John West Plays Yoshi's Jazz Club in San Francisco Tonight, 5/19

Yoshi's Jazz Club on Fillmore Street announced upcoming performances at the San Francisco venue. The performances are:

May 19
Open Line Media presents John West
Saturday 10pm $35
John West - singer/songwriter/musician - began honing his artistic skills while working as a street performer at the Third Street Promenade in nearby Santa Monica.

The first single of the soon to be released Mercury Records / Island Def Jam album is “Lovely” featuring Pusha T of the rap duo The Clipse is set off by a sparkling piano rolling over a mesmerizing drum beat. Accompanying the soulful, airy groove is a short story about the simple pleasures of hanging out with someone special. West’s smooth tenor (“It’s like oh oh oh / We don’t need no words”) meshes perfectly with Pusha T1s easygoing flow and clever rap (“Let’s test the waters / love makes a splash / and you’re too thick to skinny dip”).

West’s debut album, in addition to Christian Rich, the production duo behind “Lovely,” the singer is working with Brian Kennedy (Rihanna), Ari Levine of the Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars, B.o.B), Kevin Rudolf (Lil Wayne, Leona Lewis) and the Stereotypes (Far East Movement), among others.

May 20
Debby Boone: Reflections of Rosemary
Sunday 7pm $35 9pm $25
A Tribute to Rosemary Clooney
Debby Boone earned instant fame in 1977 when “You Light up My Life” became an overnight hit. The tune, which outranked even The Beatles by claiming the #1 spot on the Billboard charts for ten straight weeks and sold in excess of four million copies. Debby is a three time Grammy award winner including Best New Artist of the Year (1977), and seven time Grammy nominee.

With her creamy alto, dead-on musical taste and personal elegance, Debby has now become an acclaimed interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Debby’s latest project, Reflections of Rosemary, is an intimate musical tribute to her late mother-in- law, the legendary Rosemary Clooney. The album is a collection of 14 tunes distinguished by Boone’s strong, striking vocal talents and a very personal, emotionally rich story line. 

August 17 - 19
The Jazz Crusaders featuring Joe Sample, Wayne Henderson and Wilton Felder
Friday 8pm $40 10pm $35 Saturday 8pm & 10pm $40 Sunday $30 8pm $35
In the summer of 1958 the Jazz Crusaders, including Joe Sample-keyboards, Wilton Felder-saxophone, and Wayne Henderson-trombone, left their hometown of Houston, Texas for the dream of a recording contract in Los Angeles. In May of 1961 they recorded their first album for Pacific Jazz Records, FREEDOM SOUND, which went on to sell over 50,000 copies - a milestone for any recording in 1961-62, let alone a jazz recording. The success of the album helped launch the Jazz Crusaders as one of the most distinct jazz groups of the era. The group continued with a long string of equally successful recordings throughout the decade, and led to their emergence as seminal leaders of contemporary jazz.

In 2010 Joe Sample, Wayne Henderson and Wilton Felder reunited as the Jazz Crusaders, for the first time since 1974. The music and their performance will pay homage to the rich catalogue of material that they recorded and performed throughout the ‘60’s and early 1970’s. 

September 5 - 8
The Jack Dejohnette Trio featuring Chic Corea and Stanley Clarke
Wednesday 8pm $45 10pm $40 Thursday 8pm $45 10pm $40
Friday 8pm $50 10pm $50 Saturday 8pm & 10pm $60
Born in Chicago in 1942, GRAMMY® winner Jack DeJohnette is widely regarded as one of jazz music's greatest drummers.

Jack DeJohnette has collaborated with most major figures in jazz history. Some of the great talents he has worked with are John Coltrane, MiLes Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, Jackie McLean, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker, George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter and Eddie Harris.

DeJohnette's drumming, though originally influenced by masters including Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor, Rashied Ali, Paul Motian, Tony Williams, and Andrew Cyrelle, has long drawn from sources beyond “jazz.” More than thirty years ago, he was already describing his work as “multi-directional music.”

Jack’s wide-ranging style, capable of playing in any idiom while still maintaining a well-defined voice keeps him in constant demand as a drummer, bandleader, and as a sideman. On January 10, 2012 Jack was honored as a recipient of a 2012 NEA Jazz Master Award for his lifetime achievement. He has been recognized for his extraordinary contribution to advancing the jazz art form and for serving as a mentor for a new generation of young aspiring jazz musicians. 

September 18
Poets & Prayers: Turtle Island Quartet with special guest Tierney Sutton
Tuesday 8pm $16 Advance $20 Door
Turtle Island, the double GRAMMY® winning quartet that has re-defined chamber jazz for over twenty five years, is joined by the great jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton in a series of concerts that answers the simple question: What inspires us?

This historic collaboration overflows with inspiration. From the moving traditional hymn "Wade in the Water" to Joni Mitchell’s "All I Want" to settings of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and words of Hafiz and Rumi- Poets & Prayers celebrates the muse, in all its forms.

The Turtle Island Quartet has been hailed by The Washington Post for their “excellent precision and musicality.” With numerous awards, including two GRAMMY®’s, and major appearances in the great concert halls of the world, the Turtle Island Quartet continues their long history of collaborations with outstanding guest artists.

Vocalist Tierney Sutton’s celebrated career has included multiple GRAMMY® nominations, appearances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Hollywood Bowl, and a series of well regarded recordings. 

September 19 - 21
Pat Metheny Unity Band
Wednesday 8pm & 10pm $55 Thursday 8pm & 10pm $60
Friday 8pm & 10pm $65
The Winner of 18 Grammy Awards
It is one thing to attain popularity as a musician, but it is another to receive the kind of acclaim Metheny has garnered from critics and peers. Over the years, Metheny has won countless polls as "Best Jazz Guitarist" and awards, including three gold records for (Still Life) Talking, Letter from Home, and Secret Story. He has also won 19 Grammy Awards spread out over a variety of different categories and even toured with a band of robots. Pat has put together a killer band for this new project called THE Pat Metheny UNITY BAND. The lineup for this project is sax great Chris Potter, PMG and PM Trio drummer, Antonio Sanchez and great young bassist Ben Williams. 

September 25
A Tribute to Cal Tjader featuring Pete Escovedo, Michael Wolff, Warren Wolf, John Santos, Robb Fisher, and Vince Lateano
Monday 8pm $20 Advance $24 Door
Cal Tjader was undoubtedly the most famous non-Latino leader of Latin jazz bands, an extraordinary distinction. From the 1950s until his death, he was practically the point man between the worlds of Latin jazz and mainstream bop; his light, rhythmic, joyous vibraphone manner could comfortably embrace both styles. His numerous recordings for Fantasy and Verve and long-standing presence in the San Francisco Bay Area eventually had a profound influence upon Carlos Santana, and thus Latin rock. He also played drums and bongos, the latter most notably on the George Shearing Quintet's puckishly titled "Rap Your Troubles in Drums," and would occasionally sit in on piano as well.