Friday, July 26, 2024

SFJAZZ: August, 2024

As was the case last month, activities at the Joe Henderson Lab of the SFJAZZ Center will not get under way until the middle of next month. However, since things are quieter during the summer, now is as good a time as any for making plans for the month of August. For those that do not (yet?) know, the Center is located at 201 Franklin Street, on the northwest corner of Fell Street, where the main entrance doors are located. Performance dates, times, and hyperlinks for purchasing tickets are as follows:

Thursday, August 15, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: The theme for the middle of next month will be Indigenous Songbook. The series will begin with a program entitled Indigenous Jazz Funk, performed by the Delbert Anderson Quartet. Trumpeter Anderson is a member of the Navajo tribe, and he was raised in Shiprock, which is an unincorporated community on the Navajo reservation. His influences are Diné (“people” in Navajo) along with jazzmen of the past with indigenous background, such as Miles Davis (Cherokee) and Don Cherry (Choctaw). The other members of the quartet will be keyboardist Robert Muller, bassist Mike McCluhan, and drummer Khalill Brown.

Jazz vocalist Julia Keefe (from her SFJAZZ event page)

Friday, August 16, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: Julia Keefe’s tribe is the Nez Perce, but she is currently actively based as a vocalist in New York, where she earned a Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Her program will be based on her current activity, The Mildred Bailey Project. Bailey’s tribe was the Coeur d’Alene, but she was a devout Roman Catholic. She was a major vocalist during the Thirties, known by many as “The Queen of Swing.” No instrumentalists are cited on the Web page for this concert, but it may be that Keefe will accompany herself at the piano.

Saturday, August 17, 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: This will be a Dance Floor Show, meaning general admission and standing room (or dancing) only. The performance will be by Oakland-based rapper Chhoti Maa. While she was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, her name is Hindi for “little mother.” Her repertoire is, to say the least, eclectic, including cumbia, migrant soul, neufolk, R&B, hip-hop, and oral tradition. Those wondering about whether or not to attend may wish to consult the wisdom of Alexander Pope: “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”

Sunday, August 18, 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.: This will be a duo encounter of trumpeter (and composer) Brad Goode with his longtime collaborator Ernie Watts on tenor saxophone. As the Web page explains, they  will revisit the alchemy from their collaborative 2019 Origin Records quintet album That’s Right!  This will also mark the conclusion of the Summer Sessions series at SFJAZZ.

For those wondering what will happen next, 2024–25 Season Opening Week will begin “officially” in the Joe Henderson Lab at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 5!

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