Front Porch Pandemic Jazz Jam 5th Anniversary

**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!

Shared by Richard Ord

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. 

April 30, 2025 marked 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

Shared by Richard Ord