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The SFJAZZ Board of Trustees has announced plans to build the first permanent home for the 28-year-old San Francisco institution.

The SFJAZZ Center, located at 205 Franklin Street in San Francisco's Hayes Valley, will be a 35,000 square-foot transparent free-standing structure designed by award-winning San Francisco architect Mark Cavagnero. 

Led by an anonymous gift of $20 million — the largest ever given to a jazz institution — the ongoing capital campaign will raise $60 million toward construction of the new SFJAZZ Center.

"The SFJAZZ Center represents a major transformation for SFJAZZ," said Srinija Srinivasan, Chair of the Board of Trustees. "It's more than a new home for the organization; it represents a place where the world of jazz music and education can be expressed and enjoyed in all its diversity, by all its global characters. This American art form has gone around the world and come back again. The SFJAZZ Center is our way of giving it the home it deserves."

The SFJAZZ Center will allow SFJAZZ to efficiently integrate its mission under one roof: presenting world class artists in concert throughout the year, nurturing young musicians' development and promoting music education through jazz outreach programs to Bay Area students and adults. The facility will also enable SFJAZZ to further its goal to be a global leader in jazz music preservation and innovation. The SFJAZZ Center will create a vibrant hub for jazz in San Francisco: a place where the public, musicians and students can come to listen, network and learn.

"This building will be a beacon for the future of jazz," said Randall Kline, SFJAZZ Founder and Executive Artistic Director. "Most importantly, it will offer musicians like the many greats who we've presented — including nearly every major performer in jazz and numerous emerging artists — a building that embodies the beauty of this indigenous art form."

"SFJAZZ's new home is not only an important development for a vital organization in our city; it's also a welcome addition to the rich cultural fabric of San Francisco," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "The SFJAZZ Center acknowledges the significant role jazz has played in our city's history and will continue to play in our future."

Cavagnero's design features a state-of-the-art auditorium with flexible seating for 350 to 700 music lovers; advanced technology for performance recording and digital-age broadcasts to global audiences; an 80-seat multi-purpose Ensemble Room (a "black box" performance and education space); three rehearsal spaces; a digital learning lab; and a sidewalk-level restaurant/café. 

SFJAZZ plans to break ground on the new facility in the summer of 2011.

"The SFJAZZ Center will be distinct from more formal concert halls," said architect Cavagnero. "Its design elements will capture the creative, non-hierarchical and improvisational spirit of the music form. The building's concrete frame and translucent skin express the energy and functions within, including the flexible, large main theatre, an intimate 80-seat ensemble room, and a café that features live jazz. The glass-enclosed ground floor will engage passersby along the well-travelled neighboring streets and welcome visitors."

A New Home for Jazz Concerts and Education

The SFJAZZ Center will create a home for jazz presentation and education in the San Francisco Bay Area. The new SFJAZZ Center will feature a dedicated space for educational lectures, panel discussions, clinics, professional development workshops; a digital music lab for rehearsals, recording and production; and practice rooms for musicians and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars. As part of the campaign, SFJAZZ plans to expand its educational programming and outreach to students and adults.

Additionally, the creation of the Center establishes a new home for the SFJAZZ Collective. The SFJAZZ Collective began in 2004 with a mission to bring together the world's finest jazz musicians to examine and explore the work of a great jazz master and to allow each member to compose an original work. The Collective tours the world, bringing a new body of the jazz canon to people everywhere.

"As a long time supporter of the arts, I am delighted to welcome this new facility to San Francisco," said Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. "Our city is an international center for arts and culture and this center brings our renowned arts institutions to a new level. SFJAZZ's new building and education programs will bridge professional artists with our next generation of young performers. I join all San Franciscans in celebrating this occasion."