On this episode of “Drop the Needle,” Buena Vista Social Club mastermind and leader of Afro-Cuban All-Stars, Juan de Marcos, takes us through a cross-section of Cuban greats from the 1960s to the 1990s and shares his insights and personal recollections.

After gaining international fame for rev...

For this special edition of Drop the Video, SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard looks back at our history of YouTube Singles taken from our Fridays Live streaming series and on-demand concerts and picks several of his favorites.

From Meshell Ndegeocello’s brilliantly reconstruc...

This edition of Drop the Needle, GRAMMY-winning vocalist Samara Joy talks about the magic contained in a succession of classic tracks by a cross-section of the greatest vocalists from the 1950s to today.

At 24, Joy is already setting the music world ablaze. Her 2022 Verve Records debut “Linger...

Testing the musical knowledge of world class artists with a series of classic recordings, getting their in-the-moment impressions and insights into their tastes and influences.

For this video version of Drop the Needle, South African vocalist Melanie Scholtz and Kenyan-born pianist Aaron Rimbui...

Watch Howard Wiley’s California Love concert from 3/23/24 On Demand here:
https://www.sfjazz.org/athome/on-demand/howard-wiley/

Saxophonist extraordinaire, composer, and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Howard Wiley enthuses about his formative influences and shares memories of the Bay Area ...

Testing the musical knowledge of world class artists with a series of classic recordings, getting their in-the-moment impressions and insights into their tastes and influences.

SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Kenny Barron
The pianist and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director shares his memories ...

The guitarist, composer, and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director brings a decidedly individual approach to everything he touches, including our Drop the Needle series, for which he comments on a series of video clips of master guitarists rather than vinyl records. His reactions illuminate each arti...

The Collective’s saxophonist and music director Chris Potter, drummer Kendrick Scott, and vibraphonist Warren Wolf share their spontaneous reactions to a range of compositions from jazz and pop icons who have been celebrated by the Collective over its 20-year history.

Founded by SFJAZZ in 2004, ...

Testing the musical knowledge of world class artists with a series of classic recordings, getting their in-the-moment impressions and insights into their tastes and influences.

The saxophonist, composer, MC, and former SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director kicks off our series, listening to and com...