Rising above the din of boisterous, drink-fueled conversation and clinking glassware, a saxophone’s squawk snakes through the crowd. Parting the cigarette smoke haze and ambling over sticky tabletops, a wandering double bass, a splashy trap kit and a peppery piano plod on. It’s the kind of place where a private eye might have met a dame desperately in need of help, or a venue for a gang of beats to stage a poetry slam. But this is not a page out of a dimestore novel or a scene from decades past. It happens right now—every weekend and most weeknights, anyway—in downtown San Jose.

“That’s one of my favorite things about playing at Café Stritch,” says Howard Wiley, a Bay Area-based saxophonist and drummer. The SoFA restaurant, bar and live music venue reminds him of some of his favorite jazz recordings. “You hear people talking. You hear people ordering drinks. You hear people engage in the music.”

What’s more, Wiley says: “I come across younger people.”

It’s not that he’s an ageist. Wiley just gets excited when he sees fresh young faces taking an interest in jazz. And lately, jazz lovers have plenty to be excited about.

All That Jazz
Café Stritch’s fourth annual Rahsaanathon—a five-day tribute to the life and work of visionary saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, starting Aug. 3—and next week’s San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, the 27th annual installment, both serve to underscore Wiley’s enthusiasm about the state of the genre.

Brendan Rawson, executive director of San Jose Jazz, also gets excited about introducing younger audiences to jazz, which, he admits, has a way of alienating people who might otherwise be interested in the genre as a whole.

“Jazz, for a lot of folks, can be a loaded term,” he says. “It’s either that vapid, ‘smooth jazz’ sort of stuff, or it’s: ‘That’s that weird shit; why can’t they just play the right note?’ kind of thing.”

Rawson is referring to the tendency among those who are unfamiliar with jazz to lump it into one of two categories—the sterile Muzak of elevators, doctor’s office lobbies and shopping malls, or the impenetrable free jazz appreciated largely by overzealous intellectuals.

But even in its most awkward phases of growth—whether it’s corporate radio suits pushing the mind-numbing, electric sax-driven “quiet storm” format, or ivory tower academics insisting upon mashing at their ivory keys in a most discordant manner—the true spirit of jazz is always laying in wait, ready to make yet another triumphant return. And both Wiley and Rawson say they can see the jazz world in the midst of just such a revival.

Riders On The Storm
“It seems like the early ’90s are back again,” Wiley says, name-checking A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Premier and the late J. Dilla, noting their proclivity for diving deep into record store bargain bins and excavating amazing jazz samples. “I think we’re back where people are looking for and needing creative music, but also something that’s soulful and—I hate the word ‘accessible’—but something that’s relatable.”

“The hip-hop generation has come of age,” Rawson says, observing that the most recent crop of jazz players did not develop their chops in a vacuum. “They are combing the music they grew up on and the popular culture that is important to them with their jazz stylings and jazz approach.”

In Chicago, the production collective THEMpeople and emcee Chance The Rapper are drawing upon the jazzy sounds of generations past and repackaging them for their mostly young audience.

Los Angeles is home to the bass virtuoso and producer Thundercat, who recently teamed with Flying Lotus on his electronic ode to the end of life, You’re Dead. SoCal is also the headquarters of Kamasi Washington, who delivered a number of rip-roaring saxophone solos on Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly—an album whose liner notes read like a cheat sheet on emergent jazz talent.

Over on the East Coast, Ghostface Killah—who made a name for himself in the legendary, jazz- and kung fu flick-sampling Wu Tang Clan—recently teamed up with Toronto post-boppers BADBADNOTGOOD for the Sour Soul LP.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the jazz-hip-hop connection is The Tonight Show—that bastion of mainstream American pop culture, broadcast into millions of living rooms all across the country five nights a week. It’s easy to forget that The Roots were a forward-thinking jazz and hip-hop fusion group long before they became Jimmy Fallon’s house band.

