SFJAZZ, the world’s largest jazz nonprofit, brings world-class musicians and educators to the heart of San Francisco year-round. Though their humble beginnings in 1983 entailed only a small two-day festival, the organization has since evolved into the Bay Area’s jazz juggernaut, hosting monthly concert series and organizing community outreach programs in conjunction with local public schools.
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The cardinal annual event for which SFJAZZ is most renowned, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, returns for its 39th year this June with a month chalk-full of performances (40 in total) from the most venerated contemporary jazz artists. Since attending each and every performance might be a tall order even for the most devoted jazz loyalists, we’ve narrowed the schedule down to a more manageable list of the must-see artists slated to perform at the festival this month.
See also: Groove to the Blues at these Swanky San Francisco Jazz Clubs
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June 8 / Miner Auditorium
This GRAMMY-winning 20-piece Latin big band is sure to transform the Miner Auditorium into the liveliest of dance floors. The orchestra’s founders, pianist Christian Tumalan and trumpeter Steffen Keuhn, will be flanked by the Bay Area’s most respected Latin jazz improvisers and a thrumming percussion section.
Prepare for an evening of high-energy big band tunes re-imagined in the style of danceable Salsa.
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June 8 / Joe Henderson Lab
This Oakland-based 11-piece ensemble has cemented themselves as a staple of Bay Area jazz with their boisterous live performances and fiery sound that marries funk and soul with elements of the Ethiopian jazz tradition. Their first album release to feature entirely original material, Elephant Parade, will showcase the group’s pulsing funk rhythms and brass-heavy stylings.
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June 11 / Miner Auditorium
It is basically the consensus in the current music scene that Christian McBride is the preeminent contemporary bassist, having set the standard for modern jazz upright bass since the early 90s. Look no further for proof than his staggeringly distinguished pedigree, which boasts four GRAMMY wins and just north of 300 studio recording sessions with jazz’s most revered names (Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and even Questlove, to name just a few).
Catch him on June 11th performing with a new quintet of the most gifted upcoming instrumentalists, including the Oakland-native drummer Savannah Harris.
See also: 85th Stern Grove Festival Announces 2022 Lineup
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June 17 / Joe Henderson Lab
Any proper compilation of jazz artists would be incomplete without a vocalist of some kind, whether they be a Frank Sinatra-esque swing crooner or an improv-heavy scat singer. This summer, the festival will platform the electric genre of Brazilian jazz with one of the world’s foremost bossa nova vocalists: Masha Campagne. Born in Moscow and raised in the Bay Area, Campagne integrates the tropical, atmospheric rhythms of bossa and samba into her distinct sound.
If you love Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s seminal bossa classic “The Girl from Ipanema”, Campagne is a must-see.
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June 18 / Joe Henderson Lab
This blistering funk supergroup boasts some of the most acclaimed names in jazz today, pulling members from the band for Stephen Colbert's Late Show (Jon Lampley) and other leading jazz-funk ensembles (Snarky Puppy). Their performances are as formally dynamic as they are sonically creative, with unexpected beat-boxing features and abrupt shifts from a 6-piece set-up to a more intimate trio.
View this post on Instagram
June 19 / Miner Auditorium
Rounding out our selections is another Bay Area-based 7-piece ensemble that distills a diverse array of sonic influences into an electrifying, genre-defying concoction of psychedelic rock, soul, funk, and R&B. Since their inception in 2009, the group - led by vocalist Sarah Clarke - has graced the stages of both Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza, as well as clubs from Europe to Japan.
Clarke, much lauded for her vocal chops and kinetic stage presence, joined the group’s ranks in 2021 and has helped codify the band’s status as a must-see live experience.
Jazz appreciators of all backgrounds will find something to love at this year’s festival. You can peruse this calendar to check out the other 34 equally talented performers coming to San Francisco this month.
