The Barbados Jazz Festival is a very special event. Attended largely by locals and returning Bajans (as Barbadians call themselves), along with a smattering of Americans and resident expats, the festival takes place in several halls (which host evening performances) as well as in Farley Hill National Park in the island’s north where two outdoor afternoon concerts take place. Despite the "jazz" in the name, the festival hosts mainly pop and jazz-fusion artists because that’s what, from the produc

Born in 1930 in New York City, Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins has long been a fixture on the jazz scene, and he has been no stranger to the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Sonny appeared most recently in October, 2006 at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. At the event, Milestone and Fantasy record producer Orrin Keepnews introduces him to the audience. Keepnews tells us how he had first met Rollins at the recording session for Thelonious Monk’s classic recording "Brilliant Corners."

Wearing purple flowing robes, Baaba Maal takes the stage at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. Seated, he sings while accompanying himself on his six-string acoustic guitar. To his right sits his longtime accompanist and backup singer blind griot Mansour Seck, who - with his shaved head and orange flowing gown - resembles an elderly monk. Another backup singer, a female, sits to his left; she takes part of the lead in the second song which contains one English word: "San Francisco." The lo

The stage is set at San Francisco’s Herbst Theater for a rare appearance by Randy Weston and the Gnawa musicians of Morocco. On one side of the stage is Randy’s black grand piano. Behind it is a set of congas and percussion instruments. And to the right is an enormous Middle Eastern carpet laid atop a raised stand. The occasion is a rare appearance by Randy Weston and musicians from Gnawa. The musicians ancestors were brought from West Africa - the name "Gnawa" being a corruption of "Ghan

The acoustics at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral are superb. Constructed in 1928, Grace, the nation’s largest Episcopalian cathedral, was was finished only in 1964. Flags of many countries adorn the ceiling, and some of its gold-leaf paintings, when viewed from a distance, would not be out of place in a Buddhist temple. Solo jazz concerts at Grace are something of a tradition. Mavis Staples has performed here, and duos such as saxophonist Harold Lloyd with tabla percussionist Zakir Hussai