A number of the aforementioned artists have come to San Jose in recent years to perform at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. Just last year, SJZ hosted two performances by Kamasi Washington—one at the historic California Theatre and one on the festival’s main stage—as well as a DJ set by Ali Shaeed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest at the Continental Bar, Lounge and Patio.

In yet another sign that younger, mainstream audiences are developing an appetite for jazz, Rawson points to the success Washington has seen since swinging through San Jose last summer. “I could never afford him now,” Rawson says with a laugh, noting that the saxophonist was well received at this year’s Coachella.

SAXY LADY: Alto saxophonist Claire Daily joins the Sonelius Smith Quartet at this year’s Rahsaanathon.

Jazz Never Left
If there is indeed a rising cohort of jazz musicians attracting younger listeners to the genre, it only makes sense, Rawson says: “Jazz is very comfortable reinventing itself. It’s sort of baked into the character of jazz. You’re always going to have artists in the genre that are experimenting and crossing over.”

Furthermore, Wiley observes, it is completely logical that the world of hip-hop would look to jazz, as Kendrick Lamar did on To Pimp A Butterfly. “There’s no way we could have any of the pop music that we like, any of the hip-hop music that we like without having jazz,” Wiley says. The way he sees it, just about every serious musician has necessarily drawn inspiration from the great jazz players and singers. “Every generation of rapper comes up talking about jazz. Every generation of soul singer talks about jazz.”

And after all, jazz’s ultimate return to cool might just be fated. After all, the “cool cats” of the jazz world are responsible for codifying the colloquial definition of “cool” in the first place.

“There’s always that resurgence,” Wiley says of the rolling jazz revival waves, perpetually lurking on the horizon. “There’s always the search for something truly nurturing and real. It’s always here, it’s always brewing.”

There was a time when jazz was the popular music of the day. Jazz provided the soundtrack to the Roaring Twenties and followed Americans into basement speakeasies.

Big band jazz gave way to funk, soul and R&B, while self-taught bluesmen of the rural south—guitarists like Leadbelly and Muddy Waters—inspired kids to pick up guitars and hack together a little something we now call rock & roll.

Patron Saint
In 1957, right around the time Elvis Presley, was launching his career with the iconic film, Jailhouse Rock, Rahsaan Roland Kirk was embarking on his own professional musical odyssey.

The blind multi-instrumentalist would eventually become known for his progressive style, boundary-pushing performances—which involved playing three specially modified saxophones simultaneously—and his cosmic philosophies that at times recall the Afrofuturism of Sun Ra.

Effortlessly hip and fully committed to his art, Kirk is the patron saint of Café Stritch. Though an honorific for a man who passed away nearly 40 years ago, it is a title that Maxwell Borkenhagen, artistic director of Café Stritch, takes quite seriously.

“For me, in general it’s about trying to redefine jazz for my generation,” Borkenhagen says.

Like Wiley and Rawson, Borkenhagen is all too familiar with the misconceptions held by so many uninitiated. “There is this tragic association among young people who really don’t know about jazz,” he says, referring to those who conflate the sprawling world of jazz with one or two self-indulgent, niche subgenres. “For me, there is a line connecting blues, jazz, rock & roll and punk. They’ve all been really rebellious forms. Rahsaan, in a way, is a perfect example of that. He wanted nothing to do with the mainstream.”

Borkenhagen grew up surrounded by jazz and the music of Kirk, whom his parents first lionized when they named their former restaurant “Eulipia”—a Kirk-coined word, taken from his song, “Theme for the Eulipions,” an ode to artists and all creative types.

And so, Café Stritch stands as an ode, not only to creativity and artistic integrity, but also to the rebellious through-line that runs from the earliest days of New Orleans brass up to the furious drumming of East Bay native Thomas Pridgen—who has performed with acts as diverse as psychedelic post-punks The Mars Volta, thrash metal revivalists Trash Talk and Wiley’s own rotating crew of Café Stritch regulars, Extra Nappy.

“Rahsaan was so true to his genuine creative impulses and he didn’t take shit from people,” Borkenhagen says, adding that jazz music depends on a particular vibe.

