5 fall Bay Area jazz events that need to be on your radar
It's going to be another big season for jazz, highlighted by Monterey Jazz Festival, the new season of SFJAZZ, Diana Krall in Oakland, Saratoga, more.
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Here’s a look at some of the top jazz events going on in the Bay Area and surrounding areas:
Monterey Jazz Festival
You never have to wonder what’s going to be the top jazz event going on in Northern California – or, really, anywhere on the West Coast – each fall season. That’s because it’s always Monterey Jazz.
This year’s festival runs Sept. 27-29 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds and features another superb lineup, including Diana Krall, Christian McBride, Kenny Barron, Dave Holland, Pamela Rose, Terrence Brewer, Allison Miller, Eliane Elias and Snarky Puppy.
Details: Full weekend passes run $50-$435, single-day tickets are $20-$174, www.montereyjazzfestival.org
SFJazz
Legendary jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal kicks off SFJazz Center’s 2019-2020 season, performing four highly anticipated shows (Sept. 5-8) at the center in San Francisco. The season lineup also includes such fabulous acts as Veronica Swift (Sept. 5-8), Lizz Wright (Sept. 12), Tierney Sutton and Ann Hampton Callaway (Sept. 15), the Christian McBride Big Band (Sept. 29), Chucho Valdes: Jazz Bata Quartet (Oct. 3-6), Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain (Oct. 12-13), Brad Mehldau and Ian Bostridge (Oct. 15), Larry Grenadier (Oct. 25) and Vijay Iyer Trio (Oct. 26).
Details: www.sfjazz.org
Diana Krall
The incredibly popular and talented vocalist-pianist has several Northern California dates on the books. Her current tour stops Sept. 21 at the Fox Theater in Oakland, Sept. 22 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Sept. 26 at the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park and, as mentioned above, Sept. 27 at the Monterey Jazz Festival.
Details: www.dianakrall.com
Billy Cobham Crosswinds Project
Cobham, one of the greatest drummers in jazz fusion history, is celebrating his 75th birthday on this tour, which touches down for two shows in one night (Oct. 10) at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. Sensational trumpeter Randy Brecker joins Cobham onstage.
Details: 7 and 9 p.m.; $36.75-$52.50, www.kuumbwajazz.org
Madeleine Peyroux
If you’ve never seen this amazing vocalist-pianist live, well, now is the time to correct that situation and catch Peyroux during her four-night stand, Oct. 3-6, at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley.
Details: 8 p.m. Oct. 3-4, 7 p.m. Oct. 6; $45-$60, www.thefreight.org