SFJAZZ, the leading non-profit jazz organization on the West Coast, hosted its annual SFJAZZ Spring Gala Friday night at San Francisco’s Bimbo 365 Club, drawing a crowd of celebrities and Bay Area notables and breaking its own fundraising records.
Among others, the evening honored the first NAACP/SFJAZZ Humanitarian Award to comedian and movie star Chris Tucker, and film icon Clint Eastwood presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to innovative Jazz Pianist Ahmad Jamal, his longtime friend. Incidentally, Eastwood has had a passion for music all his life especially jazz and even has a record label through Warner Bros. called Malpaso Records.
Willie Brown also delivered an official proclamation from current San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, declaring the day “Ahmad Jamal Day in San Francisco.”
The star-studded crowd also included comedian Robert Townsend, and former San Francisco mayor and current Lieutenant Governor of California, Gavin Newsom.