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Germany probably isn't the first place that pops into mind at the suggestion of wild, adventurous jazz cultures. Yet the land of oompah music and Kraftwerk has had its moments, most notably during the pre-Nazi Weimar Era...
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Yes, I had my doubts about pairing Hiromi -- a pianist of rare depth, imagination and jazz grounding -- with drummer Simon Phillips, a veteran session man who's pounded the skins for artists ranging from Judas Priest to Brian Eno...
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If the first SFJAZZ season at its swanky new Hayes Valley digs has been about star power, the recently announced sophmore season shows what you can do if you don't have to fill a couple thousand rented seats...
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You can be impressed with pianist Hiromi Uehara (who usually goes just by her first name) on any number of levels: The speed and sheer athleticism of her playing, her seemingly instinctual grasp of disparate musical idioms, her lavish gift...
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The SFJAZZ Collective is the SFJAZZ resident ensemble. It was created in 2004 as an ensemble of some of the best and brightest jazz musicians of the time, both performing at SFJAZZ events and going on tour. Each season they...
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Most cities are lucky to have a reasonably well-rehearsed college or high school jazz orchestra. We, however, have the SFJAZZ Collective, a supergroup of some of the world's best musicians making contemporary jazz. The current edition includes...
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If you follow Bay Area jazz with any regularity, you've probably heard master percussionist John Santos in one of the many contexts in which he is beyond fluent. What you may not be aware of, however, is ...
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It's no great workout to make an intellectual argument against Wynton Marsalis. His personality can be on the prickly side; his vision of jazz is not the most expansive; his artistic signature is frustratingly elusive.Yet such arguments...
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The San Jose Winter Fest kicks off Wednesday with performances at a half-dozen venues spread around downtown San Jose. Highlights include hip-hop-friendly pianists Robert Glasper (Saturday) and Jose James (Friday), Hammond B3 organ dynamo Tony Monaco (Sunday...
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Jazz critics used to have a problem with Cassandra Wilson and her penchant for schmearing jazz, blues and pop influences into a delicious but hard-to-define mess. Which really was their problem, since Wilson's hypnotic, bourbon-and...
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