The GGA Project -- Day #245 "After Hours"

As I've written before, on blog past and present, the San Jose Jazz Festival is kind of my thing.  I plan summer trips and work around it and would probably feel pretty damned sad if a year slipped by without my making it out.  But the jazz festival isn't all about the 10 stages featuring bands during the three days of music.  There are other events associated, most of which I usually skip.  Until this year, that is.

Today's New Activity: Jazz Festival After Hours Club Crawl

Since I had to work Saturday and couldn't get to the daytime stages, I finally decided it was time to check out the music that happens after the afternoon sun has left festival-goers in a super tired, super happy, super mellow state of wide-open listening.

The best thing about this 12-club/restaurant/bar event is that none of the establishments charge covers, so you are free to wander into and out of all of them, searching for the vibe that fits your mood.

I met Kelsi down there.  She'd gotten there earlier than me and set off first to see our friend Jonah's band play at The Temple Bar.  I love So Timeless, but they are more of a funk band and I was in the mood for straight-ahead jazz, which we found in good working order at Mosaic, a nice, classy restaurant/bar inside of the Four Points hotel.  The Jazz Mechanics was a three-member group made up of a keyboardist, bassist, and drummer, and they were amazing.  During their break we caught up on girl (or woman, rather) talk, and halfway into their second set we headed off to see what else was what.  I kind of wish we would have just stayed in that spot, because it was my favorite of the three we went to, but what's a club crawl without at least a little bit of crawling?

The band playing at Los Gatos Brewing Company was a little lounge-y for us, so we left there in short order and set out for The Fairmont Hotel where, inside the lobby, a swirling mass of folks had gathered around the r&b cover band, trying to eek out a last bit of soulful groove before, I imagine, retiring to their hotel rooms to make sweet love :P

I've never seen that place (normally a bit on the stuffy side) so crowded or so alive.  It was a great way to close out the evening before heading to Nicole's, where I'd spend tonight in order to wake up within walking distance of the festival bright and early tomorrow...