“I’ve observed time and time again where people might come in thinking jazz is lame or whatever, but then they experience the vibe. And that vibe—when you allow great musicians to do what they do—it’s going to make some converts. They’ll at least make the association that jazz is hip. People don’t necessarily remember that these days.”

Over the course of his career, Rahsaan Roland Kirk was not always appreciated. Nonetheless, he inspired many still-active jazz musicians. Running the gamut from a trombonist and conch shell player to a pianist and composer to a Bill-Clinton-approved saxophonist, the following artists either played with Rahsaan or deeply studied his works, making them the closest replicators of that singular man’s sound. This week they come together at Café Stritch’s annual Rahsaanathon to honor the legendary jazzman.

Steve Turre
As a 20 year-old, Turre played alongside Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Inspired by Rahsaan’s multi-instrument, medium-defying creativity, Turre took the spirit of the icon and applied it to an unconventional instrument: conch shells. Known in pop culture mostly for their ability to rally barbarians, Turre uses the conch to blow ghostly solos, his delicate notes floating out of the calcified fractals in a buzzy wail. Gathered during his travels through the Caribbean and Great Barrier Reef of Australia, he cuts the openings to hit a precise pitch. While playing, he modulates the notes by inserting his hand into their swirled openings and seamlessly switches between the limited-register shells, popping high notes out of the smaller ones and weaving bass melodies with the larger ones. More conventionally, the ponytailed savant plays the trombone and has accompanied legends like Carlos Santana and Ray Charles.

Sonelius Smith
Rahsaan attracted the attention of musical king-maker Ed Sullivan with his rendition of “My Cherie Amour,” a swaying love ballad that he rendered distinctly by switching between his three saxophones. But when Rahsaan appeared on Sullivan’s final show accompanied by pianist Smith, bassist Charles Mingus and saxophonist Archie Shepp, they broke their promise to play the meandering ballad. In the green room before their five-minute slot, Rahsaan worked himself into a lather proclaiming, “We’re gonna burn it down! We’re gonna burn the place down!”

And burn it down they did. The all-star ensemble unleashed Mingus’ spirit-quickening “Haitian Fight Song,” an already frenetic composition that got cranked up to eleven and stunned the iconic host and his studio audience who were expecting “classical jazz.”

An accomplished composer as well, he collaborated with Shamek Farrah on The World of the Children, where he slams, tickles and taps the ivory and ebony, flying through differing rhythms and melodies in an inspired display of range and prowess.

Claire Daly
Claire Daly knew by the age of 12 that she wanted to play the saxophone for the rest of her life. But making a living proved to be a trickier. She played everywhere from jazz clubs to parades to rock concerts before deciding to lay down a record of her own. Wielding her huge baritone sax, she produced Swing Low in 1999, an exceptional debut as a leader. The release garnered the attention of perhaps the most famous saxophone player at the time, President Bill Clinton, who placed the record into his eponymous Arkansas Library as a CD significant to him while he was in office. Years later, to return the favor, she played at a Democratic fundraiser. In that same year, she paid tribute to Rahsaan alongside an all-star cast of musicians including Dave Hofstra and Eli Yamin, and she enjoyed the icon’s stylings so much that she’s continued reimagining his works into the present.

More recently, in 2012 the North Coast Brewing Co. produced a record of hers in conjunction with the release of their Belgian style dark ale, Brother Thelonious, the name forming a cheeky tribute to the lauded composer-pianist Thelonious Monk and the monks that traditionally brew the high-potency ale.

James Carter
With his combination of multi-instrument prowess, atypical sounds and pure joy, James Carter gets as close as possible to replicating the singular brilliance of Rahsaan. The virtuosic Carter has mastered the gauntlet of reed instruments, from sopranino to contrabass saxophones to contrabass and bass clarinets. When he plays, he scampers up and down the sonic spectrum, biting his reed to hit scratchy, oddly hypnotizing notes, then huffing and slapping to create an almost percussive effect, before soaring to ear-piercing heights— occasionally heaving a sigh in comic contrast to his breakneck stylings. Nicknamed the “Jimi Hendrix of Jazz,” his solos are testament to the limitless potential of the human imagination.

