Tens of thousands of people jammed into 12 blocks of San Francisco on Saturday for the weekend-long Fillmore Jazz Festival.
But it almost didn’t happen this year. In April, organizers announced that the event would be canceled for financial reasons, only to be saved by an unnamed donor. But the future of the event may still be in doubt, and the biggest obstacle could be the city itself.
From the smooth sounds of Brazilian jazz to the joyful gospel music of Glide Memorial Church, the Fillmore Jazz Festival opened its two-day run, honoring styles of music that once earned the neighborhood the nickname “The Harlem of San Francisco.”…