Dawn of the SFJAZZ Center—First Stand-Alone Venue for Jazz in America—Comes a Century After the Birth of Jazz

Gala 2011: Groundbreaking! Celebrates
The Past, Present and Future Of Jazz with Legendary Vocalist Mary
Stallings and The SFJAZZ Collective Paying Homage to Stevie Wonder

San Francisco, CA (PRWE May 05, 2011

In a fitting tribute, nearly 100 years after the birth of the African
American music tradition known as “jazz” – a West Coast slang term first
used to refer to music in Chicago – SFJAZZ will build the nation’s
first free-standing center solely dedicated to the presentation,
education and preservation of the art form. On May 6, 2011, SFJAZZ, the
largest nonprofit presenter of jazz and world music in America, kicks
off the construction of the new SFJAZZ Center with a ceremonial
groundbreaking event in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley. The SFJAZZ Board
of Trustees, donors, musicians and jazz fans alike have already raised
over $46 million of the $60 million budgeted to create this
state-of-the-art cultural center. Scheduled for completion in 2012 The
SFJAZZ Center, designed by renowned architect Mark Cavagnero of Mark
Cavagnero Associates, will be a transparent, 35,000-square-foot,
freestanding LEED®-compliant structure that will provide artistic and
education programs for the community.

“When it comes to jazz in America, we know that the world is
listening. Therefore, we feel it is imperative that jazz has a space
that is on par with the greatest symphony, opera or ballet halls in the
world,” said SFJAZZ Gala 2011 Honorary Chairman and noted Bay Area
author Robert Mailer Anderson. “SFJAZZ, our generous donors and partners
are proud to break ground on a center that will be as vibrant,
accessible, eclectic, and culturally uplifting as the music itself,”
said Anderson.

After the dust settles on the groundbreaking, donors and friends of
SFJAZZ will go from shovels to stilettos and tuxedos to attend the
annual, all-jazz gala at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco’s North
Beach, an 80-year institution where a host of jazz and other music
greats launched their careers. This year’s theme, SFJAZZ Gala 2011:
Groundbreaking! celebrates both the past, present and future generations
of jazz with performances by legendary vocalist Mary Stallings, The
SFJAZZ Collective and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars.

SFJAZZ Gala 2011 honoree Mary Stallings, accompanied by pianist Eric
Reed and his Trio, will showcase her signature style perfected over 60
years of performing with such jazz giants as trumpet legend Dizzy
Gillespie, vocalist Billy Eckstine, Count Basie Orchestra, guitarist Wes
Montgomery, saxophonist Ben Webster and vibraphonist Cal Tjader. She
has shared the stage with vocal icons, including Tony Bennett, Ella
Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan and Joe Williams.

In addition to Stallings, the SFJAZZ Collective – an all-star jazz
ensemble comprising eight of the finest performers/composers at work in
jazz today — presents arrangements of the music of Stevie Wonder plus
original compositions. This exceptional lineup of award-winning
musicians includes vibraphonist Stefon Harris, trombonist Robin Eubanks,
trumpeter Avishai Cohen, bassist Matt Penman, pianist Edward Simon with
special appearances by alto saxophonist Greg Osby, tenor saxophonist
David Sánchez and drummer Antonio Sanchez for a one-time-only
performance.

The evening ends with an explosive and innovative Afro-Cuban tribute
in the descarga – or jam session tradition –led by Rebeca Mauleón,
keyboardist and SFJAZZ Director of Education. Members of the Santana
Band, Cuban vocal sensation Adonis Puentes, the SFJAZZ All-Stars and the
Bay Area’s best Salsa musicians and dancers will join in the
performance.

Once completed, the SFJAZZ Center will house two main performance
stages – a 700-seat auditorium named in honor of Oracle founder Robert
N. Miner and an 80-seat lab yet to be named. The SFJAZZ Center will
include dedicated space for lectures, panel discussions, clinics and
workshops; a digital music lab for rehearsals, recording and production;
and practice rooms for musicians and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars.
The SFJAZZ Center, projected to open in Fall 2012, will also serve as
home for the SFJAZZ Collective.

