 This
Month's Featured Article |
 2010
San Francisco Jazz Festival Ranges from Jazz Giants to the Leading Edge
 From
"Jazz Giants" to the "Leading Edge," the 28th annual San Francisco Jazz Festival
(September 14 thru November 20) includes the Manhattan Transfer, Henry Threadgill, Arturo
Sandoval (left), The Yellowjackets, Omara Portuondo, Vijay Iyer, Garaj Mahal, Yusef Lateef, Asleep at the Wheel,
Ravi Shankar, Ledisi, Kenny Barron, Marcus Shelby and more... |
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News
& Feature Articles |
Kendra Shank Teams with Pianist Geoff Keezer for a Dazzling Performance
 Kendra Shank is an adventuress when it comes to her music. She and
pianist Geoff Keezer possess the virtuosity to let the music happen, and it was that originality — and Shank's ability to stretch
— that made the Sunday afternoon concert at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society such a roaring success... |
San
Jose Jazz Festival Showcases Jazz, Blues, Salsa, Latin Jazz & More
 The
sounds of jazz return to downtown San Jose August 13-15 with the 21st annual San Jose Jazz Festival. From
Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, more than 100,000 music lovers will converge on the heart of Silicon Valley
to enjoy three days of jazz, blues, salsa, Latin jazz, R&B, and more... |
Wally
Schnalle Drums Up A Four-Star Performance at the Bach D&D Society
 Wally Schnalle and his quartet made its debut at the
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society (aka the Douglas Beach House) and, once the band settled in, everyone in the house knew that a hard hitting jazz-fusion band had
arrived. Bill Leikam has a review of the Sunday afternoon show... |
Legendary
Jazz Producer Orrin Keepnews Honored as 2011 NEA Jazz Master
 Orrin Keepnews
— like the music he's loved, nurtured,
cultivated, produced and ultimately brought to the ears of jazz fans around the world for more than 50 years — has a long and
celebrated history that simply can't be told in one sitting. In fact, it could — and undoubtedly will — take a lifetime... |
SJFAZZ
Announces New Jazz Center in S.F.: "A Beacon for the Future of Jazz"
 SFJAZZ has announced plans to build a
transparent,
35,000 square- foot free-standing structure designed by award-winning San Francisco architect
Mark Cavagnero. Led by an anonymous
gift of $20 million, the ongoing capital campaign will raise $60 million toward construction of the new SFJAZZ
Center... |
Stanford
Jazz Fest 2010:
Joshua Redman, Dave Douglas, Luciana Souza and More
 One
of our favorite summer jazz concert series, the Stanford
Jazz Festival, showcases a stellar line-up of legendary jazz masters
and "rising stars." Among this year's headliners: Joshua Redman, Luciana Souza
(left), George Cables, Dave Douglas, Mose Allison, Fred Hersch, and more... |
Pianist
and Composer Billy Childs Brings a "Scary Depth of Talent" to the Bach
 The packed Douglas Beach House near Half Moon
Bay on Sunday, May 2 was a testament to the musical reputation of Billy Childs' Jazz Chamber Ensemble,
featuring Bob Shepard (sax and flutes), Smitty Smith (drums), Larry Koonse (acoustic
guitar) and Hamilton Price (bass). Bill Leikam reports... |
Jazz Heritage Center Hosts Herman Leonard "Jazz Giants" Photo Retrospective
 The Jazz Heritage Center in San
Francisco has announced a special exhibit for Jazz Appreciation Month: "Jazz Giants: The Photography of
Herman Leonard," a collection of some of the greatest jazz photographs ever taken by one of
America's greatest living photographers... |
Wayne Wallace Headlines
Gala Benefit and Silent Auction in San
Francisco
 Bay
Area trombonist, composer and educator
Wayne Wallace headlines "All That Jazz," a Benefit Gala and Silent Auction on Wednesday, May 26 in San
Francisco. Writer Brian
Johns chats with Wallace about his jazz roots, passion for Latin music, and all his non-profit work here in
the Bay Area... |
Legendary
Saxophonist "Kidd" Jordan Takes Audiences On A Free Jazz Voyage
 Jazz saxophonist Sir Edward "Kidd" Jordan and his quartet (Eddie Gale on trumpet, Warren Smith on drums,
and William Parker on bass) took his audience on a voyage into the rarefied stratosphere of free jazz at
the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society. Bill Leikam has more on the performance... |
Cuban
Drummer Berroa Ignites Jazz Fans at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
 Sometimes you think
you've heard it all, but then something comes along to let you know that there's even more. This was the case
when Cuban drummer
