SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: chapter members, family and friends on the Center's grand staircase
June R. Wallace accepts the Western Area Meritorious Award from Links Western Area Director Constance Fitzpatrick Smith
Pat Coleman receives the SFLinks Connect Community Service Award from Dr. Allison Metz
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: the event's honorees received pieces from Gallery of Jewels
Resident Artistic Director Jason Moran and artist Vaughn Filmore, commissioned to create the event's commemorative poster
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member Kay Carney-Filmore and husband, artist Vaughn Filmore
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: members Sharon Bell and Pamela Mays McDonald
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member Jill Cowan Davis and daughter
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member and mistress of ceremonies Belva Davis with husband Bill Moore
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: President Pamela Stevenson with membets Letha Jeanpierre and Gayle Wilson Simmons
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: members Gina Warren and Holly Johnson Friar (seated) with Kay Carney-Filmore, Allison Metz and Kimberly Brandon
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: members Grace Stanislaus, Francell Haskins and Robin Johnson
Frankie Jacobs Gillette and Marion Francois, spouse of Terry Francois, the first African American District Supervisor in SF
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member Laura Morris with husband Ken and son
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: members Kia Bahner and Kelly Tanner Jones
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: members Jean Burks and Deborah Sims
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: members Ella Turner-Gray, Valata Jenkins-Monroe, Grace Tipper-King, and Robin Johnson
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member Angelique Tompkins (center) with family members
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member Joyce Dixon (2nd from left) with husband Albert and other family members
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: Popular broadcast journalist Barbara Rogers (right) enjoys the event with a friend
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: Randall Kline, Executive Artistic Director at the SF Jazz Center, welcomes the audience
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: Members of the youth jazz group Soundtrap performed for event attendees during the pre-concert reception
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: Signature Cocktails included Links Blush Punch and Links Ginger Royal, sponsored by Anchor Distilling
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: guests enjoyed signature cocktails from event partner Anchor Distilling
Bayview Underground Food Scene featuring Yvonne’s Southern Sweets, Earl’s Brittle, Feve Artisan Chocolatier and Gratta Wines
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: new event partners included Anchor Distilling
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: new event partners included Gallery of Jewels
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member Laura Morris with mistress of ceremonies Belva Davis and Jason Moran after StoryCorps interview
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: Jazz icons Randy Weston (piano) and Billy Harper (sax)
Dr. Gina Gregory Burns, Chief of Diversity, Kaiser Permanente receives SFLinks Connect Community Service Award
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: Tyra Fennell, SF Arts Commission (L) and Y’Anad Burrell (2nd from R) with other MOAD Vanguard members
members Kay Carney Filmore and Jill Cowan Davis with Cynthia Roy
SF Jazz Artistic Director Randall Kline with Charles Collins, President/CEO of YMCA San Francisco
Soundtrap members Micaela Clark-Herrera, Devon Karpf, Nico Karpf, D.J. Eldridge Clark-Herrera, Ryan Hall, Chloe Parker
SFLINKS member and award-winning journalist Belva Davis interviews SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Jason Moran for StoryCorps
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: partner StoryCorps welcomed and informed guests of their mission
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: member Laura Sanders Morris with Natalie Fidelholtz, area director for event partner StoryCorps
SFLINKS@SFJAZZ: SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director and concert headliner Jason Moran
The San Francisco Chapter of the Links—one of the city's oldest and pre-eminient organizations with over six decades of service to the community—held a wonderful benefit concert at the luminous SFJAZZ Center, where the artistry of jazz blended with healing rhythms to create an intergenerational experience that touched the heart, soul, and spirit.
The special event marked the third event collaboration between SFLINKS and SFJAZZ, with this year's stellar entertainment provided by resident artistic director Jason Moran (a MacArthur Fellow who also serves as the Kennedy Center's Artistic Advisor for Jazz) and fellow legendary musicians Randy Weston and Billy Harper. With "Health and Wellness" a trending conversation these days, the trio delivered a prescription of soul-nourishing jazz infusion that boosted the audience's wellness quotient!
In addition, a lovely awards ceremony was held during the event, honoring distinguished community leaders. Award recipients included June R. Wallace, who received the Western Area Meritorious Award; as well as Pat Coleman of the Arthur H. Coleman Community Health Foundation, and Dr. Gina Gregory Burns (Chief of Diversity, Kaiser Permanente) who each received SFLinks Connect Community Service Awards. Each honoree received beautiful pieces courtesy of new event partner Gallery of Jewels and designers Shaya Durbin, Carmen Hinckle, and Rebecca Overmann.
New partners this year also included local purveyors Anchor Distilling, who provided specialty cocktails made with Hophead Vodka and The King's Ginger Liqueur—try the recipes below at home! The generosity of all of the event supporters enabled SFLINKS to provide 100 complimentary seats to the signature event.
Event partner StoryCorps—a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to preserve the stories of their lives—was also onsite to record the influence and impact of Jazz in the lives of San Franciscans. Together with StoryCorps, SF Links will celebrate these interviews and their archiving at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress with a special Community Listening Reception in 2014.
About SFLINKS:
For over six decades, the nonprofit service organization has committed to improving and enhancing the quality of life of the community by awarding scholarships to deserving youth. This year’s fundraiser continued the SFLINKS tradition of promoting Jazz as an American art form while furthering jazz music as a healing force and experience for wellness—a holistic way to communicate and relate with one another—and provided a unique opportunity for families, friends and community.
Check out a special commemorative video for SFLINKS@SFJAZZ here!
Photos: Vaughn Filmore, Idris Hassan, Edward Jefferson
Event partner Anchor Distilling created the following recipes especially for the event—try them at home!
Links Blush Punch
1.5 oz Hophead Vodka, .75 oz lemon juice, .5 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, .5 oz grapefruit juice, and .25 simple syrup
Links Ginger Royal
1.5 oz The Kings Ginger liqueur, .5 oz lemon juice, 4 oz of sparkling wine