Proceeds from SFJAZZ Gala 2011 directly benefit the artistic and
education programs of SFJAZZ and education facilities planned for the
new SFJAZZ Center. A core part of the SFJAZZ mission is the preservation
and presentation of jazz, as well as inspiring and supporting the next
generation of jazz greats and fans. Gala performers SFJAZZ High School
All-Stars receive mentoring and funding from SFJAZZ.

About SFJAZZ

SFJAZZ, founded in 1983, is the largest nonprofit presenter of jazz
and world music in America. SFJAZZ presents more than 100 concerts a
year to over 100,000 fans and is dedicated to advancing the art form of
jazz and cultivating new jazz audiences through artistic and educational
programming, including: The San Francisco Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ Spring
Season, SFJAZZ Collective, SFJAZZ Summerfest, SFJAZZ Education, SFJAZZ
Membership and SFJAZZ Hotplate, a new monthly nightclub series featuring
the Bay Area’s best musicians paying tribute to jazz legends. SFJAZZ
programs receive support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
the National Endowment for the Arts, NEA Jazz Masters, The Phyllis C.
Wattis Foundation, The Koret Foundation and Grants for the Arts/San
Francisco Hotel Tax Fund. Major sponsors of the SFJAZZ Spring Season
include Northern Trust, JetBlue Airways, 7×7, California Home &
Design, San Francisco Chronicle, The Jazz Cruise, City Park, KCSM, KBLX
and many other individuals and organizations. The SFJAZZ 2011 Spring
Season continues through June 25, 2011. For more information, contact
SFJAZZ at (415) 283-0306 or visit http://www.sfjazz.org

HONORARY COMMITTEE: Robert Mailer Anderson, SFJAZZ Trustee and Gala Honorary Chair

Jennifer Azzi

Pam and Larry Baer

Paul Banas and L. Jasmine Kim

Sloan and Roger Barnett

Wilkes Bashford

Nancy Bechtle

Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet

Melanie and Larry Blum

Frances Bowes

Orlando Bravo

Susie and Sam Britton

Victoire Reynal and Owsley Brown III

The Honorable Willie Brown

Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon

Chaney and Les Claypool

Stefanie and Peter Coyote

Roger Craig

Laura and David Fox

Stanlee Gatti

Vanessa and Billy Getty

Jim Goldberg

Mimi Haas

Kelly and Mike Halper

Yosh Han

Daniel Handler and Lisa Brown

John Handy and Del Anderson Handy

The Honorable Kamala Harris, Attorney General

Todd Hido

Gwendolyn Holcombe and Carl Kawaja

Sara Houghteling and Daniel Mason

Rosemary and Bobby Hutcherson

Marc Jacobs International

Bradley and Chris James

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and Lia Epperson

Mary and Brent Johnson

Phil Kaufman

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Mayor Edwin Lee

Senator Mark Leno

Delroy and Nashormeh Lindo

Karen and Ronnie Lott

Ashley and Antonio Lucio

Becca Prowda and Daniel Lurie

Alan Malouf

Ms. Kitty Margolis and Dr. Alfonso Montuori

Nion McEvoy

Jonathan Moscone

Eddie Muller and Kathleen Maria Milne

Henrietta and Charlie Musselwhite

The Honorable Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor

Charles Olson and Yoko Watanabe

Christine Pelosi and Peter Kaufman

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi

Vivek Ranadive

Joshua Redman

Bill Russell-Shapiro

Katherine Sanborn and Phil Hellmuth

Cindy Blackman-Santana and Carlos Santana

April Sinclair

Jennifer and Jacques Soenens

Laura and Greg Spivy

Diana and Douglas Stewart

Amy Tan and Louis DeMattei

Elisabeth Thieriot

The Three Vernas

Jed York

GALA SPONSORS: NAACP, Oakville Ranch, Roederer Estates, Marc Jacobs
International, Blue Bottle Coffee, Blue Angel Vodka, Artá Tequila, North
Coast Brewery, No. 3 Gin, Smart Water, and TBW Books.