Jazz giants in the jazz district

April is jazz appreciation month, all month long, and there’s something special to appreciate at the Fillmore Heritage Center at 1330 Fillmore. “Jazz Giants: the Photography of Herman Leonard” is a collection of some of the finest jazz photographs ever taken by one of America’s greatest living photographers. In addition, there’s a full program of [...]

A Fillmore rap

The song “What You Finna Do?,” released earlier this month by Fillmore District rapper DaVinci, opens with a vocal sample from the 2001 PBS documentary The Fillmore. It condenses the gentrification process the area underwent from the 1960s into one slogan, lamenting, “Basically, after the urban renewal, it was basically Negro removal.” As the gloomy [...]

Two new film fests nearby

In a city with a film festival for every subculture, two new ones have arrived in the neighborhood: the Mostly British Film Festival at the revived Vogue Theater on Sacramento Street and the Jazz Heritage Film Festival in the Fillmore Jazz District. From February 4 to 11, the Mostly British Film Festival brings films from [...]

It’s St. John Coltrane’s Church

By James DeKoven Without hestitation, the Rev. Wanika King-Stephens can name her favorite John Coltrane song: “What’s New?” Then, true to form for any music obsessive, she provides additional knowledge: The song was originally on the album Ballads, released by the Impulse! label. Jazz records and churches are not usually an easy fit. But this [...]

For vocalist Kim Nalley, it all started on Fillmore

By Thomas Reynolds Sultry, soulful, swinging singer Kim Nalley remembers when she got her first big break in San Francisco. It was the early ’90s, and the manager of Harry’s on Fillmore called to see if she might fill a slot for a band that had cancelled. But Nalley was otherwise engaged. She had a [...]

Santana’s back on Fillmore

Fillmore has always had a claim on guitarist Carlos Santana, and not only because of his many appearances at the Fillmore Auditorium. For a number of years his studio was on Fillmore Street next door to the Clay Theater. Now he’s back as part of the first special exhibition at the Fillmore Heritage Center. “A [...]

The evolution of a songsmith

By James DeKoven The slow screech of a braking bus. Two voices in conversation. Police sirens and fire alarms and honking car horns. It’s noise to many, but singer-songwriter Jesse Foster finds these sounds of urban life inspiring. “I discover ideas for harmony and melody in the sounds of everyday life,” he says. Part of [...]

Yoshi’s opens, a dream comes true

The night the neighborhood has been waiting for arrived November 27, 2007, when the first horns blew at Yoshi’s, the elegant new jazz club in the Fillmore Heritage Center at 1330 Fillmore Street. A grand opening celebration the next night featuring legendary drummer Roy Haynes and an all-star band officially opened the two-level 420-seat club [...]