Let’s get the word out of the way. Because in many ways, the word itself has become the problem. I’m talking of course about the J word. The big J. Jazz.

Arturo Riera has been curating Latin jazz at SJ Jazz for over 10 years, but has only recently been given a formal title. Paycheck aside, like the word “jazz” itself, maybe this new title is unnecessary, because even without it, Riera has been deeply involved in San Jose’s cultural identity for well over a decade.

“Jazz as a word sometimes is a misnomer,” Riera says, proceeding to a casually profound explication of the genre: one that clearly defines its unique importance—especially here in America. “I call it more ‘music that requires improvisation.’ ‘Music that demands that the artist and the public create on the spot.’”

Most music goes out of its way to avoid improvisation, relying on a formula and a repeated hook. And in a city whose economy revolves around programming and coding, group improvisation might seem particularly ephemeral. But looking at the state of culture in 2016, improvisation at both an audience and performer level is noticeable everywhere in American culture.

From jazz concerts, to rap battles, Black Lives Matter protests, to Twitter, group improvisation is a major feature of contemporary life. Kendrick Lamar, arguably the most highly regarded rapper in the world today, is part of a long improvisational tradition in African American music. The Grammy award winner prominently features jazz musicians on his records—artists like Kamasi Washington, whose recent album The Epic is one of the most transformational jazz records in decades.

When asked about Washington, Riera is both aware of his work, and certain that the local Latino community has just as many living heavyweights. “I’m very clear that today there are jazz greats walking among us, that today there are jazz greats walking among us that in the future they’ll be talking about,” he says.

Programming for SJ Jazz’s Summer Fest has already begun, and Riera is looking for exactly those musicians to highlight the talent that surrounds us. One such act he mentions is Soltron, a hyper-realized San Francisco Afro-Cuban group whose work “addresses gentrification, displaced youth and building community.”

Like Soltron, community is also a major focus of Riera’s work as curator, a role he is proud to take seriously. “There’s a saying in Spanish: Cultura cura,” he says. “Culture Cures.”

L.A.-based producer Daedelus has a reputation as a musical wizard. Known for his genre-hopping, unique brand of electronic music, he is a veteran of the L.A. scene and his work a constantly evolving gem in a sea of monotonous electronica. Kneebody is a jazz-fusion band based out of L.A., which also has become known for its utterly unique approach to music, earning the band a Grammy nomination with Theo Bleckmann and a residency with the New Manhattan Music Project.

Together they are Kneedelus, a powerhouse of multi-faceted musical sophistication. With the release of its eponymous debut collaboration, Kneedelus is currently on tour across the United States, Brazil and Europe—twice—and stopping by San Jose’s Cafe Stritch to melt the face off even the most well-versed music nerd.

Kneebody’s sound is, well, complicated. At the very least it’s jazz fusion; and at the other extreme it’s a brash and inquisitive compendium of every genre and sound wrapped into one explosive experience. This also describes Daedelus, whose work is a panoply of musical genres under an electronic umbrella.

“I think we’ve almost become famous for being the band that’s impossible to describe”, says Ben Wendel, Kneebody and Kneedelus saxophone player, with a laugh. “Daedelus is kind of the same way. So it’s a perfect storm of difficult-to-describe music.”

While they both err on the side of complicated, mind-bending soundscapes, members of Kneedbody and Daedelus have also known each other since high school, where Wendel and Daedelus were together in marching band, orchestra and their own musical outfit. “We even had a jazz band where we would play on the 3rd St. promenade for tips,” Wendel says.

