Radical Remix: How Braxton Cook and SMARTBOMB Turned SFJAZZ into an Oakland Block Party

If you typically associate the SFJAZZ Center with polite applause and established traditions, the scene on Franklin Street this past Sunday offered a radical departure from those expectations.

The Oakland-based creative collective SMARTBOMB didn't just book a show. They executed a full-system override. Bringing their "curatorial takeover" across the bridge, the collective staged a six-hour immersion in future sounds that felt less like a standard double-bill and more like a sprawling ecosystem. From the community marketplace in the Fisher Family Lobby to genre-bending lineups featuring heavy hitters like Josh Johnson, Dani Offline, and Vooo, the event blurred the lines between jazz, hip-hop, and beat culture.

It served as a necessary cultural exchange, demonstrating that the experimental edge of Oakland’s underground can find a comfortable, vibrant home within the sleek glass walls of SFJAZZ.

The energy shift was palpable before a single note was played in the main hall. Navigating the packed lobby—teeming with a college-aged crowd most jazz venues desperately court—I spotted a young man thumbing through his fresh vinyl haul: Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain, and Ravi Shankar’s Festival from India.

That stack of records pretty much summed up the day's sonic DNA.

The vibe was electric and eclectic. The door to the Joe Henderson Lab flew open, music spilling out of a room already at capacity. By the time we filed into Miner Auditorium for the finale, the atmosphere had shifted from a buzzing social hour to focused anticipation. DJ Stoney Creation warmed the room with a seamless jazz-hip-hop set, while the venue’s walls vibrated with trippy animated graphics, setting a psychedelic stage for the evening’s headliner, Braxton Cook. 

When SFJAZZ Artistic Programming Manager Kevin Tomlinson stepped up to the mic, the room was already primed. He acknowledged the "packed house" energy that had been building since the doors opened and nodded to the seamless partnership with SMARTBOMB that made the takeover possible. By the time Braxton Cook walked out to a standing ovation and a full dance floor, the transition from the lobby's chaotic joy to Miner Auditorium's focused reverence was complete.

Braxton Cook. Photo: Steve Roby

Cook wasted no time tapping into that energy, launching into "Kingdom Come" immediately. If you’ve listened to the studio version on Not Everyone Can Go, you know it has a searching quality, but live, it became a different beast entirely. In our podcast conversation, Cook described the track as having a specific "urgency," a feeling of being on a mission. That urgency was palpable on stage. The quartet—anchored by Wayne Matthews on drums and Paul Reinhold on electric bass—locked into a groove that felt both loose and inevitable.

Watching Julius Rodriguez on the keys was a show in itself. The man was literally splitting his brain in real time, playing the piano with his left hand and working the electric keyboards with his right, creating a sonic density that made the quartet sound twice its size.

Julius Rodriguez. Photo: Steve Roby

After the dust settled on the opener, Cook grabbed the mic to ground us in the themes of his latest work. Not Everyone Can Go, released in 2025 on Nettwerk, isn't just a cool title—it’s a life update. "I named it Not Everyone Can Go because, well, not everyone can go, right?!" Cook joked with the crowd before pivoting to the real weight behind the words. He spoke candidly about a season of shedding—letting go of relationships that no longer serve you, habits that don't work, and the grief that comes with necessary growth. He followed this sentiment with "When You Hold Me," a smooth R&B cut that felt like the romantic flipside to that coin, capturing the hope of a new connection.

It’s heavy subject matter, but Cook balances it with a disarming, "cool dad" charisma. He dedicated "My Sun" to his own boys, August and Quincy, dropping a humble brag that Quincy just turned 1 and is finally sleeping through the night. "I should change it to 'My Sons,' because they're gonna be fighting over this one," he laughed. It was a sweet moment that shrank the cavernous auditorium down to a living room, highlighting the dual artistry that defines his career: the virtuosic saxophonist and the vulnerable storyteller.

But the set wasn't all lullabies and life lessons.

The atmosphere shifted dramatically when Cook introduced "MB," a track dedicated to Ma'Khia Bryant. The lights seemed to dim, and the "wine-sipping" stereotype of the venue evaporated completely. Cook didn't mince words about the state of the world, drawing a straight line from Bryant’s unjust murder to the anxieties of living under what he described as a "sick, capitalistic society" and a potential "fascist regime."

When he recounted seeing an ICE agent commit violence on the news and shouted, "Fuck ICE!", the crowd chanted it back. It was a stark, powerful reminder that jazz has always been protest music. In that moment, the "SMARTBOMB" takeover felt most complete; the polished veneer of the institution was peeled back to reveal the raw, beating heart of the community outside.

Musically, Cook kept us guessing. For "My Everything," he set down the saxophone to pick up an acoustic guitar—a skill he honed during the pandemic's isolation—and later switched to the flute, proving his "multi-instrumentalist" tag is no exaggeration. It was during these quieter moments that the night's texture really shone. He even took a moment to educate the crowd on the realities of the modern music industry, cracking a joke that 3 million Spotify streams equate to about 3 bucks, and urging them to support the art directly: "Go buy the vinyl... that's how we keep this thing alive." 

The night concluded with "Zodiac," a piece loosely inspired by Mary Lou Williams' Zodiac Suite. It was a fitting end—a nod to the genre's history while pushing it into the electronic, genre-fluid future that SMARTBOMB champions.

As the crowd filed out, passing the now-empty Joe Henderson Lab where Josh Johnson had just finished his set, the lingering vibration served as a definitive status report on the Bay Area scene. Sunday proved that the kids are alright, that jazz is thriving, and that with the right collective holding the keys, even a prestigious institution like SFJAZZ can transform into the coolest block party in Oakland.

Program Notes

 Braxton Cook Quartet

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Showtime: 8:00 p.m.

Miner Auditorium, San Francisco,

Setlist: “Kingdom Come,” “No Doubt,” "When You Hold Me,” “My Sun,” “MB,” “My Everything,” “Zodiac”

Listen to our podcast interview with Braxton Cook here.