Our mantra is to search for wine, food and other delights. With this in mind we head down to the Mission District of San Francisco on a Saturday night to take in a somewhat unknown, but quite good, Latin Jazz Band called Primavera. We’d heard them play before in the East Bay and really enjoyed their music.
Both San Francisco natives, we visit the City often, but were a little reluctant to go to the Mission District because of the bad press it sometimes get. We were joined by two adventurous friends and were please to find Savannah Jazz to be a safe and pleasant venue, on Mission between 25th and 26th streets. Parking was not a problem at 7:30 on a Saturday night. There’s a $5 cover charge when groups are playing and the food was decent and reasonably priced. The drinks were good but the wine list was very limited and out of date with vintages no longer available. If you are a wine lover like us, it’s best that you bring in your own bottle of wine. The corkage fee is $15. The restaurant and lounge are very cozy and set up nicely so all patrons have a great view of the performing group.
Primavera has a very nice Latin sound, and we think they’ll gain in popularity. They were joined on this night by a wonderful vocalist, Ana Nitmar from Guatemala, and she definitely added spice to the selections she sang with the band. The three sets the band played at the Savannah Jazz Club were digitally recorded. We are hoping that soon a CD will be available so we can hear Primavera’s great Latin sounds on our iPods.
Here is Primavera’s schedule for coming performances: June 3, 7 pm. at the Panama Hotel in San Rafael, June 11, 7 pm. at the Cafe Lella in Berkeley, and June 24, 7pm. at the Park Avenue Bar & Grill in Oakland. Full disclosure: one reason we enjoy listening to this terrific group is that our son Jeff plays drums for Primavera.
For a fun night of good Jazz, this is a spot that you should consider. Good service and the sounds system is perfect for the size of the venue. Food is priced right and as the review says, bring your own and pay the corkage, it is a better deal. Traffic in the later evening is almost gone and you can park without effort. Your only competition being from Restaurants on Valencia. Mission Pie, is on the corner and makes excellent fruit based pies. You can do Valencia St. for dinner and the Savannah for music and make it a full evening in the City.