Guilhem Fourty, drums. $20 cover charge / BYOB. Students $10. For a reservation, call (415) 586-3733. Guilhem Fourty, born and raised in Toulouse, France and now based in NYC, is bringing a modern jazz quartet to Bird & Beckett to present his original music and arrangements of jazz standards. His quartet at Bird & Beckett tonight features two of Guilhem’s young colleagues on the New York scene, both with west coast roots: Jonah Hieb, raised in the Pacific Northwest, and Brahm Sasner on piano, out of the Bay Area city of Lafayette., On bass, we have the great Isaac Coyle, raised in the East Bay city of El Cerrito. Isaac is jamming out to Glen Park for this gig from another engagement (in fact, we hear this is his fifth gig in the last 24 hours), so we’ll start with a…
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Sunday, June 21st – 5-7pm. Sunday Happy Hour Show. The Smith Dobson Quartet. Smith Dobson, saxophone. Keith Saunders, piano. Eric Markowitz, bass. Tony Johnson, drums. It’s the Sunday happy hour show at Bird & Beckett, so bring something to sip and pay what you can. Bring a snack for yourself or bring some food to share. Stay for a tune, stay for a set, stay for the evening. $20 is nice, but you decide what it’s worth, and what you can afford; students $0 to $10, your call; kids free. This long-running combo under Smith Dobson V’s leadership held forth for years at the Club Deluxe on Haight Street. The Club Deluxe has just now reopened, but perhaps you haven’t gotten there yet to brave the enthusiastic and well juiced patrons? God love ’em! Get a taste in Glen Park, where you can recapture the magic — or capture it…
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Jim Grantham, tenor saxophone. Scott Foster, guitar. Ollie Dudek, bass. Omar Aran, drums. $20 cover charge / byob. Students $10 / kids free. For a reservation, call the bookshop at 415-586-3733. Bassist Don Prell, born in 1929, has passed at the age of 96. We’ll pay tribute this Friday to Don and his long-running band, SeaBop, when guitarist Scott Foster convenes a session with a few of the many SeaBop alumni who did serious jazz time with the irrepressible band leader. Don was a professional jazz musician from the age of 15, when he joined Los Angeles Local 47 of the American Federation of Musicians, requiring special permission to join because of his age. Soon, he went on the road with the Frank Ortega Band and along the way he played with prominent jazz musicians including Buddy Rich, Chet Baker, and Claude Williamson. In the mid-1950s, he was the bassist…
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A Birthday Bash for Noel Jewkes. Saturday, June 20th – 7:30pm. $25 cover charge, byob. Students $10; kids free. For a reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733. Noel Jewkes, reeds. Keith Saunders, piano. Heshima Mark Williams, bass. Mark Lee, drums. Kay Kostopoulos, vocals. Noel Jewkes and the Bird & Beckett proprietor, Eric, share a birthday, and try to rendezvous in the shop on or about the date each year for a performance by Noel and his compatriots. We’re pulling it off again this year. It’s always a pleasure to present the swingingest cat in Northern California jazz, and it’ll be no exception this year, as Noel turns 86 and Eric turns 70. Come out and help us celebrate! And enjoy some fine jazz in the bargain!
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A Tribute to Don Prell & SeaBop. Friday, June 19th — 7:30pm. Jim Grantham, tenor saxophone. Scott Foster, guitar. Ollie Dudek, bass. Omar Aran, drums. $20 cover charge / byob. Students $10 / kids free. For a reservation, call the bookshop at 415-586-3733. Bassist Don Prell, born in 1929, has passed at the age of 96. We’ll pay tribute this Friday to Don and his long-running band, SeaBop, when guitarist Scott Foster convenes a session with a few of the many SeaBop alumni who did serious jazz time with the irrepressible band leader. Don was a professional jazz musician from the age of 15, when he joined Los Angeles Local 47 of the American Federation of Musicians, requiring special permission to join because of his age. Soon, he went on the road with the Frank Ortega Band and along the way he played with prominent jazz musicians including Buddy Rich,…
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Walker Brents III talks on a subject of his choosing most months on a mid-month, mid-week date as befits his and the bookstore’s schedules. This time out, his subject is Patti Smith. Patti Smith has inspirational medicine. She shares her knowledge. She strengthens individual romantic belief. Humble and loveable, her hands are full of lightning. This is primarily a live stream, findable on our website, our YouTube channel and our Facebook page — though you can feel free to come into the half-light of the shop to hear Walker live and in person. If the gate or door are locked, knock on the window or holler. We’ll let you in and set you up with a chair. If you visit one of those livestream junctions, just refresh your browser at showtime to catch the talk. The stream won’t be in evidence until we’ve hit…
