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What began in the early 1980s as a small gathering of jazz musicians to celebrate the local jazz scene has evolved into one of the leading jazz events on the West Coast: the annual four-week San Francisco Jazz Festival.

Hardly your every-day kind of jazz festival, the annual fall event features a series of more than 30 jazz concerts that run from October 10 through November 21 at a variety of venues, featuring performances by jazz legends Ornette Coleman, Mark Murphy, Poncho Sanchez, Pat Martino, John Abercrombie and John Handy, who receives this year's SFJAZZ Beacon Award on Sunday, November 1 for a lifetime in music.

"It's in trying times that music is most powerful," says festival director Randall Kline. "I find it very gratifying to see people continue to fill up the concert halls, applaud for audacious solos, sing along with inventive melodies and celebrate the gift of creation.

"Much more than a series of concerts," adds Kline, "it is a celebration of the season and the transcendent vitality of music."

Over the years, SFJAZZ has been known for its unique musical and thematic presentations. This year's festival is no exception, with offerings that include the globe-spanning music of Gal Costa and Milton Nascimento (Brazil); Yasmin Levy (Israel); Sara Tavares (Portugal); Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Omar Sosa and Alfredo Rodríguez (Cuba); Giovanni Allevi and Patrizia Scascitelli (Italy); and Zakir Hussain, Ravi Shankar, and daughter Anoushka Shankar (India).

Looking for something a little different? Check out tap dancer extraordinaire Savion Glover, a little "Backyard Alchemy" with Jesús Diaz, Scott Amendola & Jaz Sawyer, and some blues you can use with Keb' Mo', Solomon Burke, and the James Cotton "Superharp" Band with special guest Herbert Sumlin.

Also on tap for this year's fall concert season: the up-and-coming jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding (who's making the rounds of the country's festivals this summer); a "Benny Goodman Centennial Salute" with the Eddie Daniels Quartet and Jim Rothermel's Jazztet; singer/songwriter Melody Gardot, Trio 3 (featuring Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille); and a "Meeting of the Minds" between tabla master Zakir Hussain, banjoist Bela Fleck and visionary bassist Edgar Meyer.

Here's the schedule for this year's entire San Francisco Jazz Festival:

Saturday, October 10 at 8 pm
"Celebrating 10/10: Monk's Birthday"
Eric Reed
War Memorial Green Room

Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30 pm
"The Ukelele Re-Imagined"
Jake Shimabukuro
Davies Symphony Hall

Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30 pm
"Benny Goodman Centennial Salute"
Eddie Daniels Quartet; the Jim Rothermel Swingtet
Herbst Theatre

Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 pm
"Afro-Cuban Keystones"
Omar Sosa Quartet featuring Tim Eriksen; the John Santos Sextet
Herbst Theatre

Friday, October 23 at 8 p.m
The Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet
Herbst Theatre

Friday, October 23 at 8 pm
"Music and Magnetism"
Melody Gardot
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Saturday, October 24 at 8 pm
"Crescent City Classic"
Henry Butler
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
 
Saturday, October 24 at 8 pm
Poncho Sanchez
Herbst Theatre
 
Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm
Mark Murphy with Vinny Valentino
Florence Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor

Sunday, October 25 at 7 pm
Gal Costa with Oscar Castro-Neves
Herbst Theatre

Sunday, October 25 at 7 pm
Alfredo Rodríguez
San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 pm
"Meeting of the Minds"
Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 pm
"Tony Williams Tribute"
Cindy Blackman's Another Lifetime
Great American Music Hall

Thursday, October 29 at 7:30 pm
"Inspiration from India"
Ravi Shankar; Anoushka Shankar
Davies Symphony Hall

Thursday, October 29 at 7:30 pm
"Sephardic Spirit"
Yasmin Levy
Herbst Theatre

Friday, October 30 at 8 pm
"Sacred Space"
Nicholas Payton & Don Byron
Grace Cathedral

Friday, October 30 at 8 pm
"The Real Deal"
The James Cotton Superharp Band with Herbert Sumlin
Herbst Theatre

Saturday, October 31 at 9 pm
"Halloween Dance Party"
Marco Benevento
YBCA Forum

Sunday, November 1 at 2 pm
"Return to Roots"
Marc Cary Focus Trio
Florence Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor

Sunday, November 1 at 3 pm
"Family Matinee: Duke Ellington & the Sounds of the Harlem Renaissance"
SFJAZZ High School All-Stars
YBCA Forum

Sunday, November 1 at 7 pm
"SFJAZZ 2009 Beacon Award"
John Handy
Herbst Theatre

Sunday, November 1 at 7 pm
"Piano Italiano"
Giovanni Allevi; Patrizia Scascitelli
YBCA Forum

Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30 pm
"Form & Freedoml"
Trio 3: Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman & Andrew Cyrille
Swedish American Hall

Wednesday, November 4 at 8 pm
"Percussion and Propulsion"
Backyard Alchemy: Jesús Diaz, Scott Amendola & Jaz Sawyer
Great American Music Hall

Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 pm
"The New Sensation"
Esperanza Spalding
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Friday, November 6 at 8 pm
"Sunshine Soul"
Sara Tavares
Herbst Theatre

Friday, November 6 at 8 pm
"Hammond B-3 Organ Summit"
Pat Martino Quartet featuring Tony Monaco; Larry Goldings Trio
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Saturday, November 7 at 7 and 9:30 pm
"Jazz Down to His Toes"
Savion Glover
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Saturday, November 7 at 8 pm
"Brilliance from Brazil"
Milton Nascimento
Nob Hill Masonic Center

Sunday, November 2 at 2 pm
John Abercrombie with Mark Feldman, Drew Gress & Joey Baron
Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor

Sunday, November 8 at 3 & 7 pm
The Carolina Chocolate Drops
Florence Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor

Sunday, November 8 at 8 pm
"The Essence of Expression"
Ornette Coleman
Davies Symphony Hall

Saturday, November 21 at 8 pm
"Double-Barreled Blues Bash"
Keb' Mo'; Solomon Burke
Paramount Theatre, Oakland

Tickets go on sale Sunday, July 19 for all SFJAZZ events. For more information, call 866.920.5299 or visit www.sfjazz.org.