SFJAZZ Center
Opened in 2013, the 35,000-square-foot SFJAZZ Center is located on the corner of Fell and Franklin Streets in the heart of San Francisco’s fine arts district.
The Center is the first stand-alone structure in the country built specifically for jazz performance, with the 700-seat Robert N. Miner Auditorium and 100-seat Joe Henderson Lab. The building was designed by award winning architect Mark Cavagnero with the audio designed by Sam Berkow, one of the nation’s premier acoustical consultants.
One of the greatest jazz concert halls in the world.
The Guardian, London
Sandow Birk & Elyse Pignolet
Murals
SFJAZZ Center’s second floor features three commissioned tiled murals, created by the team of Sandow Birk, a Los Angeles-based artist is whose past work has embraced social themes across a wide spectrum—inner-city violence, graffiti, prisons, skateboarding, and a consideration of the Qur’an as relevant to contemporary life in America; and Elyse Pignolet, an American of Filipino descent who grew up in Oakland, California, who works primarily in ceramics and who often addresses the “permanence and traditions of ceramics with the fleeting and transitory nature of the contemporary world.”
MoreSandow Birk & Elyse Pignolet
Murals
SFJAZZ Center’s second floor features three commissioned tiled murals, created by the team of Sandow Birk, a Los Angeles-based artist is whose past work has embraced social themes across a wide spectrum—inner-city violence, graffiti, prisons, skateboarding, and a consideration of the Qur’an as relevant to contemporary life in America; and Elyse Pignolet, an American of Filipino descent who grew up in Oakland, California, who works primarily in ceramics and who often addresses the “permanence and traditions of ceramics with the fleeting and transitory nature of the contemporary world.”
MorePhotography Exhibit
10 years at SFJAZZ CENTER
January 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the SFJAZZ Center. As a part of our season-long celebration, a selection of photos featuring memorable live concerts and artists from SFJAZZ Center’s first 10 years will be displayed in the window-sills of the SFUSD building opposite the SFJAZZ Center. Curated by SFJAZZ Photographer Laureate Jim Goldberg.
MorePhotography Exhibit
10 years at SFJAZZ CENTER
January 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the SFJAZZ Center. As a part of our season-long celebration, a selection of photos featuring memorable live concerts and artists from SFJAZZ Center’s first 10 years will be displayed in the window-sills of the SFUSD building opposite the SFJAZZ Center. Curated by SFJAZZ Photographer Laureate Jim Goldberg.
MoreIshmael Reed's
WHEN I DIE I WILL GO TO JAZZ
Ishmael Reed, the acclaimed poet, playwright and novelist known for his satirical and polemical works about American political culture and social oppression - as well as for the jazz like rhythms of his language - was SFJAZZ's first Poet Laureate. serving from 2013-2015. His poem, "When I Die I Will Go To Jazz," is installed on the north gate of Raise Up Off Me Alley (named to honor jazz legend Hampton Hawes) on Linden Street at the SFJAZZ Center.
Ishmael Reed's
WHEN I DIE I WILL GO TO JAZZ
Ishmael Reed, the acclaimed poet, playwright and novelist known for his satirical and polemical works about American political culture and social oppression - as well as for the jazz like rhythms of his language - was SFJAZZ's first Poet Laureate. serving from 2013-2015. His poem, "When I Die I Will Go To Jazz," is installed on the north gate of Raise Up Off Me Alley (named to honor jazz legend Hampton Hawes) on Linden Street at the SFJAZZ Center.
Watch & Listen
This short documentary film by Ken Ellis discusses the making of and overall artistic vision of the SFJAZZ Center. The film includes behind-the-scenes footage of the Center being built, a brief historical look at San Francisco’s vibrant jazz scene and a number of interviews featuring SFJAZZ Co-founder & Artistic Director Randall Kline, legendary jazz singer Mary Stallings, Resident Artistic Director John Santos, SFJAZZ Center architect Mark Cavagnero, Education Director Rebeca Mauleón, and more.
This short documentary film by Ken Ellis discusses the making of and overall artistic vision of the SFJAZZ Center. The film includes behind-the-scenes footage of the Center being built, a brief historical look at San Francisco’s vibrant jazz scene and a number of interviews featuring SFJAZZ Co-founder & Artistic Director Randall Kline, legendary jazz singer Mary Stallings, Resident Artistic Director John Santos, SFJAZZ Center architect Mark Cavagnero, Education Director Rebeca Mauleón, and more.