SFJazz reopening

Can't go, but interested in exploring SF jazz scene in future months... what are the best places?

>>>what are the best places<<<

You ask, you recieve...

SFJazz pretty much has a monopoly on top quality jazz in SF proper. Their main room, the Miner Auditorium, is a nice modern theater that routinely has the best talent in the world, but is often very pricey (hint: the row of seats above & behind the stage are good seats, great sound and looking right down on the stage, and they sell at the cheaper prices - much better than the "balcony" seats that are a mile above the stage). The best thing about the Miner shows is that they usually have the headliner for three or four days, and that artist will often will have two or three different groups, mini-residency's, which is very cool.

The Joe Henderson Lab is in the same building and is nice but VERY small & cramped IMO, but Taylor Eigsti in there? That guy is one of the greatest in the world, and I too will be there. They don't have much yet happening overall, but they will...

https://www.sfjazz.org/ 

There are some other really groovy places nearby that are great, odd little jazz venues that still get quality acts, just not the top dollar ones.

In SF there's this place that is just a home where the owners put on shows. VERY low key and very cool, and they have a few shows lined up...

https://www.chezhanny.com/

There's also a great little bookstore in SF that puts on shows, also super low key and also VERY small & super cool. It looks like they start shows again in July...

https://birdbeckett.com/

The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay is one of my favorite venues in the region. They're starting up shows again soon, always on Sunday afternoons, but it could be tricky for a while to get a ticket, as they're selling to just 'members' so far. Still, if you like jazz and the ocean you have to check the place out...

https://bachddsoc.org/

There are a couple of places in San Jose that put on jazz shows, Cafe Stritch in downtown doesn't seem to be up & running again, but they get some good acts, although the venue isn't a favorite of mine.

And The Art Boutiki in San Jose is a great little place, very low key, kind of a funky college hangout type of place that does all types of music, but they book a surprising amount of top level jazz as well. They're semi-active now and will likely ramp up more soon...

https://artboutiki.com/

Then there's the Kuumbwa in Santa Cruz, which is very small at around 250 max, but they get many of the best acts in the world, often the same ones that are playing at the much larger (and more expensive) SFJazz venue before or after the SF shows. Not sure when they start up shows again, but they will and it's an awesome, very intimate place to see a show...

https://www.kuumbwajazz.org/

And of course there's Yoshi's in Oakland, and it looks like they're starting up live shows again next week, with the local legend Pete Escovedo. That's a fun, small place as well, but the traffic in the before-times always made it a bitch to get there. Hopefully the much lighter post-COVID traffic will continue for a while...

https://yoshis.com/

If you like really avant-garde, weird, "outside" music check this site out for that type of thing at a variety of very odd, very small little places around the Bay Area. It doesn't look like much is happening yet, although the Center For New Music looks to be running (a really cool, TINY little place across the street from the Warfield - watch where you step!) but there is a large underground bizarrow experimental music scene in the BA that flies totally under the radar, and this site has that covered...

https://www.bayimproviser.com/

GTTS!!!

Lance with the layout. Nice post, that 1/2 moon bay place looks rad. Have some nice Kuumbwa memories, great room.

Is Uptown dunzo?

Yeah, I thought I heard that the Uptown Shutdown.

Who knows how things will shake out once everything is back though. I bet lots of those clubs and restaurants that went OB will come back.

Maybe I should say I hope that happens.

BTW, Stanford also has a summer series of jazz shows, but it doesn't look like they're going to do anything this year. They do have Joshua Redman with Zakir Hussain at the Frost, and that will be brilliant, but tix are selling in pods only, and it looks to be sold out at the moment.

Wow talk about a good list of places, thanks, I'll bookmark this thread on my phone. 
Portland used to be a pretty good town for jazz and blues, not so much any more.

.... going to look for Redman / Hussain tickets, if the date works for my calendar.

Thanks for all the info Lance.

If you're talking about the Uptown in Napa, it looks like it opens in August.

Lance, you are like wow amazing. This list with links and descriptions is sort of like when Rob S. used to say, because the phans want to know (or whatever the exact words were).

I think Knot was talking about the Uptown in Oakland, at least that's the one I was talking about. I heard the pandemic killed that place.

And it was fun to write out my little post. It got me looking again at sites and getting my head back into "show mode".

Plus those really little places like Chez Hanny & Bird & Becket are too small to get much attention, but those type of places have some of the most enjoyable little shows, and I like letting folks know about them. I've seen some amazing shows at Bird & Becket, and it's in a groovy little neighborhood away from downtown with some nice restaurants, which makes for a fun, easy night out.

I'm actually really bummed because one of my favorite groups, the Rova Saxaphone Quartet, is playing at the bookstore on July 24th, but I already have tickets for the Giants game at the same time.

Nothing at all to do for over a year, and then too many things happening at once.

I suppose the later is better than the former though.

Yes SF Jazz is great. I am & have been a member.

Biscuits & Blues is a fun little nightclub but still closed.

The Saloon is a fun little North Beach blues club & has reopened.

Also I think the Jazz Mafia is 1 of the best in the greater bay. They have about 6-8 different incarnations & do more than just Jazz.

Here is a taste of their music (not Jazz). I think you will all enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuhCAOKtBbQ

Adam Theis (local Sonoma county boy & trombone player) is the band leader.I have had the pleasure of their music for about 15 years. The used to play all the time @ Bruno's oon Mission Street.

>> Adam Theis (local Sonoma county boy & trombone player) is the band leader.

Hey - that's Bob Weir's Wolf Pack Adam Theis!

Good work Lance!

Still waiting for the return of free noontime Jazz concerts throughout SF...

Yes Adam Theis plays with both Bobby & Mickey. One of the Jazz Mafia's incarnations is The Grateful Brass.

They play Dead songs & replace the guitars with brass instruments.

Adam played with Bobby @ Red Rocks.