Over the years they drifted into different regions of the musical hemisphere, but never lost touch. “There were a handful of times where Kneebody would do shows with (Daedelus), where we just kind of collaborated, improvised on the spot,” says Wendel. These on-the-fly shows inspired both groups to combine forces. Starting with a music grant from Chamber Music America, Wendel wrote a handful of songs that would become the core of the Kneedelus album. From there, everyone took a stab at it. Kneebody and Daedelus recorded together at Sunset Sound Studios, along with the input of other musicians. After that, Daedelus sat on the album for two years, slowing tweaking and rearranging what would become Kneedelus. “It was fun because we didn’t have to have too set of a plan,” Wendel says.

Both Kneebody and Daedelus are masters of creating their own musical space. Each entity shines while complimenting the other, creating strange, harmonious, and infinitely re-listenable pieces of music. Especially live, Kneedelus are definitely worth a listen.

Kneedelus
Mar 4, 10pm, $10-20
Cafe Stritch

San Jose Jazz Winter Fest is bringing 24 live performances from veteran and emerging jazz acts, as well as student groups. Here is a selection of some of the most interesting musicians playing at this year’s gathering.

Marquis Hill
Cafe Stritch; Thu, 7pm, $15-$25

Known for his technical but elegant sound, trumpeter and composer, Marquis Hill is quickly becoming recognized as one of the most imminent trumpet practitioners of his generation. Hill has had a long history in jazz with a resume to prove it. Since the age of twelve, Hill has performed in countless ensembles, earning a MA in Jazz Pedagogy from DePaul University from which he began leadership of his long running ensemble, the Blacktet. With four albums under the belt, Hill’s innovative composition and performance was awarded with the 2012 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition and the 2014 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. Hill is also a noted musical educator, with past teaching positions at University of Illinois, Chicago and the NIU Summer Jazz Camp. Marquis Hill and the Blacktet, which includes Christopher McBride on alto sax, Justin Thomas on vibraphone, Joshua Ramos playing bass, and Makaya McCraven on drums will be performing for one night only at Cafe Stritch. (TM)

Nicholas Payton Trio
Jade Leaf Lounge;Fri, 8pm, $25-$35

San Jose Jazz has a built reputation for consistently exhibiting exciting and imaginative musicians. With their upcoming presentation of the Nicholas Payton Trio, the company is ramping up its renown. Two decades ago he was hailed as one of the jazz’s most promising trumpeters. The Grammy-award winner has collaborated with everyone from Ray Charles to Herbie Hancock, and a revolutionary style, Nicholas Payton is considered one of the most important and distinct boundary pushers in jazz. This innovation extends to the use of other instruments such as keyboards and organs, which further extend Payton’s tantalizing but ethereal soundscapes. Much of this is a showcased on the Nicolas Payton Trio’s 2015 double album Letters, which they will be performing along with songs from Numbers  at the Jade Leaf Lounge. Payton’s trio also includes bassist Gerald Cannon and drummer Joe Dyson. (TM)

Nosotras
MACLA; Fri, 8pm, Free

In 2007, an 8.0 earthquake struck Peru. It lasted for three minutes and killed 519 people—including 17 attending mass in a church in Ica. More than 1,000 people were injured and 50,000-plus houses were destroyed. The destruction still affects daily life. Nosotras formed to raise money for the survivors. Composed of female performers, the renowned collective has toured South America, hoping to inspire and stress the crucial role women play in the arts. The quartet plays modern jazz, spiced up by percussive dancing by Gabriela Shiroma and conga and cajon slapping by Peta Robles. (JF)

Incendio
Jade Leaf Lounge; Fri, 10pm, $15-$25

Before J.K. Rowling borrowed the word to christen flaming spells, Incendio served as a fitting moniker for this energetic group. Meaning “fire” in both Italian and Spanish, the band plays “Latin guitar world fusion,” which means they lay down some truly blistering acoustic and electric licks over a eclectic array of clean, invigorating rhythms. Since 2000, they’ve averaged more than 150 shows a year, hitting venues like the Sundance Film Festival, the California World Festival and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. They’ve released nine studio albums—their seventh, “The Shape of Dreams,” sat atop the Amazon Flamenco charts for the better part of 2013. (JF)

