July 15, 2014
By: Brandon E. Roos
At Summer Fest 25, several artists are paying tribute to musicians who played a key part in inspiring them. Paying one’s musical respects is a hallmark of jazz, where mentorship plays a key role in preserving the art form’s legacy. Artists being honored include contemporary greats, giants of the idiom, and recently lost legends. Below, we run down the five tribute performances happening at this year’s Summer Fest. Ben Flocks Plays the Music of Sonny …
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July 26, 2013
By: Brandon E. Roos
Up-and-coming trombonist and singer Natalie Cressman has been hard at work. She just finished another year at the Manhattan School of Music and completed Turn the Sea, her follow-up to 2012 debut, Unfolding. While she wasn’t expecting to make a record so soon, she couldn’t stop the songwriting bursts she encountered. She’s even staying busy over the summer — we caught her during some off time while serving as a counselor at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.
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July 26, 2013
By: Brandon E. Roos
Award-winning, nationally-recognized jazz DJ Brad Stone (KCSM, KSJS) is one of the biggest jazz voices in the region, and we’re pleased to have him back as our resident Summer Fest “Jazz Doctor”! Stone is not only a jazz fanatic but a long-time Fest attendee. Fun fact: his many jazz accolades are just part of his hobby — he’s actually a chemistry professor (he really is a doctor!)
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July 22, 2013
We say that every second weekend in August, Summer Fest transforms downtown San Jose into a haven for live music of all forms. Our new San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2013 line-up video, handled with care by Siren Song Creations, delivers that idea with a creative twist. Watch as dozens of names pop up around, and fly high above, downtown San Jose. Make sure to see them in the flesh August 9-11 on 11 stages throughout …
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July 10, 2013
By: Brandon E. Roos
Jazz has taken on many signature sounds over the decades. Experience many of them in one weekend at Summer Fest Whether you’re a jazz expert or are new to the art form, there’s plenty to discover musically at Summer Fest. Over the second weekend in August, we will be offering many glimpses into jazz’s celebrated, and disparate, eras, from its early beginnings in New Orleans to its more recent flirtation with, and integration of, electronic …
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July 31, 2012
By: Laura G. Thorne
If the Crusaders did not invent contemporary jazz, they certainly played a pivotal role in popularizing what was then a new approach to the classic hard bop style, occupying a space somewhere between fusion, smooth jazz, R&B, funk and soul. Originally from Houston, Texas, the group’s sound calls up the 1970’s in a way that few can duplicate. To listen to their records now, one is reminded of Return to Forever, Pat Metheny & …
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July 18, 2012
By: Laura G. Thorne
Trumpet player, bandleader, composer and arranger Terence Blanchard is one of the most critically recognised players in jazz music today. A twelve-time Grammy nominee and five-time Grammy award recipient, Blanchard’s lush, cinematic writing style is at once timeless and yet entirely contemporary, with a tip of the hat to the ghosts of jazz greats past, but with a unique and haunting character that is 100% his own. Said Vanity Fair of Blanchard, “He plays the …
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