Stanford Jazz Festival

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  Awaiting an awesome line up, as always the SJWS is stellar in scope and musical scale. The best and the brightest teach and perform. Yet another treasure of living in the Bay Area..

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  Posted on 07.01.13 Christine T.

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  Updating after I attended four concerts this season:
  
  * Luciana Souza and Romero Lubambo
  * Victor Wooten, Ndugu Chancler, Geoffrey Keezer
  * Akira Tana and his Secret Agent Band
  * Le Jazz Hot
  
  If you're interested in attending the SJF in the future, but don't know where to start, I recommend just reviewing the calendar, seeing what sounds good to you, and checking it out. Or heck, just pin the schedule to your wall, toss a dart at it, and vow to attend the concert you hit. Either way, you won't be disappointed.
  
  Sound quality is good in both places they've held the concerts (Dinkelspiel and Campbell). It's not Yoshi's, but it's solid.
  
  A few critiques:
  
  * At a couple of the shows, I ended up sitting near some students who were  talking through a lot of the music. I don't mind a comment here or there -- it's expected -- and I know they need to come and go due to their training times, but talking through whole songs, even if about their camp stuff, is not cool for the others around them who also paid for their tickets. SJW folks, if you are reading this, perhaps you can address it with the students?
  
  * They had assigned sections in Campbell Recital Hall and it was kind of confusing. Ushers were on hand to help, but it was still not easy to tell where reserved was, where the students were supposed to sit, and where the great unwashed GA folks (i.e. me) could sit. My recommendation is to just not have premium seating in there, and rope off (rather than put tape on) the rows intended for students.
  
  But please, don't let the above dissuade you from attending. Just some feedback on an otherwise extremely worthwhile festival! Check it out when you can! And thanks to See's, Yelp, KCSM, and other sponsors who keep EXCELLENT JAZZ alive in the south bay!

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  Posted on 07.24.12 Tami S.

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  Last night I was fortunate enough to be taken to the Stanford Jazz Festival where we heard the AMAZING Taylor Eigsti (jazz pianist extraordinaire and Menlo Park native).  My friend sees him annually when he comes to town to perform as well as teach at the Stanford Jazz Workshop (where he was once a student).
  
  In addition to Eigsti, the sextet was comprised of the following incredible and independently successful musicians:
  
  Gretchen Parlato, vocals
  Becca Stevens, vocals
  Gerald Clayton, keyboards and piano
  Harish Raghavan, bass
  Aaron McLendon, drums
  (Julian Lage, guitar - guest performer)
  
  Though this group has not played together long, their beautiful music melded together in ways that gave me chills.  Each was handpicked by Eigsti as they make up a collection of his favorite musicians; how cool is that?  Taylor is adorable, humble, gracious, and always deferring to his peers.  Honestly, he has more talent in his hands than 99.9% of us will ever see manifested collectively in our lifetime.  Also, he is 85% deaf in one ear.  Unbelievable!!  He is so talented and I've downloaded much of his Grammy nominated material onto my mp3.
  
  I want to mention that Dinkelspiel Auditorium was a great venue for this show! Incredibly comfortable seating and the volunteers were very gracious.  I look forward to going back for more great jazz.

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  Posted on 07.27.09 Sparkely K.

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  I went for the Nicholas Payton Quintet concert this year. The concert is being held on the Stanford Campus in Dinkelspiel Auditorium, right opposite the student union.  
  
  The auditorium feels a little to "cold" a location for a jazz concert. The acoustic is fine, but the surround looks like a lecture hall. However, for a chance to see some famous performers in the south bay/peninsular area, it is worth it.
  
  By the way, on Saturday night, the only store open in the student union was Jamba Juice. I had wanted to get a quick bite before the concert, but had to wait until after the concert  to get dinner:)

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  Posted on 07.01.07 hsiao c.

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  As part of the annual Stanford Jazz Workshop, Jazz concerts are held every week on Stanford campus during the summer. Jazz musicians such as Cyrus Chestnut Trio, Chris Potter, Phil Woods were at the 2006 Festival.
  
  The concerts are normally held in Dinkelspiel Auditorium or in one of the recital halls. Ticket prices range from $20 to $40. Here is a trick, students get 50% off, so if you have a student id which you think is still good, use it.
  
  The concerts normally last for 2-2.5 hours, with a 15 min or so intermission.
  
  You can purchase tickets at the door, but sometimes they are sold out  very fast one week prior to the concert. so you will need to be quick.
  
  Note: 2007 Stanford Jazz Festival performer lineup announced Spring 2007 (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stanfordjazz.org%2Fevents%2Ffestival.html&s=b7642e8febd58af7baddea536fabd539737b13574eb02ca1fb19caa88d0ae1bd" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.stanfordjazz.…</a>)

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  Posted on 12.18.06 Yan Z.

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