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...

In My Mind explores the creative process of jazz’s most accomplished improvising musicians, using their words and artistry to illuminate the methods behind their spontaneous inventions.

Enter the mind of drummer and composer Eric Harland, who explains how his approach to the drum set is rooted...

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, ...

Enter the mind of saxophonist, rapper, and composer Soweto Kinch, who traces his path to jazz mastery, comparing it to learning a foreign language, and his formative experiences as a young artist who used the influence of the greats to form his own musical identity. The London-born Kinch is seaml...

Enter the mind of trumpeter, composer, and SFJAZZ Collective member Mike Rodriguez, whose approach to his instrument is based in awareness of the physical process of music making, being open to inspiration, playing off his emotions, and tapping into a state of pure expression.

A GRAMMY-winning ...

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...

Enter the mind of harpist, composer, and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Brandee Younger, who takes us on her journey of creativity, making friends with space and openness, treating improvisation as a conversation, and embracing the inspiration of her elders to build her confidence as an artist...

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 ...

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 former SFJAZZ Collective member Obed Calvaire, as he takes us through his practice routine, his devotion to his craft, and the inspiration that motivates him to continually strive to improve all aspects of his art.

A Miami native of Haitian descent, O...

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...

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...

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.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band bassist and Creat...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...