See also: Cigar Bar & Grill Is The Perfect FiDi Oasis For Quality Food, Live Music, And Dancing
Photography by: Tolga Ahmetler/Unsplash
SFJAZZ, the world’s largest jazz nonprofit, brings world-class musicians and educators to the heart of San Francisco year-round. Though their humble beginnings in 1983 entailed only a small two-day festival, the organization has since evolved into the Bay Area’s jazz juggernaut, hosting monthly concert series and organizing community outreach programs in conjunction with local public schools.
View this post on Instagram
The cardinal annual event for which SFJAZZ is most renowned, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, returns for its 39th year this June with a month chalk-full of performances (40 in total) from the most venerated contemporary jazz artists. Since attending each and every performance might be a tall order even for the most devoted jazz loyalists, we’ve narrowed the schedule down to a more manageable list of the must-see artists slated to perform at the festival this month.
See also: Groove to the Blues at these Swanky San Francisco Jazz Clubs
View this post on Instagram
June 8 / Miner Auditorium
This GRAMMY-winning 20-piece Latin big band is sure to transform the Miner Auditorium into the liveliest of dance floors. The orchestra’s founders, pianist Christian Tumalan and trumpeter Steffen Keuhn, will be flanked by the Bay Area’s most respected Latin jazz improvisers and a thrumming percussion section.
Prepare for an evening of high-energy big band tunes re-imagined in the style of danceable Salsa.
View this post on Instagram
June 8 / Joe Henderson Lab
This Oakland-based 11-piece ensemble has cemented themselves as a staple of Bay Area jazz with their boisterous live performances and fiery sound that marries funk and soul with elements of the Ethiopian jazz tradition. Their first album release to feature entirely original material, Elephant Parade, will showcase the group’s pulsing funk rhythms and brass-heavy stylings.
View this post on Instagram
June 11 / Miner Auditorium
It is basically the consensus in the current music scene that Christian McBride is the preeminent contemporary bassist, having set the standard for modern jazz upright bass since the early 90s. Look no further for proof than his staggeringly distinguished pedigree, which boasts four GRAMMY wins and just north of 300 studio recording sessions with jazz’s most revered names (Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and even Questlove, to name just a few).
Catch him on June 11th performing with a new quintet of the most gifted upcoming instrumentalists, including the Oakland-native drummer Savannah Harris.
See also: 85th Stern Grove Festival Announces 2022 Lineup
View this post on Instagram
June 17 / Joe Henderson Lab
Any proper compilation of jazz artists would be incomplete without a vocalist of some kind, whether they be a Frank Sinatra-esque swing crooner or an improv-heavy scat singer. This summer, the festival will platform the electric genre of Brazilian jazz with one of the world’s foremost bossa nova vocalists: Masha Campagne. Born in Moscow and raised in the Bay Area, Campagne integrates the tropical, atmospheric rhythms of bossa and samba into her distinct sound.
If you love Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s seminal bossa classic “The Girl from Ipanema”, Campagne is a must-see.
View this post on Instagram
June 18 / Joe Henderson Lab
This blistering funk supergroup boasts some of the most acclaimed names in jazz today, pulling members from the band for Stephen Colbert's Late Show (Jon Lampley) and other leading jazz-funk ensembles (Snarky Puppy). Their performances are as formally dynamic as they are sonically creative, with unexpected beat-boxing features and abrupt shifts from a 6-piece set-up to a more intimate trio.
View this post on Instagram
June 19 / Miner Auditorium
Rounding out our selections is another Bay Area-based 7-piece ensemble that distills a diverse array of sonic influences into an electrifying, genre-defying concoction of psychedelic rock, soul, funk, and R&B. Since their inception in 2009, the group - led by vocalist Sarah Clarke - has graced the stages of both Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza, as well as clubs from Europe to Japan.
Clarke, much lauded for her vocal chops and kinetic stage presence, joined the group’s ranks in 2021 and has helped codify the band’s status as a must-see live experience.
Jazz appreciators of all backgrounds will find something to love at this year’s festival. You can peruse this calendar to check out the other 34 equally talented performers coming to San Francisco this month.
See also: Cigar Bar & Grill Is The Perfect FiDi Oasis For Quality Food, Live Music, And Dancing
Photography by: Tolga Ahmetler/Unsplash
