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36th SF Jazz Festival ~ Berkeley Festival ~ SF International Arts Festival - American Songbook

Jazz Legend and pianist Ahmad Jamal makes a long-awaited return to live performance with his quartet at the 36th San Francisco Jazz Festival, June 5 to June 17…";

This week on Open Air, KALW’s radio magazine for the Bay Area performing arts, guest host Peter Robinson talks with Randall Kline, founder and executive artistic director of SFJAZZ, about the 36th San Francisco Jazz Festival, which runs from June 5 to June 17, featuring artists like Ahmad Jamal, Monsieur Periné, Irma Thomas, Sérgio Mendes, Marcus Miller, Arturo Sandoval, Soweto Kinch, and many more.

The summer program at SF Jazz also includes the 2018 Summer Sessions, from July 12 to August 19, which contain a Philip Glass Festival (July 19-22), as well as performances by the Hot Club of Cowtown, David Grisman, Del McCoury & The Travelin’ McCoury’s, Zoë Keating, Taj Mahal, and others.

From the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition (BFX), we meet with founder and director Robert Cole, to discuss the 2018 summer festival. Presented by the San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS), the festival runs from June 3 to June 10 in concert venues all over Berkeley. Cole  has announced that he will step down from his position at the conclusion of the 2018 summer festival.

We follow up with the San Francisco International Arts Festival (SFIAF), ongoing through June 3 at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco, in a conversation with Taiwanese artist Pao-Chang Tsai about the US premiere of his solo theatre play Solo Date, which tells the story of Ho-Nien, a successful international businessman from Taiwan whose long-time lover and partner Alan is killed in an air crash; and with Mélodie Couture, the executive director of Cirquantique, an all women Canadian nouveau-cirque ensemble which makes its US debut with the US premiere of Bang Bang!, a fusion of Burlesque inspired, acrobatic acts.

Plus, in his capacity as Open Air’s regular contributor and critic at large, Peter Robinson will pay tribute to the Great American Songbook.

Open Air, with guest host Peter Robinson, heard live on Thursday, May 31 at 1pm. Listen now or anytime…