TRANSCRIPTS:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Yoshi’s began in 1972 as a small Japanese restaurant near the University of California, Berkeley. But it quickly became a gathering spot for musicians, students, and artists eager for live improvisation.
By the early 1980s, Yoshi’s moved to Oakland’s Jack London Square, becoming one of the most respected jazz venues on the West Coast.
Its acoustically designed space hosted legends like Max Roach, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, and Betty Carter.
What makes Yoshi’s historically significant is its expansion of the concept of a jazz club. It combined food culture, community events, and world music long before that kind of blending became common.
This has been Rapp on Jazz—a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.