Arts News

San Francisco Jazz Festival schedule announced

By April MacIntyre Jul 2, 2011, 18:12 GMT

02/12/2011 - India.Arie - 2011 Pre-GRAMMY Gala & Salute to Industry Icons with Clive Davis Honoring David Geffen - The Beverly Hilton - Beverly Hills, CA, USA © Andrew Evans / PR Photos

This fall, visitors from all over the world arrive for the San Francisco Jazz Festival, presented by SFJAZZ, one of the nation's leading non-profit jazz organizations.

"The purpose of music is, above all, to nourish the soul," says Randall Kline, Executive Artistic Director of SFJAZZ. "Connecting on a deep emotional level with an artist and their vision can inspire and satisfy like nothing else. With the range of veteran jazz masters, young game-changers and world music luminaries we've packed into this festival, there are myriad ways to feed the need."

Beginning on September 15 with Cape Verdean vocalist Carmen Souza and culminating with Aaron Neville's "Soulful Christmas" on December 18, the 29th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival will present some of the most illustrious names in jazz and world music, including Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny, Esperanza Spalding, Joshua Redman, India.Arie and Idan Raichel, in venues around the Bay Area - in advance of next year's opening of the dedicated SFJAZZ Center, one of the first stand-alone jazz performance spaces of its kind.

This year's festival will feature the following series: 
JAZZ GIANTS

October 2: Jazz great Wayne Shorter and his quartet
October 16: Master pianist McCoy Tyner in a tribute to his legendary collaborator, The Gentle Side of John Coltrane, joined by Chris Potter and José James
October 27: Vocalist and pianist Mose Allison
November 5: Jazz dance master Savion Glover with Bare Soundz
December 10: Ahmad Jamal and his piano trio

WORLD VOICES

September 15: Cape Verdean songstress Carmen Souza
September 25: Samba balladeer Vinicius Cantuária
September 30: Bollywood queen Asha Bhosle with sitar player Shujaat Khan
October 14: Brazilian superstar Daniela Mercury
October 15: Grammy Award winner Luciana Souza
October 16: Tuvan throat singers Huun Huur Tu

GUITARISM

September 24: Guitar genius Pat Metheny with bassist Larry Grenadier
October 23: The beloved Jim Hall celebrates his 80th birthday with a quartet
November 13: Gypsy guitar virtuoso Dorado Schmitt with the Django All-Stars

NEW & NOW

September 29: Jazz pianist Robert Glasper and his trio

Esperanza Spalding will play on Oct. 1.
October 1: "Best New Artist" Grammy Award winner Esperanza Spalding
October 5: Saxophone firebrand David Binney's quartet

October 15: R&B star India.Arie with Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel
October 22: Homegrown saxophone icon Joshua Redman duets with piano progressive Brad Mehldau
October 29: Viral video masterminds Pomplamoose

GLOBAL VILLAGE

    September 16: Congolese street musicians Staff Benda Bilili
    September 22: Polish trumpet ambassador Tomasz Stanko
    October 7: Famed sitar player Ravi Shankar
    October 9: Cuban timba celebration of Tiempo Libre
    October 28: Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra
    October 30: Malian ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate with his band Ngoni Ba

KEY NOTES

    September 17: Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Booker T.
    October 1: Argentinian pianist Fernando Otero
    October 2: Russian jazz piano virtuoso Eldar Djangirov

SOULFUL SINGERS

    November 18: World-renowned all-female quartet Anonymous 4
    December 18: New Orleans legend Aaron Neville in a special holiday-themed show

DEDICATIONS

    September 23: Local guitar hero Mimi Fox honors Wes Montgomery
    October 10: Pianist Benny Green celebrates Thelonious Monk's birthday, re-creating Monk's Dream on the album's 50th anniversary
    October 28: Tenor player Javon Jackson heads a John Coltrane salute with Mulgrew Miller, Jimmy Cobb and Peter Washington
    November 12: Bay Area singer Pamela Rose with special guest Denise Perrier salutes Peggy Lee, Alberta Hunter and others in Wild Women of Song

For more information about SFJAZZ and the 29th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival, please visit: www.sfjazz.org.

To download the complete festival catalog, visit: www.sfjazz.org/sites/default/files/documents/SFJAZZ_Fall_Festival_2011_Catalog.pdf. Tickets will go on sale to SFJAZZ members on June 26 and to the general public on July 17.