San Jose Jazz

12/16/2025

2026 Jazz Aid Fund awardee Trevor Strohl brings two decades of saxophone experience and a Jazz Studies degree from SJSU to Bay Area performances, incorporating EWI and vocoder to create a distinctive sound. As bandleader of Character Select, he merges jazz, funk and rock in originals and arrangements of video game music from retro classics to contemporary titles. Hear him give the world premiere of his SJZ-commissioned "Gone" in his New Works Fest set on February 27 at the SJZ Break Room. sanjosejazz.org/tickets

12/13/2025

2026 Jazz Aid Fund awardee Sylvia Cuenca is active on the New York and Bay Area jazz scenes after touring internationally with trumpet legend Clark Terry for 17 years. Sylvia will give the world premiere of her submission "Tempel-Tuttle" on March 14, 2026 at the SJZ Break Room, part of the New Works Fest. Have a listen and buy your tickets now. sanjosejazz.org/tickets

12/12/2025

Tonight, join Beautiful Black Books for an intimate evening of poetry, music and community at the SJZ Break Room starting at 6:30pm. This evening's special edition brings you legendary author and poetry slam champion Patricia Smith and local soul legends Noah and the Arkiteks. Tickets are sliding scale. Choose a donation priced ticket or a free ticket—no one turned away for lack of funds. Info:

Join Beautiful Black Books for an intimate evening of poetry, music and community! This special edition offers a rare chance to connect with poets and musicians up close, meet fellow lovers of the art, and experience a vibrant local space in a fresh new way.

12/12/2025

Give the Gift of Live Music This Holiday Season. Our Break Room Backer membership arrives in a festive holiday packet with all the perks: four Break Room tickets, 20% off additional tickets, 50% off one Summer Fest GA ticket or 3-Day Pass, 15% off merchandise—plus 2 bonus beverage vouchers for Break Room shows. Purchase a voucher now and we'll contact you for your gift message and recipient details. Don't wait--it's available through January 9 only. Buy now: bit.ly/2025sjzgift

12/12/2025

The SJZ Break Room Winter Series is now on sale—21 shows to warm you up, including the 6th Annual New Works Fest. Featuring nationally known artists like Karl Perazzo and Sylvia Cuenca, regional favorites Saúl Sierra Quartet and Ken Okada Group ft. Yoyoka Soma （よよか）plus bold artists redefining jazz like Eva Peroni, Alison Shearer and Wellington Bullings. Season kicks off January 16. Tickets start at $16.60! sanjosejazz.org/events

12/09/2025

2026 Jazz Aid Fund Artist Luqman Frank Music is a Bay Area vocalist and songwriter recognized for his soulful, smoke-filled tone and narrative-driven writing. A third-generation Berkeley native, he blends social consciousness with classic soul influences, earning comparisons to legacy rhythm and blues storytellers. Have a listen to his JAF-commissioned work "Fighting For Each Other” and learn more about the 2026 JAF class at sanjosejazz.org/jaf.

12/02/2025

Public art is essential to a healthy community. It can provide joy, whimsy, mutual understanding, a sense of history and an expression of our unique culture. We believe the community deserves public art that brings color and joy to our shared public spaces. We have established a fund to commission an artwork from Fernando Escartiz, the artist who created the alebrijes stolen from the SJZ Break Room recently. On Giving Tuesday, please join our effort to keep our public spaces vital with art and make a donation now. Thank you! bit.ly/488u0BK

12/01/2025

This Saturday, December 6 at 8pm, catch the final show of the SJZ Break Room Fall Series with Ben Jones & Grammy Award winning jazz pianist Laurence Hobgood Music. Their new project has been called “unblinkingly intense and intimate" by Talkin' Broadway." "Their thoughtful, thorough, slower song explorations are more like song excavations, discovering extra layers of emotion.” Tickets are going fast for this incredible duo performance. Winter shows go on sale December 11. sanjosejazz.org/tickets

11/29/2025

This Holiday season, we’re thankful for the many small donors who are contributing to our GoFundMe effort to replace the sculptures by Fernando Escartiz that were stolen from the SJZ Break Room with a newly-commissioned one that will be displayed permanently in our space. But we’re still less than 20% to our goal. If you believe that art belongs in public spaces in downtown San Jose, please visit the link in our bio and make a donation now. Thank you!

We're currently hosting a temporary exhibition of larger alebrijes by Fernando. The pieces are viewable, free during normal business hours starting Monday, December 1 at the SJZ Break Room, 310 S. First Street, San Jose.

On Halloween night, four handcrafted alebrijes decorating the… Monique Valenzuela needs your support for Support the Commissioning of Replacement Art @ SJZ BreakRoom

11/29/2025

This Holiday season, we’re thankful for the many small donors who are contributing to our GoFundMe effort to replace the sculptures stolen from the SJZ Break Room with a newly-commissioned one that will be displayed permanently in our space. But we’re still less than 20% to our goal. If you believe that art belongs in public spaces in downtown San Jose, please visit our page and make a donation now. Thank you! bit.ly/488u0BK

On Halloween night, four handcrafted alebrijes decorating the… Monique Valenzuela needs your support for Support the Commissioning of Replacement Art @ SJZ BreakRoom

11/28/2025

Alto saxophonist Barbara joined High School All Stars to connect with more musicians and have more opportunities to build her ensemble skills. She's inspired by musicians like Serge Chaloff, Pepper Adams, Tia Fuller and Dexter Gordon, who all bring something different to her understanding of the instrument. Learn more about Barbara and our stellar class of 2025-26 All Stars at sanjosejazz.org/hsas.