San Jose Jazz Summer Fest: 8 shows you shouldn’t miss

There are many ways to enjoy Summer Fest. Some days I hunker down on the plaza and focus on the Jay Paul Company Main Stage, which this year features favorites like New Orleans brass standard bearers the Soul Rebels, R&B icon Patti LaBelle, the Afro-Cuban All Stars, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.

But other days the mission is to seek out artists who don’t play the Bay Area often, or bands stocked with inspired players.

Here are some acts well worth catching.

Harold Davenport

When & where: 8 p.m. Aug. 7 at McDonald’s Blues/Big Easy Stage

The skinny: Part of a brilliant wave of young Black musicians who are transforming the blues scene, Vicksburg’s Harold Davenport is a 19-year-old guitarist and harmonica phenomenon who just released his debut album on the Little Village Foundation label, “Young Rell” (recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studios in San Jose).

Gretchen Parlato Quartet

When & where: 8 p.m. Aug. 7 at Break Room Stage, 11 p.m. Aug. 7 at Signia Club Regent Stage

The skinny: With her beguiling Brazilian-inflected sound Gretchen Parlato is one of 21st century’s most influential and prolific jazz vocalists, known for her work both as a leader and collaborator with the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Taylor Eigsti and Terence Blanchard. She performs with a stellar quartet including her husband, ace drummer Mark Guiliana, and also plays 1 p.m. Aug. 8 on the Jay Paul Company Main Stage with SJZ High School All Stars.

Mike Clark and His Post Boptet

When & where: 1 p.m. Aug. 8, Montgomery Theater Stage

The skinny: While Mike Clark grooved his way into funk history with his “Actual Proof” beats for Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters the drummer is never happier than when he’s swinging fiercely with fellow jazz masters like Boptet bandmates Craig Handy (saxophones), Dave Kikoski (piano), Essiet Okon Essiet (bass), and 85-year-old trumpet great Eddie Henderson.

Dayramir González Quartet

When and where: 4 p.m. Aug. 8 at SJZ Break Room Stage and 7 p.m. Aug. 8 at Signia Club Regent Stage

The skinny: Cuban-born, Bronx-based pianist Dayramir González is an ambitious composer and spectacular improviser whose quartet features a top-shelf cast of Los Angeles players with Colombian bassist Santiago Gonzalez and drummer Tony Austin, who earned renown for his work with tenor sax star Kamasi Washington and the West Coast Get Down collective.

Sylvia Cuenca Bridging Generations

When and where: 5 p.m. Aug. 8, Montgomery Theater Stage

The skinny: San Jose drummer Sylvia Cuenca, one of the region’s most dependably swinging accompanists, leads a sextet featuring a veteran rhythm section with pianist David Kikoski, bassist Essiet Okon Essiet and Brazilian-born percussionist Will Martins with two rapidly rising horn players, trumpeter Wallace Roney, Jr. and tenor saxophonist Rico Jones. She brings the same group, minus Martins, to Kuumbwa Jazz Center Aug. 6.

Marcus Shelby Nonet

When & where: Presents “Birth of the Cool Revisited,” 1 p.m. Aug. 9, Montgomery Theater Stage

The skinny: As part of trumpet legend Miles Davis’s centennial celebration bassist Marcus Shelby has assembled a talent-laden nine-piece group to play the hugely influential charts recorded in 1949-50 and compiled as “The Birth of the Cool.” With tuba, French horn and baritone sax, the expanded instrumentation gives these arrangements textures and motion that have never quite been equaled.

Dani and Debora Gurgel Quarteto, featuring the Cressmans

When & where: 3 p.m. Aug. 9, Montgomery Theater Stage

The skinny: The acclaimed mother-and-daughter led Brazilian jazz combo from São Paulo teams up with San Francisco vocalist Sandy Cressman and her daughter, trombonist and
vocalist Natalie Cressman, who are both steeped in Brazilian music. Natalie’s husband, Brazilian-born guitarist and composer Ian Faquini, rounds out the collaboration. The Gurgel Quarteto and the Cressmans also perform at San Francisco’s Keys Jazz Bistro Aug. 8.

Combo Chimbita

When & where: 7 p.m. Aug. 9, PG&E Latin Tropical Stage

The skinny: With the intense, incantatory vocals of Carolina Oliveros, the quartet Combo Chimbita has carved out a singular niche on the Latin alternative scene with a psychedelia-laced sound forged in New York City’s vibrant Colombian community.