Joey Defrancesco, Jimmy Cobb & Larry Coryell Trio Tribute to Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery at Yoshi's Oakland

Not even a week after Herb Caen mused in a January 1986 issue of his San Francisco Chronicle column that “Two of my favorite pastimes, baseball and jazz, are in big trouble here…Jazz may not be dead – not with so many skilled practitioners around – but the venues are drying up…” Hammond B-3 organ innovator Jimmy Smith played the brand new Yoshi’s Nitespot. The East Bay Express reported that “fans flocked in like they’d been coming for years…By the time Smith and his quartet launched into ‘The Sermon,’ there wasn’t an empty seat to be found…” On a rainy Thursday night in January of 1986, Smith took the stage at Yoshi’s, unaware of the integral role his weekend performances would take in shaping the club’s artistic direction, and permanently solidified jazz’s place in the musical landscape of the Bay Area....

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Not even a week after Herb Caen mused in a January 1986 issue of his San Francisco Chronicle column that “Two of my favorite pastimes, baseball and jazz, are in big trouble here…Jazz may not be dead – not with so many skilled practitioners around – but the venues are drying up…” Hammond B-3 organ innovator Jimmy Smith played the brand new Yoshi’s Nitespot. The East Bay Express reported that “fans flocked in like they’d been coming for years…By the time Smith and his quartet launched into ‘The Sermon,’ there wasn’t an empty seat to be found…” On a rainy Thursday night in January of 1986, Smith took the stage at Yoshi’s, unaware of the integral role his weekend performances would take in shaping the club’s artistic direction, and permanently solidified jazz’s place in the musical landscape of the Bay Area.

This summer, as a monument to Smith’s paramount performances, his protégée Joey DeFrancesco will take the revered seat behind the organ to play homage to his mentor, the man who proved that the artistry and audience for jazz in the Bay Area hadn't faded. Guitarist Larry Coryell, and iconic drummer Jimmy Cobb will join DeFrancesco, bringing with them an intimate connection to Smith’s music through their respective collaborations with, and deep study of, guitarist Wes Montgomery.

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