World Premiere

Marcus Shelby is an iconic figure on the Bay Area jazz scene, and over the past 20 years the bassist, composer and bandleader has created extraordinary, historically informed musical settings for some of the Bay Area’s most exciting vocalists. His work has illuminated overlooked facets of the African-American experience, from the abolitionist movement and the Port Chicago mutiny trials to Negro League baseball. For his new project Blues in the City he’s collaborating with local Bay Area artists such as Tongo Eisen-Martin and more, examining how San Francisco’s most vulnerable citizens–the homeless, the poor and BIPOC communities–have been drastically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The original suite is keyed to Nina Simone’s directive that “An artist’s duty…is to reflect the times.”

Esplanade, Yerba Buena Gardens
Mission St. between 3rd & 4th Sts.
San Francisco, CA + Google Map

Free!

PS: Take a walk behind the fountain, where the sound of the water punctuates and amplifies Martin Luther Kin Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.