Ramana Vieira: Contemporary Fado

Ramana Vieira pays tribute to time-treasured fado classics of Amália Rodrigues, as well as performs Portuguese folk music, jazz, and original compositions.   FEATURING: Ramana Vieira - vocals Leslie Thorne - bass Stephen LaPorta - percussion Brad Bivens - guitar   ABOUT THE ARTIST: Recognized by the New York Times as an American at the forefront of the fado resurgence, Ramana Vieira has also been described by Mundo Português newspaper as the “New Voice of Portuguese World Musi...
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Ian Maksin ft. Morgan Maudière: Songs of the Vagabond Cello (TWO SHOWS)

SECOND SHOW ADDED! Advance tickets are now available online for the 8:45pm show. Additional tickets will be available for purchase at the door for both the 7:00pm (6:30pm doors) and 8:45pm (8:30pm doors) shows. Please arrive when doors open the day of the event. Internationally acclaimed cellist, composer, and multilingual vocalist Ian Maksin is back in Bay Area with his freshest original compositions and latest acquisitions from his world travels—from the Balkans to Lake Baikal and from th...
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Will Bernard & Beth Custer: Original Chamber Jazz

Originally from Berkeley, Will Bernard is now a renowned New York guitarist. He joins San Francisco treasure Beth Custer in performance of original compositions ranging in styles from funky blues, to plaintive contemporary classical, to rollicking jazz. Always soulful and in synch, this duo has been playing together since they met in the 1980's.   FEATURING: Will Bernard - guitars Beth Custer - clarinets, vocals   ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Grammy-nominated guitarist Will Bernard has pe...
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Antonio Feula Jazz Trio: Modern/Funk Jazz

Antonio Feula Jazz Trio performs songs from its latest modern jazz album, Joint Path, and from the upcoming funk jazz album. With influences ranging from bebop, blues, and funk to classical music, the group’s original compositions have already impressed varying audiences, with people commenting on the catchy yet sophisticated nature of the music. Genuine improvisation and amazing interplay are also strong points of the trio.   FEATURING: Ian McArdle - keyboard Mike Quigg - drums Antoni...
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Maracujá: A Journey Around Latin America Through Music

Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Caitlin Belem and guitarist Terrence Rosnagle take you on a trip through Latin America, playing sumptuous samba, bossa nova, cumbia, son, and much more.   FEATURING: Caitlin Belem – vocals, saxophone, guitar, fiddle, hand percussion Terrence Rosnagle – guitar   ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Caitlin Belem grew up in a house full of music in Northern Wyoming, falling in love with the fiddle at a young age, as well as learning to sing and play saxophone and guit...
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Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers: Taboo Jazz from the ‘20s & Beyond

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers perform classic jazz and blues songs ranging from the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s, all about getting low and getting high.   FEATURING: Lavay Smith - vocals Danny Armstrong - trombone, vocals Rob Barics - tenor saxophone, clarinet Ron Belcher - bass Chris Siebert - piano   ABOUT THE ARTIST: Lavay Smith is the vocalist and bandleader of the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, one of the top swingin’ jazz and blues bands in the world. She grew up ...
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Wahid: Sublime Inspirations from the Levant

Wahid is a duo that blends jazz, Ottoman maqam, and traditional rebetika—Greek regional blues from the 1920s. While their instrumentation pairing of the oud and frame drum dates back thousands of years, they have created a new approach using a chromatic bass frame set and improvisation over song forms. Their fifth release, Resonance, is in heavy rotation on the Transglobal World Music Chart, as well as Dore Stein's Tangents Radio.   FEATURING: Dimitris Mahlis - oud Chris Wabich - tuned ...
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Ramana Vieira: Contemporary Fado

Ramana Vieira and her ensemble present rapturous rhythms and the passionate stirrings of fado, the folk music of Portugal. Also performing original compositions and American blues/jazz/pop standards, Vieira captivates her audience with the evocative laments of the old world classics blended with innovative instrumentation, creative layers, and soaring vocals.   FEATURING: Ramana Vieira - piano Brad Bivens - guitar Leslie Thorne - acoustic bass   ABOUT THE ARTIST: Recognized by ...
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gina Breedlove & Beautiful Friends: Spirit Through Song

