Celebrating its 35th year, the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest is an institution. When the festival was launched in 1990, the one-day event presented acts on a single performance stage. Today more than 100 artists are featured across nine stages, and the music fills three days.
While jazz remains the centerpiece of the festival, organizers have cast a wide net to bring some of the finest artists representing a variety of musical styles. Local, regional, national and international acts will grace the stages; there’s something for most every musical taste.
A couple of things are noteworthy for SJZ Summer Fest 2025. The programming on Friday night features artists selected with a younger crowd in mind, with discounted $25 tickets that night only for attendees ages 25 and under. Artists on the bill include José James, Ghost-Note, David Binney with Pera Krstajic and drummer Louis Cole, and Bay Area–based Bennett Roth Quartet.
Summer Fest also features its first-ever artist-in-residence—Theo Croker—with multiple concerts and appearances during the three-day festival. And it also has a treat for the eyes. Alebrijes en San Jose—large-scale versions of Mexican folk art sculptures traditionally made from papier-mâché or wood—will be on view in Plaza de Cesar Chavez during Summer Fest, with an alebrijes-themed drone show on Aug. 9 after PJ Morton’s set.
What follows is a sampling of featured performances, offering a mix of genres, stages, free and ticketed events. Performances marked with an asterisk (*) require All Stages and Higher Ticket. For information on the entire lineup, visit sanjosejazz.org.
Friday, Aug. 8
Andre Cruz and Chris Lujan
6pm | PG&E Latin Tropical Stage
This Bay Area duo exemplifies a faithful current-day take on the classic “brown-eyed soul” genre. In keeping with their traditionally minded approach, the duo—vocalist Cruz and bandleader Lujan—release their passionate, soulful music on 45 RPM records. More on Raza del Soul, the duo’s label, is in my 2021 feature in Metro.
Ghost-Note
7:30pm | Jay Paul Company Main Stage
Robert “Sput” Seawright and Nate Werth (Snarky Puppy) lead a thrilling supergroup featuring Sylvester Onyejiaka, Dominique Xavier Taplin, Dwayne “MonoNeon” Thomas, Jonathan Mones, Mike Jelani Brooks and a rotating cast of guests. Notwithstanding members’ backgrounds in funk and soul, Ghost-Note plays jazz with a boundary-pushing, playful attitude.
Melodious
8pm | SJZ Break Room Stage
The members of Oakland music trio MeloDious are all under 20 years of age. Siblings from the musical Dempsey family, MeloDious combines superb musicianship and a warm and accessible jazz-informed sound. The group made its high-profile debut gig at Yoshi’s, and has followed that up with concert and festival dates showcasing their mix of originals and standards.
Malo
9:30pm | PG&E Latin Tropical Stage
Coming out of the Bay Area in 1971, Malo was at the forefront of the era’s pioneering Latin rock movement. Originally co-led by the late Jorge Santana (Carlos’ brother), Malo released four influential albums in the early ’70s, all of which charted on the Billboard 200. Signature track “Suavecito” soared to the Top 20 on national singles charts in ’72.
Saturday, Aug. 9
Kishi Bashi
2:30pm | California Theatre Stage*
Formerly a member of Athens alt-pop band Of Montreal, multi-instrumentalist Kishi Bashi has since blazed his own trail, combining his brand of indie-pop with classical textures (violin is one of his primary instruments), psychedelia and more to conjure a musical world all his own. Bashi’s music is often used in film and other media, a testament to his accessibility and appeal.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
4pm | Jay Paul Company Main Stage
Synonymous with New Orleans jazz, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band began in the early 1960s, and has been a popular fixture in the Crescent City’s French Quarter ever since. Dozens of notable players have passed through the band’s storied ranks. The band has been the recipient of countless honors (including the NEA’s National Medal of Arts) and the subject of multiple documentaries.
Tyreek McDole
5pm | Montgomery Theater Stage*
Tyreek McDole is a Haitian-American singer and a rising star in the jazz community. In 2018 he won Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Outstanding Vocalist Award at that year’s Essentially Ellington competition. In 2022 McDole’s rich baritone vocals won him the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition; he was the first male vocalist to do so in more than a decade.
Lalah Hathaway
6pm | Jay Paul Company Main Stage
Daughter of soul legend Donny Hathaway, Lalah Hathaway debuted in 1990 with the R&B hit “Heaven Knows.” In 2017, her live album Lalah Hathaway Live earned her three Grammy Awards on top of the two she won in previous years. In the years since, Hathaway has been nominated for five more Grammys.
Tom Scott & the L.A. Express
6:30pm | California Theatre Stage*
Jazz saxophonist Tom Scott launched his L.A. Express in the 1970s, working both as a jazz fusion outfit and a backing/collaborative unit with artists like George Harrison, Carole King, Steely Dan, Frank Sinatra and more. Grammy-winner Scott has played on more than 2,000 recordings, and now revisits his groundbreaking work of five decades ago with a new lineup of the L.A. Express.
Sunday, Aug. 10
Theo Croker
12:30pm | California Theatre Stage*
Grammy-nominated trumpeter Croker is a boundary-pushing artist whose work is nonetheless informed by what has come before. A leading figure in jazz, pop and hip hop, Croker makes wholly original music that echoes everything from Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew to Stevie Wonder to classical music to reggae to punk. Croker is that rare artist whose work simply cannot be defined by genre.
All Things Swamp
4pm | Big Easy & Beyond Stage
Though this nine-man outfit is based in the Bay Area, their sound is firmly rooted in the swamps surrounding New Orleans and beyond. The group displays an authentic approach to their material, secured in large part through use of tuba (courtesy of musical director Luke Kirley) and bass trombone rather than doghouse fiddle or bass guitar. Their music effortlessly transports listeners to the Crescent City.
Something Else! ft. Vincent Herring
4:30pm | California Theatre Stage*
Celebrating the soul jazz tradition—a style that featured leading lights like Cannonball Adderley, Grant Green, Lou Donaldson and the like—this septet proudly carries that ’50s and ’60s aesthetic into modern times. The band delivers what it takes to impress, showcasing classics from Horace Silver, Eddie Harris, Donald Byrd, Herbie Hancock and more.
Terry Hanck Band
5:45pm | Big Easy & Beyond Stage
Blues Music Award winner, sax player and singer Terry Hanck is a leader in soul-inflected electric blues. A Bay Area fixture since 1969, Hanck has released a solid string of blues albums under his own name. Hanck has also been a frequent Elvin Bishop sideman, and was also instrumental in bringing venerated blues guitarist and producer Christoffer “Kid” Andersen to the U.S.
Mavis Staples
6pm | Jay Paul Company Main Stage
Coming to fame as part of the Staple Singers, Stax Records’ R&B-gospel-soul royalty, today Mavis Staples is the sole surviving member of that group. She launched her solo career in 1969 when the Staple Singers were still at the top of their game. Her solo work is widely acclaimed; Rolling Stone named her #46 on its list of the 200 greatest singers of all time.
