Live Review
Reporting on live jazz from around the globe.
Fountain de Chopin's "Thank You" Festival in Hong Kong
by Rob Garratt
Fountain de Chopin's Third-Birthday “Thank You" Festival Fountain de Chopin San Po Kong, Hong Kong January 1, 2026 Hong Kong is enjoying a surprising, and surprisingly youth-centric, jazz renaissance. A decade ago, you might have struggled to count notable local players on two hands, today there are more feisty Berklee graduates in the self-governed Chinese city than scene observers can keep track of. There's also an audience for it, too--a remarkably young and hungry one, ...
Continue ReadingIn the Mood for Love (Songs): The Red Pavilion Jazz Band at The Red Pavilion
by Tamara Yadao
The Red Pavilion Jazz Band The Red Pavilion In the Mood for Love (Songs) Brooklyn, NY December 5, 2025 The Red Pavilion Jazz Band, a quartet with trumpeter Gordon Au at the helm, set the tone for an immersive, intercultural music experience. Cradled by love, longing, nostalgia, and educational flair, these musicians performed a diverse set of songs and arrangements, spanning Chinese, Filipino, Afro-Cuban, and American love songs and jazz standards. Peering ...
Continue ReadingTwo duos and a trio in Lewisham, London
by John Eyles
Shift Register, Akira vs Tigersonic, Data Swamp Lewisham Arthouse London December 13, 2025 Right from the moment the first audience member entered and sat down, there was an electric atmosphere in the room of the Lewisham Arthouse where three acts were to play. As the room filled up, an excited buzz was audible from the audience, some of whom had come along with friends who had recommended that they attend. For some of them, the ...
Continue ReadingThe Macedonian National Jazz Orchestra with Rambo Amadeus, Darko Rundek, and Vlatko Stefanovski at the Philharmonic Hall
by Nenad Georgievski
The Macedonian National Jazz Orchestra Philharmonic Hall Rock 'n' Roll in Jazz Skopje, Macedonia December 8, 2025 December has become a month of special programs for the National Jazz Orchestra--concerts that close the year with ambition and bring audiences together for something memorable. On the eve of its 10th anniversary in 2026, the orchestra stepped into this celebratory season with confidence, delivering a strong, sold-out concert at the Macedonian Philharmonic Hall. For the occasion, ...
Continue ReadingArturo Sandoval at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Arturo Sandoval Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA December 18, 2025 At 76, Arturo Sandoval still walks onstage with the authority of someone who knows exactly what he offers--and how to deliver it. Thursday night at SFJAZZ's Miner Auditorium, his Swinging Holiday program unfolded as something more enduring than a festive detour. It was a living survey of bebop lineage, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and the hard-earned wisdom of a musician who has outlasted eras without dulling his edge. ...
Continue ReadingBen Folds at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Ben Folds Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA December 8, 2025 The holiday season often feels like a cultural rhyme--an annual cycle where the visuals, smells, and sounds are intentionally, comfortingly, and sometimes maddeningly similar to those of previous years. This was the perspective that pianist and singer-songwriter Ben Folds explored last Monday night at SFJAZZ's Miner Auditorium. Touring in support of his 2024 Christmas album Sleigher (New West Records), Folds delivered a performance that was far ...
Continue ReadingThe Klezmatics at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
The Klezmatics Happier Joyous Hanukkah Miner AuditoriumSan Francisco, CA December 15, 2025 As they near their 40th anniversary in 2026, The Klezmatics delivered a jazz-infused Hanukkah program to SFJAZZ that balanced groove, grief, and collective resilience while keeping the dance floor in mind. Drawing on material from Happier Joyous Hanukkah, recently reissued on vinyl, the band framed the evening around a central idea: joy gains force when it is shared, sustained, and responsive to the ...
Continue ReadingAnat Cohen at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Anat Cohen Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA December 11, 2025 The lobby of the SFJAZZ Center on Thursday night buzzed with the warm, affectionate energy of a family reunion. People of all ages embraced and caught up in the aisles, creating a communal atmosphere for a sold-out night that celebrated a major milestone: Anat Cohen's 50th Birthday Celebration. She delivered a master class in musical architecture, guiding the audience through a study of how an ...
Continue ReadingMs. Lisa Fischer And The Orrin Evans Trio at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Lisa Fischer and The Orrin Evans Trio Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA December 7, 2025 This partnership combines Lisa Fischer's soaring, acrobatic vocal power with Orrin Evans' refined, inventive jazz arrangements. It is a meeting of two worlds: the grounded, “barefoot" vulnerability of a singer who has spent forty years backing rock and r&b icons, and the sophisticated structure of a pianist who approaches every chord as a question. At a public listening ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier, Wadada Leo Smith and Mary Halvorson at Roulette
by Paul Reynolds
Sylvie Courvoisier, duets with Wadada Leo Smith and Mary Halvorson Roulette Intermedium New York, NY December 7, 2025 So far this jazz season, you'd be hard-pressed to find a double bill as savvy, timely and well-located as Sunday's concert of duets at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn. In successive sets, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier played with her partners for two acclaimed duo albums in 2025: trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, with whom she recorded Angel Falls (Intakt Records, 2025), and ...
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