Folksoul artist gina Breedlove casts and breaks spells with her powerful blend of folk and soul music with an undertone of Red Dirt blues.   FEATURING: gina Breedlove - vocals Julie Wolf - piano Ruth Price - percussion   ABOUT THE ARTIST: gina Breedlove is a singer, songwriter, sound healer, and medicine woman from Brooklyn, New York. Recently, gina returned from her U.S. tour to play Yoshi's in Oakland, her fourth sold-out performance. An actress as well, gina originated t...
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SOLD OUT: Bay Area’s Women in Jazz: An Evening of Jazz, Blues, Soul, Batucada & More

Bay Area's Women in Jazz brings together some of the best female jazz musicians for another night under one roof. The performance celebrates and recognizes the talents and hard work of these women who are sometimes underrepresented in the male-dominated scene. With music ranging from straight-ahead jazz, blues, swing, bebop, gospel, and soul, the evening comes to a close with some Brazilian tunes featuring a batucada percussion jam.   FEATURING: Adriana Morrero - vocals Kimiko Joy - voc...
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Pasatempo Rebetika: Soulful Greek Blues

Pasatempo Rebetika presents the heart and soul music of Greece with authenticity and depth. Christos Govetas and wife, Ruth Hunter, are well-known proponents of this music, both in the U.S. and Greece, and form the core of the group. Vocal harmonies blend to tell the stories of love, loss, exile, and more. They are joined by daughter Eleni on acoustic bass and violin, son Bobby on baghlama, and guitarist Nick Maroussis.   FEATURING: Christos Govetas - bouzouki, clarinet, vocals Ruth Hun...
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Colm Ó Riain: Irish Fission

Violinist/composer Colm Ó Riain and some stellar musical friends mix the soul of his native Ireland with rhythms and melodies from all over the world — jazz, blues, Roma, India, Cuba, Brazil, and more — while exploring new frontiers of sound, all with a developed sense of humor. Featuring: Colm Ó Riain - violin, vocals Joe Kyle, Jr. - bass Geoff van Lienden - guitar Kate Brubeck - vocals An accomplished and fiery improviser in many genres, a global musician, and a composer for film an...
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Nathan & Jessie: Travellin’ Blues

World travelers Nathan Rivera and Jessie Andra Smith bring their signature blend of jazzy folk and blues to the Poppy for an evening of resonator guitars, accordion, and well-honed vocal harmonies. Featuring: Nathan Rivera - resonator guitar, accordion, clarinet, beatbox, vocals Jessie Andra Smith - resonator guitar, vocals Trevor Mulvey - upright bass Learn more: Website   EVENT DETAILS   Time: Doors 6:30PM / Show 7:00PM Admission: $15-20 sliding scale Tickets will no...
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Lavay Smith: The Great American Road Trip

Bay Area favorite Lavay Smith returns to the Poppy for a musical road trip that celebrates America's cities, states, and regions. Expect favorites like “Basin Street Blues,” “Bourbon Street Parade,” “Goin’ To Chicago Blues,” “Kansas City,” “St. Louis Blues,” and “Take The ‘A’ Train.” Featuring: Lavay Smith - vocals Jules Broussard - tenor and alto saxophones Danny Armstrong - trombone Ron Belcher - bass Chris Siebert - piano Learn more: Website     EVENT DETAILS &...
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Avotcja & Modúpue: Jazz, Latin Jazz, and Blues with Poetry

Acclaimed Bay Area poet/playwright/percussionist/radio host Avotcja (pronounced “ah-va-cha”) returns to the Red Poppy with her quartet, whose name means “gratitude” in Yoruba. Expect a set of jazz, blues, Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, and powerful poetry. Featuring: Avotcja - poetry, percussion Jon Jang - piano Sandi Poindexter - violin Francis Wong - saxophone, flute “Heshima” Mark Williams - bass Learn more: Website   EVENT DETAILS   Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM Admi...
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MoonCandy: Live Soulful House Music

In the spirit of the black church, jazz, the Freedom Singers, and disco sensation Sylvester, MoonCandy creates an environment for survival music to live and thrive through live performance. The eight-piece ensemble, which features five of the East Bay’s most underrated jazz, soul, blues, and gospel singers, specializes in inspirational lyrics and transfixing grooves, giving birth to a “house church” where everyone is welcome to dance for love. Featuring: Scott Keller - drums Shree Shyam Das...
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Colm Ó Riain: Irish Fission (Double Show!)

