New Orleans institution Dirty Dozen Brass Band closes out the year at SFJAZZ with a New Year's Eve party steeped in second-line tradition. Celebrating 50 years as a band, they fuse classic brass-band street beats with bebop lines, funk grooves, and soul-infused horn arrangements.

Pianist Benny Green returns to the Bay Area for an unaccompanied recital that distills more than four decades of work with jazz legends into a single, intimate evening. A former member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the Ray Brown Trio, Green draws on bebop, hard bop, and the blues with a touch that is at once muscular and elegant.

Bassist, composer, and bandleader Marcus Shelby presents his New Orchestra at Miner Auditorium for a comprehensive holiday program centered around Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's Nutcracker Suite. Reinterpreting Tchaikovsky's ballet through the language of big-band jazz, the suite replaces traditional waltzes and marches with lively grooves, blues-influenced harmonies, and Ellington's distinctive voicings.

Bay Area pianist Adam Shulman offers a daytime take on A Charlie Brown Christmas, leading his trio through Vince Guaraldi's timeless score. A key figure on the San Francisco jazz scene, Shulman combines a deep feel for swing and melody with an arranger's ear for detail.

Bay Area guitarist, vocalist, and bandleader George Cole returns to SFJAZZ with an expanded ensemble devoted to Nat King Cole's beloved holiday album The Magic of Christmas. Cole channels the warmth and effortless swing of Nat's singing and guitar work while leaving room for his own personality and for his bandmates' voices.

Pianist Cyrus Chestnut brings Vince Guaraldi's iconic music from A Charlie Brown Christmas back to Miner Auditorium. Rooted in gospel, hard bop, and a deep sense of swing, Chestnut honors the lyricism of Guaraldi's score while adding his own harmonic twists and rhythmic nuances.

Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, a ten-time GRAMMY winner and a founding member of the groundbreaking Afro-Cuban band Irakere, returns to SFJAZZ with his Swinging Holiday program. Known for dizzying high notes, impeccable ballad playing, and deep roots in both bebop and Cuban music, Sandoval treats seasonal standards as springboards for improvisation.

The Klezmatics bring their singular blend of traditional klezmer, Yiddish song, and contemporary social commentary to Miner Auditorium for a special Hanukkah concert. Celebrating four decades as one of music's most adventurous standard bearers, the band draws on material from their Hanukkah releases Happy Joyous Hanukkah and Happier Joyous Hanukkah, which set Woody Guthrie's lyrics to new melodies.

Expect exuberant dance tunes, call-and-response choruses, and reflective songs that honor both the holiday and the broader Jewish experience. With clarinet, brass, accordion, and voices all in full cry, the evening doubles as a communal gathering and a high-energy concert.

Ticket Info

Performance dates, showtimes, and tickets: December 15, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Miner Auditorium, SFJAZZ Center – tickets at SFJAZZ.org: https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/25-26/klezmatics/

Violinist Mads Tolling brings a Nordic-tinged chamber jazz spin to holiday music with his Cool Yule program in the Joe Henderson Lab. A former member of the two-time GRAMMY-winning Turtle Island Quartet and a longtime collaborator with Stanley Clarke, Tolling blends bebop lines, folk color, and pop melodicism with ease.

Spanish Harlem Orchestra turns Miner Auditorium into a holiday dance floor with its Salsa Navidad program. Led by pianist, arranger, and bandleader Oscar Hernández, the GRAMMY-winning ensemble delivers classic New York salsa dura with blaring horns, tight vocal harmonies, and a percussion section built for nonstop motion.

Vocalist Sachal Vasandani brings his intimate, genre-fluid approach to the Joe Henderson Lab for a two-set evening. Praised for his supple phrasing and easy command of a room, he moves between straight-ahead standards, singer-songwriter material, and striking original songs.

Clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen marks her 50th birthday at SFJAZZ with an ambitious multi-ensemble celebration that reflects the breadth of her musical life. Across the evening, she appears with her duo partner, seven-string guitarist Marcello Gonçalves; the intimate, groove-focused Quartetinho; and her larger, cinematic ensemble, the Anat Cohen Tentet, directed by longtime collaborator Oded Lev-Ari.

Realtime Collective gathers four in-demand Bay Area improvisers for a night that prioritizes listening, trust, and groove over fixed arrangements. Anchored by pianist and vocalist Tammy L. Hall, the group draws on shared histories in jazz, gospel, soul, and blues to build sets that evolve in the moment.

Songwriter, pianist, and bandleader Ben Folds brings his quartet to Miner Auditorium for two holiday-season shows built around his New West Records Christmas album Sleigher. Known for sharp, empathetic storytelling and a flair for turning everyday details into emotional punchlines, Folds revisits seasonal standards and new originals with his signature blend of humor and heart.

Pianist Jacky Terrasson returns to SFJAZZ with the trio format that first brought him international attention after his 1993 win at the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. His kinetic touch, quick shifts in dynamics, and subtle reharmonizations allow him to stretch standards and originals alike into fresh, narrative journeys.