Silicon Valley's premier annual music event, San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2022 returns for its 32nd festival season from Friday, August 12 through Sunday, August 14 in and around Plaza de César Chavez Park in downtown San Jose, Calif. Renowned as one of North America's foremost music events with its dynamic multi-day programming, San Jose Jazz presents a riveting artist lineup for one of the summer's major SF Bay Area outdoor music festivals. SJZ Summer Fest 2022 features nearly 100 acts across 10 stages with acclaimed headliners Ledisi, Lee Fields & The Expressions, Durand Jones & The Indications, Stanley Clarke, and others to be announced performing on The Sobrato Organization Main Stage. SJZ Summer Fest 2022 honors the vibrancy of the jazz art form with marquee performances by lauded artists as well as influential trendsetters pushing the genre into new territories within today's popular music. Three-day festival passes and single tickets are now on sale at Advance prices at summerfest.sanjosejazz.org.
San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2022 is thrilled to officially announce today its second round of confirmed artists including Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Raul Midón and Alex Cuba; Keyon Harrold; Cameron Graves; Omar Sosa Quarteto Americanos; Isaiah Sharkey; Nellie McKay; Urban Renewal Project; Mosaic America Presents Rightstarter; Kim Nalley Quartet; LMR Jazz Orchestra Featuring Tierney Sutton; Nicole Henry; Kid Anderson; Peter Bernstein & Bruce Forman; Adrien Brandeis; JC Smith Band; Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones Blues Band; Alabama Mike & The Mighty Revelators; Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble; Marina Crouse Band Featuring Garth Webber; Joel Ross; Caroline Chung; Takuya Kuroda Quintet; Cheflee; MK Double Trio; Oddity; U-19's; Amy D. and more acts to be announced soon.
Confirmed artists for San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2022 also include Ledisi; Judith Hill; Javon Jackson's "Charlie Parker at 100," Ft. Gary Bartz, Charles McPherson & Donald Harrison; The Brubeck Brothers; Telmary & Friends; Joel Ross; Takuya Kuroda Quintet; Bobby Watson, Curtis Lundy, Cyrus Chestnut & Victor Jones; Lemon Bucket Orkestra; New Orleans Suspects with Erica Falls; Tribute to Clifford Coulter; Jazz Organ Fellowship Tribute to Tony Monaco; Jazz Organ Foundation Celebrates Dr. Lonnie Smith; Diunna Greenleaf; Aki Kumar; Memphissippi Sound; 7th Street Big Band; Tribal Gold; Silvana Estrada; Erica Falls and ADG7.
"San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2022 brings our flagship annual summer music event back to the look and feel of SJZ Summer Fest that Bay Area music fans have come to love," says San Jose Jazz's Executive Director Brendan Rawson. "We are very passionate about providing top tier programming that's both global in scope as well as reflective of the Bay. We greatly look forward to welcoming back patrons with 10 stages of exciting outdoor and indoor concerts."
Artistic Director Bruce Labadie, one of the event's founders, programs the artists for SJZ Summer Fest with the help of locally based co-curators.
Labadie comments, "Attendees of SJZ Summer Fest 2022 can expect a wide variety of outstanding artists across numerous genres. We're working closely with the city to ensure a safe environment for all while many of today's best acts perform throughout downtown. Live concerts will be centered around Plaza de César Chavez Park with our favorite vendors offering delicious foods and beverages, and creative crafts. With four outdoor stages and seven indoor stages, there is excellent programming that will appeal to an array of music fans."
San Jose Jazz brings the city of San Jose back to life through cultural collaborations with many longstanding partners of SJZ Summer Fest. While The Sobrato Organization Main Stage ignites with GRAMMY Award-winning artists, the Blues/Big Easy Stage in partnership with Jay Meduri of the legendary South Bay venue Poor House Bistro features blues and New Orleans acts in the South portion of Plaza de César Chavez Park. SJMA Next Gen Stage puts the spotlight on emerging youth talent (free shows on Aug. 13 & Aug. 14). The historic 1936 venue Montgomery Theater brings its elegant décor and standout acoustics to SJZ Summer Fest as one of seven premier indoor concert spaces for national and regional artists. Additional indoor venues include the Hammer Theatre, Hammer4, Tabard Theater, and SJZ Break Room. Local curatorial and performance partners also include Mosaic America, Bloco do Sol, Jazz Organ Fellowship, and Little Village Foundation.
