Sunday’s Jazz Benefit Dinner & Concert

The time is right for rescheduled event, Sunday July 25

There are still a few places at the table for this Sunday’s Jazz in the Chef’s Kitchen, the long-delayed annual Jazz Festival Benefit Concert & Dinner. Originally scheduled for May 22, the unseasonable spring weather caused the rescheduling of the event, and it’s a good thing they pulled the plug when they did.

“It actually hailed here on that day,” said Bruce Aidells, co-host of this year’s benefit for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival. “Then the wind picked up – we would have had to serve dinner in the garage. It would have been an absolute disaster.”

Well, maybe. Considering that the garage, like the rest of the custom-built home on Sweetwater Springs Road, is an aesthetic and practical showcase, an Arts and Crafts celebration in the style of Greene & Greene. The brother architects of the early 20^th century created many memorable homes in Pasadena, Carmel, Berkeley and other California neighborhoods, and the couple count architecture and jazz among their top three loves. “Food is actually our first love,” Aidells clarifies, “’way more than the others!”

Aidells (yes, the sausage guy) and his wife, chef Nancy Oakes of Boulevard and L’Avenue, will make good on their commitment to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival this Sunday, July 25, with a multi-faceted celebration of the arts. The event, held at the Aidells-Oakes custom built home on Sweetwater Springs Road, starts at 4:30 with a reception and music from a top-flight jazz quartet, the David Udolf Trio. The pianist is joined by drummer Lorca Hart and bassist Jeff Chambers, and they’ll treat the 50-plus attendees to jazz in the garden while appetizers — oysters, pizza, caviar and truffles — are served.  

After the hour-long reception vocalist Kenny Washington joins the trio, and his set of jazz, blues and classics from the Great American Songbook as well as other surprises promises to delight the guests. “He’s great, you’ll love him,” promises Jessica Felix, and we believe her. You can visit this page to hear some clips of Kenny’s music.

Nancy’s the head chef for the dinner, prepared with the assistance of Franco Dunn, and the carte looks appetizing indeed: Beef Steak Florentine, Wood Oven Roasted Lobster Tails, and Grilled Quail with Balsamic Cherries, are the entrées, and sides include Roasted Asparagus, Wild Mushrooms, Toasted Ancient Grains and Eva’s Tomatoes & Mozzarella among many other choices. (To see the complete menu, visit this page.)

Yes, there’s a dessert table too, but the wine list alone makes the expected donation a sound investment: there’s the Roederer Estate Brut from Anderson Valley, the ’07 Alysian Chardonnay, the Miner Family ’06 Oracle – half bottles run $50 of this Napa Valley Burgundy blend – the 92-point Helena Montana cabernet from Anakota, and many other wines well worth the price of admission.

It may sound like an extravagance for the well-to-do. But consider all you get – a Michelin-worthy dinner from one of Northern California’s most decorated chefs, live jazz music from the Top of the Mark, a living museum of architectural innovation, and your choice from a custom wine list that no connoisseur could resist. Indulgence or bargain? It’s all in how you look at it. If you look at it as worth every cent,  click this link to purchase your admission to the benefit event of the summer.

Over the past 12 years the Healdsburg Jazz Festival has become one of the largest cultural events in Sonoma County. Supporting our mission of “preserving the indigenous art form of music known as jazz,” the Festival is now heralded as being one of the best boutique jazz festivals in the world. Help support the Festival, and enjoy an unforgettable evening in the bargain, by joining us at the Benefit Dinner and Concert this Sunday.

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