SFJAZZ Gala 2020 celebrates Mavis Staples with the SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award during our most lively and influential fundraiser. The party is centered around the Gala Concert, featuring the most exciting names in jazz in all-star collaboration - all erupting into an unforgettable late night After Party.
In honoring Ms. Staples with tge SFJAZZ Lifetime Achievement Award, we celebrate her as a singular artist who has incorporated the breadth of American music into her work while remaining steadfastly committed to her gospel roots, mirroring the development of the jazz tradition, which has always looked to sacred music as inspiration and a springboard to new areas of expression. We recognize Ms. Staples' inclusive approach to the roots of American music as a parallel to our mission at SFJAZZ, and we have been fortunate to present her twice in past years, including an October, 2003 perofrmance at San Francisco's iconic Grace Cathedral during the 21st San Francisco Jazz Festival that paid tribute to her friend and mentor, Mahalia Jackson.