Housed on South 1st Street inside San Jose Jazz's downtown office with a multi-media digital video wall featuring the latest in HD technology, The SJZ Break Room is among the core indoor venues. SJZ Break Room hosts three days of indoor shows with all live performances projection-mapped with Ultra-Short Throw Projectors onto high-end projection fabric mounted on motorized rollers. Sound from outdoor speakers and projections fill a 35 x 14 feet bank of floor to ceiling windows, providing a unique outdoor concert experience on San Carlos Street in addition to the wristband-accessed live indoor shows (100-person capacity venue).
Latin jazz remains a pillar of San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2022 with Latin and salsa music lovers traveling to downtown San Jose from the far stretches of the West Coast for a chance to dance to many of today's most distinguished acts. From artists such as Telmary & Friends, Silvana Estrada, Omar Sosa and his Quarteto Americanos project, and Alex Cuba, San Jose Jazz is just getting started with its Latin programming as the full lineup for the outdoor Latin Tropical Stage will be announced in June 2022. International music and artists hailing from across the globe have always flourished among many stages at SJZ Summer Fest. For 2022, San Jose Jazz proudly presented Ladysmith Black Mambazo from South Africa, Adrien Brandeis from Paris, among others.
In the mood for a Staycation? Signia by Hilton (LINK) is the Official Hotel Partner for SJZ Summer Fest 2022 and has a front row view of the festival located on Plaza de César Chavez Park. Signia by Hilton is a dynamic new brand offering a premier full-service hotel option to travelers at the heart of all the action. Come for the richness of jazz music and stay for standout culinary experiences and its outdoor rooftop pool. San Jose Jazz partners with Signia by Hilton, as well as Team San Jose and numerous hotel concierges to feature sets by live jazz bands in lobbies across downtown from August 12 - 14.
For exclusive hotel deals close to the festival grounds, please check out these great rates at Signia by Hilton, AC Hotel by Marriott, DoubleTree by Hilton, Four Points by Sheraton, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hotel Clariana, Hotel De Anza, Hyatt Place, San Jose Marriott, and Westin. Book your reservations now at this LINK.
SJZ Summer Fest 2022 -- Kickoff Fundraiser Alert
Tickets are now on sale for San Jose Jazz's fundraising event for SJZ Summer Fest 2022 taking place at downtown San Jose's premier event space, Blanco Urban Venue (12 N San Pedro Street, San Jose, Calif.). Located in the historic downtown San Pedro Square neighborhood of San Jose, Blanco Urban Venue will transform its 12,000 square feet of immaculate design into a special benefit event raising money for the SJZ Jazz Aid Fund. San Jose Jazz curates the event in place of its annual SJZ Gala. The SJZ fundraiser will have silent and live auctions, four-star food and drinks from Homestead Catering (who catered the Summer Fest 2021 VIP section), performances from the SJZ High School All Stars U19s and 2022 Jazz Aid Fund grantee Bennett Roth-Newell, and a reveal of newly confirmed acts for SJZ Summer Fest 2022. Tickets are $75 (GA) and $150 (VIP: includes early entry with dedicated food station, reserved seating, exclusive meet-and-greet with Jazz Aid Fund artists, and additional drink tickets). For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit: sanjosejazz.org/sjzkickoff.
The SJZ Jazz Aid Fund commissioning program started in 2020 in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic with artists being among those most adversely effected with the unprecedented cancelation of live concerts, tours, and limited income-generating activities. San Jose Jazz donated $33,000 through 33 individual grants during the initial 2020 funding round, and 27 standout musicians received $1,000 grants in March 2022 with new funding for SF Bay Area artists. Additional performance fees have been given to an array of Jazz Aid grantees for their participation in the SJZ New Works Fest 2021/2022 and forthcoming SJZ Summer Fest 2022. The Kickoff Fundraiser is an essential source of revenue to keep the SJZ Jazz Aid Fund alive.
SJZ Jazz Aid Fund commission grantees Kim Nalley, Amy D., and Kid Anderson will perform at SJZ Summer Fest 2022.
