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What we’re about
Meet other local fans of jazz, blues, and world music while enjoying live performances by top-notch musicians.
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to an amazing live music scene, with an assortment of venues that provide an intimate and affordable way to experience music as it's meant to be: spontaneous, inventive, and alive.
There's so much music happening in the Bay Area, there is something available every weekend for every taste and budget.
So join us, and use this Meetup group to connect with other music fans. We're mainly about listening to live jazz, but we also post blues shows, as well as tango, flamenco, world music, and cross-genre. In addition, we occasionally post theater events and films that have a music-related plotline or other "hook."
If you know about a show you'd like to see listed, feel free to suggest the event to Meetup organizers for hosting, or you can post the show on the "Discussions" page and invite your fellow Meetup members to attend with you.
Hope to see you at an upcoming show!
Paula M. - Lead Organizer, Live Jazz (& Blues) Meetup Group
Upcoming events (3)
See all- St. John Coltrane Church – 2024 Sonic Ascension Vespers at Grace CathedralGrace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA
This will be a unique church experience but very much in the spiritual side of John Coltrane. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65rySbhxgRQ
You won't forget it. Let's have dinner together before the concert to socialize, then a 2 block walk to Grace Cathedral.Press release: Grace Cathedral is pleased to host Saint John Coltrane Church of San Francisco as they celebrate the 57th year of Ascension of Saint John Coltrane and the 65th year of Ascension of Billie Holiday. Canonized by the African Orthodox Church in 1982, John Coltrane, saxophone player and composer, released 38 albums, including A Love Supreme and such individual masterpieces as “Giant Steps” and “Equinox.” Billie Holiday, joyfully nicknamed “Lady Day” by fellow musician Lester Young, was a powerful influence on jazz. Her searing rendition of the song “Strange Fruit” left an indelible imprint on the consciousness of the nation that continues to move our spirits today.
Inspired by Duke Ellington’s “Concert of Sacred Music” performed at Grace Cathedral in 1965, the theme of the celebration remains, as St. John Coltrane said it: “The love that holds the universe together.”
Led by
Salim Washington on tenor sax and musical director.
Dancers: Pearl Ubungen, Megan Haungs, Toes Tiranoff, to name a few.By proclamation of former Mayor Willie Brown and Mayor London Breed, July 20 is Saint John Coltrane Day in the city of San Francisco.
This is a free worship service – an offering will be collected and merchandise will be available for purchase.Tickets: The concert is free but you must register, tickets might be scanned to enter. General admission https://www.eventbrite.com/e/st-john-coltrane-church-2024-sonic-ascension-vespers-at-grace-cathedral-tickets-913960760237?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
Meetup Details:
Group dinner at 5:30, Church doors open for seating 6:30, concert starts 7:00, ends 9:00. The entrance to the cathedral is at the top of the Great Steps. The accessible entrance is via the glass doors on Taylor Street. Wheelchair seating locations are at the front of each front section.
First rsvp meetup Attendee List and get your ticket (Eventbrite). Let me know if you want to attend the group dinner 6-8 size. First priority is to members in good standing. Izakaya Yoki, 900 Bush St. at Taylor St. and 2 blocks from Grace Cathedral, https://www.yelp.com/biz/izakaya-yoki-san-francisco-2. Menu: https://www.izakayayoki.com/menu.php - 67th Annual Monterey Jazz FestivalMonterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA
It's time to start planning for the 67th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF), Sept. 27-29, 3-day ticket sale starts April 8 and individual days May 10th. It's the grandfather of jazz festivals and its appeal is international besides regional Northern California. Some performers you've followed for years and some emerging talents will surprise you. The artists and stages are still being assembled and the web site will tell you who has committed so far.
There are 2 venues and ticket formats, the Arena and the Grounds. The Arena is The Jimmy Lyons Stage for the major stars 14 in 3-days, and The Grounds has 4-stages for a wide variety of jazz performers 60± in 3-days that are all excellent, a few are from the Bay Area. Checkout the schedule. https://montereyjazzfestival.org/tickets/
https://montereyjazzfestival.org/schedule/It's early April and it would be wise to reserve your housing soon because Monterey-Carmel hotels/motels will be booked solid by July-August. There are a bunch of hotels within walking distance. I picked one where I walked 3-blocks to MJF. Others have picked hotels near Cannery Row and biked over to MJF. Some have had success with airbnb. What you don't want to do is wait until the hotels are all booked-up near MJF and limiting your choice to Watsonville and Salinas; a 40min.± drive. Then some just come in for day/evening events and drive back home. Most search sites (Expedia for one) allow you to reserve a room with credit card and you can cancel within weeks from MJF dates without charge.
The venues have non-padded chairs, bench seating, sit on the grass or you can rent a folding camp chair. There's a food court, so you cannot bring in food. Free water is available.
I’ve hosted 5 MJFs in 10 years. The group usually meets for a Friday 2p pre-festival lunch at TBD, and Saturday-Sunday 10a breakfast at Grandma’s Kitchen; all within walking distance to MJF.
It's important to have a group to see the performances with. So, if you can develop a list of performers per stage/times to compare with others, common interests and adventurous interests can create a subgroup for a day, 2 or 3-days.Use the Comments section to discuss:
Where to stay; what to wear; what/where to eat; where to rest; no out/in gate privileges; and establish a ‘Home-base” in the Grounds for ‘updates”, chat and break-time. Share cell nos. for group message news.See MJF list of artists and their videos for both Arena and Grounds.
Ground stages: CS (Courtyard Stage), WE (West End Stage), GS (Garden Stage), and PC (Pacific Jazz Cafe).Fri 27th–
Late 2p group lunch at TBD, will be within walking distance to MJF.Sat 28th and Sun 29th–
10a group breakfast at Grandma’s Kitchen, 2310 N Fremont St, Monterey, CA_4 blocks from MJF.