How many of you knew that April 30th was International Jazz Day?  If you didn’t know, now you know!  It happens annually on the 30th…mark your calendars.  In fact, mark the whole month of April as Jazz Appreciation month.

International Jazz Day

International Jazz Day has become the largest annual celebration of jazz engaging people with education programs, performances and community outreach.  Inaugurated by UNESCO in November of 2011 with Herbie Hancock as its ambassador, the day aims to bring people together to learn about the art of jazz, its history, its future and its impact. I AM ALL FOR IT!

Jazz Festivals and Jazz Clubs

Whether you’re visiting the Bay Area or Southern California you have plenty of options to take in the jazz scene.  From jazz festivals like Monterey Jazz, Hollywood Bowl Jazz or SF Jazz to jazz venues located in any major city, California’s got you covered.  My favorite venue has got to be Yoshi’s in Oakland.  I used to go when it was in the tiny spot right next to the Dryer’s ice cream building.  It’s been in Jack London Square for a minute now and I can’t complain.

In southern Cal, there used to be this spot called Red, White and Blues that we would go to on the regular in Old Town Pasadena.  Sadly it moved, then closed and it took us a minute to get over our loss.  Thankfully there’s still Catalina Jazz in Hollywood.  In San Diego, take your pick from Mediterranean Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Jazz or any of the smaller spots around the city.

I owe my jazz introduction to the San Francisco Jazz Festival.  I worked for them while in college and learned a lot from both my co-workers and from getting to talk to some of the performers.  It was a great experience and one of my best memories from my 20s.  The SFJazz box office, gift shop and concert hall is in a fantastic, not so new anymore (January 2013), space called SFJazz Center off of Market St in downtown.  If you’re in the Bay Area, definitely catch a concert.  It’s well worth it and I catch a show any time I can.

Happy be-bop and do-wop!

Until next time,

May the road rise to meet you and the wind be at your back