Festivals

“The best jazz soiree in America.” Chicago Tribune “The #1 jazz festival in the world.” London Observer “The San Francisco Jazz Festival has once again laid its claim as one of America’s premier cultural events.” Los Angeles Times “The nation’s best jazz Festival.” Pittsburg Post-Gazette “The finest such jazz event this city has ever seen and heard...superb festival.” San Francisco Chronicle “For three full weeks in the fall, the City by the Bay is the jazz capital of the world.” USA Today “Something New Yorkers could get jealous about.” The New York Times “SFJAZZ has grown into a non-profit civic institution of international significance.” San Francisco Bay Guardian “The City’s swankiest showcase for aural sophisticates.” SF Weekly “The pre-eminent event of its kind in the United States.” Chicago Tribune “The crown jewel among American jazz festivals.” Chicago Tribune “A model festival.” The Boston Globe “Exceptionally well programmed.” International Herald Tribune “On the basis of the opening days of this year’s anniversary edition, SFJAZZ deserved high marks in its accommodation of both community and development.” JazzTimes Magazine “What makes the 27th annual San Francisco Jazz Festival special? It's easy - the music knows no boundaries.” San Francisco Chronicle “America’s best jazz gathering (by far): the San Francisco Jazz Festival.” Chicago Tribune “A regular U.N. symposium.” San Francisco Chronicle “The Festival’s program tracks the organization's quarter-century evolution into a cultural juggernaut.” San Jose Mercury News “Serious fans will be spoiled by choices" at the 25th Anniversary Jazz Festival, which "stretches the definition of jazz.” O, The Oprah Magazine The Festival “has catapulted into the front rank of world jazz festivals, rivaling behemoths like Umbria and Montreal, and pretty much owning the U.S. field." San Francisco Chronicle “An internationally acclaimed jazzapalooza." USA Today “The San Francisco Jazz Festival is arguably the best extended jazz event on the continent. When you add in its cousin, the SFJAZZ Spring Season, there's no argument.” San Jose Mercury News “SFJAZZ brings us the yearly jazz festival in October as well as the spring and summer live concert series, community outreach programs and educational events. Remind yourself to be grateful you live in a city with an organization so complete.” San Francisco Downtown “This year's SFJAZZ Spring Season program packs a surprise for listeners that strikes straight to the heart of this city's renowned festival: inclusiveness.” San Francisco Bay Guardian “While the San Francisco Jazz Festival continues to look for talent far beyond the nation's borders, presenting a globe-spanning array of artists, it hasn't forgotten that charity begins at home.” San Jose Mercury News

SFJAZZ Collective

“One of the stronger and more inspiring ongoing projects in the current jazz scene.” Santa Barbara News-Press “This smashing two-CD is fierce and elegant, precise and loose-limbed, artfully balancing intricate ensembles and blazing solos.” San Francisco Chronicle “There’s a big difference between inorganic all-star bands, cobbled together to boost sales, and actual collectives—focused, well-rehearsed, consistently creative units in which everyone’s a leader.” Time Out NY “A serious jazz band rises in San Francisco.” The New York Times “Sheer, out-of-the-box musicality…revealed the joys and complexities of free improvising.” Los Angeles Times "We know they can play—that’s a given. What’s special is the progressive repertoire they have chosen to champion.” Variety “Modernity is the Mantra of the SFJAZZ Collective, an emissary of the San Francisco arts organization SFJAZZ.” The New York Times “The group was roaring with the kind of chemistry that could truly be deemed collective.” San Francisco Chronicle “The best overall live jazz set this writer has heard in the New Millennium.” All About Jazz “The SFJAZZ Collective has quickly established itself as a viable new model for exploring jazz composition.” Boston Globe “SFJAZZ Collective is a project that does SFJAZZ and the city of San Francisco proud, and it deserves a long and fruitful life.” All About Jazz "What began as a cautious experiment has become a full-fledged success story. The SFJAZZ Collective is now the crown jewel of the San Francisco Jazz Festival." Sacramento Bee “Fierce and elegant, precise and loose-limbed, artfully balancing intricate ensembles and blazing solos.” San Francisco Chronicle “The SFJAZZ Collective is an egalitarian wonder, equally concerned with where the music has been and where it’s going... Every track is a discovery and you will not find a weak link in the ensemble.” JazzTimes “The standard, in terms of solo firepower, could hardly be higher.” The New York Times “The best overall live jazz set this writer has heard in the New Millennium.” AllAboutJazz.com

Education

“The SFJAZZ High School All-Stars are some of the most talented and committed young players I’ve ever had a chance to work with. They’re setting the standard for all the young big bands out there.” Miguel Zenón “SFJAZZ is diligent about jazz education. They realized from the beginning that education is the basic pillar of any community jazz program. And now, 28 years later, this emphasis continues to grow.” John Santos “Chic, hot and hip, this year's swinging musical gala garnered $250K for SFJAZZ's artistic and education programs and kick-started the second spring concert season for this 24-year-old festival, the largest in the Western states.” San Francisco Chronicle “Testimony to the continuing persistence of the creative spirit.” Los Angeles Times "These kids are amazing…jazz has a future!" San Jose Mercury News

SFJAZZ Center

“The SFJAZZ Center is ambitious in its vision to present the diverse spectrum of jazz in a first-rate facility.” San Francisco Chronicle “For the first time, jazz in America will have a counterpart to the symphony hall, an edifice that proclaims the value of jazz to anyone who sees it on the street.” The Chicago Tribune “Jazz music will soon have a new, permanent home in San Francisco.” ABC7, KGO-TV San Francisco “Everything in the building will be adjusted for SFJAZZ’s top priority: music.” New York Times, Bay Area Blog “We can look forward to new and emerging talent to be fostered by the building of this exciting new art facility for SFJAZZ.” SFGate.com “The upshot will be the elevation of jazz to the same level of cultural importance as symphonic classical music, opera, theater and other arts -- deserving a steady home and full facilities for cultivating new generations of talent. Expect a lot more educational programs, lectures, small-scale shows and lots more.” San Francisco Examiner “The goal is for the Center to become a central meeting point for the organization’s educational outreach programs for children and adults throughout the Bay Area.” JazzTimes “The SFJAZZ Center will expand SFJAZZ’s education outreach to Bay Area children and adults through new lecture series, additional rehearsal spaces and opportunities to interact with world-class artists.” Salt Lake City Tribune “These are the kinds of risk-taking initiatives that are needed, and it's no surprise that they're coming from musical entrepreneurs who have already proven they have what it takes to build audiences with inclusive, forward-looking events.” Jazz Chronicles