Irish-born violinist Colm Ó Riain and some stellar musical friends combine the music of Ireland with rhythms and melodies from all over the musical world – jazz, blues, Roma, India, Cuba, Brazil, and much more. Featuring: Colm Ó Riain - violin Joe Kyle Jr - bass Geoff van Lienden - guitar Wade Peterson - percussion An accomplished and fiery improviser in many genres, as well as a composer for multiple modern dance companies, Colm has enthralled audiences on stages as diverse as CBGB's ...
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Citizens Jazz Presents: Bay Area Women in Jazz

This all-star lineup of some of the Bay Area’s best female musicians will pay tribute to the history of jazz, from old-time blues, 1930s and ’40s tangos, choros, valse-musettes, and swing to ’50s and ’60s bebop and ending with a special, contemporary approach on traditional jazz favorites. Featuring: Kally Price - vocals Gabi Cavassa - vocals Caroline Chung - upright bass Amina Michele Scott - upright bass Jenelle Roccaforte - upright bass Gaea Schell - piano Elektra Schmidt - piano R...
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Nicole Stromsoe & Amber Gougis: Vintage Inspirations, Soulful Voices

Songstresses Nicole Stromsoe and Amber Gougis co-headline an evening of original material intermingled with old-school classics. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar and double bass, Stromsoe and Gougis aim to captivate audiences with enchanting vocals inspired by jazz, blues, R&B, and folk. Featuring: Nicole Stromsoe - vocals Amber Gougis - vocals Dorian Michael - guitar Ken Hustad - double bass With a voice that has been described as “nourishing,” “sensual,” and “rich,” Nicole Stromso...
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Tiffany Austin & Alex Conde: Flamenco Meets the Blues (Double Show!)

Bay Area blues singer Tiffany Austin partners up with Spanish flamenco jazz pianist Alex Conde for an evening of blues, jazz, and piano flamenco exploration. Featuring: Tiffany Austin - vocals Alex Conde - piano Tiffany Austin's much-anticipated debut recording, Nothing But Soul, has received a warm reception from audiences and critics alike, including a four-star DownBeat Magazine review, a feature on NPR’s Fresh Air radio program, and inclusion on KQED’s Top 10 Bay Area Jazz Releases o...
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María Volonté: Blue Tango Project: Tango and the Blues Embrace

Bewitching echoes of tango’s forbidden pleasures and the lament of the solitary blues soul meet in Blue Tango Project, a collaboration between Buenos Aires-born vocalist/guitarist María Volonté and harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer, a native Californian. Their exploration of the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace celebrates the deep spiritual bond that joins the two genres. Featuring: María Volonté - vocals, guitar Kevin Carrel Footer - harmonica María...
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The Brian Hingerty Group: Emerging Bay Area Jazz Talent

Under the guidance of guitarist Brian Hingerty, some of the Bay Area’s finest young jazz musicians join forces to perform a contemporary take on jazz standards. The group, comprised mostly of musicians under 17 and augmented by Northern California bass giant Chris Amberger, combines elements of electronica, funk, and blues as they perform both jazz/rock classics and original compositions. Featuring: Brian Hingerty - guitar Chris Amberger - bass Matthew Stoloff - drums Joshua Tazman - voc...
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Steph Johnson Trio: Soul, Jazz, Funk & Blues from San Diego

