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SFJAZZ Center Opening Night: Live In Concert

By Patrick Jarenwattananon
Published January 23, 2013 at 2:00 PM EST
Chick Corea (piano) duets with Bill Frisell (guitar) for the first time.
1 of 10  — Chick Corea (piano) duets with Bill Frisell (guitar) for the first time.
Chick Corea (piano) duets with Bill Frisell (guitar) for the first time.
Chick Corea paid tribute to Bill Evans with his version of "Alice In Wonderland," with Esperanza Spalding on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums.
2 of 10  — Chick Corea paid tribute to Bill Evans with his version of "Alice In Wonderland," with Esperanza Spalding on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums.
Chick Corea paid tribute to Bill Evans with his version of "Alice In Wonderland," with Esperanza Spalding on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums.
Saxophonist Joe Lovano (center) played his piece "Blackwell's Message" with fellow saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Matt Penman, drummer Jeff Ballard and conguero John Santos.
3 of 10  — Saxophonist Joe Lovano (center) played his piece "Blackwell's Message" with fellow saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Matt Penman, drummer Jeff Ballard and conguero John Santos.
Saxophonist Joe Lovano (center) played his piece "Blackwell's Message" with fellow saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Matt Penman, drummer Jeff Ballard and conguero John Santos.
<p>Accompanied by drummer Eric Harland, Esperanza Spalding essayed her take on "Look No Further."</p><p></p>
4 of 10  — Accompanied by drummer Eric Harland, Esperanza Spalding essayed her take on "Look No Further."

Accompanied by drummer Eric Harland, Esperanza Spalding essayed her take on "Look No Further."

Emcee Bill Cosby paid reverence to the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner.
5 of 10  — Emcee Bill Cosby paid reverence to the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner.
Emcee Bill Cosby paid reverence to the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner.
Tyner played his "Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit" with Joe Lovano (sax), Esperanza Spalding (bass) and Eric Harland (drums).
6 of 10  — Tyner played his "Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit" with Joe Lovano (sax), Esperanza Spalding (bass) and Eric Harland (drums).
Tyner played his "Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit" with Joe Lovano (sax), Esperanza Spalding (bass) and Eric Harland (drums).
McCoy Tyner.
7 of 10  — McCoy Tyner.
McCoy Tyner.
McCoy Tyner was reunited with his old friend, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson.
8 of 10  — McCoy Tyner was reunited with his old friend, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson.
McCoy Tyner was reunited with his old friend, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson.
Tyner played his "Blues On The Corner" with Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), Bill Frisell (guitar), Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone), John Handy (alto saxophone), Matt Penman (bass) and Eric Harland (drums).
9 of 10  — Tyner played his "Blues On The Corner" with Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), Bill Frisell (guitar), Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone), John Handy (alto saxophone), Matt Penman (bass) and Eric Harland (drums).
Tyner played his "Blues On The Corner" with Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), Bill Frisell (guitar), Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone), John Handy (alto saxophone), Matt Penman (bass) and Eric Harland (drums).
Chick Corea (keyboard) joined the SFJAZZ Collective for the closing performance, an arrangement of his piece "Spain."
10 of 10  — Chick Corea (keyboard) joined the SFJAZZ Collective for the closing performance, an arrangement of his piece "Spain."
Chick Corea (keyboard) joined the SFJAZZ Collective for the closing performance, an arrangement of his piece "Spain."

Thirty years after presenting its first concerts in San Francisco, the organization SFJAZZ has built a permanent home and performance venue. The SFJAZZ Center, conceived as the first stand-alone building for jazz in the U.S., opened with a star-studded concert on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. WWOZ, WBGO and NPR Music teamed up for a live radio and online video broadcast of the concert.

Set List

Note: A full archive of the concert and video excerpts will be made available pending permissions.

  • Percussion Invocation

  • John Santos, Pete Escovedo and ensemble, "Ti Mon Bo" (Puente)

  • Mary Stallings with SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, "I Love Being Here With You" (Lee, arr. Eberhart)

  • Jason Moran & Eric Harland, "Yacht Club Swing" (Waller)

  • Chick Corea & Bill Frisell, "It Could Happen To You" (Van Heusen/Burke)

  • Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, Jeff Ballard, "Alice In Wonderland" (Fain)

  • Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman and ensemble, "Blackwell's Message" (Lovano)

  • Regina Carter with SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, "Don't Git Sassy" (Jones)

  • SFJAZZ Collective, "Mastermind" (Zenon)

  • Esperanza Spalding & Eric Harland, "Look No Further" (Rodgers)

  • Joshua Redman and ensemble, "Remember" (Berlin)

  • McCoy Tyner and ensemble, "Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit" (Tyner)

  • McCoy Tyner and ensemble, featuring Bobby Hutcherson, Bill Frisell and John Handy, "Blues On The Corner" (Tyner)

  • SFJAZZ Collective featuring Chick Corea, "Spain" (Corea)

    • Personnel

  • Bill Cosby, Master of Ceremonies

  • McCoy Tyner, piano

  • Chick Corea, piano

  • Esperanza Spalding, bass/voice

  • Joshua Redman, tenor saxophone

  • Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone

  • Bobby Hutcherson, vibraphone

  • Mary Stallings, voice

  • John Handy, alto saxophone

  • Pete Escovedo, timbales

  • Eric Reed, piano

  • Eric Harland, drums

  • SFJAZZ Center Resident Artistic Directors: Regina Carter, violin; Bill Frisell, guitar; Jason Moran, piano; John Santos, percussion; Miguel Zenón, alto saxophone/percussion

  • SFJAZZ Collective: Miguel Zenón, alto saxophone; David Sánchez, tenor saxophone; Andre Hayward, trombone; Avishai Cohen, trumpet; Stefon Harris, vibraphone; Edward Simon, piano; Matt Penman, bass; Jeff Ballard, drums

  • SFJAZZ High School All-Star Big Band: Paul Contos, director.

    • Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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