San Jose Jazz Summer Fest a showcase of diversity

The San Jose Jazz Summer Fest was quite the rollicking party — from George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic on Friday night through the Whispers closing things out on Sunday evening.

In between, trumpeter Chris Botti put on one of the festival’s most amazing sets ever, elevating what it means to be a headliner at the festival. Botti ventured out into the audience a couple of times, had a singer on stage to sing Puccini and even brought a 9-year-old girl up on stage from the audience to play the drums.

The action wasn’t all on the main stage, either. The intimate venues at the Jade Leaf Cafe and Cafe Stritch were often at capacity, with lines snaking out their doors. Dancers flocked to the Salsa and Big Easy/Blues stages. And there were good audiences watching the young musicians at the free Next Gen stage at the San Jose Museum of Art.

What was even more special — particularly in light of the horrible events in Charlottesville, Va. — was seeing all the diverse faces at those stages. Without a doubt, Summer Fest brings out the most diverse crowd that downtown San Jose sees in a single weekend. There was a spectrum of ethnicities and age groups — and everyone was there for a good time.

CHANGES AHEAD >> The Latin-flavored acts at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest’s Main and Salsa stages have been some of the most popular for years, but Arturo Riera, the man behind bringing many of those acts to the fest, may not be back for next year’s festival. Known as “Mr. Latin Jazz,” Riera — a former San Jose Jazz board president — says his contract as the Latin jazz curator for the nonprofit behind the festival is up at the end of August.

And while he says he’d love to continue his 13year relationship with the organization, he’s got his hands pretty full with a new role helping jazz station KCSM with development, as well as continuing as managing director of the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco. “I went from a lifetime career in TV media sales to 100 percent focused on jazz in Northern California,” he said. LUCKY SPONSORSHIP >> The Sobrato Organization started a three-year sponsorship of the Summer Fest main stage this year, and John M. Sobrato says the festival is “one of the things that downtown really does right.” Because of his family’s contributions to the arts, you might think Sobrato is a longtime fan of the summer gathering, but he only discovered it a few years ago when he was living in a downtown condo. When Sobrato heard that Executive Director Brendan Rawson was in search of a new main stage sponsor, he was happy to bring the Sobrato Organization to the party.

Sobrato and his wife, Timi, hosted a reception near the stage on Sunday afternoon, greeting his parents, Sue and John A. Sobrato; San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and his wife, Jessica Garcia-Kohl; as well as a host of others. “I’m sending everyone out to hear the music at the stages,” John M. Sobrato said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

JAPANTOWN GALLERY SURVIVING >> More than 100 people gathered for Friday’s unveiling of Sam Rodriguez’s new mural on Eighth and Empire streets and ventured over to Empire Seven Studios afterward for “Here & There,” an exhibition of Rodriguez’s work. Now, Empire Seven was supposed to be closed in January, but it’s been able to continue with some one-off events while the tear-down of it’s building has been delayed. “We’re still on the verge of moving,” said Director Juan Carlos Araujo. “We’re working hard to find a new home.”

Their fundraising campaign for a new home continues, too, at www.gofundme.com/save-empireseven.