Ignacio Berroa and his quartet performed at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay back in January
2010. Bill Leikam reviews the show... |
San
Jose Jazz Presents its 22nd annual Winter Concert Series
Jan-March 2010
 San Jose Jazz
begins its annual winter
season of Sunday afternoon jazz concerts through a final March 21 performance with Antonio
Sanchez. Also on the Winter concert series schedule: Pamela Rose and her "Wild Women of Song," "The
Latin Side of Duke Ellington" and more... |
Anna's
Jazz Island in Downtown Berkeley Goes Dark,
Seeks New Location
 Anna's
Jazz Island, a long-standing popular venue for jazz in Berkeley, has closed its doors, effective
immediately. Owner Anna de Leon
attributed the sudden closure of her downtown Berkeley jazz club to rowdy neighbors and an offer she "couldn't refuse"
to terminate her Gaia Arts Center lease early... |
SFJAZZ
Announces 11th annual Spring Series Concerts February 19-June 12
 The
San Francisco Jazz Festival celebrates its 11th
annual Spring Series February 19 through June 12, 2010, with more
than 40 concerts, featuring a line-up of
international and national jazz masters, including a special gala performance honoring Bay Area vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson
(left)... |
Sonoma
Valley Jazz Celebrates 20 Years
 The Sonoma Valley Jazz Society was started by a few
jazz lovers in the Northern California town of Sonoma who wanted to bring quality jazz to town.
In 1989, they formed a non-profit to continue presenting jazz around town, and it's been going strong every
since, funded by memberships and local businesses... |
Concert Review:
Brubeck Brothers at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
 With
their opening tune, "West of One," it was clear that the Brubeck Brothers quartet was one of
the tightest to appear at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society in a long time. The musicians knew their music,
says Bill Leikam in a review
of their October 25 performance at the Half Moon Bay jazz venue... |
Concert Review: z_Bug
Comes on Strong at Oakland's Flux 53 Theater
 "An Intimate Evening
with z_Bug" filled Oakland's Flux 53 Theater on August 25, 2009 with eloquent
textures of sound: sometimes hypnotic, sometimes sonorous as though rising from the depths of a
volcano, and sometimes teetering just on the edge of silent space. Bill Leikam has a review
of the performance... |
SFJAZZ
Presents an International Array of Jazz in its Fall 2009 Concert Series
 This year's annual San Francisco Jazz Festival
features jazz concerts October 10 to November
21, with Ornette Coleman, Mark Murphy, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Milton Nscimento, Zakir Hussain, and John
Handy (left), who receives this year's Beacon Award for a lifetime in jazz... |
Yerba
Buena Gardens Showcases Jazz in Free Outdoor Summer Concerts
 The 2009 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival features
over 100 free events, including an international array of jazz from the likes of Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band,
John Worley (left) and WorlView, the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, Akira Tana's Sound
Circle, and Yosvany Terry... |
Fillmore
Jazz Fest 2009 Showcases Jazz, Art along
S.F.'s Fillmore Street
 It's
an annual tradition for the July 4
weekend... the Fillmore Jazz
Festival, July 4-5 in the heart of San
Francisco.. This year's two-day jazz fest
features Sila and the AfroFunk
Experience (left), Lavay Smith,
Kim Nalley, Norman Bautista,
Lloyd Gregory, Spencer Day, Marcus
Shelby and more... |
New
San Jose Jazz Orchestra Performs August 9
at the San Jose Jazz Festival
 San Jose Jazz and
West Valley Jazz have announced a
new collaboration to provide performance and education programs to music fans throughout Silicon Valley. As part of the collaboration, the
West Valley Jazz Orchestra will be renamed the
San Jose Jazz Orchestra under the
direction of Gus Kambeitz... |
"Smooth
Jazz" KKSF Vanishes from Airwaves... Replaced by "Classic Rock"
 With
virtually no warning to its loyal
listeners, the San Francisco-based
"smooth jazz" radio station KKSF
(103.7 FM) went off the air at exactly 3
pm Wednesday, May 18, switching from its
familiar and pioneering mix of adult
instrumentals and mainstream jazz and
R&B to a "classic rock"
music format... |
NEA
Announces Recipients of the Prestigious 2010 "Jazz Masters"
Awards
 Bay
Area vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson
has been names as one of the 2010 NEA Jazz Masters, along
with Cedar Walton, Yusef Lateef,
Kenny Baron, Annie Ross, Bill
Holman and Muhal Richard Abrams.