Bria Skonberg
Cafe Stritch; Sat, 6pm, $20-$30

Bria Skonberg lives as testament to how full of crap dumb blonde jokes are. The award-winning trumpeter, vocalist and composer stands out among modern musicians for her roots in classical jazz, but explorations that fold in influences from soul music, world percussion and New Orleans blues. After two heavily praised albums, So Is the Day and Into Your Own, her third album will be executive produced by San Jose Jazz Festival—the venture funded by an anonymous donor. She runs the New York Hot Jazz Camp and Festival, and still somehow finds time to volunteer at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens. (JF)

Bill Doggett
Jade Leaf Lounge; Sat, 8pm, $20-$30

Titanic R&B organist Bill Doggett is turning 100. The legendary centurion and former child prodigy formed his first collective at the ripe age of 15. He worked with and arranged compositions for Ella Fitzgerald. He toured with her as well as with Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris and Lionel Hampton. He’s known for singles, “Hippie Dippie,” “Slow Walk” and his signature hit, “Honky Tonk.” The shimmering instrumental strolls along a loping bassline, giving time for his accomplices to rip solos on the guitar and saxophone before Doggett brings things home with a rollicking organ riff where his fingers zip, slide and pounce on the keys with holy exuberance. (JF)

J.C. Smith Blues Guitar Slingers
Cafe Stritch; Sat, 9pm, $20-$30

The Bay’s own J.C. Smith cracked into music as a drummer for the Back to Back Blues Band. Then, he traded in the sticks for an axe—a Gibson 335 to be precise—and started hacking new paths through the genre. His latest release, “Defining Cool,” stuck on the Roots Music Report for 20 straight weeks. He assists the Silicon Valley Blues Society and appears on KKUP-FM as “Johnnie Cozmik.” Rounding his lineup of slingers: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alvon Johnson, Jimi Hendrix tribute artist Pistol Pete, and Swiss import Aart de Geus, who creates his distinct sound by pumping his guitar through antique amps. (JF)

San Jose Jazz Winter Fest is back with a lineup of classic and cutting-edge jazz performances from some of the world’s best-known performers, as well as some exciting up-and-comers.

Beginning Feb. 28 and running through March 8, Winter Fest will host 25 concerts at a variety of venues around downtown San Jose, including intimate clubs, like Cafe Stritch, and larger spaces, such as the historic Trianon Theatre.

The festival kicks off Thursday, Feb. 25, with a performance from Kadhja Bonet at The Continental Bar, Lounge and Patio in San Jose’s burgeoning SoFA arts district. The multi-instrumentalist and songwriter is currently touring behind her debut EP, The Visitor, released this past September. The five-song set of all-original material was described by NPR Music as “a cinematic and folky kind of psychedelic soul music impossible to pin down.”

Following Bonet’s performance, the John Scofield Joe Lovano Quartet take the stage Feb. 27 at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. A bona fide jazz supergroup, Lovano is a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and composer, while guitarist and composer Joe Lovano has also won Grammys and was nominated for two awards this past year.

Scofield has collaborated with jazz legends, including Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, and made a name for himself by melding traditional jazz with funk-flavored electronics. Lovano is one of the best known saxophonists working in jazz. He has garnered praise for his improvisational talents and his progressive approach to his instrument.

One of the leading jazz violinists of her cohort, Regina Carter is slated to perform at the Trianon Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 28. The jazz legend will be playing music from her 2014 release, Southern Comfort, which draws connections between two of her earlier albums—I’ll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey (a collection of her mother’s favorite jazz standards) and Reverse Thread, which was inspired by traditional African music re-imagined and rearranged for the violin.

Winter Fest will continue the following week, picking back up Wednesday, March 2 and continuing through Tuesday, March 8. Look for more coverage of shows and events in next week’s Metro.

