7/24/2007: North Beach Jazz Fest... FUNK YEAH!

So I'm still at a loss as to why so many of you seemed to get my
message yesterday, but not the one last week. I'm gonna keep puzzlin'
away... but not right now. It's time for MUSIC!

Now there is (as usual) a ton of great live music goin' down over the
next week. Not the least of which are the two sold out Galactic shows
at the Independent Wednesday and Thursday nights (deepest apologies
for the lack of advance notice). If you can get in, you'll see an
absurd amount of guest stars including a who's who of funky New
Orleans characters. One that I'm really tempted by is the Connecticut
Yankee on Friday - it's called the Satisfied Allstars and it includes
a lot of ridiculous people like Jessica Lurie (Living Daylights),
Bobby Vega (Sly Stone), and Dave Watts (the Motet). Pretty hot for 12
bucks. And finally if you're not in North Beach on Sunday, you'd
better be at the Beach Chalet in the afternoon to catch Adam Willis
and the ever funky Swoop Unit in the afternoon.

BUT this email is all about North Beach Jazz Fest. It kicks off
TONIGHT with Jazz on Grant. It's free - get yer groove on bitches!

|||||| WEDNESDAY 7/25 ||||||

JAZZ ON GRANT @ All Around Grant St. in North Beach - FREE!
Hands-down one of my FAVORITE nights of music all year long, come on
out and play! The opening show is at 7pm at the Italian Athletic Club
on Washington Square (1630 Stockton) with the Jazz Mafia's stellar 20
piece breakbeat band Realistic Orchestra. Other great bets around the
hood are Adam Willis' rad funk band Swoop Unit from 8-10 at Grant and
Green (1371 Grant), followed by some more of the badasses from the
Jazz Mafia from 10-12 (I'll see you at some point for both of those
gigs). The Ritual is a great funk rock outfit led by keyboard whiz
Jordan Feinstein, catch 'em at Maggy McGarry's (1355 Grant). Rockin'
guitarist Sean Leahy is a good bet too at Giordano Bros. (303
Columbus). What's so brilliant about this night is that you can
literally just walk down Grant St. and pop into any place that sounds
good. It reminds me of Jazz Fest nights in 'Nawlins, and it's FREE.
I'll be there on my bike probably between 7 and 8. Hit me up for a
night of music not to be missed. Full schedule here:
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| THURSDAY 7/26 ||||||

Latin Jazz Night @ North Beach - $10
One 10 buck wristband gets you into three venues Thursday night,
sweet! Salvador Santana (Carlos' son) has a funky latin hip-hop group
with a full lineup of great musicians; he's at Mojito all night.
Maneja Beto is a latin funk rock band from Austin (Grant & Green) that
sounds interesting, and La Collectiva will be holding down Royale.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| FRIDAY 7/27 ||||||

Jazz Mafia @ Grant & Green - FREE
Whatever these absurdly fantastic musicians have planned for the
night, it's bound to be sick. Jazz? Funk? Hip-hop? Horns? Yes.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| SATURDAY 7/28 ||||||

NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST @ Washington Square Park - FREE
Noon to 7pm. Gorgeous setting, fantastic crowd, kick ass music, all
for free. We're lucky to have this event in our town, rock on down and
show it some love. My pics for the Saturday lineup are afrobeat cats
Albino!, funky Latin hip-hop band Salvador Santana, and I've never
seen Los Mocosos but it might be about time... This is great stuff,
give me a shout if you're heading out.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

Bernard Purdie/Grant Green Jr./Adam Theis/Joe Cohen/Jordan Feinsten @
Mojito - $15
This is one hell of a crazy lineup. Purdie is called 'the world's most
recorded drummer' having backed up James Brown and Miles Davis to name
just two. Grant Green's son is also a ridiculously funky jazz
guitarist, Adam and Joe are without a doubt SF's versions of Fred and
Maceo, and Jordan is pretty freakin' excellent too. Hot damn, this
should be great stuff.
http://nbjazzfest.com/

|||||| SUNDAY 7/29 ||||||

NORTH BEACH JAZZ FEST @ Washington Square Park - FREE
Noon to 7pm. Another stellar day, and this one has some really hot
shit right up to the end. My pics: Bucho is an excellent funky
jazz/hip-hop outfit that has been rockin' all over town lately. But
the big news is the Godfathers of Groove. Three funky jazz LEGENDS
including Bernard Purdie and Grant Green Jr. (see above), along with
Hammond Organ maestro Reuben Wilson. I've seen these guys together and
it is off the funky charts. Dig it!
http://nbjazzfest.com/