SFJAM at SFJAZZ: Holiday Grooves!

SFJAM is a community jam session sponsored by SFJAZZ and for the Holiday Grooves December 12th session, I'll be hosting from the piano, featuring Kristen Strom (sax), Troy Lampkins (bass), Jayla Hernandez (drums)...and you! The jam has a curated set list (although other tunes are welcome, of course)

...just click here to sign up. Listeners are absolutely welcome!

Joe Sample's Snowflake is on the top of that setlist, perhaps because it's been a favorite of mine for a few decades...so I went ahead and transcribed Joe's solo, which you can view below. Click over to the transcription page on this website to download the pdf. See you at the jam!

1959: The Year That Changed Jazz

If you haven't made it down to SFJAZZ to experience any of the Discover Jazz presentations, now is the time go! Terrence Brewer always manifests an intriguing and informative concert interspersed with historical details that illuminate just how interwoven jazz history and our nation's history really is—making you love this music that much more.

Looking at the albums released that year tells us that 1959 ushered in a transformational development in jazz history: Mile Davis's Kinda Blue, John Coltrane's Giant Steps, Ornate Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, Horace Silver's Blowin' the Blues Away, Bill Evans's Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck's Time Out—legendary albums for a legendary year.

This will be the subject of Terrence Brewer's Discover Jazz concert/presentation this month, and in particular, on November 16th, the legendary saxophonist Joe Lovano will be making a special guest appearance, giving us all a lesson in what this music means for jazz.

Hoping you can be there! It will be a tremendous honor to play alongside a jazz giant such as Joe Lovano, as well as the other amazingly talented artists scheduled for both November 16th and November 30th: Terrence Brewer (of course!), Thu Ho, Rob Dehlinger, Gary Brown, Greg Wyser-Pratte and Sylvia Cuenca.

You can find out more by clicking here.

The music carries on and carries us with it!

3 and 3

My next three performances are with these three extraordinary women!

Sharmila Guha Lash & Friends

Saturday, September 24, 2022, 7pm

Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland

Click here for details and click here for tickets

From sharing the stage with Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Carmen Lundy, to performing with top-shelf jazz musicians in both Northern and Southern California, Sharmila's exceptional vocal skills cross a wide array of genres. For this not-to-be-missed event, Sharmila has curated a fascinating and beautiful set of music largely featuring the works of women composers. A portion of the concert proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which serves mid-California and Northern Nevada.

Amelie Anna Hinman

Saturday, October 1, 2022, 6-8:30pm

Broadway Grill in Burlingame

Click here for details

Not only is Amelie an equally gifted vocalist & percussionist, whose talents bring film and video scores to life, but she also has performed and collaborated with jazz great Martin Luther McCoy, and has shared the stage with members of the SFJAZZ Collective. She is the assistant director of the Roots, Jazz and American Music department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and performs regularly throughout the Bay Area with her quintet.

Sandy Cressman

Saturday, October 29, 2022, 6-8:30pm

Mr. Tipple's in San Francisco

Click here for details

Sandy Cressman will be bringing her dynamic and groove-filled Brazilian set to Mr. Tipple's at the end of October. Well-known and well-regarded throughout the Bay Area and beyond for her deep love of Brazilian music, she has collaborated with some of Brazil's finest musicians, including Antonio Adolfo, Deborah Gurgel, Spok and Jovino Santos Neto. She recently received grant funding for a recording project that will feature the music of Milton Nascimento.