If you're wondering about the increasing coverage of jazz in the virtual pages of SFCV – more on this later – it's because jazz is classical music (not just America's classical music). Think about it: long-form instrumental pieces with lots of harmonic and rhythmic complexity (some of that derived from those European dead white males); small, niche market of enthusiasts; a repertoire of bedrock, classic pieces, which musicians reinterpret over and over again; casual listeners may find it “difficult”. What am I describing, traditional classical or traditional jazz?
Anyway, July is a great month for jazz festivals, the Stanford Jazz Festival preeminent among them. And if you're one of the music lovers who doesn't feel completely equipped to enjoy the month's splendid concerts, you can turn to Jim Nadel, the congenial, knowledgeable, and easily understandable head of the SJF. For just 10 bucks (kids free), Jim and a fine quartet of players will show you Everything You Wanted to Know About Jazz, and tune you in to the music, the terminology, and the whole jazz hipster scene. Then you can go off and explore the rest of the summer's jazz offerings with confidence