Watch full-length concerts on-demand at SFJAZZ At Home:
https://www.sfjazz.org/athome/gallery/

Jazz’s greatest artists trace the evolution of a composition from conception to performance, and you’re invited on the journey – backstage and on-stage.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band bassist and Creat...

BACKSTAGE: MAKING OF A SONG
Jazz’s greatest artists trace the evolution of a composition from conception to performance, and you’re invited on the journey – backstage and on-stage.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Saxophonist and former SFJAZZ Collective member Miguel Zenón brings us into his creative process...

In this episode, vocalist and songwriter Lizz Wright shares the inspiration behind her song “Sparrow,” the opening track from her 2024 album Shadow. The song’s message of perseverance, hope, and retaining one’s roots is beautifully expressed through her performance captured on the Miner Auditoriu...

NEA Jazz Master and sax legend Charles Lloyd catches up with 2025 SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Don Was backstage during the 42nd San Francisco Jazz Festival, right before Lloyd went onstage. Don shares when he first heard Lloyd, and the two reflect on Brian Wilson (who recently passe...

Tickets are still available for Lila Downs’ 10/12 performance at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, but going fast:
https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/24-25/lila-downs-dia-de-los-muertos/

Jazz’s greatest artists trace the evolution of a composition from conception to performance, and yo...

Watch full-length concerts on-demand at SFJAZZ At Home:
https://www.sfjazz.org/athome/gallery/

Jazz’s greatest artists trace the evolution of a composition from conception to performance, and you’re invited on the journey – backstage and on-stage.

In this inaugural episode, saxophone legend,...

Watch full-length concerts on-demand at SFJAZZ At Home:
https://www.sfjazz.org/athome/gallery/

Jazz’s greatest artists trace the evolution of a composition from conception to performance, and you’re invited on the journey – backstage and on-stage.
South African singer Melanie Sholtz and Kenya...

This time on “Drop the Needle,” Preservation Hall Jazz Band bassist, tubist, and Creative Director Ben Jaffe dives deep into his formative influences and shares his memories and emotions about a cross-section of adventurous jazz and a New Orleans pop classic.

“The past and promise of American mu...

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.

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...

This time on “Drop the Needle,” Preservation Hall Jazz Band bassist, tubist, and Creative Director Ben Jaffe dives deep into his formative influences and shares his memories and emotions about a cross-section of adventurous jazz and a New Orleans pop classic.

“The past and promise of American mu...

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...

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...

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.

Two members of the SFJAZZ Collective, bassist Matt Brewer and saxophonist David Sánchez, are in focus for this Drop t...

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...

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 ...

Enter the mind of drummer, composer, and SFJAZZ Collective member Kendrick Scott. He explores the idea of the drummer as “navigator” — how he charts a path for himself and the ensemble. He offers his philosophy on playing without preconceptions, giving his best effort in the face of challenges, a...

Enter the mind of woodwind genius, Latin Jazz icon, and 2005 NEA Jazz Master Paquito D’Rivera. Over an improvisation that incorporates elements from jazz classics “A Night in Tunisia” “Salt Peanuts,” and “Manteca,” among others, D’Rivera shares his philosophy of improvisation, his method for impr...

Enter the mind of trumpeter, composer, 2024 NEA Jazz Master, and SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard. He speaks about his relationship with the piano, his philosophical distinction between composing and improvising, and how composition is a discipline that reveals its nature to t...

Enter the mind of vibraphonist, multi-percussionist, and composer Warren Wolf — a current member of the SFJAZZ Collective and an in-demand bandleader and sideman. Performing the Steve Swallow composition “Falling Grace” on the Miner Auditorium stage, Wolf talks about approaching his instrument in...

Enter the mind of turntable master, composer, and visual artist Kid Koala, known worldwide as a premier scratch DJ and collaborator with Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Gorillaz, among many others. He talks through his artistic process, how he uses the influence from his travels ...