Search results for

**What: Live Jazz! **When: Every Thursday starting around 4 for 2 hours or so (subject to weather) **Where: Outside at 5626 Bloch St. San Diego (University City) 92122 **Seating is outside around the neighborhood or in your parked car. Bring your own chairs or a blanket. Picnicking and wine tasting are popular. Perfect for a jazzy happy hour. Dogs on leash are always welcome. Masks and other Covid protocols are at the audience’s discretion. **FREE for all ages; kids to seniors. **Who: Here’s the expanded collective of scoundrels (a.k.a. The Front Porch Pandemic Jazz Band): Saxophones - Greg Pardue Keyboards - Jack Hoffman, Chris Penny, Biz Nguyen or Max Zape Bass - Roy Jenkins, Mark Phelps, Mark Delin or Gedeon Deak Guitar - Alex Lopez Drums - Larry Friedman, Jack Hoffman, Mike Masessa or Gary Chun Trumpet & Flugelhorn - Jim Napier Vocals – Mark Phelps or Gary Chun (Plus additional guest musicians and vocalists) The music we play is classic jazz, standards, swing & blues from the Great American Songbook along with Latin & island styles like Bossa Nova, Samba, Calypso and Reggae plus we've even been known to funk it up. Most of the songs are classics by musicians & composers such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Louis Armstrong, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, the Beatles, Nora Jones, Sting, Grover Washington Jr. and many more. We know (or can fake) 100’s of songs and we’re always expanding the song list so you never know what we might pull out of our hat. We happily take requests if we know the song or have a chart. Songs are called out on the spot, arrangements can be on the fly and it’s never the same song list from week to week. Even the lineup of musicians changes slightly from week to week. It’s loose, it’s flexible & most of all it’s fun. Come join us and tell your friends! HISTORY of the FRONT PORCH PANDEMIC JAZZ JAM (2020-2025): "Back in April 2020, 3 long time professional San Diego musicians found themselves without any gigs or opportunities to play with other musicians because of the new Covid 19 Pandemic. Having gigged together in various bands for many years, on April 30, 2020 (UNESCO International Jazz Day); Greg Pardue (saxophones), Jack Hoffman (piano) and Roy Jenkins (bass) decided to try jamming outdoors on Greg's front porch where there was plenty of fresh air, a light breeze and room to observe the new concept of "social distancing". They had so much fun and the neighbors were delighted, so they decided to make it a weekly jam and invited a few friends to check it out because, being outside in San Diego with mild weather, it was relatively safe for an audience and the musicians even in the throes of the pandemic. Word got out about great live jazz every Thursday afternoon when public live music performances were almost non-existent. Several local TV stations checked them out and even interviewed Greg and the event garnered local and even a little international media coverage. During the first couple of years the band grew from 3 to 6 musicians in any given week and the audience grew to 30-50 people from all corners of San Diego county. There's also been other musicians and audience members from all around the US and Europe stop by to check it out while visiting San Diego. Word has really gotten out and it proves Jazz is truly an international music. Because the musicians are having so much fun, it has become a rotating collective of around 20 musicians from all over San Diego county and southern CA. And as the world has started to get a handle on Covid, the audience has also been having more and more fun. It's now become a regular "All Ages Jazz Happy Hour". Audience members bring picnics, have wine tastings and some bring their kids, dogs and bicycles. A weekly local running club now has the event on it's route. Another nice surprise has been on the academic side. USD Music professor, Dr. Angela Yeung, has made the Front Porch Pandemic Jazz Jam a class field trip every year since 2022. Thankfully the neighbors and the University City community have enthusiastically supported the weekly event since the beginning. Now April 30, 2025 marks the 5th Anniversary of the Front Porch Pandemic Jazz Jam and the musicians and audience are still having so much fun each week it shows no signs of stopping any time soon. In keeping with the regular Thursday afternoon schedule, their anniversary will be celebrated on May 1 (weather permitting). THE BASICS: San Diego Reader Best of 2021 – Winner - Best Local Band San Diego Reader Best of 2022/2023/2024 – Finalist - Best Local Band San Diego Reader Best of 2021/2022/2023/2024 – Finalist – Best Cover Band San Diego Reader Best of 2021/2022/2023 – Finalist – Best Neighborhood Event San Diego Reader Best of 2024 - Finalist - Best Place to See Live Music Outside

The attacks was one of the largest on Ukraine's capital in months. It came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared for the G7 summit in Canada, where he is pushing for stronger sanctions on Russia.