The eight recipients will each receive a
$25,000 grant award and be publicly
honored early next year... |
Stanford
Jazz Fest Celebrates 38th Year with a Full
Summer of Live Jazz
 One
of our favorite summer jazz concert series, the Stanford
Jazz Festival, kicks off its 38th season on Friday,
June 26 with a stellar line-up of legendary jazz masters
and "rising stars" of today's jazz scene: James Moody with Benny Green, Regina
Carter, Paulo Bellanati, The Heath Brothers,
and more... |
20th
Annual San Jose Jazz Festival: 1,000+
Musicians to Perform August 7-9
 The sounds of jazz return to downtown San Jose August 7-9 with the 20th annual
San Jose Jazz Festival: three days of jazz, blues, salsa, Latin, R&B,
and more, featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater,
SambaDa, Wild
Magnolias, Karabali, Bettye Lavette, Lionel
Loueke (left), and more. Get the full
schedule... |
"Jazz
Ambassadors" Exhibit Opens at Jazz
Heritage Center in San
Francisco
 The
Jazz Heritage Center in San
Francisco hosts a new exhibit, Jam
Session, that celebrates jazz
musicians as the nation's front-line
cultural diplomats. "Jam Session:
America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the
World," opens May 17 and showcases
nearly 100 photographs from archives
across the country... |
Jazz
Singer Brings the Gift of Music to Alzheimer's
Patients in San Francisco
 The
Fillmore District is no stranger to jazzy
melodies, but one San Francisco musician
is bringing jazz to a different audience
— Alzheimer's patients. Marlina
Teich's nonprofit organization — Jazzheimers
— performs at convalescent homes to entertain and connect with seniors experiencing memory loss... |
2009
Monterey Jazz Festival: Legendary Icons, Classic Tributes And
More!
 The
Monterey Jazz Festival launches its 52nd
year with a variety of legendary jazz and blues
performers, from Dave Brubeck, Wynton
Marsalis and DeeDee Bridgewater
to Pete Seeger, Kenny Barron,
Jason Moran, John Scofield,
and the jazz triumvirate of Chick Corea, Stanley
Clarke & Lenny White... |
Do
You Hear What I Hear? Notes and Thoughts
from One Singer to Another
 Vocal
technique and emotional content... two
essential ingredients for any jazz singer
working today. Learn more about the art
and craft of jazz singing from Alexa
Weber Morales in this two-part series.
Part
One explores the technical side of
vocal jazz; Part
Two discusses the expressive and
emotional content... |
Jazz-Rock
Saxophonist "Reverend" Ron
Stallings (1947-2009)
 San
Francisco jazz/rock saxophonist Ron
Stallings passed away on Monday, April
13, after a long struggle with cancer.
