Longtime South Bay music fans might remember when San Jose Jazz’s Summer Fest boasted of being the nation’s largest free jazz festival. Those days are long gone, but Summer Fest still offers a bigger musical bang for the buck than any summer festival, with performances by some of the greatest artists in jazz, blues, funk and Latin music available via a day pass.
RELATED: San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2024: Lisa Fischer grabs the spotlight
It’s easy to focus on the main stage headliners like keyboard legend Herbie Hancock, vocalist Angelique Kidjo, Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles, and Ms. Lisa Fischer and Grand Baton, but many of the most exciting acts take place on smaller stages. Here are some artists well worth seeking out.
Pascal Le Boeuf
Santa Cruz raised pianist/composer Pascal Le Boeuf has earned numerous prestigious commissions and awards for his work in jazz and beyond, including the 2020 Copland House Residency and a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship. He presents music from his gorgeous 2023 chamber jazz album “Ritual Being” with violinist Kevin Rogers, cellist Evan Kahn, bassist Giulio Xavier Cetto and drummer Michael W. Davis (and returns home Sept. 5 accompanying guitarist/vocalist Allen Harris at Kuumbwa). Details: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9, California Music Lounge at Hammer Theatre Center.
Benny Green
Irrepressibly swinging Berkeley pianist Benny Green has focused on solo performances in recent years, but he never seems alone at the piano. Summoning a pantheon of departed masters — both famous and relatively overlooked–his expertly curated sets provide an exhilarating plunge into modern jazz lore. Details: 7 p.m. Aug. 9, Montgomery Theater.
Jahari Stampley
Winner of the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition, 24-year-old Chicago native Stampley is one of the most exciting new players in jazz, though he’s been turning heads since he was 17. His group features drummer Miguel Russell and his mother, revered music educator D’Erania Stampley, on electric upright bass, alto sax and synth. Details: 1 p.m. Aug. 10, Montgomery Theater.
Jorge Luis Pacheco
A winner of the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition, Havana-born Jorge Luis Pacheco is more than a dazzling force on the piano. He’s also a singer, composer, percussionist and arranger whose music encompasses Afro-Cuban idioms, American jazz and European classical music leavened with his love of pop and soul. His trio, which also plays the SJZ Break Room at 8 p.m. Saturday, features Chilean bassist Gerson-Lazo Quiroga and Cuban drummer Reinier Mendoza. Details: 4:30 p.m. Aug. 10, California Theatre.
Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini
Trombonist/vocalist Natalie Cressman and guitarist/vocalsist Ian Faquini have forged a singular duo out of their mutual love for the Brazilian songbook. A protégé of the great Brazilian guitarist/composer Guinga, Faquini has emerged as a ravishing tunesmith in his own right, and the couple’s new album, “Guinga,” features several pieces written with the master. Details: 5 p.m. Aug. 10, California Music Lounge
Sean Mason Quartet
Charlotte, North Carolina, pianist Sean Mason made a brilliant first impression at the Monterey Jazz Festival last year accompanying vocalist Catherine Russell, an image deeply enhanced by his captivating debut album “The Southern Suite.” Stepping up as a leader, he performs with his quartet featuring trumpeter Tony Glausi, bassist Felix Moseholm and drummer Dominick Branch. The group also performs Friday, Aug. 9 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. Details: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10, California Theater.
Kristin Strom Quintet with Skylar Tang
Veteran San Jose saxophonist Kristin Strom, a player known for her passionate lyricism, performs with her quintet featuring husband and creative partner Scott Sorkin on guitar and trumpeter Skylar Tang. Already a commanding player and accomplished composer, 18-year-old Tang seems destined to join the Bay Area’s trumpet pantheon. Details: 7 p.m. Aug. 10; California Music Lounge.
Brian Ho Album Release
San Jose organist Brian Ho makes a major creative and career leap with his second album, “Bridges,” a consistently burning trio session with rising guitar star Dan Wilson and drummer Byron “Wookie” Landham, who spent years touring and recording with Hammond B3 legend Joey DeFrancesco. The trio also performs a late afternoon show Sunday at Keys Jazz Bistro in North Beach. Details: Noon Aug. 11; California Music Lounge.
Roberta Gambarini Quartet
Any opportunity to catch New York-based Turn-raised jazz Roberta Gambarini, a vocalist who combines polished technique with improvisational daring-do, should be quickly seized. Even more so when she’s keeping superlative company like this quartet with pianist Tamir Hendelman and the octogenarian L.A. rhythm section tandem of bassist Chuck Berghofer, a member of the fabled Wrecking Crew with many hundreds of albums, films and tv shows to his credit, and drummer Roy McCurdy, who made classic albums with Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson. Details: 2:30 p.m. Aug. 11, California Theatre.
Nikara Plays Black Wall Street
Part of a wave of excellent young vibraphonists invigorating the New York jazz scene, Brooklyn-native Nikara Warren plays music from her groove-infused debut album “Black Wall Street,” a project shaped by her love of hip-hop, neo-soul, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and jazz. Details: 4 p.m. Aug. 11 at California Music Lounge; 8 p.m. Aug. 11 at SJZ Break Room.
