After kicking off its new fall music series earlier this month, San Jose Jazz is again opening its SJZ Break Room on Sept. 29 for the next intimate performance.
The series opened Sept. 1 with a show curated by Needle to the Groove, a local DJ-run record store, and headlined by Bay Area producer Teeko.
For the series, San Jose Jazz is bringing national touring artists and emerging jazz, soul and hip-hop artists to the SJZ Break Room, a popup located inside San Jose Jazz’s downtown San Jose offices. A group work space by day, the office can be transformed into a 100-seat venue in just two hours and boasts cabaret and lounge seating, a bar and state-of the-art video that is both livestreamed and projected on a 35-foot bank of windows to allow passersby to experience the music. Unless otherwise noted, doors open at 7 p.m. and shows start at 8 p.m.
Visitors to the SoFA District on Sept. 29 may see and hear bassist Michael Feinberg’s release party set for his 10th album. Feinberg has been heard alongside a wide array of artists including Jon Batiste and Lee Ritenour. He’ll be joined by drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, who holds the distinction of being the only musician to appear on every Grammy-winning jazz record by both Wynton and Branford Marsalis.
Pianist, composer, jazz musician, live remixer and electronic music producer Mark de Clive-Lowe appears for a late night show on Oct. 4. The artist made a name for himself in London’s underground music scene, establishing himself as a new voice in progressive electronic music before relocating to Los Angeles in 2008. His club night CHURCH was soon touring internationally, seeing him on stage with multiple generations of internationally recognized jazz, soul and hip-hop artists.
A recipient of the 2021 US-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship, de Clive-Lowe’s “Motherland” has evolved into an audiovisual offering, blending footage he shot in Kaga, Japan with a solo performance of ancestrally inspired compositions. He’ll perform with a with a jazz trio at the Break Room. Doors open at 9 p.m.; the show starts at 11:30 p.m.
San Jose Jazz’s second collaboration with Needle to the Groove on Oct. 6 features headliner Valley Wolf, a Modesto-based Latin alternative rock band whose co-founder Fernando Barocio Salcedo was a Jazz Aid Fund awardee in 2021. San Jose Jazz established the fund to provide grants to Bay Area artists creating new works.
Invisible Light Agency opens the show, which starts at 9 p.m., with doors opening at 8 p.m.
Keyboardist Telemakus follows Valley Wolf on Oct. 7. The 23-year-old’s latest album “The New Heritage” is heavily influenced by J Dilla and Madlib and is stacked with heavy-hitters like CARRTOONS, Marcelo Soler and Javier Santiago.
Keith Rice takes the Break Room Stage on Oct. 27. Rice is a guitarist, singer and producer best known for Lilblackkids, his collaboration with Georgia Anne Muldrow. His music is a mix of neo-soul, future soul and hip-hop, and he has released two singles in 2023: “Kita” and “Loki.”
Jazz fusion bassist Ken Okada performs with 13-year-old Japanese drummer YOYOKA on Nov. 10. Okada was born in New York and raised in São Paulo, Brazil and Yokohama, Japan. While at Keio University, he won the Yamano Big Band Contest, Japan’s largest national college jazz competition. He started playing professionally in Tokyo until he moved to the Bay Area in 2002.
YOYOKA has performed with Cyndi Lauper and has appeared twice on the Ellen Show, racking up millions of views with her covers of Led Zeppelin and Rage Against the Machine.
Soul singer J. Hoard, who made a surprise appearance with Kassa Overall during his show at SJZ’s 2023 Winter Fest: Counterpoint with Ukraine, will make another San Jose Jazz appearance on Nov. 11 at the Break Room. Hoard has worked with artists from Chance the Rapper to Meshell Ndegeocello.
Soul/hip-hop guitarist and vocalist Charlie Bereal is known mostly for his work behind the scenes as a Grammy-nominated producer for Jay-Z, Aaliyah and Missy Elliot. Now shifting gears to develop his career as a solo artist, he made a splash with the single “Walk the Streets of Love.” His Break Room show is set for Nov. 17.
The series closes Dec. 9 with 2023 Jazz Aid Fund artist DRUVVY, a drummer who has backed notable artists like Childish Gambino, De La Soul, MF Doom and Yaasin Bey. As a musician/songwriter/producer, DRUVVY dives into multiple genres on recordings and at live shows. The Brooklyn native currently splits time between Oakland and Brooklyn and is working on a new project to be released later in 2023.
Shows in the SJZ Break Room Fall Series take place at 310 S. First St., San Jose. Tickets are $12-30 at sanjosejazz.com/tickets. Full-time students with photo ID can purchase $10 student rush tickets 15 minutes before showtime, subject to availability. Each concert will be livestreamed to YouTube.com/sanjosejazz
Source: www.mercurynews.com