KANDACE SPRINGS

“A bewitching amalgam of Dusty Springfield’s caliginous, cream-filled soulfulness and Nancy Wilson’s sensual sophistication, with distinct shades of Michael Jackson” (JazzTimes), the stunning soul jazz singer Kandace Springs presents music from her latest Blue Note release, The Women Who Raised Me, joined by master drummer Camille Gainer and Oakland-born bassist Aneesa Strings, a former SFJAZZ High School All-Star known for work with José James.

Springs first gained national attention with her 2014 self-titled EP, a hip-hop inflected project that led to performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, appearances at the Afropunk and Bonnaroo festivals, and an invitation to perform with Prince at Paisley Park for the 30th anniversary of Purple Rain. While elated by these opportunities, she started rethinking her musical direction and gravitated toward the jazz and soul-based sounds of her Nashville upbringing.

Reuniting with Grammy-winner Larry Klein, who produced her stunning debut Soul Eyes, Springs chose to honor the women whose music was such an inspiration during her early life in Nashville. Working with Klein (whose credits include albums by Lizz Wright, Melody Gardot, Joni Mitchell, and Herbie Hancock), The Women Who Raised Me is a loving tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and Dusty Springfield, featuring Springs’ lustrous voice and deft piano accompanied by heavyweight players Christian McBride, Chris Potter, Avishai Cohen, and Elena Pinderhughes.

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CHUCHO VALDÉS & IRAKERE 50

The most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz for more than half a century, virtuoso pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdés returns with Irakere 50, the new iteration of the legendary band that changed the course of Latin music in the 1970s and 80s.

The son of Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés, the winner of seven GRAMMYs and four Latin GRAMMY Awards joined Armando Romeu’s celebrated Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music in 1967, a time when the communist government still considered American jazz anti-revolutionary. He was already recognized as the most formidable pianist of his generation when he launched Irakere in 1973 with a phenomenal cast that included saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.

Discovered and introduced internationally by Dizzy Gillespie, the band’s unprecedented synthesis of folkloric Afro-Cuban rhythms, sacred drums, rock, funk, R&B, and jazz opened up vast new frontiers, and helped pave the way for the pervasively popular dance music known as timba. Over the ensuing years, Valdés has concentrated on his career as a solo artist, recording 25 albums and co-writing the landmark 2018 book Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz in collaboration with SFJAZZ Director of Education Rebeca Mauleón.

A springboard from Valdes’ GRAMMY-winning Afro-Cuban Messengers band, Irakare 50 showcases a blazing new generation of Cuban talent.

Thursday ~ Saturday Performance | 7:30pm

Sunday Performance | 7:00pm

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LOSTON HARRIS: SWINGFULLY YOURS

For many years a mainstay at New York’s cabaret capital, the Carlyle Hotel, singer and pianist Loston Harris and his swing-infused trio present intoxicating takes on gems from the Great American Songbook, carrying on the tradition of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Short, and Nat King Cole.

Saturday Performance | 7:00pm & 8:30pm

Sunday Performance | 6:00pm & 7:30 pm

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KENNY BARRON: FREELY IMPROVISED MUSIC

Kenny Barron closes his residency in the most spontaneous and creative way possible, with an evening of improvised music featuring a sterling lineup of adventurous artists.

Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jen Shyu is a Guggenheim Fellow known for her visionary approach as a composer and her memorable work with Steve Coleman and Five Elements.

A 2017 Juilliard graduate, trombonist Kalia Vandever has released a pair of acclaimed albums and is an awardee of the 2022 Next Jazz Legacy from New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

Three-time GRAMMY-winner John Patitucci is among the greatest bassists in jazz who has amassed a staggering list of accolades as a leader and as a long-term collaborator with Chick Corea, Dave Grusin, and Wayne Shorter.

Drummer Lesley Mok is a veteran of work with Tomeka Reid, Myra Melford, and William Parker. Her debut album as a leader, The Living Collection, was released in 2023.

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KENNY BARRON: BRAZILIAN EXPLORATIONS

Called “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” by The Los Angeles Times, Kenny Barron is a 2010 NEA Jazz Master and eleven-time GRAMMY nominee who helped define and extend the jazz tradition since his work with Dizzy Gillespie in the early ‘60s catapulted him into the spotlight. Extensive associations with Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, Stan Getz, James Moody and Ron Carter built his peerless reputation as a sideman, and he has recorded over 50 albums as a bandleader over his five-decade career. A seven-time recipient of Best Pianst by the Jazz Journalists Association, Barron leads an ironclad trio with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, and regularly performs as a soloist and settings from duo to big band.

His third night brings the Bay Area premiere of a new sextet project embracing the music of Brazil and beyond. No stranger to Brazilian rhythms, Barron recorded his first album of samba-influenced compositions three decades ago with 1993’s Verve date Sambao.

He is joined for this special night by flutist Anne Drummond and percussionist Valtinho Anastacio from his 2002 Sunnyside release Canta Brasil, along with drummer Rafael Barata, whose scintillating playing propelled the pianist’s 2013 Rio-recorded session Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights. Rounding out the band is Barron’s granddaughter, the masterful vibraphonist Nikara Warren, and virtuoso bassist John Patitucci.

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