Thursday's Le Jazz Hot

When people equate music and San Francisco, their minds most often go to the Rock and Roll scene of the 1960s. Born from the Summer of Love, era-defining bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane (then Jefferson Starship, then just Starship) and Carlos Santana became synonymous with San Francisco.

Later in the 1970s purveyors of Disco, Heavy Metal (like Metallica) Punk (like The Dead Kennedy's) and later their hybrids (Green Day) defined the San Francisco sound. Over in East Bay, MC Hammer and The Digital Underground were establishing the Rap music scene in the 1990s.

Yet through it all, and even before it, San Francisco has been a destination for jazz performers since the early days of the art form. In fact, Carol Channing and Merv Griffin were born in the San Francisco Bay Area and began their careers performing Jazz and Broadway standards. Even the American jazz pianist and composer Dave (Take Five) Brubeck is from Concord, twenty minutes from the city on BART.

During WW II the war effort created a demand for thousands of workers, which were mostly filled by black men migrating from the from the south. With the influx of many black Americans, came southern black culture. There were so many soul food restaurants and jazz clubs that the neighborhood became known as the Harlem of the West.

It was said that on any given night, you could go from one nightclub to another, and see jazz greats such as Billie Holiday, Charlie “Bird” Parker, and John Coltrane.

Jazz was such an integral part of the neighborhood, and John Coltrane’s music was so profound to some, they believe it transcended corporeal existence. A small group of devotes were compelled to create the John Coltrane African Orthodox Church Global Spiritual Community.

Known simply as the Church of John Coltrane, in essence they believe John Coltrane was a vessel for God, who speaks to earthly beings through the jazz legend’s music. Don’t laugh, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

The Sheba Lounge

Despite the culling of the Fillmore's Jazz scene in the 1950s and 1960s due to urban renewal, there are still a few places to see live jazz music in an intimate setting. As there were many jazz clubs in the neighborhood called the Fillmore District (known simply as the Fillmore), today there is only one - The Sheba Lounge. For 20 years they have kept the tradition of Jazz in the Fillmore alive, offering live music, seven nights a week. The best part is the real fireplace by the bar. Nothing beats sitting by the fire on a cold night, having a libation, and listening to live Jazz.

Actually, there is something better. Well, maybe not better, but different. Every night Martuni's, straddling the Castro and Civic Center neighborhoods on Market Street, has been the Go-To place for piano lounge music over the last 30 years. The set-up is basic: Chilled martini glasses are lined up at the bar when you enter the front door. In the back room, you will hear jazz piano music wafting through the air. This is the kind of piano which has coasters on it and barstools on the side, so you can literally sit at the piano.

Put a five-dollar bill in the ubiquitous brandy snifter, and they will take your requests. One of their regular performers, local great Katy Stephan, took my request for a pop song performed in a jazz style. Without missing a beat, she performed the most torch-song version of Britney Spear's song, Toxic. Martuni's is also an industry hang-out. When Broadway theater and opera performers are done for the night, they go to Martuni's to unwind and sing for pleasure.

Jazz in San Francisco is ascending though, so much so that a new state-of-the-art school and Jazz performing arts center opened in 2013. The SFJAZZ Center has an auditorium which can seat up to 700 people and is now the premier venue for live jazz in San Francisco.

SFHotelStories.com is looking for contributors: writers, videographers, and photographers. Contact us at SFHotelStories@gmail.com, Subject: Contributors.