• Season Schedule
• Venue Information
• Summerfest 2006

Beginning in June, join award-winning emcee and radio personality Clifford Brown Jr. each Thursday
night at the Clock Tower Plaza at Stanford Shopping Center for Summer Jazz 21. Owned and operated by
Simon Corporation, the Center, located at 180 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, occupies 70 acres of land on
the Stanford campus and includes more that 140 shops and restaurants in an open-air atmosphere noted
for its spectacular floral landscaping. Produced by SFJAZZ in association with Stanford Shopping Center.

June 7 • 6-7:30PM Dayna Stephens Quintet Berkeley High grad Stephens has honed his saxophone sound alongside a who’s who of jazz titans, including Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Herbie Hancock, and Kenny Barron. Now he teams up with a formidable pair of rising stars, Grammy nominated pianist Taylor Eigsti and guitarist Julian Lage. These Bay Area natives and longtime collaborators showcase the way ahead in jazz.

June 14 • 6-7:30PM Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums Hips shake and cocktail glasses sway when pianist Steve Lucky leads his blistering sextet through the hottest jump blues, jazz, and swing. Lucky and guitarist/vocalist Miss Carmen Getit form “a perfect union of skilled and fueled merry-making” (San Francisco Bay Guardian) that never fails to incite even the shyest wallflowers to break out their dancing shoes.

June 21 • 6-7:30PM Jamie Davis A veteran of the Count Basie Orchestra and a fixture on the Bay Area scene since 1975, Jamie Davis harks back to the golden era of big band vocalists. As featured on his latest album, It’s A Good Thing, Davis’ “clear, resonant baritone voice takes you out for a night on the town, and it leaves you hoping that the evening will never end” (All About Jazz).

June 28 • 6-7:30PM Terrence Brewer Quartet Up-and-coming guitarist Brewer is “one of the reasons the San Francisco Bay Area Jazz scene looks so promising” (San Francisco Chronicle). The Alameda resident has worked with Pete Escovedo, and Kim Nalley, and has studied with Charlie Hunter and Duck Baker. Brewer’s pair of new albums, The Calling: Volume One and Two, feature “a natural, inviting sound that instantly transports you back to the heyday of classic jazz guitar” (San Francisco Chronicle).

July 5 • 6-7:30PM Le Jazz Hot Quartet When the Hot Club of San Francisco hit their hometown, they are known, aptly, as Le Jazz Hot. Longtime torchbearers of le jazz manouche (a.k.a. “Gypsy jazz”), the swinging style popularized by guitarist Django Reinhardt, these virtuosic musicians burn up the fretboards in the invigorating tradition of jazz age Paris and New York’s famed 52nd street.

July 12 • 6-7:30PM Louie Romero y su Grupo Mazacote Percussion legend Louie Romero spent ten years in trombonist Willie Colón’s band, and played on numerous albums for the storied Fania label. His Bay Area-based Mazacote feature a fresh take on classic ’60s and ’70s salsa dura and Latin jazz on its long overdue debut album, 2006’s Timbalero. Journalist and KCSM Music Director Jesse “Chuy” Varela praised the group as ”a happening cast of musicians who bring it all up to date with modern ideas and skill.”

July 19 • 6-7:30PM Marc Cary Trio “Mark Cary has emerged as a provocative, high-octane pianist and bandleader” (Village Voice). Billboard/BET’s “Best New Jazz Artist” of 2000, the Grammy-nominated Cary has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Abbey Lincoln, Roy Hargrove, and Stefon Harris. His kinetic, expressive trio features two acclaimed Bay Area sidemen, bassist David Ewell and drummer Sameer Gupta.

July 26 • 6-7:30PM Chuck Mackinnon Mactet Trumpeter Chuck MacKinnon has worked with some of the top names in jazz and pop, including Joe Henderson, Sam Rivers, John Mayer, and Norah Jones. The onetime Bay Area jazzman’s new acoustic six-piece group is built on a deep sense of groove, ingenious arrangements, and irrepressible improvisation.

Aug 2 • 6-7:30PM Pamela Rose "Lots of sexy, soulful swing...with a dash of Dinah Washington thrown in." That is the S.F. Examiner's apt description of Pamela Rose, a Bay Area singer who, after years fronting some of the liveliest dance bands in the area (including the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra), taps into the classic vein of jazz vocals. Her latest album, Just for a Thrill, features Rose's deep feel for the blues and impeccable interpretations of jazz standards.

Aug 9 • 6-7:30PM Mitch Woods and his Rocket 88’s With his rippling keyboard licks, Mitch Woods “gives heart and soul to jump blues” (DownBeat), the high-octane dance music that gave birth to rock and roll. The Brooklyn native has been thrilling Bay Area audiences since the ’70s and was a driving force behind the ’90s swing revival. Backed by the wailing brass and driving rhythm section, Woods calls to mind a latter day Louis Jordan as he stokes the boogie-woogie flame.

