Downtown San Jose has done a lot of growing up in the past two years. Since 2013, the city has enjoyed a growing craft-cocktail scene—with the combined opening of 55 South, SP2 and Paper Plane. Great beer is everywhere: just head to the recently transformed Good Karma, ISO Beers, or the newly expanded Original Gravity. And we haven’t even gotten to SoFA yet.

With the promise of a brand new alternative rock club—helmed by Blank Club co-founder Corey O’Brien—the upscale libations and smooth house music of The Continental, all the great jazz and indie music at Cafe Stritch, and the regularly on-point hip-hop shows at Back Bar and Agenda Lounge, the South First Street Area is beginning to look like the Once and Future King of music and nightlife in San Jose.

It sure fit that bill last Friday, when this intrepid arts editor found himself bouncing between a Cinequest red carpet event featuring New Girl star Hannah Simone at The California Theatre, the incredible virtuosity of the Charnett Moffett NeTTwork trio at Stritch, a genre-melding solo performance by DJ-producer-pianist-vocalist Taylor McFerrin, who kicked of San Jose Jazz Winterfest at The Continental, and wrapping up the night by dancing to a blistering set from underground Bay Area hip-hop icon, Andre Nikatina.

So, if you don’t know, now you know. Be sure to keep an eye on the SoFA district in the coming weeks and months. It’s the new place to be. And if you missed out on this weekend’s action, check out the photos:

Hannah Simone walked the Cinequest red carpet prior to the screening of her new film ‘Miss India America.’ Photo: Greg Ramar.

While the majority of his generation is expected to jump frequently between jobs and even careers—as they seek out higher wages and a sense of fulfillment—Kris Bowers is content to stay right where he is.

“I’ve never had another job, fortunately,” he says.

The pianist and composer, slated to play San Jose Jazz Winterfest next Friday, isn’t unambitious or lazy. It’s just that when Aretha Franklin and Kanye West both personally recognize your musical abilities before the age of 25, chances are you’ve found your calling.

“I’ve been around the piano from about as far back as I can remember,” Bowers says. Following the Suzuki method of music instruction, his mother and father started him on piano lessons when he was just 4, sent him to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, and eventually shipped him off to The Juilliard School in 2006.

Examining Bowers’ upbringing provides the key to unlocking the dense and diverse sounds of his debut LP, Heroes + Misfits, which weaves swinging jazz, smooth soul and hip-hop into a seamless, flowing musical fabric.

As a child, he was exposed to classical music from his instructors, while at home he was immersed in the jazz, soul, R&B and funk in his parents’ record collection. In middle school, he discovered that “it wasn’t normal to listen to jazz”—at least not in the estimation of his peers. While working to blend in he developed a genuine love of hip-hop and modern R&B.

His tastes shifted twice more. In high school, he met other young jazz musicians and shunned all pop music. These days, his record collection is diverse, including albums from Radiohead, A Tribe Called Quest, My Bloody Valentine and Kanye, all intermingled with the classical, jazz and old-school jams his parents used to play.

Bowers has worked with a number of big-name musicians, including West, Q-Tip and Pharrell, who tapped him to add keyboards to the song “No Church in the Wild” from Kanye and Jay-Z’s collaborative 2011 album Watch the Throne. Bowers won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition the same year—catching the attention of Franklin, who has since invited him to perform at her private parties.

Since the release of Heroes + Misfits in March of 2014, Bowers has been shifting his focus, away from session work and playing other people’s music. “I made a conscious choice this year to really do my own thing,” he says.

So far he’s off to a strong start. On his first tour as a bandleader Bowers says he has been playing for large and enthusiastic crowds all over the U.S. and in Europe.

Kris Bowers plays at San Jose Stage Company on March 6 at 9pm. More info.