The Fillmore Jazz Festival isn’t the oldest, boldest, biggest or best jazz festival in the region, but in a musical tradition where timing is everything, this free neighborhood event has cornered a particularly apt holiday. An Independence Day mainstay, the 36th Annual Fillmore Jazz Festival takes over Fillmore Street between Jackson and Eddy streets for two days of music — fog or shine.
With outdoor stages offering simultaneous acts this weekend, the Fillmore Jazz Festival ensures that America’s signature art form is readily available to people looking for inspiring sounds to celebrate the nation’s birth. Presented by the Fillmore Street Merchants and Improvement Association, and produced by Steven Restivo Event Services, the event has slimmed down this year to two stages, but the quality of the music hasn’t diminished.
Drawing primarily from the Bay Area’s deep pool of talent, the festival offers a great way to catch a favorite artist or get acquainted with an unfamiliar player. There’s not a weak act on the program, but here are five highly recommended sets.
Never Weather
In recent years, the festival has showcased artists associated with the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. This edition kicks off with Never Weather, a stellar quintet that focuses on the picaresque, incident-filled compositions of Oakland drummer Dillon Vado (a conservatory graduate). Featuring tenor saxophonist Aaron Wolf, trumpeter Josh D Reed, bassist Tyler Harlow and guitarist Justin Rock, the band bristles with bright young improvisers.
10:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, July 6. California Street Stage.
Paula West
What is there left to say about Paula West? A San Francisco treasure, she’s a singer who has carefully gathered a vast and varied universe of material under her wing, transforming songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Jimmy Webb, Jobim, the Gershwins and Cole Porter into inimitably personal tales. Most of her arrangements are crafted by ace pianist Adam Shulman, who is expected to accompany her with bassist Owen Clapp and drummer Greg Wyser-Pratte.
1:30-3 p.m. Saturday, July 6. Sutter Street Stage.
Kim Nalley
Few singers are better equipped to celebrate the full expanse of the American Songbook than San Francisco’s Kim Nalley. From sultry ballads and simmering torch songs to flag-waving anthems and bawdy blues, she makes the music her own, swinging with authority, scatting with ingenuity, and generally spreading joy. Featuring pianist Tammy Hall, bassist Michael Zisman and drummer Kent Bryson, her band is a fierce and soulful unit. Nalley is slated to perform both days of the festival.
4:30-6 p.m. Saturday, July 6. California Street Stage.
4:30-6 p.m. Sunday, July 7. Sutter Street Stage.
Michael Zilber
Albany tenor and soprano saxophonist Michael Zilber is a commanding improviser and resourceful composer fluent in a huge swath of the modern jazz continuum. His 2017 album “Originals for the Originals” features his compositions inspired by his saxophone heroes, such as Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker and Paul Desmond. His quartet features bass master Jeff Chambers, expert drummer Jeff Marrs, and Egyptian-born pianist Osam Ezzeldin, a remarkable musician who has collaborated widely with an international array of artists in jazz, rock and Indo-jazz fusion.
12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, July 7. California Street Stage.
Marcus Shelby Orchestra featuring Tiffany Austin
More than a Bay Area institution, San Francisco bassist/composer Marcus Shelby is a jazz griot, a chronicler of our nation’s stories — good, bad and reprehensible. His orchestra truly looks like the Bay Area while sounding like our best possible selves. He’s played an important role in the rise of Tiffany Austin, a singer of manifold gifts who has earned national attention with two well-conceived albums. She’s also featured on the orchestra’s new album “Transitions.”
2:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 7. California Street Stage.
Fillmore Jazz Festival: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 6-7. Free. Fillmore Street from Jackson to Eddy streets, S.F. www.sresproductions.com
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