Enjoy live jazz every Thursday evening in August in the heart of San Francisco's premier shopping, dining, and people-watching district. Union Square, a San Francisco landmark, is bordered by Geary, Stockton, Post and Powell streets and features a large outdoor stage, plentiful outdoor seating, and—exclusively on concert evenings—a wine garden. Parking is conveniently located underground in the Union Square garage. Produced in association with Union Square Association, Macy's, and U.S. Bank.

August 2 • 6-7:30PM Lavay Smith & the Red Hot Skillet Lickers With a powerful and “lush vocal style recalling both Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington” (Los Angeles Times), Lavay Smith is the grande dame of Bay Area Swing. Backed by the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, an airtight band that lays down irresistible jump blues, R&B, big band, and salsa grooves, Smith kicks off this years’ Union Square series in footloose fashion.

August 9 • 6-7:30PM Orquestra la Moderna Tradición The ’50s and ’60s were the heyday for Cuban orchestras. Harking back to that halcyon era, the 12-piece Orquesta La Moderna Tradición plays the intricate, alluring rhythms of the danzón, cha cha cha, and mambo. Latin Beat Magazine calls this unique band "Richly authentic...old wine in a new bottle for a younger generation to savor."

August 16 • 6-7:30PM Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums Hips shake and cocktail glasses sway when pianist Steve Lucky leads his blistering sextet through the hottest jump blues, jazz, and swing. Lucky and guitarist/vocalist Miss Carmen Getit form “a perfect union of skilled and fueled merry-making” (San Francisco Bay Guardian) that never fails to incite even the shyest wallflowers to break out their dancing shoes.

August 23 • 6-7:30PM Realistic Orchestra Named “Best Jazz Band” in the SF Weekly’s Music Awards, the Realistic Orchestra is a big band with a decidedly modern edge. Made up of stellar local musicians from the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra and other top bands, their sound lands somewhere between Blakey’s hard swinging bop and Bjork’s electronica and “eradicates the divide betwixt creative improvisation and decisive chillin' (SF Weekly).

August 30 • 6-7:30PM Zydeco Flames The Zydeco Flames’ sound is so infectious, it takes an outdoor stage to do them justice. Steeped in the tradition of Louisiana zydeco legends Clifton Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Queen Ida, this powerhouse band has kept the good times rolling up and down the West Coast for over 14 years.

For six weeks every Wednesday at noon, a panoply of jazz riffs, Latin rhythms, and more will fill the air at Levi's Plaza. Set amid the peaceful surroundings of rolling lawns, shade trees, and a running creek, this series presents the perfect opportunity for a mid-week picnic on the grass. Levi's Plaza is located between Battery and Bay Streets off the Embarcadero. Produced in association with Interland-Jalson Property Management.

Sept 5 • 12-1:30PM Kat Parra Latin Jazz Ensemble With a three octave vocal range and years of experience performing blues, jazz, and R&B, Kat Parra can sing just about anything. On Birds in Flight, the Bay Area-based singer/songwriter draws on her affinity for Latin textures to create a stunning debut, capped off by the title track, the “Best Jazz Song” winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition.

Sept 12 • 12-1:30PM Ben Adams Quintet Up-and-coming vibraphonist Ben Adams leads fellow Bay Area residents saxophonist Mitch Marcus and drummer Sameer Gupta in his stimulating new quintet. Of Adams, All About Jazz says, “His chops are soulful and his touch contains just the right sensitivity. Good jazz vibists are rare, and Adams is a real find.”

Sept 19 • 12-1:30PM Cory Combs Quintet Fresh off recording an expansive new CD, Fairfax in the Pacific, Cory Combs brings his bass talents to the Levi’s Plaza. Together with his wife Kayo Miki (violinist for Quartet San Francisco), Combs adds a modern twist to Brazil’s choro, an improvised string-based music popularized in early 20th-century Rio de Janiero.

Sept 26 • 12-1:30PM Zadell Zoë Ellis has lent her exquisite vocals to groups ranging from the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir to the hip-hop influenced band The Braids. Her brother Dave is a dynamic saxophonist who, in addition to leading his own band has worked with Charlie Hunter and Ratdog. Performing together in Zadell, the siblings achieve “a rarefied form of musical interaction in which  common blood is surely a major factor” (SF Bay Guardian).

Oct 3 • 12-1:30PM Mitch Marcus Quintet Saxophonist and composer Mitch Marcus is omnipresent on the Bay Area jazz scene. He runs a weekly jam session at Amnesia and performs tirelessly with a number of groups including Ben Adams, Zach Hash, and Kipple. His own quintet, which he’s led since 1999, “serves up post-bop with an array of jagged rhythms” (San Francisco Chronicle).

Oct 10 • 12-1:30PM Joel Dorham Latin Jazz Octet The younger brother of late trumpeter Kenny Dorham, Joel is a notable percussionist and bandleader in his own right. The Bay Area native is a tireless advocate for broader recognition of jazz—a fight he took all congressional hearings. His passion for music is made tangible—and eminently enjoyable—with his long-running Latin Jazz Octet.