Last night I had the pleasure of catching local jazz diva Kim Nalley play a divine set of Nina Simone songs in the elegant and intimate Rrazz Room at the Hotel Nikko in SF. Kim has been doing her tribute to the great Nina Simone from mid-June, finishing up on July 17. What made last…
Category: SF Bay Area
Jazz Mafia Free 10 Year Anniversary CD: Bring the Brass, Bows and Beats!
For you jazz heads and hip-hop heads, check out this awesome free music compilation by the incomparable Jazz Mafia, which I've got playing out of my speakers right now! Just head to their website for instructions on how you can download it. I know I am like 10 years too late to the party….
My Sis and I as Disco Robots (video)
Here's a fun little video of my sister Cori and I playing around in this Svedka Vodka photo booth thingee they set up at Club Mezzanine last Friday. You can see the original video on the Svedka site (for as long as they keep it up.) We happened to be there with our cousin Reena…
Watch my little cousin Jazzy destroy this karate kata! (UPDATED)
Check out this awesome video of my cousin Jazzy competing in the SharkCity martial arts tournament in San Jose last week. This really took me back to my martial arts days as an adolescent and in college. I don't think I was this good though. She got Grand Champion in her division! Here's…
Home Worship with the Oakland Quakers
Rounding out my tour of local Quaker meetings and churches, on Sunday afternoon I found myself at the simple home of Pam Calvert and Helen Haug in Oakland. Pam and Helen have been holding a Quaker worship group in their home on Sunday afternoons for several years now. I have been wanting to attend this…
Swingin the Soul Dance Party: “Crossover” Dancing in the Bay
One of the main attractions of the San Francisco Bay Area for me is the diverse and interconnected dance communities that thrive around here. I'm first and foremost a lindy hopper and a close second a hip-hop dancer. And the Bay is one of the best places in the world to find healthy lindy hop…
Swingin the Soul Dance Party this Saturday in SF featuring Supertaster!
I am excited to spread the word that my buddy Nicole along with her friend Melissa are throwing a super dope “Swingin the Soul” dance party on San Francisco this Saturday, May 14. The featured band that evening is Supertaster, who you can see above jamming with Stevie Wonder! They clearly kick ass and…
Lindy Bombing the Mission: Swing Dancing at Sunday Streets in SF
Yesterday I had a great time lindy hopping with 20-some other folks as part of the "Sunday Streets" festival in the Mission District of San Francisco. "Sunday Streets" is a city-sponsored series of events that creates car-free areas on the weekend for people to stroll, shop, eat, listen to music and just hang out….
San Francisco Quaker Meeting: Sublime Silence in Downtown SF
Today I finally got to check out the San Francisco Quaker Meeting, almost completing my tour of local Bay Area Quaker communities. A fairly nondescript building on 9th Street near Market, the San Francisco meeting gathers every Sunday at 11am for worship, followed by socializing and committee meetings. This morning there were about 30-40 Friends…
Biking in San Francisco: From Mission Bay to the Golden Gate
I spent this weekend doing a lot of biking in San Francisco, which is a great way to get to know the city and to get around. I've been told that SF is one of the great biking cities in the United States. But it's famous hills and narrow, windy streets were wee bit intimidating….