Yoshi's SF adds rock, R&B

1 Comment | Oakland Tribune, Feb 19, 2009 | by Anonymous

There's been a lot of fuss made over the recent changes at Yoshi's San Francisco. People are up in arms over the decision to include nonjazz artists on the calendar.

What they should be worried about, however, is what might happen if the venue doesn't take this route. Venues are doing everything they can to keep the doors open and make money. Yoshi's SF, which opened in November 2007 as a pure jazz club, but the economic climate has dictated that the calendar include an occasional rock/ pop/R&B show to pump up attendance.

That's OK with me, especially if it translates to a show such as tonight's show: Kristin Hersh will perform at 8 and 10.

Hersh is best-known as the leader of the Throwing Muses, the band that combined with such forces as R.E.M. and the Pixies in the '80s to help define what would later be known as "alt-rock." During the past 15 years, Hersh also has fashioned a thoroughly enjoyable solo career. Her latest CD, "Learn to Sing Like a Star," was my favorite rock disc of 2007.

Tickets are $20. Yoshi's SF is at 1330 Fillmore St. Call 415-655- 5600 or visit www.yoshis.com.

If the prospect of seeing this great singer-songwriter-guitarist doesn't excite you, and you want the venue return to a full-time jazz calendar, there is a course of action: Support jazz at Yoshi's SF. I promise that the owners will notice if there are full houses for jazz artists and, most likely, will respond by offering even more jazz shows.

Of course, the other alternative is to visit the original Yoshi's, at Jack London Square in Oakland. That venue is sticking to a strict jazz diet, and there are many tasty shows on the horizon. Top offerings include bassist Richard Bona (Friday-Sunday), guitarist Mimi Fox (March 4) and special acoustic performances by legendary bassist Stanley Clarke (March 6-8).

Quick cuts: Here are some of the CDs that I've been listening to lately:

-- "Blue Crescent," Dr. Michael White (Basin Street): White, who I consider a national treasure, offers up another enjoyable history lesson. The sensational clarinetist and his crackerjack band, featuring Nicholas Payton on trumpet, handle a winning assortment of blues, hymns, dirges and dance-hall numbers and draw from a variety of styles, from 1920s jazz and brass-band music to New Orleans revival-style jazz and Caribbean folk music. The collection features a dozen original tunes, as well as the standards "St. Louis Blues" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

-- "Guitars," McCoy Tyner (Half Note): The legendary pianist teams with some of the genre's best guitarists, including Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot, as well as the stellar rhythm section of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette. What's ironic, given the album title, is that the best numbers find Tyner, Carter and DeJohnette collaborating with banjo man Bela Fleck.

-- "Leucocyte," Esbjorn Svensson Trio (Spamboolimbo): On June 14, Svensson died in a tragic diving accident in Sweden. He was 44. Just how much the jazz world will miss the avant-garde pianist is made plainly clear on this forward-thinking trio record.

-- "You Don't Know Jacq," Jacqui Naylor (Ruby Star): The San Francisco-based artist, perhaps the greatest vocal treasure in the rich Bay Area scene, delivers another winner. Her specialty is translating modern pop songs into jazzspeak, something she accomplishes remarkably well with R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" and other familiar numbers this time around.

Reach Jim Harrington at jharrington@bayareanews group.com. Read his Concert Blog at http://blogs.mercu rynews.com/aei/category/ concerts.