Common leads a strong opening night for San Jose Jazz Summer Fest

There’s no better pulse-pounding three days in downtown than San Jose Jazz Summer Fest weekend, and Friday’s opening night was a perfect example of why. Music just flooded downtown all night — from the festival stages to the bars and restaurants on South First Street and San Pedro Square.

The good vibes started building when Grammy-nominated vocalist José James started things off on the Jay Paul Company Main Stage, getting the Plaza de Cesar Chavez crowd energized with his music and a few shoutouts about how much he appreciated being in San Jose. That energy continued through a set by Ghost-Note that followed and and all the way up through the climax of the night, a 90-minute performance by Grammy-winning rapper Common.

“Where are my people from San Jose at right now?” asked the multitalented actor and rapper, whose later reference to the intersection of King and Story roads, the heart of San Jose’s lowrider culture, earned another huge response from the crowd. He was joined on stage for his final songs by Bilal, another Grammy-winning vocalist who collaborated with him on the groundbreaking album “Like Water for Chocolate” and who was between two of his own sets Friday night.

If there was nothing else happening at the 35th annual festival Friday night, that would have been enough. But there was so much more.

The Latin Tropical Stage on Park Avenue is often more quiet on Friday night, but not this year, with an opening set by Andre Cruz and Chris Lujan and a vibrant performance by La Marisoul and the Love Notes Orchestra building up to a crowd-pleasing end to the evening courtesy of Latin rock band Malo. The Malo performance happened the same time as Common was on the main stage, forcing some tough decisions and a lot of foot traffic between the two crowds.

San Jose Jazz Executive Director Brendan Rawson said there’s an emphasis this year on the future of jazz, and Friday night’s lineup leaned into the concept.

Straight-ahead jazz fans packed the upstairs lobby of the California Theatre — rechristened the California Music Lounge for the weekend — to hear sets by the Bennett Roth Quartet and Summer Carmago, a 23-year-old trumpet phenom who is the youngest member of the “Saturday Night Live” band. The stage at the south end of Plaza de Cesar Chavez, which will be filled with blues and New Orleans-style music Saturday and Sunday, was on Friday night given over to artists who would appeal to younger crowds, like Kiefer and DJ Harrison.

Continuing with that theme, Summer Fest also has its first artist-in-residence this year, trumpet player Theo Croker, who was on the schedule for a solo set Saturday at the intimate SJZ Break Room stage and Sunday at the California Theatre as well as guesting with other performers throughout the weekend.

“The character of jazz, the nature of the art form is always striving, always seeking,” Rawson said. “We’re very fortunate with a lot of these young artists to be able to give them the format and let them create interesting stuff.”

The festival’s Saturday lineup included the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the John Pizzarelli Trio, Lalah Hathaway, the Pacific Mambo Orchestra, P.J. Morton and a 9:15 p.m. drone show to celebrate the “Alebrijes en San Jose” Mexican art exhibit.

Sunday’s closing day promised a strong finish, too, with acts including the Headhunters, the Mohini Day Quartet, Swing Solution, All Things Swamp, La Doña and the legendary Mavis Staples, who will close out the main stage at 6 p.m. The full schedule and tickets are available at summerfest.sanjosejazz.org.

GETTING PICKLED: Pickleball has found its way to downtown San Jose, as San Jose City Councilmember Michael Mulcahy — joined by San Jose Parks Director Jon Cicirelli and reps from the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, the San Jose Sharks and Little Italy — cut the ribbon Wednesday on a quartet of pickleball courts in Arena Green between SAP Center and Little Italy. When Mulcahy was running for office last year, he and campaign manager Chris Roth saw the potential to turn the park’s tired tennis courts into a venue for the trendy racquet sport.

An eight-team tournament followed the ribbon cutting to inaugurate the renovated courts, which are branded with 9-foot by 6-foot versions of the San Jose “placemark” — the city’s more dynamic, secondary logo — which could be visible from planes landing at San Jose Mineta airport. Let me know if you see them when you’re flying in.

GETTING SAUCED: Speaking of Little Italy, the Boss of the Sauce tomato sauce contest is coming back next weekend for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Aug. 17 tournament will pit eight Italian restaurants against each other, and having from the sound of it, they’re all confident they’ve got the goods.

Johnny McGrew of Mio Vicino Pasta and Pizzeria says their marinara recipe belonged to the mother of original owner Tommy Caso, who was from Boston’s north end, and was passed down to current head chef Elias Salvador, whose been with them for 33 years. Pino Spatole, owner and chef at Paesano Ristorante in Little Italy says his secret is to use fresh Roma tomatoes, never canned, which are cooked twice — with a trip through a passatutto (an Italian food mill) in between. Deanna Orkin of Sorelle Italian Bistro says their sauce is all about the family traditions of the mom and three sisters who opened the restaurant 12 years ago.

The other contestants include Poor House Bistro, Bibo’s at Littlest Little Italy, Locanda Restaurants and Tony & Alba’s Pizza and Pasta.

The splattering starts at noon in the piazza in front of the Little Italy Cultural Center and Museum, with the winner and the People’s Choice Champion expected to be crowned around 4 p.m. You can enjoy the sauces — and freshly cooked pasta — for a $25 ticket available at www.littleitalysj.com/events.

POLICE REPORT: San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph expressed a little trepidation speaking to the Rotary Club of San Jose on Wednesday, addressing a crowd that included some city councilmembers and Assistant City Manager Lee Wilcox. “In case this doesn’t go well, I’m really glad the mayor’s ‘pay-for-performance’ plan wasn’t enacted,” joked Joseph, who did just fine talking about how the department is using both technology and non-sworn community service officers to help make up for its perpetual understaffing.