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Yoshi's (jazz club)
Encyclopedia
Yoshi's is the preeminent jazz club
of the San Francisco Bay Area
.
Started as a Japanese restaurant in Berkeley by Yoshi Akiba, a World War II
war orphan, (who came to the United States to study dance, art, and dance therapy), and her friends Kaz Kajimura and Hiroyuki Hori, the club soon moved to a larger space on Claremont Avenue in Oakland, California
and began to feature live jazz music. It eventually gained a reputation as one of the most significant jazz venues on the West Coast
.
In May 1997, the club moved to Jack London Square
during the revitalization of the Port of Oakland
, as a 330-seat, 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²) jazz concert hall with an attached 220 seat Japanese restaurant, assisted by funding from the Oakland Development Agency.
On November 28, 2007, it opened a second 28000 square feet (2,601.3 m²) location in San Francisco's Fillmore District
, as a flagship of the city's attempt to restore the formerly African American
neighborhood (which was uprooted in the 1970s by urban renewal
) as a center of black culture and jazz.
Roy Haynes
was the featured performer on the opening night of the new San Francisco location.
Jazz club
A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music. Jazz clubs have been in large rooms in the eras of Orchestral jazz and big band jazz and when its popularity as a dance music was common...
of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
war orphan, (who came to the United States to study dance, art, and dance therapy), and her friends Kaz Kajimura and Hiroyuki Hori, the club soon moved to a larger space on Claremont Avenue in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and began to feature live jazz music. It eventually gained a reputation as one of the most significant jazz venues on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
In May 1997, the club moved to Jack London Square
Jack London Square
Jack London Square is a popular tourist attraction on the waterfront of Oakland, California. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, an Amtrak station, a ferry dock, the historic Saloon, the cabin Jack London lived in the...
during the revitalization of the Port of Oakland
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. It is now the fifth busiest container port in the United States, behind Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newark, and Savannah...
, as a 330-seat, 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²) jazz concert hall with an attached 220 seat Japanese restaurant, assisted by funding from the Oakland Development Agency.
On November 28, 2007, it opened a second 28000 square feet (2,601.3 m²) location in San Francisco's Fillmore District
Fillmore District, San Francisco, California
The Fillmore District, also called The Fillmore, The Fill, The Moe, or Fillmoe, is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.-Location:...
, as a flagship of the city's attempt to restore the formerly African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
neighborhood (which was uprooted in the 1970s by urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
) as a center of black culture and jazz.
Roy Haynes
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
was the featured performer on the opening night of the new San Francisco location.