Vocalist Tiffany Austin’s latest album, Unbroken, has cemented her reputation as one of the fastest rising jazz stars in Northern California. If you missed her intimate performance with Rebecca Kleinmann in the SJZ Break Room in December 2021, now’s your chance to catch her at Hammer 4, co-presented as part of the Hammer Theatre’s Black Cab Series, curated by SJZ.

Before earning a law degree at UC Berkeley, she’d performed on three continents—around her native Los Angeles, then for a year in England and eventually for five and a half years in Tokyo. However, instead of taking the bar exam, she decided to devote her life to music.

Austin draws upon influences such as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin, yet she also infuses songs with her own signature style. Her arrangements vary from classic swing to contemporary R&B à la Robert Glasper or José James. With her latest album Unbroken, Austin makes it clear she’s an artist drawing nourishment from all of jazz’s roots.

Joining Austin on stage is first-call Bay Area drummer Leon Joyce; bassist/composer Marcus Shelby; and pianist Adam Shulman, who has played alongside the likes of Bria Skonberg, Larry Coryell, Sean Jones and Dayna Stephens.