![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SJM-L-PIZARRO-COL-0809-16-1.jpg\")
People dance at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\nVariety is the spice of life, right? It\u2019s also what makes San Jose Jazz\u2019s annual Summer Fest \u2014 which has been drawing thousands of fans from around the Bay Area for more than three decades \u2014 such a success.<\/p>\n
Diversity abounds at the festival, in the audience for sure, but also in the music programmed by the undauntable Bruce Labadie and his successor as artistic director, Christian Vela. Even the stages themselves seem to have their own wildly different personalities.<\/p>\n
On Friday night, the McDonald\u2019s Blues\/Big Easy stage at the southern end of Plaza Park was like a backyard barbecue, with the relaxed crowd swaying and putting their hands up to the accordion and rubboard sounds of \u201cJambalaya (On the Bayou).\u201d The PG&E Latin Tropical Stage, wedged onto Park Avenue, was all about Souldies, with the crowd dancing close at sunset like they were in someone\u2019s basement dance party with the lights turned low.<\/p>\n
People dance at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n
The big party was at the Jay Paul Main Stage, where the brass-driven sound of the Soul Rebels got the crowd on their feet and set the tone for a festive weekend \u2014 and they pretty much stayed there, as the vibe shifted from New Orleans to the Detroit electro-funk of Zapp. Now led by Lester Troutman, the family band had the crowd out of their seats and screaming for their 90-minute set, punctuated by performances by Tuxedo, the funk duo made up of Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One.<\/p>\n
You\u2019d think the Summer Fest crowd would be exhausted by the time \u201cMore Bounce to the Ounce\u201d finished and Zapp departed the stage, but that wasn\u2019t the case. Instead, it was another vibe switch, as a crowd \u2014 and a surprisingly older one \u2014 packed Club Regent at the Signia by Hilton at 11 p.m. to hear the silky voice of Gretchen Parlato, who was playing her second show of the night with her quartet.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, this is really one of the marquee events we have,\u201d San Jose Councilmember Anthony Tordillos said at a pre-festival reception he co-hosted with Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong, state Sen. Dave Cortese and San Jose State President Cynthia Teniente-Matson at the Spartan Village on the Paseo. \u201cThe energy it drives downtown is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Adi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SJM-L-PIZARRO-COL-0809-2-1.jpg\")
Adi Oasis performs at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n
That energy could be expected to continue throughout the weekend on all eight stages, including the intimate SJZ Break Room, and free stages at the San Jose Museum of Art featuring the genre\u2019s \u201cnext generation\u201d and the Applied Materials Swing Stage at San Pedro Square Market.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s headliners included the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, Orquesta Akok\u00e1n, Jubu Smith and the legendary Patti LaBelle, performing on the main stage at 8 p.m. Sunday\u2019s lineup includes the Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra, the Marcus Shelby Nonet performing \u201cBirth of the Cool Revisited,\u201d and Cory Wong and the Charles Brown Project featuring Nicolas Bearde. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue will close out the main stage at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
The full schedule, as well as tickets and passes, is available at summerfest.sanjosejazz.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE (RIVER PARK): The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy has tapped Heather Lerner as its new executive director, succeeding Jason Su, who held the position since 2019. Lerner is no stranger to San Jose parks. She served as executive director of Happy Hollow Foundation from 2009 to 2018, helping raise funds for the beloved park and zoo as it transformed into its modern form.<\/p>\n While she moved on to other opportunities, Lerner kept an eye on San Jose parks. When she served as president of the Rotary Club of San Jose in 2024-25, Lerner championed the restoration of the koi ponds and taiko bridge at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Kelley Park. That project was completed earlier this year. Lerner was there for the ribbon-cutting.<\/p>\n Now, she\u2019s taking on San Jose\u2019s sprawling downtown park, which has had its bright moments and challenges in recent years. Recently, she gained an interesting perspective on the park as she kayaked the Guadalupe River with GRPC board member Carl Salas, launching from an area near Santa Clara Street recently revitalized with a mural.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat excites me about Guadalupe River Park is that it\u2019s not just a park \u2014 it\u2019s a journey,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve spent much of my career thinking about how places can become experiences, and the Guadalupe offers an extraordinary canvas: a beautiful linear path connecting attractions, discoveries, and places to linger. I see enormous potential to create a journey people anticipate, explore, remember, and want to experience again.\u201d<\/p>\n HOIST ONE FOR HISTORY: If you like wine and beer and saving San Jose\u2019s history, not only are you a good person in my book, you\u2019re also the target audience for the Preservation Action Council of San Jose\u2019s upcoming fundraiser. The Preservation Pour on Aug. 16 will be a benefit tasting event with offerings from eight local wineries and beers from Hapa\u2019s Brewery.<\/p>\n It all takes place at FoundSJ, Preservation Action Council\u2019s great new retail outlet at 57 Barack Obama Boulevard, and ticketed guests will get some exclusive shopping opportunities. The event runs from 2 to 5 p.m., and tickets are available for $95 at preservation.org\/pour<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018RIDE\u2019 GETS EXTENDED: Audiences have been having a good time at \u201cRide the Cyclone,\u201d the summer musical at San Jose\u2019s City Lights Theatre Company about a Canadian choir group that winds up in a kind of purgatory after being killed in a rollercoaster accident. Sounds a little weird, right? Well, would you have thought a musical about Henry VIII\u2019s wives would be a hit?<\/p>\n