THROUGH THE YEARS
SFJAZZ AT HERBST THEATER

February 8, 2016 | by Ross Eustis

Tony Williams w/ Herbie Hancock, 2009

Before the SFJAZZ Center opened its doors in 2013, the organization presented a large portion of its concerts at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. Distinguished as an historic site of the United Nations Charter signing in 1945, Herbst Theatre is adorned by a series of stunning Frank Brangwyn murals originally painted for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which is all to say, it's a gem! Now, after two years of renovation, Herbst is back open, and SFJAZZ is presenting Los Van Van, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band and Joey Alexander Trio on its stage for the 34th annual San Francisco Jazz Festival, June 7-19.

Here's a quick look back at a few of the artists who've performed at Herbst with SFJAZZ through the years.

Dizzy Gillespie and Mel Martin, 1991

Don Pullen, 1994

Dee Dee Bridgewater, 1996

Ray Brown, 2001

Jon Jang's World Premier of "Up from the Root"  w/David Murray, 2002

Maria Schneider, 2002

Sam Rivers, 2002

Ahmad Jamal, 2005

Andrew Hill, 2006 (© Sun Lee)

Julian Lage, 2006 (© Mark Brady)

James Cotton, 2006 (© Sun Lee)

Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman & Christian McBride (not pictured: Brian Blade), 2007 (© Scott Chernis)

Archie Shepp, 2008

Hiromi, 2009 (© Mark Brady)

Rosanne Cash & John Levanthal, 2010 (© Walt Denson)

Booker T. Jones, 2010 (© Sun Lee)

Kenny Barron & Mulgrew Miller, 2012