SJ Jazz Winter Fest
Feb 28-Mar 8, San Jose
sanjosejazz.org

For many twentysomethings electronic dance music is the latest and greatest form of musical expression. Producers like Kaskade, Skrillex and Avicii pack festivals full of college-aged men and women with their high energy, synth-based beats.

But for 24-year-old San Jose denizen Jackie Gage, horns, upright bass and analog, brush-beaten drum kits are where it’s at.

Gage was born in Mountain View and raised in Sunnyvale by parents who loved soul and jazz. She grew up listening to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder.

For much of 2014, Gage served as the co-founder and host of Fatale, a weekly series spotlighting local female soul, R&B and jazz vocalists at Blackbird Tavern and the Pagoda Bamboo Lounge in downtown San Jose.

A singer since childhood and a songwriter since college, Gage says that the women she saw singing at Fatale inspired her to write an entire album of original material and take her show on the road.

Gage played the final Fatale last week at Pagoda and then embarked on a short California tour, which took her to Oakland, San Rafael, Sacramento and down to Los Angeles, where she spoke with Metro on her cell phone about the upcoming release of two singles from her forthcoming LP, Ladies—named for the women singers who inspired her to take on this challenge in the first place.

“I really want as many ears as possible to hear this,” she says of Ladies, which she hopes to release in full some time in 2015. “I want the world to hear these stories and this music.”

For those who want to hear Gage’s material sooner, she will be performing at City Lights Theater Company in San Jose on Sunday, Dec. 7. It’s the second-to-last show of her brief tour, which will wrap up with one more stop in Los Angeles on Dec. 9—the same day she’ll be releasing two singles from Ladies.

Gage’s voice has been described as “velvety,” like a “smooth wine,” and indeed, her vocal ability is impressive, as she has shown in original songs like “Let Me Know,” a live version of which can be found on YouTube, and her jazzed-up cover of Rihanna’s hit “Umbrella.”

Jackie Gage plays the City Lights Theater Company on Dec. 7 at 7pm. More info.

Erykah Badu is at the top of the list of some recent additions to this year’s San Jose Summer Jazz Fest. The neo-soul legend won’t be singing however; she’s spinning records under her the moniker DJ Lo Down Loretta Brown. Her DJ side project began in 2011, and she spins frequently at clubs, bringing an eclectic mix of hip-hop, jazz, soul, funk and even a little EDM.

Other artists just announced for the festival include New York’s rising jazz pianist Kris Bowers, New Orleans R&B singer Ledisi, Poncho Sanchez Band, who will be performing a tribute to the late great Latin percussionist Armando Peraza, as well as label showcases by Peanut Butter Wolf’s cutting edge funk/hip-hip Stone Throw Records and Harlem’s jazz and world beat label Motéma Music.

This is a big year for the San Jose Summer Jazz Festival as they celebrate their 25 year mark milestone. Bootsy Collins has already been announced as this summer’s headliner. This year’s festival lasts between Friday August 8 and Sunday August 10. The festival started back in 1990 in downtown San Jose when the city was undergoing major efforts to rebuild the area. Starting out on a single stage the first year, The San Jose Jazz Festival has grown alongside downtown San Jose and now boasts 11 stages, and even happens twice a year—known as the summer and winter fests.

Between now and August 6th, 3-Day passes will be on sale: $55: General admission, $65 All Stage Access, $150: Priority Access, $285: VIP.

San Jose State professor Aaron Lington’s tribute to trumpeter Donald Byrd last week launched a new cycle for Blackbird Tavern’s Thursday series, The Residency.

Next up is vocalist Ren Geisick, who will be revisiting the complex catalog and legacy of Nina Simone, followed in the coming weeks by two more tributes to jazz icons.

Geisick was previously a standout guest vocalist as part of weekly series Fatale. This marks her first time leading the bandstand at Blackbird. Asked “why Nina and why now?” Geisick explains that Simone’s approach and respect for the craft shines through in her music.

“She’s just an incredible artist who’s so connected emotionally to her work,” she says. “She’s not confined in any one genre. That’s my goal in the long term—to feel my voice and my presence are enough to connect all the different genres and styles that have influenced me and that I would want to sing.”

