After presenting over 120 acts on 11 stages over a three day period, it took us a bit of time to sort through the many stories we heard post Fest. From what we saw and heard, there were plenty of highlights to choose from.
Continue Reading »This is our second Summer Fest with Executive Director Brendan Rawson at the helm. When we approached him to offer his Summer Fest take, he was excited to join in and provided a fun spin on all the new changes we’re delivering to Summer Fest this year. Brendan used our Fest Five format to help highlight some Summer Fest 2013 hallmarks. Here, in his words, he provides us with his five exciting festival changes 1. A …
Continue Reading »Tommy Aguilar has long been a force on the local music scene. With his production company and taste-making collective Universal Grammar, he continually brings quality, forward-thinking music to the intimate, deep red confines of the Pagoda, which will also serve as the home of this year’s RBC Jazz Beyond Stage. This year, he helped us curate our jazz beyond stage programming, which has been expanded to three days. He’s also been instrumental in helping us spearhead …
Continue Reading »Dave Koz, Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright and Richard Elliot – these four saxophonists have each had extraordinary careers, their resumes impressively gilded with gold and platinum-selling CD’s and numerous awards. An ingenious concept then for all four stars to come together on Dave Koz and Friends: Summer Horns, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart and has become the feel-good smooth jazz release of the season. For its identity, the Summer Horns project …
Continue Reading »Dr Lonnie Smith is not a medical doctor, but his music has been found to be good for one’s health. A bona fide star on his signature instrument, the Hammond B-3 organ, Smith’s performances are filled with joie de vivre and energy – Dr. Lonnie loves to play! – and he’s been playing for a remarkable 50 years and counting. From upstate New York, Dr Lonnie was born into a musical family and manifested a …
Continue Reading »Pink Martini is an apt group to describe our time. Though their music can evoke an infectious nostalgia that touches upon 40’s cinema, classical music and the 1950’s Latin music explosion, their musical diversity is indicative of the global perspective that is the norm in our ultra-connected world. Similarly, the group’s many cultural touchstones can providing glimpses into a number of cultures within a single set – perfect to accommodate our shortened attention spans. In …
Continue Reading »In mid-August, San Jose becomes the epicenter of the jazz universe. What started as a 1-day, one stage affair in 1990 has now grown into a 3-day, 11 stage extravaganza with 100+ performances by 1,000 musicians. As the event has grown, so has community engagement and enthusiasm, as evidenced by the many other jazz events happening in and around town. Be sure to read on if you feel Summer Fest can’t come soon enough. Cafe …
Continue Reading »The Preservation Hall Jazz Band: it’s not jazz for your momma anymore. Rather, the group is broaching a new frontier, built upon the very roots of what jazz is and what this country stands for, but energized and re-imagined for who and what we are today. The history of jazz traces its roots back to New Orleans, a place of extraordinary romance recognized both for its beauty and tragic injustice. Yet jazz’s great artistic achievements …
Continue Reading »San Jose Jazz Summer Fest is offering hundreds of artists on 11 stages throughout Downtown San Jose in a festival atmosphere, but what if you wanted to watch your favorite artist in a more intimate setting? For the first time ever, San Jose Jazz will be presenting a series of special Jazz+ Concerts. With Jazz+, you have the opportunity to watch a handful of artists in a more intimate, relaxed setting. All Jazz+ events can …
Continue Reading »Earlier in her life, Kathryn Diamond, who joined our Board of Directors in 2009, was a founding member and regular on-air broadcaster at KCBX, a not-for-profit jazz radio station in San Luis Obispo. A person with a passionate life-long commitment to jazz, Diamond is currently on the Board’s Education Committee, where she works to support and promote the organization’s many jazz education programs for San Jose’s youth. “Jazz is both one of America’s great inventions and …
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