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$20 cover charge; byob. A deal! Students $10; kids free. Mo bettah! Reservations: call the shop at 415-586-3733 Will and Beth interrupt their regular programming to introduce Ken Emerson, a long time friend and collaborator. The evening will include, along with Will and Beth’s compositions, a selection of vintage jazz and blues as well as Hawaiian slack-key, hula and hapa-haole songs with Will on guitar, Beth on clarinet and voice and Ken on lap steel and resonator guitars. This will fun meeting of the spirits. Will and Ken have performed before, notably at Kauai’s Red Clay festival where they teamed up with Ken’s Hawaiian trio to perform 30’s an 40’s Hawaiian music. Beth and Will have collaborated for decades. BETH CUSTER Beth Custer is a member of the ensembles Russian Telegraph, Club Foot Orchestra,Trance Mission, Eighty Mile Beach, Will Bernard/Beth Custer and Beth Custer Ensembles, Clarinet Thing, and The Mighty…
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Gail (Li’l Bit) Muldrow, guitar and vocals. Paul Lamb, bass. Nick Otis, drums and vocals. $20 suggested donation, but pay just what you can for our Sunday shows. byob. Students, $5-$10 suggested; kids free. Come for a tune, come for the afternoon, it’s all fine. For a seat reservation, call the shop at 415-586-3733, but your seat is up for grabs at showtime, so don’t be late! Nick Otis returns to Bird & Beckett tonight with all the Otis family’s funk and soul, driving a mighty blues/rock trio featuring the powerhouse guitarist and vocalist Gail Muldrow. Nick, a hard rockin’ drummer leading the party from behind the kit, is the rightful heir to the Johnny Otis legacy, alongside brothers Shuggie and Jon, Nick’s son Niko and Shuggie’s son Eric. And then there’s Gail, a fierce guitarist who played and sang with Sly & the Family Stone and Graham Central Station, who…
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Bruce Ackley, soprano saxophone. Steve Adams, alto saxophone. Larry Ochs, tenor saxophone. Jon Raskin, baritone saxophone. $20 Cover Charge / BYOB. Students $10; Kids Free. For Reservations call (415) 586-3733. Rova returns to the bandstand for its first concert in two years, presenting new and recent works. Think of the human voice in music. The most primal of instruments, it can melt you or move you to tears on the spot. Then it’s the saxophone, one-step removed from the human voice, and the next most powerful messenger in music. Johnny Hodges, Albert Ayler, Steve Lacy, Pharoah Sanders, Oliver Lake, King Curtis, Tim Berne, John Butcher – to name only a few of the many singular voices on the instrument who, with one short phrase or even one sound, can take your breath away, or excite and inspire you to great heights. Multiply that power, that capability, times 4, and you…
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Joshi Marshall, tenor saxophone. Sam Heminger, upright bass. Micah McClain, drums. $20 Cover Charge / BYOB. Students $10; kids free. For reservations call (415) 586-3733. The Joshi Marshall Project will be performing music ranging from bebop to Bob Dylan, including selections from Joshi’s 2009 debut album “In the Light.” Joshi had a large role in the Acid Jazz and Hip Hop Jazz scene in the San Francisco club area known as South of Market, culminating perhaps with the locally renowned and internationally famous touring outfit Mingus Amungus. Coming out of the fertile Berkeley High jazz generation of the late 1970s to early 1990s, he played and recorded with seminal groups of the era including Groove Shop, Daddy Goddess, Human Flavor, The Mofessionals, Jungle Biskit, Alphabet Soup and Bop City. By 1995 Joshi had established himself as one of the premier sax players in the Bay Area and became one of…
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SUPPORT BIRD & BECKETT - DONATE TODAY!
Your donation to the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project helps us pay for a multitude of operating expenses necessary to present, promote and preserve local music, poetry, and more.
Help us keep the arts alive and thriving!
The Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project was created in 2007 "to present, document and archive the creative work of significant living writers and musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, for a neighborhood audience and future generations," continuing the work we began when the store was established in 1999.
We continue to present a full slate of programming of live music and poetry readings, and produce a literary journal and poetry chapbooks, and we seek and welcome your continued financial support by way of donations.
Click on "donate" in the navigation bar above. Better yet, make a check out to the “Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project” and drop it off or mail it to:
Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project
653 Chenery Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
Call us at (415) 586-3733 to find out how else you might lend your support.
TAKE OUR SURVEY
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The Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project
Our events are put on under the umbrella of the Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project (the "BBCLP"). That's how we fund our ambitious schedule of 300 or so concerts and literary events every year.
The BBCLP is a [Read More ]
The Independent Musicians Alliance
Gigging musicians! You have nothing to lose but your lack of a collective voice to achieve fair wages for your work!
The IMA can be a conduit for you, if you join in to make it work.
https://www.independentmusiciansalliance.org/
Read more here - Andy Gilbert's Feb 25 article about the IMA from KQED's site
