Jazz Brunch with Future Standard
The Cook and Her Farmer
510 9th St.
Oakland
June 22, 2024
You know the vibes at a jazz brunch are immaculate when a diner gets up from her meal to stand next to the band — this weekend, it was local act Future Standard — just so she can clap and cheer them on mid-riff.
With the glass doors open to the garden patio of The Cook and Her Farmer, there was no formal stage to speak of — just an enclave of the sunny sidewalk carved out for the four-piece alongside patrons. This made the experience all the more interactive, and on a weekend blessed with abundant sunshine and good feelings, everyone seemed to be basking in the moment.
The grilled oysters and bubbly Negroni at this Swan’s Market staple reel in seafood lovers year-round, but I can never get enough of one of the best oyster po’boys in the Bay Area. I order it every time. Plump, briny oysters are swathed in a perfectly crisp batter (not cornmeal-crusted like some but lighter, crispier). The fried oysters stay hot and crisp even under a mountain of tangy purple cabbage slaw. The bread roll, soft on the inside with just the right amount of toothsome chew on the outside, is in perfect proportion to the oysters and slaw. I never feel like the sandwich skimps on the treasure to be found inside. In summer or winter, I come back for this po’boy again and again, eager to resurrect the New Orleans food mood that this cafe and wine bar captures so well.
Coupled with a gorgeous summer day and Future Standard’s celebratory, Big Easy-style, it felt like this was the only place to be at this moment in Oakland. As part of Jazz Mafia, a local collective that loves to mix sounds from EDM, hip-hop, world music, and other genres, the band aims to reimagine modern pop through a jazz lens. “No worries no worries, everything is gonna be all right,” crooned vocalist Andrew Levin, offering up a relaxed pop vocal layered with sax, horns, and improvised jazz riffs. Steps away, his 1‑year-old daughter danced in the sun, clearly feeling the vibe.
After noting that the song they just played was a cover version, he added, “[The original] didn’t sound like that at all, but that’s what jazz is all about, right?” No one protested.
Later on, he offered his daughter a tambourine to try her hand at improvisation. She dropped it and moved to her own beat, unconcerned. Levin shrugged it off and kept the sunny rhythms going.
Saxophonist Daniel Casares broke in with his own solo, which seemed to summon the sun to shine brighter and warmer.
“This is perfect brunch music,” Levin observed. The diner who stood up to cheer them continued to gush after they ended their set.
As I basked in the flavors of my po’boy, diners on the patio sipped on cocktails, pleasantly buzzed at this intersection of every element that makes for a perfect jazz brunch: Great music, delectable food, blessed weather, and the great fortune to be at this spot in downtown Oakland at this very moment.
