San Ramon’s City Center Bishop Ranch is bringing back one of its best warm-weather traditions this July: three free outdoor evenings with an unusually impressive lineup of smooth-jazz talent.
The annual Smooth Jazz Series returns to Alexander Square on three consecutive Saturday nights — July 11, July 18 and July 25 — with live music beginning at 7 p.m. Each performance is scheduled to run through 8:30 p.m., giving East Bay residents an easy option for a summer night out without the ticket price usually attached to musicians of this caliber.
The series opens July 11 with saxophonist Paul Taylor, a chart-topping contemporary-jazz artist known for an energetic, soulful style that has made him a regular on smooth-jazz radio and festival stages.
On July 18, acclaimed pianist David Benoit takes the stage. Benoit has built a decades-long career in contemporary jazz, with Grammy nominations and a catalog that ranges from polished piano-led originals to his well-known work connected to the Peanuts universe.
The final concert, on July 25, features guitarist Lee Ritenour, a Grammy-winning jazz-fusion and contemporary-jazz veteran whose career includes more than four decades of albums, global touring and collaborations with some of the biggest names in music.
All three concerts are free and open to the public, with the stage set in City Center’s Alexander Square at 6000 Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon.
For guests hoping to make an evening of it, City Center says limited reserved seating directly in front of the stage will be available through select restaurant prix-fixe reservations. You can see details here.
Everyone else is welcome to settle in from one of the restaurants surrounding the square, grab a table on a patio, or bring a picnic for the lawn.
Free parking is available in the garage at 3001 Bishop Drive.
With a saxophone star, a Grammy-nominated pianist and a Grammy-winning guitarist all on the schedule, this is not the usual shopping-center background music. It is one of the easiest ways to catch serious jazz talent in the East Bay this summer — and it will not cost a dime.
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