The subtle yet captivating sounds of the Nate Birkey Quintet engulfed the expansive lawn of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden to the delight of guests of all walks as yet another well-attended Courthouse Jazz Series unfolded on Oct. 4.

This, the last in a series of six that began on Aug. 23 and ran every Thursday evening, flowed as smooth as the Cosmos on the VIP Terrace.

Each evening in the series featured a different jazz ensemble and was designed to benefit a different Santa Barbara nonprofit, such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), benefactors of Thursday’s event. This approach to spreading the love is an innovative one, as the concerts offer free admission to the public. Proceeds from the VIP Terrace, food and beverage sales went directly to the featured charity, such as Unity Shoppe, Transition House and the Firefighter’s Alliance.

Families, children, jazz enthusiasts and sponsors from Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, Magic 106.3 and Classic Party Rentals milled about enjoying the breezy evening and equally breezy atmosphere created by Nate Birkey’s soulful sound as the VIP Terrace was abuzz with networkers indulging in fabulous fare by Elements and lounging on sofa vignettes and clinking cocktails at highboys — a sultry scene created by Premiere Events.

Sam Sosa, president of the Santa Barbara Young Professionals Club, had this to say about the Courthouse Jazz series’ unique approach to engaging the community in nonprofit support: “This is a great event for Santa Barbara because not only is it an enjoyable evening of jazz, but it’s a way to streamline funding to several nonprofits that need it, instead of just one. We’re looking forward to the next jazz series and the opportunity to support these worthy nonprofits.”

Looked to us — and sounded — like Santa Barbara agrees!