There are some significant changes to Summer Fest this year, starting with the installation of eight giant, whimsical alebrijes, vividly hued animal statues designed and painted by artists from Oaxaca (including one of Angélico Jiménez’s Cat Nahual).
On the musical front, there are changes, too, starting with the jazz cat who will be omnipresent — trumpet star Theo Croker, the festival’s first artist in residence.
Whether you stake out seats at the Main Stage and make a day of it on the plaza or roam around to cherry pick the acts that catch your fancy, chances are Croker will be part of the program. Whatever your strategy, there’s far more great music happening over the course of the weekend than one person can catch. Here are my hot tips of what not to miss.
José James: Revenge of the Dragon
When & where: 5:45 p.m. Aug. 8, Jay Paul Company Main Stage
The skinny: The hip-hop era’s most poised jazz crooner celebrates the release of his recent album “1978: Revenge of the Dragon,” a disparate collection of songs inspired by the jazz fusion, kung fu cinema, and Blaxploitation films associated with the titular year of his birth.
La Marisoul and the Love Notes Orchestra
When & where: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 8, PG&E Latin Tropical Stage
The skinny: Grammy Award-winning vocalist La Marisoul, founding front woman of La Santa Cecilia, brings the band from her first solo album for a program of classic boleros reimagined with jazz and Afro-Caribbean grooves.
David Binney Action Trio
When & where: 9 p.m. Aug. 8 at Montgomery Theater Stage
The skinny: Now based in Los Angeles, tenor saxophonist David Binney was long a major force on the New York scene with credits on some 400 albums by an imposing cross-section of fellow jazz masters. He’s at his most unfettered with his Action Trio featuring drummer Louis Cole and bassist Pera Krstajic.
Carl Allen Trio with Reginald Veal and Ralph Moore
When & where: 1 p.m. Aug. 9 at Montgomery Theater Stage
The skinny: At the center of the straight-ahead jazz scene since the early 1980s, drummer Carl Allen has worked with a vast constellation of jazz greats, a status he’s attained himself as a bandleader and educator. He’s joined by New Orleans bass maestro Reginald Veal and powerhouse tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore.
Mary Stallings
When & where: 3 p.m. Aug. 9 at Montgomery Theater Stage
The skinny: On the cusp of turning 86, San Francisco jazz great Mary Stallings continues to defy the calendar, swinging with absolute authority while interpreting standards with her inimitable phrasing. She’s a true Bay Area treasure championed by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine and Count Basie.
Theo Croker
When & where: 6 p.m. Aug. 9 at San Jose Jazz Break Room, 2 p.m. Aug. 10 at California Theatre Stage
The skinny: Summer Fest’s inaugural artist in residence, Theo Croker is a state-of-the-art trumpeter and composer who plays two shows with his own band (joined by captivating young vocalist Tyreek McDole at the latter set). Croker also performs as special guest with Ghost-Note (7:30 p.m. Aug 8) and Butcher Brown (2 p.m. Aug. 9) on the Jay Paul Company Main Stage.
The Headhunters
Featuring Mike Clark, Bill Summers, Donald Harrison Jr.
When & where: 2 p.m. Aug. 10 Jay Paul Company Main Stage
The skinny: The seminal jazz funk combo, which spun off from Herbie Hancock’s transformational 1973 album “Head Hunters,” features the ingenious tandem of drummer Mike Clark and percussionist Bill Summers and New Orleans saxophone royalty Donald Harrison Jr.’s relentless grease.
Toninho Horta Quartet
When & where: 4 p.m. Aug. 10, California Music Lounge
The Skinny: A guitarist revered by the likes of Pat Metheny and the composer of several Brazilian jazz standards, Toninho Horta gained fame as part of Milton Nascimento’s “Clube da Esquina” posse in the early 1970s and he’s been an international creative force ever since (though this is a rare Bay Area performance).
Nidia Góngora
When & where: 7 p.m. Aug. 10, PG&E Latin Tropical Stage
The skinny: Steeped in the traditional music of Colombia’s Pacific coast, vocalist Nidia Góngora has served as an ambassador for the region’s little-known Afro-Colombian culture, delivering incantatory songs inflected with kindred musical forms and more recently laced with electronica.
MeloDious
When & where: 8 p.m. Aug. 8, SJZ Break Room
The skinny: The three Oakland siblings who make up MeloDious seem poised for a major breakthrough with their captivating blend of gospel, jazz, and R&B, delivered with lush vocal harmonies and daunting instrumental prowess.
SAN JOSE JAZZ SUMMER FEST
When & where: Aug. 8-10, Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park, San Jose; music starts 5:45 p.m. Aug. 8, noon Aug. 9-10
Club Crawl: Various restaurants and bars will host free shows following Summer Fest performances each night
Tickets: Three-day passes, $111.15-$644.80; single-day passes, $39.05-$265.65; child discounts available
Contact: Tickets, full schedule and more information is at summerfest.sanjosejazz.org