Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
74th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll: And the Winners Are …
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Nicole Zuraitis performs at San Jose Jazz’s Summer Fest.
(Photo: Robert Birnbach)It was a momentous weekend for San Jose Jazz, the 40-year-old presenting and educational non-profit, and its annual Summer Fest. With headliners such as Trombone Shorty, Cory Wong and Patti LaBelle as well as notable sets by trumpeter-vocalist Bria Skonberg, tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson and vocalist-pianist Nicole Zuraitis, the three-night/two-day event from Aug. 8 to 10 in downtown San José was as historic as it was enjoyable.
“It’s my last day,” said Bruce Labadie, retiring SJZ Festival and Artistic Director, on Sunday. “But Christian [Vela, SJZ associate artistic director and production manager] is a perfect fit to take over as artistic director. He’s already worked here for two years, so it’s an easy transition.”
Any jazz festival in 2026 is likely to pay honor to the centenaries of both Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and Summer Fest was no exception. Birds of a Feather featuring Jackson with vocalist Nnenna Freelon revisited Coltrane’s “Naima” and Davis’ “Freddie Freeloader” with fellow all-stars Charles McPherson on alto saxophone, Jeb Patton on keyboards, Reuben Rogers on bass and Willie Jones III on drums. Always the educator, Jackson also mentioned that 2026 is the centenary for Jimmy Heath, Ray Brown and Tony Bennett.
Bassist, bandleader and Healdsburg Jazz Festival Artistic Director Marcus Shelby explored Davis’ underperformed Birth Of The Cool early Sunday afternoon at the Montgomery Theater. He sourced a Bay Area nonet, including French hornist Heidi Trefethen and tubaist Riley Baker. Also a consummate educator, Shelby gave backstory to the many composers, arrangers and players that participated in the seminal 1957 sessions.
This year’s Summer Fest featured a nice balance of great instrumentalists (drummers Mike Clark and Sylvia Cuenca, pianist Dayramir González) and vocalists (Nicolas Bearde, Gretchen Parlato, Tia Carrere). Some artists both sang and played, like Skonberg, who pointed out during her Saturday evening Montgomery Theater Stage performance that there was also a strong representation of female bandleaders at the festival.
Summer Fest attendees got to hear some memorable originals, including Zuraitis’ “The Coffee Song (I Like You A Latte)” and vocalist René Marie’s “Colorado River Song” — both dedicated to their respective now-husbands. There was also a broad offering of musical tradition ranging from the Afro-Cuban All Stars on the main stage to Brazilian from the Gurgel and Cressman families and Hawaiian from both singer-songwriter-ukuleleist Taimane and the Masters of Hawaiian Music.
The most fascinating stage was McDonald’s Blues and Big Easy. Both genres were well-represented but so, too, were zydeco, gospel-soul and rockabilly-Western swing. Dancers devoted to each of the musical forms, and perhaps just those out to have a good time, were out in force.
Festivals are frequently judged by their headliners, for better or for worse. With R&B icon Patti LaBelle closing out the Jay Paul Company Main Stage on Saturday and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and electric guitar wizard Cory Wong essentially serving as a 1a and 1b on Sunday, Summer Fest was in good hands. (Zapp featuring Tuxedo, in turn, headlined on Friday.)
Broadly appealing artists like LaBelle are a big reason that SJZ changed the name of its big summer offering in 2011 from the San José Jazz Festival to simply Summer Fest. The festival has always cast a wide net, though, with its inaugural event in 1990 that Labadie booked offering fusion and mostly instrumental R&B on a Saturday and straightahead jazz on a Sunday.
Rightfully boasting that she’s still performing at 82, LaBelle was likely responsible for a busy Saturday that included overflowing crowds in the seated VIP section and the general admission area in front of the bandstand. She performed her hits, including “New Attitude” from 1984’s 2x Platinum soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop and the chart-topping “Lady Marmalade” by her group LaBelle.
The most poignant moment during her set was when a series of in-memoriam portraits were shown on the video screens during the gospel segment. Certain names, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Quincy Jones, didn’t come as a surprise. But others — Miles Davis, Nancy Wilson, Amy Winehouse — were unexpected and seemed to draw equal applause of recognition and appreciation.
Cory Wong’s penultimate main stage set was a dynamic way to both wind down the festival and further wind up the crowd. Wong is a generous bandleader who’s equally at home shredding a lead line or comping on rhythm. His tight nonet is joyous and as entertaining as it is virtuosic. Each member of the horn section (bari/tenor/alto/trumpet/trombone) was given a moment in the spotlight, as were members of his keyboards-bass guitar-drums rhythm section.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Hanson, of the pop-rock trio Hanson, made a surprise appearance for the live world premiere of “All Night, Alright,” which was released as a recorded track six months ago. An incendiary instrumental interpretation of Elton John’s “Bennie And The Jets” played with tension and release and seemed to almost raise the bandstand vertically.
If Wong’s brand of party virtuosity was elevated skyward, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue’s was spread horizontally out to the people — literally, at one point. Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is a deft ambassador for his native New Orleans’ musical history and blending of genres. He’s uncannily talented, whether singing, laying down a keyboard solo, playing the timbales or giving a demonstration of circular breathing on trumpet.
Andrews may need to rethink his childhood moniker, though, having seemingly played more trumpet than trombone. But he was on his namesake instrument as he led a second line parade out to the audience, with members of the crowd following along while twirling their parasols or waving handkerchiefs or even white paper napkins.
Back on the stage, he and his bandmates kept the festival party going with time-tested favorites “When The Saints Go Marching In” and Solomon Burke’s “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love.” It was an irresistible blend of skilled performance and exuberant spectacle and an ideal way to close out the festival for the bulk of the audience. DB
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
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