Fillmore Jazz Festival 2024

Fillmore Jazz Festival 2024
Harlem Of The West
San Francisco CA
July 6-7 2024

This year's 35th edition of the San Francisco's massive Fillmore Jazz Festival focused on the rich and extensive heritage of the City's historic Fillmore district and it's importance as the cultural and musical "Harlem of the West." The FJF 2024 theme was borrowed from the well-documented book Harlem of the West-The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era by Elizabeth Pepin Silva and Lewis Watts (Chronicle Books, 2005). It covered the early growth of the once-thriving business and arts community in San Francisco.

To publicly acknowledge and commemorate the special history of the Fillmore and its musical legacy, the FJF organizers selected local jazz vocalist Mary Stallings ( Cal Tjader, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Jordan) and R&B singer and dance legend Sugar Pie DeSanto (James Brown, Etta James, Johnny Otis) for well-deserved recognition. Both talented women were active during the Fillmore's golden age covering the 1950s-1960s. and represent the living history of the multi-cultural commercial district. The Fillmore Merchants Association renamed the two main outdoor stages: the Mary Stallings California Street Stage and the Sugar Pie DeSanto Eddy Street Stage respectively. The FJF also utilized two landmark indoor locations at the Calvary Presbyterian Church and Jones Memorial United Methodist Church for hosting concerts.

FJF's varied artist line up included Kim Nalley, Paula West, Kenny Washington, the The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, the Fillmore Slim Band, Jesus Díaz & Y Su QBA, Groove 8, Carl Lockett, the Dave Parker Sextet, Terrence Brewer, Joshi Marshall, Tommy Kesecker, Tammy Hall and Liberta Lorál, Marcus Shelby, Juan Escovedo, Ricardo Scales, Ruth Davies' Blues Thing with Marina Crouse, Essiet Okon, The Johnson Family and Friends, Brianna Thomas & Sam Reider, Brad Leali Quintet with Carla Helmbrecht and many more artists.

Saturday, July 6

The sunny and warm Saturday of the Fillmore Jazz festival began at the newly christened Sugar Pie DeSanto Eddy Street Stage, with a special concert "Remembering Calvin Keys, Bobby Hutcherson & Joe Henderson." This was dedicated to the late San Francisco Bay Area jazz stalwarts and the performance featured guitarist Brewer, saxophonist Marshall, bassists Kesecker, Essiet Okon and others. Ruth Davies' Blues Thing with East Bay blues vocalist Marina Crouse followed with an emotional set. Over at another location, the Charlotte North Carolina-based band Groove 8 ignited a growing audience with their blend of world music, funk and jazz. These perennial favorites have played the FJF for nearly twenty years and consistently drawn large crowds. Their dedicated fans always enjoy themselves and can be seen dancing during the lively sets.

Originally from Cuba, SF-based Jesus Díaz & Y Su QBA provided a sizzling set of Afro-Cuban polyrhythms. Towards the end of their session, the band encouraged the numerous dancers to start a conga line that initially snaked around the front of the stage and eventually among the standing-room-only fans. This was very exciting, with people joyously getting into the groove. The band thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiastic response and thanked everyone when they finished.

The free twelve-block-long street festival was lined with plenty of food vendors and crafts booths reflecting the ethnic diversity of the SF Bay Area. The FJF 2024 attracted attendees from all over California and other states. Its international flavor included visitors from Peru, and a family from Denmark.

There were many bright moments at the two-day Fillmore Jazz Festival 2024. One of the outstanding moments was the presentation of SF Board of Supervisors proclamations received by Stallings and De Santo. Stallings' genuine appreciation was heartfelt. The Fillmore resident assisted the wheelchair-bound DeSanto with the microphone during her acceptance speech. DeSanto's surprising feistiness belied her 88 years. Her humorous quips about music and life kept the overflowing street group in good spirits. Former mayor Willie Brown also received a proclamation presented by London Breed, the current mayor. Mr. Brown talked about his childhood in the neighborhood and establishing his law office in the fabled Fillmore. It was a well-deserved and emotional tribute for all the recipients.

Sugar Pie DeSanto's brother Domingo Ballinton talked about this historic and epic day at Fillmore Jazz Festival 2024. "Sugar Pie DeSanto was given a San Francisco proclamation for being the first Filipino and Black Queen of the Blues over 60 years. Mary Stallings was given a San Francisco proclamation for her phenomenal jazz singing for over 50 years. This is one of the nicest things San Francisco has done for artists born and raised in San Francisco. The crowd attending the celebration looked like the Old San Francisco I grew up with, a multitude of every race partying together!"

Sunday, July 7

Sunday's weather brought an ongoing struggle between the warmth of the sun and the creeping fog. By the end of the day, the fog had prevailed. The cheerful music began with the Will Bernard quartet on the Sugar Pie DeSanto stage. This was followed by the bluesy vocalist Brianna Thomas and Sam Reider presentation "Celebrating Etta James & Big Mama Thorton." Thomas provided big enthusiastic vocals that matched the size of the large gathering. Marcus Shelby's fine Harlem Of The West Players closed out the DeSanto Stage.

Holding court at the Mary Stallings stage was the irrepressible and Dynamic Miss Faye Carol. The SF Bay Area jazz and blues artist has been a fixture on the local music scene for decades. For over twelve years, Carol directed the Music In The Community program at the Black Repertory group in Berkeley California. Veteran jazz vocalist Kenny Washington and his trio continued the festival's Harlem Of The West theme with his set. During the afternoon, indoor concerts were also taking place nearby at the Calvary Presbyterian Church and the Jones Memorial United Methodist Church. New festival producer Karen Lile talked about the effort involved with putting on FJF2024. "I don't think the impact of this being the largest jazz festival on the West Coast actually hit me until I was there at the beginning... transforming the footprint from city blocks to an event venue ready for the tens of thousands of people... " She also discussed working closely with FJF music programmer Jason Olaine, Patti Mangan of the FMA, key sponsors The Civic Joy Fund, Avenue Greenlight, Square and Goodwill.

Closing out the sparkling two-day Fillmore Jazz Festival 2024 at the Stallings stage was the immensely appealing headliner Kim Nalley. She and her outstanding band finished with another stellar performance. The San Francisco favorite was joined by a host of other vocalists to a standing ovation. Debbie, a former Fillmore resident reflected on FJF 2024. "The Fillmore Jazz Festival was in my opinion, one of the best in the Bay Area. From the food to the music and various vendors, this is what made this event special. Being a native of SF, I appreciate the culture and diversity. I'm looking forward to next year."

As one of the best-attended and most diverse music festivals on the West Coast, the Fillmore Jazz Festival is a unique event that has drawn people from different corners of the world to San Francisco for nearly four decades. This year, the FJF had raised the bar by illuminating the distinctively encompassing history of the Fillmore district and honoring some of the living African American artists who played an integral part in making the Fillmore community the Harlem of the West.

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