Negotiating the ins and outs of San Jose Jazz Summer Fest

Last year’s San Jose Jazz Summer Fest was arguably a victim of its own success in that so many people turned out to hear the main stage acts that the security checkpoints couldn’t get them through the gates until after the music had started.

Festival organizers have taken steps to get folks settled in Plaza de Cesar Chavez for this year’s Summer Fest, taking place Aug. 11-13.

“Organizers have both made infrastructure changes and are working closely with fest security on updated gate procedures to ensure a smoother, faster line process at the main gates,” says Summer Fest Operations Director Annie Hermes.

Among these changes, a second VIP entrance has been added near the main stage to help alleviate main gate congestion. For everyone else, there’ll be an express line for those who forego camp chairs and come only with clear bags and small purses.

Beyond Plaza de Cesar Chavez, which is also home to Summer Fest’s Blues/Big Easy Stage, there are indoor options, both free and ticketed, for those who are wary of fighting the crowds. The free indoor stages are located at the San Jose Museum of Art and Tabard Theatre. And outdoors, the free Latin Tropical Stage will set up again in downtown San Jose’s SoFA District.

For those straddling the line between general admission (single-day tickets are $35-$40) and VIP access ($160-$225), there’s the “all stages” option ($50-$70), which grants access to indoor stages at the Hammer Theatre and the Montgomery Theater, along with the SJZ Break Room. Here’s an inside look at some of the indoor acts, as well as a roundup of the Latin Tropical Stage lineup.

Billy Childs

Grammy-winning pianist and arranger Billy Childs hits the Montgomery Theater Stage Aug. 11 at 9 p.m. The Guggenheim grant awardee is widely regarded as one of the foremost American composers of fusion jazz and chamber music.

Childs’ 2020 release “Rebirth” won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. In 2015 he got the Grammy nod for Best Instrumental and Vocal Arrangement for the song “New York Tendaberry,” featuring Renée Fleming and Yo-Yo Ma, from his release “Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro.” His latest album, “The Winds of Change,” was released in March.

Yvonne Flores

San Francisco-born jazz vocalist and composer Yvonne Flores plays a Saturday afternoon set Aug. 12 at 3 p.m. at the PG&E Hammer Theatre Stage. Her set will showcase original songs from her recent first release “Sheer Bliss,” as well as new arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook.

Flores assembled some heavy hitters from the Bay Area music scene to play on “Sheer Bliss”: guitarist Ray Obiedo, percussionist Pete Escovedo, singer and flutist Elena Pinderhuges and Santana band members David K. Matthews, Jeff Cressman and Bill Ortiz.

MAE.SUN

SJZ Summer Fest patrons may remember alto and soprano saxophonist Hailey Niswanger from 2015, when she performed in an all-star organ combo with veteran drummer Mike Clark and locally based keyboard hero Wil Blades. Niswanger will take the SJZ Break Room Stage Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. to play her original compositions with sextet MAE.SUN.

MAE.SUN’s debut album, “Vol. 1: Inter-be,” was released in November 2017, followed by “Vol. 2: Into The Flow” in 2019. Volume 3 is set to be released this year.

Latin Tropical Stage

A woman led-band opens the Latin Tropical Stage on Saturday, Aug. 12, and a woman-powered band will close out the stage on Sunday, Aug. 13.

Saturday marks the festival debut of Colombian singer Chika Di, followed by the return of Bay Area group VibraSon, fresh off their Latin jazz set at Montgomery Theater Stage. Bay Area salsa band Oskar Li and Rumbalú is also making its first Summer Fest appearance Saturday on the Latin Tropical Stage. LA salsa band Gabriel Gonzalez and La Verdad close out the stage on Aug. 12.

The Sunday lineup is a showcase of Cuban music with Club Mambí, San Miguel and Telmary and Friends. Club Mambí is led by trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Onier Bacallao. San Miguel is one of Cuba’s top tres players, tres being the lead guitar played in traditional Cuban music. To close out Sunday night, Telmary and Friends return to SJZ Summer Fest with a nine-piece band powered by five women.

For a full San Jose Jazz Summer Fest lineup and ticket information, visit summerfest.sanjosejazz.org.

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