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South Bay / Santa Clara Valley Old-Time Jams

Old-Time Jams

These are informal jam sessions of mostly American "Old-Time" music, often with some contra and "Celtic crossover" tunes thrown in. They're held in the southern San Francisco Pensinsula area (~ Palo Alto to San Jose, California). The jams are acoustic but otherwise open to anyone who'd like to join in.

Monday Night Jams

We typically have 10-20 people for the Monday night old-time jams. The jams have moved from time to time; currently they are held in Palo Alto.

This jam (and several others, see below) are held at Fandango Pizza who have merged with the Pommard Delicatessen and Cafe in Palo Alto. The Fandango folks have been very supportive of our music. Please return the favor (and help them stay in business!) by buying something to eat and/or drink before or during the jams. Suggested amount: at least $5 per person.

Schedule: Now every Monday, ~7:00-9:15pm (or so)
Since moving, Fandango has taken to closing as early as 9:30 on Mondays, so the jam has been getting started earlier than previously. It's usually going by 7:30, often earlier. Come early and order a pizza! We play 'til a few minutes before closing (9:15-9:45) -- or even longer outside in the summer. (Bring a jacket....)

Location: Fandango Pizza's new location, 3163 Middlefield Rd (at Loma Verde), Palo Alto. This location is shared with the Pommard Delicatessen and Cafe.

These are the same jams that were formerly in Mountain View at Cuppa Joe and Fibbar McGee's, then in Sunnyvale at the Bean Scene, then at the Coffee Society in Cupertino and the Cafe la Dolce Vita in Palo Alto. The Irish sessions that used to alternate with the old-time jam are currently inactive. They have been supplanted to some extent by the Tuesday "mostly Celtic" jams, the Tuesday Celtic slow jam (also at Fandango) and the Sunday Irish sessions (see Other South Bay Area Jams below).

Thursday Night Jams

Schedule: Second and fourth Thursday nights, 7:00-9:00pm. Come early and order a pizza!

Location: Mountain Mike's Pizza, at their Santa Clara location, 5229 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara (just east of Lawrence Expressway on the north side of the street)

Sample Tune Lists

Here are names of some tunes I and others have heard at the jams. These lists are not definitive (and are sadly out of date), but just intended to give an idea of some of the tunes played. The old-time list is organized by keys as well as by title because we often stick to one key for a half-hour or so. (Some banjos and fiddles need to be retuned to change key.) The Irish tune list is just for historical interest, as those sessions were discontinued some time ago.

• Old-Time Tunes (PDF format)
• Irish Tunes (Draft, PDF format)

Email Notification List

We send notices about changes to a Yahoo "Old-Time Jams" group (mailing list).

You can join or see recent messages here.

You can also subscribe by sending a message to: old-time-jam-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Traffic level is normally very low. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Need more information? Email Pete Showman:
with subject: "Old-time Jam query"

Other South Bay Area Jams and Sessions

• The Santa Clara Valley Fiddlers Association (SCVFA) holds a large jam and open-mike stage on the first Sunday of every month, 1-5 pm usually at Hoover Middle School in San Jose. A slow-jam Beginners' Circle is offered at 2pm most months, led by an experienced musician. Sheet music and audio for these slow jams are posted on the Beginners' Page. Various youth activities are also offered from time to time, including periodic KidFiddle youth fiddle workshops and an annual Youth Fiddle Contest. (Note: Sometimes this jam is held in a nearby park during summer, for example when it falls near July 4. Check the website for current information.)
  
  
• District 9 of the California State Old-Time Fiddlers Association (CSOTFA) holds a monthly jam and potluck, usually on fourth-Sunday afternoons, 1:30-5:00. (The schedule is sometimes adjusted to avoid holidays, e.g. in November and December.) These events are held at a church in Castro Valley, at 19806 Wisteria St.
  
  
• Pipers' Club Slow Session: Irish tunes played slowly. There's a related "TOTW" mailing list that notifies people of the "tune of the week" to be learned in advance. Often the site includes a PDF or MP3 to learn it from.
  Schedule: Most Tuesday evenings, 7 to 9:45pm.
  Location: Fandango Pizza / Pommard Deli & Cafe in Palo Alto (see above).
  Session Contact: See above links.
  
  
• Los Gatos Tuesday Mostly-Celtic jams (also old-time, folk-singing, etc.)
  Schedule: Most Tuesday evenings , approx. 8-11pm
  Location: C.B. Hannegan's, a great Irish pub and restaurant at 208 Bachman Ave in downtown Los Gatos. Restaurant info: (408) 395-1233. Come early and enjoy a fine meal! (Metroactive notes on the restaurant.)
  Jam contact: Tony Becker: (408) 223-6102, .
  
  Sometimes the schedule or start-time changes because of other events at the pub. Contact Tony to receive his weekly email message with current venue and schedule information for both the Tuesday and Thursday "mostly Celtic" jams.
  
  
• Bluegrass Jam in Palo Alto
  Schedule: Most Wednesday evenings, about 7:30(?) to 9:45pm.
  Location: Fandango Pizza / Pommard Deli & Cafe in Palo Alto (see above).
  Jam Contact: (unknown)
  
  
• A Slow Jam group meets usually twice a month on Friday evenings at homes in the south SF bay area. The idea is to play music more slowly, to give people a chance to learn the tunes. For more information email Grace, tralalaaaaaaaa
  (that's 8 consecutive a's)
  
  
• Irish Sessions at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub, 25 North San Pedro Street (just north of Santa Clara Street), San Jose; (408) 947-8007.
  Schedule: every Sunday, approx. 5-8pm
  • 2nd and 4th Sunday evenings usually led by Art Friedman,
  • 1st and 3rd Sunday evenings usually led by John Lavelle, (408) 269-1752. (These replace the Sunday Irish sessions that John used to lead at Scruffy Murphy's in Sunnyvale before February 2004.)
  • 5th-Sunday leader is determined as needed.

Links to other Bay Area sites with calendars or event lists

• The Slowplayers website has a list of (mostly) Irish sessions in the Bay Area and elsewhere, and lots of other useful information.
• The Northern California Bluegrass Society has an extensive calendar
• The South Bay Folks also have a useful calendar, and operate a regular open-mic session in San Jose.
• The San Francisco Folk Music Club has a good list of music activities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

This page is maintained by Pete Showman, .

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