I’ve been getting myself in gear for this weekend’s San Jose Jazz Festival with my Cab Calloway and Winton Marsalis CD’s in the car, and KCSM when the CD’s run out. This is the 20th annual San Jose Jazz Festival (okay, “AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival“), and it will be pretty much all over downtown San Jose from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. There will be 9 stages, plus food and plenty of “Extras“. And tickets can be had for only $15 per day or $30 for all three days, making it one of the biggest live music bargains of the year.

What caught my eye in this year’s festival program is the Club Crawl. The Crawl encompasses 13 downtown clubs, all with no-cover live jazz music on Friday and Saturday nights, running later than the outdoor stages. What I really like about the Crawl is that after you’ve seen superstars like Allen Toussaint and Bettye Lavette on the big stages, you can follow the Club Crawl and get a look at some hard-working local bands.

For example, on Friday:

• San Jose native Joe De Rose brings his trio to Hawg’s Seafood Bar
• Local vocalist Monica Marquis performs at Agenda Restaurant
• Keyboardist Kirk Tamura brings his Trio to A Perfect Finish Wine Bar

On Saturday:

• Northside native Doug Ellington and the New Urban Groove at the Temple Bar
• East Side based Polyluv at Koje Sake Lounge
• For night owls, Jazz Mechanics play at the Hedley Club in Hotel De Anza until 1:30 am

Check the Crawl webpage for specific times and more bands.

Note: The band in the photo is Bug Horn Rex. Its not officially part of the Jazz Festival, but they’re playing at the Naglee Park Garage Friday night from 6 to 9.