Yoshi's, celebrates its 50th Anniversary,
and a month of world class drummers!
Yoshi's, Jack London Square is celebrating its fiftieth year serving up fresh and delicious food and some of the finest music on the planet! This month Yoshis presented some of the best drummers living today. With, Simon Phillips, Tommy Igoe, Pancho Sanchez and Steve Gadd.
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My dear friend Robin, and my partner Mike, are both drummers that give me a heads up to various amazing musicians playing live. This month they both gave me a heads up to what is going on at Yoshi's. Drummers, drummers drummers is what the restaurant supper club in Oakland was presenting this month, the month of love. Thanks to the people close to me, I caught the four shows at Yoshis that were all pretty special in their own ways. Simon Phillips, Tommy Igoe, Poncho Sanchez and Steve Gadd were the drummers I saw this month at Yoshi's.
All will be in blogs, HERE in the blog section, so please check out the blogs and photo galleries.
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Firstly lets talk about the venue. Yoshi's in Jack London Square feels like a pretty special place. As supper clubs dwindle away, both with the changing times and Covid decreasing the number of venues alive and well today, its hard to find such a special place such as this little gem in the heart of Oakland. The food is fresh and delicious and the music pairs nicely. You can eat in the restuarant or in the music venue side whilst you enjoy the show. Your choice.
A lttle about the history of this club...Yoshi’s began in Berkeley in 1972. It began as a mere sushi bar, owned by founder and namesake, Yoshie Akiba, alongside her two friends Kaz Kajimura, and Hiroyuki Hori. Over the next 50 years, Yoshi’s built itself into one of the world’s most respected jazz venues, earning a reputation as the Bay Area’s premier location for great Japanese cuisine and jazz music. Today, Yoshi’s is an award-winning 310-seat live performance venue with a state-of-the-art sound system. Yoshis occupies 17,000 square feet in the heart of Oakland’s Jack London Square. The venue has expanded its focus to include broader genres suitable to a variety of musical tastes, so keep checking to find an artist you'd like to see. Yoshis also seems to put on two shows a night, the early and late shows.
There were four special drummers shows this month, as The Music Soup homepage describes. So Mike and I went for all four, of course! Mike, is a drummer, (and I've always wanted to be a drummer), so these shows were pretty special, especially for us drum lovers. The drummers' shows this month will all be up in the blog section, so please check out the blogs section here.
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I highley suggest experiencing Yoshi's dinner and shows. Its a friendly, nicely run venue that offer both fresh food and interesting drinks, with the added bonus of top notch music in a small hall with excellent sound. Every seat in the house is close to the stage. And its a fun venue to see shows. The parking is super easy, as the car park is inexpensive and only a 30 second walk to the door of the venue! Bring your vaccination card and ID because they will check upon entry to both the restaurant and music room.
Yoshi's is at: 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: 510.238.9200