Stallings was a member of the North Bay's Huey
Lewis & The News for the past 15
years, and a "first-call"
session musician. There's a memorial concert
on April 26 at La Peña in Berkeley... |
SFJAZZ
Announces 2009 SummerFest Line-Up with Stanford Plaza Concerts
 SFJAZZ celebrates its 26th anniversary
with SummerFest, a summer season of free jazz
concerts at Union Square Levi's Plaza, and the Stanford Shopping Center.
Announced so far: Lavay Smith & Her
Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Latin jazz
trombonist Doug Beavers, Mo'Fone,
the Tri-Tip Trio, and more... |
San
Jose Jazz Presents Free Lecture Series for
Jazz Appreciation Month
In celebration of
Jazz Appreciation Month, the folks at San Jose Jazz and the
Tech Museum are teaming up to present series of
free events for fellow music
enthusiasts. Every Tuesday in April, San Jose Jazz will present a panel discussion on a different aspect of
jazz. Learn
more about this free series... |
Paul
Vieregge, Monterey Jazz Festival Stage
Manager Emeritus (1922-2009)
 Paul
Vieregge, stage manager emeritus for
the Monterey Jazz Festival and
founder of the Big Sur Jazz Festival,
passed away on the morning of March 30,
2009 following a long battle with cancer.
Here's a profile of Paul by Beth
Peerless that ran on the JazzWest
website back in March 2002...
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Pete
Douglas: 45 Years of Live Jazz, Dancing &
Dynamite in Half Moon Bay
 On
the verge of his 80th birthday, Pete Douglas
— the single-minded force behind the celebrated
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society —
chats with jazz singer Alexa Weber Morales
about his 45-year career, his philosophy about booking music, and
why he has an unapologetic bias for East Coast
musicians... |
Concert
Review: Paula West at the Rrazz Room in
San Francisco
 Paula
West
comes across onstage as she does in person,
says Alexa Weber Morales (who
caught Paula's recent show at the Rrazz
Room in S.F.): contained, thoughtful, even
reserved. But her repertoire showcases the
unique qualities of her voice and the
dramatic, often lonely songs that appeal
to her.... |
San
Jose Jazz Kicks off 21st Annual Sunday Concert
Series
 San
Jose Jazz celebrates its 21st annual
"Sunday Series" jazz concerts
with performances by Kim Nalley, The
Latin Jazz All Stars, Jeff Lorber
(with the
West Valley Jazz Orchestra), Claudia
Villela, the Amina Figarova Sextet, David
Sanchez, and Wayne Wallace & John
Worley.
Get the full schedule... |
Pianist
Denny Zeitlin Releases "Bookend"
CDs Spanning a 45-Year Career
 The
simultaneous release of two titles
documenting the early and present day
music of pianist/composer Denny Zeitlin
refocuses attention on one of music's most
interesting instrumentalists... an
individual whom the Los Angeles Times
has called as "the jazz world’s
most visible Renaissance man." Read
on... |
SFJAZZ
Announces 10th Anniversary Spring Season
with 40+ Concerts
 SFJAZZ celebrates its 10th anniversary
Spring Season March 7 through June 22 with more than 40 concerts, featuring a line-up of international and national jazz masters, along with artists representing the cutting edge in jazz.
Get the full
Spring Season schedule... |
"Harlem
of the West... Revisited" Exhibit at Jazz
Heritage Center in San
Francisco
 The
Jazz Heritage Center, San Francisco's only permanent
cultural and educational complex dedicated to jazz, has
announced its first major exhibition, "Harlem of the
West... Revisited,"
that celebrates art and photography from the bustling Fillmore jazz era of the
1940s and 1950s... |
—
Coming soon... the JazzWest Archives —
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| For
Musicians Only |
For
Musicians Only: Articles and Tips on the Professional Side of Jazz
 Are
you a working jazz musician here in Northern California and the San Francisco
Bay Area? Here's a few articles that may help you refine your craft, enhance your
stage presence, discover the secrets of a successful working career as a jazz
musician or bandleader, and much more... |
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