Steph Johnson brings her trio to the Red Poppy to celebrate the release of her new album, Music is Art, produced by Grammy Award-winner Kamau Kenyatta. Steph’s rich, fervent vocals and soothing guitar will be accompanied by double bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Fernando Gomez for an evening of compassionate soul jazz. Featuring: Steph Johnson - vocals, guitar Rob Thorsen - bass Fernando Gomez - drums San Diego-based Steph Johnson is a self-taught musician whose distinctive style of voc...
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Mamadou and Vanessa: Mali Blues

Mamadou and Vanessa perform original, poignant music from Mali. Their sound, influenced by West African rhythms and southern American blues, features the traditional 14-stringed kamele ngoni (hunter's harp) and the karinye, a traditional percussion instrument. Master kamele ngoni player Mamadou Sidibe is from the Wassoulou region of Mali, West Africa. He has toured with Malian greats Oumou Sangaré and Coumba Sidibé throughout Europe and Africa. Vanessa Sidibe, from New York, is an accomplish...
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Lavay Smith: The Songs and Sounds of Duke Ellington

Internationally recognized chanteuse Lavay Smith and her world-class band come to the Red Poppy to pay tribute to the great Duke Ellington. Performing popular favorites, as well as obscure gems, Lavay and her band evoke an authentic feeling of classic blues and jazz. Featuring: Lavay Smith - vocals Jules Broussard - alto and tenor sax Danny Armstrong - trombone, vocals Chris Siebert - piano Ron Belcher - bass Lavay Smith is the vocalist and bandleader of the San Francisco-based Red ...
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Ultrafaux w/ Rob Reich: Jazz Manouche & Musette Waltzes

Drawing influences from manouche, Romani and Balkan music, Ultrafaux joins together with accordionist Rob Reich and chanteuse Alexis Tantau for an evening of traditional musette, Piaf tunes, and originals. Featuring: Michael Joseph Harris - guitar Sami Arefin - guitar Eddie Hrybyk - upright bass Rob Reich - accordion (featured artist) Alexis Tantau - vocals (featured artist)   Baltimore band Ultrafaux performs original music with musette, swing manouche, funk, blues, and Dixielan...
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Joe Warner Trio: Jazz and Blues Piano From Then to Now

The Joe Warner Trio plays music that is creative and grooving, drawing from such diverse influences as Ray Charles, Ahmad Jamal and Professor Longhair. Expect to hear many familiar and beloved songs as well as tunes that will become new favorites. Featuring: Joe Warner - piano Sly Randolph - drums Schuyler Karr - bass Pianist Joe Warner is one of the Bay Area's brightest young talents. He frequently works with The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol and bassist/composer Marcus Shelby and has also p...
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Amelia Romano: “New Perspectives” Album Release

Performing arrangements as dynamic and diverse as Bach and blues to Mexican boleros, Amelia Romano combines Latin rhythms and personal lyrics to produce an intimate and energizing musical experience. With her signature blue electric lever harp, she experiments with various rhythms, tones and textures that demand the listener to re-think the lever harp's role in today's music. Amelia Romano takes the path less traveled. A composer and arranger, she draws on life experience and inspiration to i...
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Will Bernard & Beth Custer: Melodic Chamber Jazz Duets

Musicians Will Bernard and Beth Custer come together for an intimate evening of groove-filled duets. Guitarist Will Bernard is a Grammy-nominated bandleader and founding member of all-star Bay Area jazz conglomerate T.J. Kirk, as well as Galactic drummer Stanton Moore’s rollicking trio. Bernard is a virtuosic performer whose bone-deep, groove-heavy playing was a vital part of Peter Apfelbaum’s Hieroglyphics Ensemble and the guitarist’s own funky quartet, Motherbug. Bernard’s latest Posi-Tone ...
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Amy LaCour Trio: Music for the Soul-Searching

Oakland-based vocalist Amy LaCour returns to the Red Poppy with cellist Misha Khalikulov and percussionist Josh Mellinger for a night of original material inspired by the American traditions of folk, soul, blues, jazz, and bluegrass. Amy and Misha began collaborating in late 2013 and quickly discovered a musical chemistry. Misha brings years of classical training and improvisational experience to Amy's blues and folk-based songwriting. The result is a spare and intimate setting that highlights m...
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