SFJAZZ: January, 2024

I just realized that, with more than a month to go before next year’s first performance in the Joe Henderson Lab at the SFJAZZ Center, tickets for that concert (performed by Amelie Anna singing the music of Amy Winehouse) are already sold out! Those two performances will mark the beginning of a series of three programs given the collective title Global Songbook. The good news is that tickets are still available for the remaining two programs. For those that do not already know, the Center is located at 201 Franklin Street, on the northwest corner of Fell Street, where the main entrance doors are located. Henderson events for next month for which tickets are currently available are as follows, providing performance dates, times, and hyperlinks for purchasing tickets: [added 1/9/2024:

Wednesday, January 17, 6 p.m.: The Oberlin Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble, based at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, will visit SFJAZZ. The program will present original works and arrangements, as well as compositions by Rollins. The seven-member group, six instrumentalists and one vocalist, is led by Bobby Ferrazza, Professor of Jazz Guitar at Oberlin. There will be no charge for admission and general seating. However, registration is required through the above hyperlink to an Oberlin Web page.]

Friday, January 19, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: British vocalist Jo Harrop will be making her first American tour, and SFJAZZ will host her San Francisco debut. Her program will present material from The Heart Wants, her latest album released by Lateralize Records. Most of the tracks on this album present her original material, written when the pandemic lockdown gave her a chance to bear down and make the album she always wanted to make. In her words, “each song is a true story about the dreams and desires, doubts and regrets and trials and tribulations of the human heart.”

Saturday, January 20, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, January 21, 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.: Vocalist Nicolas Bearde will perform his romantic interpretations of the beloved songbook of the late Burt Bacharach.

Thursday, January 25, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: The collective title for this week’s series of concerts will be simply Strings. The first performer in the series will be Albanian-born cellist Rubin Kodhell. He is also a composer who has no trouble alternating among the genres of rock, modern classical, and jazz. His visit to SFJAZZ will be a program of jazz improvisations, leading a trio whose other members will be Trevor Dunn on bass and drummer Brian Chase. The improvisations will be based on the tracks that they recorded for their self-released album Departure.

Friday, January 26, 7 pm. and 8:30 p.m.: Paulo Angeli is a Sardinian guitarist, composer, and ethnomusicologist. He is also an instrument builder; and, for his visit to SFJAZZ, he will perform with an eighteen-string instrument of his own invention, which combines elements of guitar, cello, and drums. His performance is visual, as well as auditory, as he bows, strikes, hammers, plucks, and strums an instrument with strings going in all directions and foot-pedal-controlled motorized propellers. Furthermore, some of those eighteen strings are sympathetic, creating shimmering drones.

Saturday, January 27, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: Violinist Zach Brock plays a six-string instrument as well as the usual four-string. He will lead a trio, whose other members are Bob Lanzetti on guitar and percussionist Keita Ogawa. Their performances bring together an eclectic mix of jazz, folk, experimental, ambient, groove, and world music, bound with a healthy dose of improvisation. Some (if not all) of their selections will be taken from their debut album Drawing Songs, which was released last month.

Bay Area bass great Kurt Ribak (from the SFJAZZ Web page for his performance)

Sunday, January 28, 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.: The Strings series will conclude with a performance by Bay Area bassist Kurt Ribak, who is also both a vocalist and a composer. As might be guessed, one of his influences is Charles Mingus; but his repertoire includes country tunes as well as jazz. Some of his own compositions are conceived to bridge the two genres. For his visit to SFJAZZ, he will lead a quartet of multi-instrumentalists, whose other members are Katie Glassman (violin and vocals), Tony Marcus (guitar, violin, vocals), and Myles Boisen (guitar and lap steel guitar).