Winter Fest is a valentine to jazz lovers
San Jose Jazz is gifting local music lovers with a twoweek valentine in the form if its Winter Fest, which runs Feb. 14-29 at various venues in downtown San Jose and Palo Alto.
The Revelers kick things off on Valentine’s Day with a love note to their Louisiana roots. The supergroup features founding members of the Red Stick Ramblers and the Pine Leaf Boys, touted as “unquestionably the two groups at the vanguard of the Louisiana cultural renaissance.”
Band members Chas Justus, Eric Frey, Glenn Fields and Blake Miller are well versed in Cajun, country, blues and zydeco. They mix these traditional genres with “swamp pop,” Southwest Louisiana’s answer to the R&B and rock ’n’ roll that came out of New Orleans, Memphis and Detroit in the ’50s.
The Revelers play Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. at the Poor House Bistro Studio. Tickets are $25.
Another supergroup has been assembled for a tribute to Ray Charles.
“Georgia on My Mind” features Vegas mainstay Clint Holmes and vocalist Nnenna Freelon, both of whom have received numerous Grammy nominations over the years, along with musicians who have racked up several of said awards: 10-time Grammy winners Take 6, who also have a place in the and
Gospel Music Hall of Fame; and Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum.
The group will take a deep dive into Charles’ catalogue on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Hammer Theatre Center. Tickets are $25-$35.
Further down the festival road, the Miguel Zenón Quartet will play a set or two of Latin jazz Feb. 26 at Café Stritch. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, saxophonist Zenón has released 12 recordings as a band leader, including the Grammy-nominated “Yo Soy La Tradición” (2018) and “Típico” (2017), as well as his latest, “Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera “(2019). Zenón topped both the Jazz Artist of the Year and Alto Saxophonist categories in the 2014 Jazztimes Critics Poll and was selected as Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association in 2015, 2018 and 2019.
His quartet plays Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Café Stritch. Tickets are $25.
Along with these and other established musicians the festival’s lineup of more than 20 concerts also features student jazz ensembles from Prospect High School and other local schools and groups performing on the Next Gen Stage at Cafe Stritch.
For a full schedule of events and venues or to purchase tickets, visit sanjosejazz.org/winterfest or call 408-288-7557.
Contact Anne Gelhaus at 408-200-1051.