Fan Reviews
The show was awesome. All the band members were excellent including Dave Koz . This is the best concert I've watched so far. Thank you for coming to San Francisco.
Julien Lage is a genius.
Weve seen him twice in the past 1.5 years and he blows us both away with his talent.
If he is coming to your area, go for god's sake! Do yourself a service!
I have seen Julian Lage before, live with his trio. This was a special treat to see him solo. The venue was fantastic, as was the show.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾Take 6 is incredible!!! They put on a wonderfully entertaining and awesome show. I was so grateful and so happy to be in the building! 💖💖💖 Thank you, Take 6! I LOVE YOU!!!
Emmet is unarguably the best pianist on the planet at this time. I enjoy him in person at concerts and at home on Youtube, and videos. He is a treat not to be missed.
The most fabulous show - everyone in the trio was outstanding. Emmet is a wonderful pianist and composer. They played a variety of songs and each was superb. I understand that the earlier show was great and totally different music was played. My friend kept remarking that the intimacy of the theater made the experience remarkable. I am a true fan, will see Emmet whenever he comes to town.
As always, Jamie Cullum is amazing. My 5th time seeing him. Going to SF Jazz venue was a first time for me and so impressive. I would definitely love to see more shows there!
I wouldn't know. It's not easy to find out what, when,where, w/whom any artist is doing anything ANYWHERE BY THE ARTIST OR VENUE AS it used to be.
Glad to see a 'waste' of paper - maybe if there was a way to notify each email - automatically - w/in a month or two of each week as a block of events - per Artist/Venue.
Sensational show. Perfect venue. I never miss the chance to see José James perform but this show was incredible. His instrument/voice is phenomenal. And huge shoutout to saxophonist Ebban Dorsey. She’s incredible. Truly, an amazing show at the best venue in the Bay Area
We enjoyed it tremendously! Finally a real serious jazz. Samara and her band was just amazing. I’m
So happy that a star is born. Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald were among my favorite jazz vocalist. I never had the chance to watch them live. Thank you Samara for this wonderful gift! Definitely watching her again!
What we witnessed tonight, 😲 there are no words to describe this beautiful, 23 year old young lady except, BRILLIANT, PHENOMENAL, UNREAL, and her voice is anointed by God. Samara's range can not be described--it's CRAZY!!!
All the beautiful jazz singers who came before her, Sara Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, Nancy Wilson and so many more--she embodies them all, it is UNBELIEVABLE. There are no limits to where Miss Joy's career is headed because she knows who and whose she is, she understands, without God, none of this is possible, and she is so humble. We were so honored to witness the incredible gift of Miss Samara Joy in such a beautiful, intimate venue, SFJAZZ Center. Wow!!!
The Al Di Meola concert was fantastic. The music was incredible and the stories were great too. I have been an Al Di Meola fan for 40 years and this was my first time seeing him. The musicians he had with him were amazing too. Astounding show!
Awesome show, Delvon is the man and I'm glad i finally got to see him live. I wish the show was a little longer. It was less than 90min.
This was an incredible experience. The music was veery unique and soulful and the visuals - animations and documentary film imagery from Ukraine amplified the power of the music. Highly, highly recommend.
Super inspiring and energetic show. This was my first time seeing her. I found Mavis Staples is very contemporary and highly intentional with her poignant choice and songs. She showed up fully present in her radiance, tightly connected to her band and audience. Her show ranged from high energy rock to soulful inspiring gospel. Her old songs felt freshly inspired and her new material extremely timely. A true artist and performer with heart. I felt thoroughly engaged every moment of the show. Show was relatively short and no encore. Still the show felt fully complete. Thank you Mavis Staples!
Kandace Springs put on an amazing show. She is a divine pianist, with the voice of an angel. The bass & drummer were both phenomenal as well. This was my first time at SF Jazz, and I'm very impressed. I will be back.
Magic in the air & standing ovations all around!
As a longtime fan of Drew’s work with his top Beatles tribute band, The Sun Kings, other excellent bands, duos & solo, I had high expectations for this show. They all were blown by this tour de force! Drew embodies John with no hint of artifice, & with complete integrity, presence & self-possession. Both exhilarating & passionately moving, this transcendent show leaves Lennon/Beatles devotees & casual music fans alike utterly breathless with joy.
A transcendent performance!!
I had very high expectations for this show, having been a longtime fan of Drew’s work with his top Beatles tribute band, The Sun Kings,❤️🌞👑, as well as other excellent bands, duos and solo. But nothing prepared me for this tour de force. It sounds like a bit of a cliché to say that he “channels” John Lennon. But he really does, and yet with no hint of artifice. It is almost otherworldly. Drew utterly embodies John, yet remains fully present and in possession of himself, with complete integrity.
Exhilarating & passionately moving in equal measure, the show is memorably entertaining for any music lover, and a magical gift to any John Lennon or Beatles fan.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One of the best I’ve seen. It’s amazing how the changing lineups still always manage to crank out magical shows full of superb new compositions & imaginative arrangements. After last night my appreciation of Kendrick Scott’s playing went up 1000% (from an already high level)!
This show represented a master musician showcasing a half-dozen musical genres with support from five insanely talented guest musicians. Chris' rhythm section has been consistent for several years and is great on its own. The guest artists included Caroline Campbell on violin, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown on sax who played both pure and dirty, incredible in combination with Chris. Sy Smith also performed vocals with a Frank Sinatra standard and owned the audience. Jonathan Johnson sang opera, amazing, and it was topped off by Veronica Swift on vocals and Chris' trumpet. Never seen an instrument handoff like that mid-song, but they did it and Veronica was great.
The entire 10-member ensemble crescendoed the show with Earth Wind and Fire's Shining Star. Of all the guests however, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and Veronica Swift blew us away the most. They both have bright futures and it's a testament to Chris who brought young future greats on stage with him. His commentary about being mentored by Doc Severinsen fit the guest artists' inclusion perfectly.
I haven't seen such a range of material in many years, with dynamics and set flow superb. The week-long residency at SFJazz looked a little like a tune-up for Chris' upcoming tour. Even though they were tweaking some of the arrangements on the fly, it was a powerhouse show overall. One negative: the mix. Chris had to ask numerous times for the monitor mix to lift his trumpet. In the course, the front-of-house mix left piano and guitars too low. Not the end of the world, but I found myself straining to hear their parts - and Leonardo Amuedo (guitar) and Holger Marjamaa (piano) are noteworthy talents on their own.
Bottom line: If you haven't seen Chris Botti in concert, you owe it to yourself to catch him on tour this winter and spring. It took my view of his musicianship and musical leadership to a whole new level.
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