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 passed) and how Lloyd met and worked with The Beach Boys.

ABOUT DON WAS
Superstar producer, musician, and Blue Note Records president Don Was brings the distinctive musical flavor of his Motor City hometown to this performance coinciding with his SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award. His Pan-Detroit Ensemble is made up of the city’s greatest musicians with a sound marked by raw funk and bone-deep grooves.

ABOUT CHARLES LLOYD
NEA Jazz Master and saxophone icon Charles Lloyd brought his current working quartet to the 2025 Festival, featuring pianist Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Eric Harland. Lloyd’s 1966 crossover smash 'Forest Flower' was the first jazz platinum seller, and his latest Blue Note release, 'The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow', was DownBeat’s 2024 Album of the Year.

SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL
Taking place June 13-15, 2025, the 42nd San Francisco Jazz Festival featured 35 concerts across multiple stages at the SFJAZZ Center and the Festival Tent. The three-day bash included DJs, food trucks, beer garden & local wine vendors. Learn more at https://www.sfjazz.org/festival.