Steven Roby 11/3/26 Steven Roby 11/3/26

Book Review: Last of the Jazz Joints

Deborah Gordon’s illustrated history brings the Village Vanguard to life through photographs, archival discoveries and candid stories about its musicians. Steve Roby reviews the book and speaks with Gordon about telling the club’s story.

Steven Roby 10/26/26 Steven Roby 10/26/26

Charles Tolliver: Silent and Superb

Charles Tolliver brought Coltrane’s Africa/Brass to SFJAZZ with a commanding quintet and 15 Conservatory musicians. The performance soared, even as introductions, context, and an encore went missing.

Steven Roby 10/19/26 Steven Roby 10/19/26

Lila Downs Turns SFJAZZ Into a Celebration of Belonging

Lila Downs closed her four-night SFJAZZ engagement with songs of resilience, a message of solidarity and a seven-piece band that brought the celebration into the crowd.

Steven Roby 9/28/26 Steven Roby 9/28/26

Marcus Miller Closes Miles Davis Tour at SFJAZZ

On the final night of their Miles Davis centennial tour, Marcus Miller, Mike Stern, Bill Evans and Mino Cinelu reunite the 1981 We Want Miles band at Miner Auditorium. Russell Gunn takes the trumpet chair.

Steven Roby 9/14/26 Steven Roby 9/14/26

Christian McBride Lets Ursa Major Take the Lead

On the final night of SFJAZZ’s season-opening residency, Christian McBride guided Ursa Major from the rear of the stage, giving the quintet’s individual voices room to carry the concert.

Steven Roby 8/17/26 Steven Roby 8/17/26

Take 6 and the Architecture of Harmony

Four decades into their career, Take 6 still builds its singular sound on disciplined arranging, close listening, and melody. A San Francisco masterclass, an interview with Claude McKnight, and the closing night of the group’s SFJAZZ residency revealed how that architecture continues to evolve.

Steven Roby 7/21/26 Steven Roby 7/21/26

Lettuce Turned SFJAZZ into Funk Church

Lettuce capped its four-night SFJAZZ residency by turning Miner Auditorium into a joyous funk revival. Steve Roby reviews a night of deep grooves, fearless improvisation, and a dance floor that refused to stay seated.

Steven Roby 7/17/26 Steven Roby 7/17/26

Sexmob's Psychedelic Sixty-Minute Serenade

Steven Bernstein brought Sexmob back to the Bay Area for a set devoted to 1960s psychedelic rock. The opening night at SFJAZZ's Joe Henderson Lab began unevenly before finding its groove with inventive takes on Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.

Steven Roby 6/21/26 Steven Roby 6/21/26

Stewart Copeland: An Earful Of Everything

The Police drummer brings his first American spoken-word tour to the Presidio Theatre and packs fifty years — Beirut, punk, Coppola, opera, the reunion — into one chair, one lamp, and a drum full of audience questions. Conflict, he argues, was the secret sauce.

Steven Roby 6/15/26 Steven Roby 6/15/26

Chucho Valdés and His Royal Quartet Close a Triumphant SFJAZZ Residency

At 85, the Cuban piano giant turned Miner Auditorium into a journey through Mozart, Ravel, and Shorter — and it all came out as pure Chucho.

Steven Roby 6/1/26 Steven Roby 6/1/26

Honoring Miles and Coltrane on Their Own Terms

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane closed SFJAZZ's 2025–26 season with a centennial celebration of Miles Davis and John Coltrane that played entirely by its own rules—electric, unruly, and occasionally at odds with its own billing.

Steven Roby 5/25/26 Steven Roby 5/25/26

Gunhild Carling’s SFJAZZ Stomp

On May 24, Gunhild Carling brought her family band, six instruments, and an impromptu stomp to SFJAZZ's most intimate room.

Steven Roby 5/15/26 Steven Roby 5/15/26

Miles Davis at 100: Beasley's All-Stars Go Deep at the Presidio

Rather than presenting Miles Davis as a finished monument, John Beasley and his sextet treated the legendary trumpeter's music as an unfolding conversation during a dynamic 90-minute set at San Francisco's Presidio Theatre. This performance marked the final, brilliant stop of Beasley's Miles Davis tribute tour in the Bay Area.

Steven Roby 5/9/26 Steven Roby 5/9/26

Hiromi Makes Golden Gate Theatre Lift Off

Hiromi Uehara and Sonicwonder turned their SFJAZZ-presented Golden Gate Theatre concert into a high-voltage night of jazz fusion, theatrical movement, and musical lift-off.

Steven Roby 5/2/26 Steven Roby 5/2/26

Meshell Ndegeocello’s “People’s Playlist” Drifts From Its Own Premise

A promised tribute to Bay Area radio pioneers gives way to a slow, meditative evening that finds its footing only in flashes.

Steven Roby 4/27/26 Steven Roby 4/27/26

Aaron Diehl Trio Finds Focus and Flow at Miner Auditorium

At SFJAZZ’s Miner Auditorium, Aaron Diehl led his trio through a measured, deeply focused set that balanced originals, standards, and seven Roland Hanna preludes, all shaped by precision, space, and attentive interplay.

Steven Roby 4/26/26 Steven Roby 4/26/26

Fortner and Owens Set Divergent Courses at Miner

Endea Owens’ performance centered groove as a social language, with Sullivan Fortner’s pianism sharpening the ensemble’s focus. The set balanced compositional clarity with fluid interaction, revealing a band attuned to both lineage and forward motion.

Steven Roby 4/24/26 Steven Roby 4/24/26

Gerald Clayton Trio Reunites at Miner

Gerald Clayton closed his reunion tour at SFJAZZ’s Miner Auditorium with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown, delivering a set that balanced space, precision, and trio interplay. The performance traced a shared musical language shaped over decades and still evolving in real time.

Steven Roby 4/13/26 Steven Roby 4/13/26

Lee Ritenour Revisits the Road to Fusion at Miner

Lee Ritenour brought a refined quartet to SFJAZZ’s Miner Auditorium, balancing fusion-era precision with a controlled, groove-centered approach shaped by tone, phrasing, and ensemble interplay.

Steven Roby 4/11/26 Steven Roby 4/11/26

Stewart Copeland Tests The Police at Orchestral Scale

Stewart Copeland brings Police Deranged for Orchestra to Miner Auditorium, reworking the Police catalog with symphonic scale and raising questions about how much bite survives the expansion.