Bad Five trumpeter Shawn Williams pays tribute to two trumpet greats, the legendary Freddie Hubbard and the unsung Thad Jones, the following Thursday, May 22.

For Williams, his tribute offers him opportunity to highlight two key inspirations he wouldn’t otherwise be able to honor. Thad Jones has been particularly hard to highlight.

“I’ve never been able to bring it out because nobody is really familiar with [his work]. I thought this would be a really good opportunity to do that,” he explains.

Brian Ho closes out the month of tributes with a nod to legendary pianist Herbie Hancock on May 29. While noted primarily as a B-3 organist, he plans to pull out all the stops for this performance, utilizing organ, Rhodes, clavinet and piano.

“That’s the cool thing about these tributes: it forces you [to be creative],” admits Ho. “I don’t just want to do exactly what was on the album. I want to create my own personal touch to it.”

Over the last six months The Residency has given both leading and emerging local jazz and funk voices the opportunity to play once a month. The first two cycles focused largely on original work and included groups like the JurassiC, the Bad Five and Super Soul Bros.
With a continued focus on providing a stage for emerging musicians to hone their craft, Ho applauds Blackbird Tavern’s commitment to live music.

“They’re not just doing one genre, and they’re not just sticking to one genre or type of music. They’re really spacing it out. That’s what we need—venues that support music,” he says.

The Residency
Thursdays, 8-10:30pm
The Blackbird Tavern, San Jose
Free

There’s no way to know what exactly to expect from Proverb Trio—the latest project by renowned Latin-Afro-Jazz drummer Dafnis Prieto—because even the band members don’t know.

The trio, performing Saturday at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, features Prieto on drums, Jason Lindner on keys and Grammy-nominated vocalist and rapper Kokayi on vocals, is so cutting-edge that they create completely improvised, free-form songs, but are able to quickly find patterns in the music and create what sounds almost like prewritten songs.

“The whole idea is improvisation as spontaneous composition as though it was preconceived,” Prieto says. “We just look at each other and whoever feels like starting it starts. We like to stretch out as much as possible. We stretch out in many different styles or genres.”

As good as they are in creating order out of thin air, what makes it unlike watching a standard group is that every moment is completely spontaneous. The potential for anything to happen exists in every moment. In other words, it’s about as vibrant as you can get.

“It always comes out different. It’s a very exciting event, as much for us the performer, for the audience as well. They are experiencing something that is very unique at that exact moment as well because we don’t have anything planned. We are completely open to anything that happens. We cover a lot of different music and styles when we play, but always from a very personal point of view, from our point of view. We’re not trying to imitate anyone,” Prieto says.

Proverb Trio recorded an album in 2012 titled Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio, which, like their shows, was completely made up in the studio while tapes were rolling.

As strange as the concept is, it’s really not that unusual for Prieto, who, ever since he moved to the states from Cuba in 1999, has been impressing people with his innovative fusion drumming styles, and unusual musical philosophies.

When leading his own band, he sees his role as something more than just keeping the beat. He is there to also compose music. He plays beats as though they were a melodic instrument, whether influenced by Latin, jazz, African beats, or even sound atypical to drums.

“For me, creativity isn’t a formula that you just put a little bit of jazz and a little bit of punk or a little bit of this and a little bit of that. That’s a very obvious process. It’s obviously easier, but in my way, I try to personalize that. So when it comes out it’s sincere. I’m not copying something. I internalize the music. I try to capture the meaning of it. I try to capture the essence of the music, more than just the rhythm,” Prieto says. “Sometimes I play rhythms I don’t even know where they’re coming from. It’s irrelevant to me in the moment. I am trying to convey what the music means according to my point of view.”

Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio
Sat, Aug 10, noon
San Jose Rep Stage

ALSO READ: Make it Funky: Lyrics Born Discusses James Brown Tribute Show at San Jose’s Jazz Summer Fest