Del Mar Plaza is bringing free live music to the coast all July long during their Seaside Sessions series, held every Thursday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Ocean View Deck. Guests can enjoy a rotating lineup of local artists spanning folk, soul, country, rock, and more, all set against panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. New to the lineup this month are The Fooks, The Shams SD, and Wolff, adding fresh energy to this coastal concert series. Visitors are encouraged to arrive early to dine, shop, and take in the sunset while enjoying the sounds of summer. July 3 – Michael Tiernan (Folk, Blues, Soul, Pop, Rock) July 5 – Tolan Shaw (Pop, Country) July 10 – Salty Papa (Soul, R&B, Jazz, Rock and Roll) July 12 – Sweet Juanita (Americana, Blues, Classic Rock) July 17 – American Mile (Southern Rock, Blues, Americana) July 19 – The Fooks (Irish Rock) July 24 – The Shams SD (Rock Covers from the 80s and 90s) July 26 – Wolff (Danceable 60s through 90s Pop and Rock Classics) July 31 – David Spitzfaden (Rock, Blues, Funk, Jazz Fusion, Pop) Seaside Sessions are free and open to the public. For a full lineup and details, visit www.delmarplaza.com or follow @officialdelmarplaza on Instagram.

A free 20 min breakfast lecture series for our creative community. Join us for coffee, donuts, and inspiration every last Friday of the month. Tim Pyles is a longtime San Diego resident, who grew up in La Jolla with over 25 years of experience via radio and television broadcasting. Currently hosting radio shows on KXFM, Indie X FM and KNSJ, he’s previously been part of the on-air talent at legendary alternative radio station 91X, as well as FM94/9. His current radio stints specialize in local music from the Southern California/Tijuana area, with an additional program that focuses on new music releases from around the world. Meanwhile, Pyles has also spent many years interviewing bands and hosting events for numerous media outlets, including "SoundDiego," a locally produced television show that aired on NBC. A tireless champion of San Diego’s music, Pyles has also spent many years booking local bands, including shows for the iconic music venues, the Casbah in San Diego, and the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, with new concerts regularly announced. Pyles recently added podcast host to his resume. He now hosts two podcasts; "SoundCheck Flix," in which musicians talk about their favorite movie, and the other is "Bar Talk," where actors, musicians and other creatives are interviewed in a bar setting. Most nights of the week Pyles can be found out and about Southern California supporting the area’s thriving music community, earning his well-deserved nickname, the "Mayor Of Local Music." CreativeMorning on Facebook / Instagram

The popular North Park eatery launched Mabel's Gone Painting, a rotating art exhibit featuring resident artists and community events. "We live in a world where it's hard to make a living making something with your hands and to be supported by your neighborhood. And I think that's what artists and neighborhood restaurants are trying to do," said owner Chelsea Coleman.

Israel's prime minister denounced a report in Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoting Israeli soldiers saying commanders ordered them to fire at unarmed crowds near food distribution sites.

The San Diego Shakespeare Society is offering a unique opportunity for the dedicated student of the Bard to dig most deeply into the humanity of the plays. Rather than be satisfied with rote recitation of text, this guided workshop will enable its participants to explore the characters intimately and to determine to what extent they may identify with them. Which Shakespeare character are you? The play "Hamlet" takes place in Denmark with a specific group of Danes, but the drama of "Hamlet" is not bounded by time or place—it is universal. There are "Hamlets" from Shanghai to San Diego. The characters of the canon live in us, and each person realizes these characters in unique and wonderful ways. This workshop will be a chance to share how you have identified with Shakespeare’s characters. Beforehand, participants will be asked to think back over their lives as to which Shakespeare characters they have strongly empathized with and the reasons therefor. Do certain lines spin in your mind over and over again? Are there passages from Shakespeare you keep returning to? Try to write at least a paragraph about this and bring your “homework” to the workshop. Please copy and paste any memorable Shakespeare passages to your sheet and bring it to the gathering. How it will work: We will start with a “speed dating” event: Each person, with their writing in hand, has a few minutes to talk to the person in the opposite row, and then they switch to the next person. At the end, we can leave time for those who feel up to it to read off their personal observations or recite their favored passages for the entire group. The San Diego Shakespeare Society on Facebook / Instagram

The first returns in Tuesday’s special election for county supervisor show Paloma Aguirre, the Democratic mayor of Imperial Beach with a 6 point lead over her opponent John McCann.

In the weeks that follow the passing of a pontiff, the city of Rome, and the Vatican in particular, comes alive with discussions over which man is best suited to next lead the church.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the U.S. A highway patrol officer explains how drivers should handle emergency scenarios, from extreme weather to aggressive tailgaters.