Letter from the Executive Artistic Director

WELCOME TO THE 2021–2022 SEASON

Dear Music Lovers,

The past 18 months have been a time of upheaval beyond anything we could have imagined prior to March of 2020. More than ever, we need the spiritual comfort and inspiration of music, and being with others in a community, seeking connection.

With the SFJAZZ 2021–22 Season, the artists, staff, and board are looking forward to joining with you around joyful live music that can move us to heal.

We have sought to stay connected with you all throughout the crisis. We launched Fridays at Five in late March 2020, which featured previously recorded highlight shows from the Center. All SFJAZZ Members had free access to the weekly shows, and we added SFJAZZ Digital Membership for those outside of the Bay Area. Fridays at Five will become Fridays Live when we open the Season in September. Please see more on SFJAZZ Membership on page 54.

Thank you to everyone who maintained their membership, and those who joined us from around the country and the world. Your support has helped us and our musicians get through this tough time.

We hope that you will find some of the treasures and discoveries that are part of the SFJAZZ Center’s 2021-2022 Season in the pages to follow, including our hosting of the NEA Jazz Masters Awards in March — the first time they have been presented live outside of New York or Washington D.C.

The SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director (RAD) program and the SFJAZZ Collective are two resident artist initiatives we will be expanding thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Our RADs — Ambrose Akinmusire, Anat Cohen, Chris Potter, Soweto Kinch and Terri Lyne Carrington — the Collective, as well as our Poet Laureate, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, are all creating new work and much of it will be speaking to the times.

The staff, board, and volunteers of SFJAZZ are constantly looking to strengthen our community and looking for ways to serve you and our artists better. Please tell us how we might improve your experience. Write to me at rkline@sfjazz.org or feel free to introduce yourself when you see me here at the Center.

We are grateful to you all for your support and encouragement. It is a joy to sit in the audience with you all. See you at the Center!

Warmly,