August 14, 2016
By: Brandon E. Roos
As usual, Summer Fest has been a whirlwind! I can’t believe it’s already Sunday. Plenty of musical highlights to revisit, and I’m excited to see what today will bring on the Fest’s final day. This list is in no way definitive, but here my five Summer Fest highlights so far and a couple recommendations for your Sunday listening pleasure: Friday Mark de Clive-Lowe Though his midnight start time may have been too late for some, …
Continue Reading »
July 16, 2014
By: Brandon E. Roos
During the second weekend of August, San Jose Jazz Summer Fest turns downtown San Jose into a vibrant celebration of live music. You’ll hear jazz, salsa, R&B, swing, New Orleans and much more on 12 stages over three days. With performances stretching from morning to late night, why not turn your experience into an extended stay? Whether you’re arriving from out of town, out of state or just outside the neighborhood, there are plenty of …
Continue Reading »
August 5, 2012
By: Brandon E. Roos
Most musicians don’t start by learning jazz in preschool, but then again, most musicians aren’t Laila Smith. Thanks to an early music teacher, Smith discovered her passion for jazz at the age of four and debuted on the Summer Fest stage accompanying a jazz choir when she was only six. Thirteen years later, she’s about as decorated as a singer her age can be. Her latest award may be her most notable – she …
Continue Reading »
August 2, 2012
By: Laura G. Thorne
With a voice described by Jazz Times as “sounding, as always, like a sun-dappled glacier leisurely, meanderingly melting its way down a Colorado mountainside,” Diane Reeves is a superlative singer and interpreter, an artist who is quintessentially jazz. She is fast becoming an icon, much as Reeves’ inspiration, Sarah Vaughan, was back in her day. Known to many for playing the jazz singer in George Clooney’s atmospheric film Good Night and Good Luck – a …
Continue Reading »
July 13, 2012
By: Brandon E. Roos
Looking to take in some fabulous songstresses at this year’s Summer Fest? Our fantastic cast of vocalists feature locals and former internationals, teenagers and seasoned professionals, yet all further the lyrical tradition of past greats. Leading our list of distinguished vocalists is four-time Grammy® Winner Dianne Reeves, one of Summer Fest’s headliners. Regarded as one of the finest jazz singers of her time, Reeves’s respectable catalog all but guarantees that her set will be full of …
Continue Reading »
