The Jazz Heritage Center

Click the Picture to Enlarge! Em Johnson Interest, developer of the The Fillmore Heritage Center and new home to Yoshi’s San Francisco, is creating an exciting center, for the enjoyment and education of visitors on the vital history of jazz. The “Jazz Heritage Center” will be a non–profit organization established to promote the history of Jazz locally, nationally and internationally. This center will house a Jazz Art Gallery, Gift Shop, and a Screening Room. Located in the Public Lobby directly off of Fillmore Street, jazz artifacts and a private art collection will be on display. There will be Interactive Kiosk’s available for visiting participants to access information and valuable history related to the Jazz Heritage of the Fillmore area and beyond. The project is located in the 1300 block of Fillmore Street, an area that is now known as the “Historic Fillmore Jazz Preservation District” of San Francisco.

MISSION STATEMENT: The Jazz Heritage Center promotes jazz, an American national treasure, by presenting its history and celebrating its presence as a living art form.

Our Goals Click the Picture to Enlarge! Our primary goal is to showcase San Francisco’s important place in the history of jazz, through interactive and traditional exhibitions, film screenings and live presentations. We will explore and present examples of the origins of the golden era of jazz in San Francisco. We will illuminate and showcase San Francisco’s contributions to jazz by featuring photographs and biographies of San Francisco’s “resident” Jazz Heritage Pioneers, as well as the national legends of jazz. Our presentations will include Public Art Panels, jazz art, artifacts, sample audio and video recordings, live performances and oral history recording sessions. We will ensure that the legacy is communicated to today’s visitors through our exhibits and art gallery. The JHC will be around for future generations to have access to and interact with our presentations. Our programs will encourage and inspire new practitioners to learn the history of jazz and continue to develop the art form known as jazz. Our exhibits are also designed to recognize and honor Jazz on a national level. We will identify and link to the major national focal points of jazz, as we explore its evolution and continuing influence on the very “beat” of American culture.

OUR PROGRAM: Click the Picture to Enlarge! At the Jazz Heritage Center visitors may: Access the cultural history of the Fillmore District, including biographies and recorded audio samplings of local and national jazz legends as seen on the outside “Public Art” panels, through Interactive Kiosks located in the public lobby of the Fillmore Heritage Center. Tour the Jazz Art Gallery, a unique inventory of photographs, posters, paintings and sculptures. Visit the Jazz Artifacts exhibit, which chronicles the legacy of jazz in the Fillmore District and presents traveling exhibits of national importance. Experience presentations and cinematic programming in the Screening Room. Browse our Gift Shop for CDs, DVDs, JHC merchandise, Jazz Festival collectibles from around the world, a unique jazz book collection and more. Listen to audio samples and selections of Jazz collectibles.