Sightseeing in San Francisco?

I have blogged in the past that I am partial to a good sax. The Bay Area can boast a number of great musicians such as Joshua Redman, but what can be better than strolling along the Embarcadero and just by Pier 39 you come across a street musician who can simply blow the spirit of San Francisco.

I often throw a dollar bill into their hat, but this is the first time that I impulsively bought one of his CD’s. I was not disappointed and now own a few. Stephen Dreyfuss is an icon on the SF scene.  I have mentioned his name to friends more cultured than I and they all nod with reverence.

Below are two videos. The first is his “official” video which slickly illustrates his various influences. But if you only have time for one, see the second, which is a bootleg of him playing at the Pier.

Better yet – go out and enjoy some clam and sourdough and see him live. There is something very vibrant, very raw, about seeing a really polished musician playing music on the streets.

And Stephen is just another gem that makes up our sparkling City by the Bay.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist (now available on Kindle) and A Gardener’s Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/and on Twitter (#alonshalevsf).