Jazz Stories

We didn’t know anything about Paul Cornish when we picked up tickets to see his Trio at SFJazz one Thursday evening. He was playing in the Joe Henderson Lab, which often features rising stars and has a view of the streets of San Francisco through plate glass windows. We were up fror a night of jazz and gave it a shot. And we were amply rewarded with a great set. Cornish has very interesting compositions that frequently shift gears and slip into unexpected places. The tunes often had simple elements at their core – a great rhythm or an attractive melody. These were the onramp for the journey that followed. The bassist Jermaine Paul played virtuoso solos. And drummer Jonathan Pinson could play with very quiet intensity, like Brian Blade, but also let it rip. ...

Menlo Park got the blues on Thursday night, as the magnificent Christone “Kingfish” Ingram led his band through a 1.5 hour set. Kingfish brought three guitars and worked them for every possible nuance of tone and expression, from quiet-clean to screaming-shredding. He also has a fine voice and is a strong composer. Tunes ranged from blues to funk to soul. In the middle of the show, he made his way to the pit at the front of the stage and played for about 15 minutes in the middle of the crowd, bringing the blues amidst the tech bros of Silicon Valley. We were entranced. ...

I love the summer delight of cruising over to the Stanford Campus for the evening concerts at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, a jazz camp for kids. I particularly like concerts in the Campbell Recital Hall, an intimate space with ideal acoustics On this particular evening, we celebrated Jacob’s birthday by making homemade gluten-free pizzas, perfect tomatos with basil, and grilled veggies. Delicious! Monday night is usually not the best for music, but this night of two guitars was exceptional. We did not have tickets in advance to this sold-out show, but took our chances on rush tickets. And we got in. ...

On a beautiful summer evening in San Francisco, Micah and I visited SFJazz for a “late father’s day” session. Daniel Villareal, a drummer, was leading his band in the intimate Joe Henderson room. Villareal plays with a rock-steady, hypnotic, driving pulse. Nothing too fancy, yet very engaging. He was joined by Brazilian-American vibraphonist Victor Vieira-Branco and upright bassist John Moran. Victor was very intense and vibraphone worked really well in a trio format and in a small room. ...

Across the Holler, a band led by my college friend Steve, found the most perfect place to play. Ocean Ciders is a pop-up Cider Bar at Pillar Point Harbor near Half Moon Bay. Steve, Elana, Dan, and Simon (here joined by a friend) laid down some beautiful vocal harmonies over an acoustic folk-rock playlist. The dog-friendly outdoor venue had comfy Adirondack chairs, some fire pits, and a great view of Half Moon Bay. ...