Javier Navarrette: Afro-Cuban Tribute to Orishas and Ancestors

Afro-Caribbean rhythm specialist Javier Navarrette and his mighty vocal/percussion ensemble kick off the Poppy’s first show of 2017 with a musical offering to ancestors and the orishas (Afro-Cuban deities), invoking strength, health, and a community united to face challenges that may lie ahead.Featuring: Javier Navarrette Sergio Duran Katiana Vila Jessie Webber Kevin Repp plus special guestsBay Area-based percussionist/educator Javier Navarrette, who has recorded on three Grammy-no...

Zina Bozzay’s vibrant original arrangements of old Carpathian Basin village songs feature the rich melodies, funky rhythms, and colorful lyrics of traditional Hungarian folk tunes, realized by her genuine singing, the fiery fiddling of Matthew Szemela, and Misha Khalikulov's soulful cello.Featuring: Zina Bozzay - vocals Matthew Szemela - violin Misha Khalikulov - celloTrained by master singers in Hungary, Zina Bozzay has performed at the Táncháztalálkozó, Hungarian Heritage House, and...

Whether playing in loud rock clubs or more intimate spaces, Sueños boasts a remarkably adaptable repertoire that integrates hip-hop beats, gospel harmonies, acoustic bass, bebop-influenced horns, and electronics. The group writes and performs original music, as well as covers by artists such as Roy Hargrove, Christian Scott, Kanye West, and J Dilla.Featuring: Noah Frank - trumpet Eli Strauss - tenor saxophone Manny Berry - keyboard Curtis Aikens - bass Brandon Farmer - drumsLearn mo...

San Francisco quartet Tango No. 9 explores the music of tango in all its myriad manifestations. Performing tragic vocal ballads, the habanera rhythms of the dance repertoire, and the tango nuevo of Astor Piazzolla, the group combines violin, piano, trombone, and vocals to capture a large sound that is both romantic and heart-breaking.Featuring: Joshua Raoul Brody - piano Catharine Clune - violin Greg Stephens - trombone Zoltan DiBartolo - vocalsSince 1998, all-star Bay Area ensemble ...

Salsa, bossa nova, boleros, and Colombian cumbia meet in the dynamic Latin pop of IndiviDúo, a cross-continental collaboration between San Francisco-born songstress Tiffany Joy and Colombian songsmith Maqui Reyes. Expect an evening of infectious originals and celebrated hits in the duo’s Red Poppy debut.Featuring: Maqui Reyes - vocals, guitar, ukulele Tiffany Joy - guitar, melodica, percussion (Full Lineup TBA)After meeting in Buenos Aires back in 2010, Tiffany Joy and Maqui Reyes set...

With a sound influenced by Django Reinhardt, Edith Piaf, Roma music, jazz, and folk, Beaucoup Chapeaux returns to the Poppy for an evening of originals and reinterpretations of traditional European classics, ready to transport you through time and space.Featuring: Maggie McKaig - accordion, vocals Luke Wilson - tenor guitar, plectrum banjo, vocals Murray Campbell - violin, oboe, English horn, vocals Randy McKean - clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, vocalsBeaucoup Chapeaux founder and ...

In collaboration with FRESH Festival 2017, the Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present FRESH Exchanges, free and by-donation events made to cultivate, cross-pollinate, invigorate, create access, and generate outreach within and outwith the dance, music, and performance communities. These interactive exchanges include Alternative Conservatory on Thursdays, January 5, 12, 19. Hosted by FRESH artists notorious for disarming paradigms and thinking outside the box, Alternative Conservatory is a tim...

In collaboration with FRESH Festival 2017, the Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present FRESH Exchanges, free and by-donation events made to cultivate, cross-pollinate, invigorate, create access, and generate outreach within and outwith the dance, music, and performance communities. These interactive exchanges include Experimental Structures on Tuesdays, January 3, 10, 17. Hosted by Abby Crain and José Navarrete, Experimental Structures invite artists working on the edge of their form to speak ...

In collaboration with FRESH Festival 2017, the Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present FRESH Exchanges, free and by-donation events made to cultivate, cross-pollinate, invigorate, create access, and generate outreach within and outwith the dance, music, and performance communities. Get down, get loose, and get refreshed at the start of FRESH 2017 with Dis[rupt]·co·theque on Monday, January 2. Hosted by FRESH artists notorious for creating unique gatherings, spectacle, noise, and revelry, the P...

Among Peter Whitehead’s many custom-made instruments are the Heart Banjo, made from a baking tin; the Lawn Lyre, made from an old lawnmower and a metal oil pan; and the Spoonharp, made from a five-gallon metal drum, a eucalyptus branch, and kitchen spoons. Whitehead’s Red Poppy debut promises to feature vocals, instruments, and sampling for an evening of richly textured soundscapes, minimalist electronics, and dry English humor.Featuring: Peter Whitehead (special guests TBA)British-bor...

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Nuyorican poet/cultural worker Sandra Garcia Rivera joins the Grammy-winning musicians and educators of Brian Andres’ Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel for a special performance of original compositions and exciting arrangements of Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican, and U.S. classics.Featuring: Brian Andres - drum set Javier Cabanillas - congas Aaron Germain - bass Christian Tumalan - piano Sandra Garcia Rivera - spoken wordInspired by the Bay Area’s deep Latin jazz heritage, the Afro-Cuban Jazz Ca...

Three days after the first anniversary of David Bowie’s death, 30-woman vocal ensemble Conspiracy of Venus hits the Poppy for an extravaganza of beloved songs by Tom Waits, Björk, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, the Pixies, and the Thin White Duke himself, as well as original compositions by artistic director Joyce Todd McBride. Drawing inspiration from medieval chant, jazz, funk, and new music, Conspiracy of Venus aims to take vocal music into territories not often explored by more traditional ch...

Lavay Smith, best known as the sultry vocalist and bandleader of the acclaimed Red Hot Skillet Lickers, rings in the first weekend of 2017 by bringing an all-star piano/bass/trombone trio to the Poppy for a night of songs made famous by jazz icon Billie Holiday.Featuring: Jules Broussard - saxophone Danny Armstrong - trombone, vocals Chris Siebert - piano Ron Belcher - bassLavay Smith’s vintage style and sultry vocals–influenced by Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Bessie Smith, Li...

Mission Stoop Fest (STOOP) is a civil society arts experiment that transpires on the front stoops of local residences, where traditional and contemporary artists perform and where local residents share stories and histories. The front stoop represents a literal threshold between the public and private spheres and is a historic site of spontaneous community interaction and exchange. Occurring during the day on the same bi-monthly dates as sister-project, Mission Arts & Performance Project (MAPP),...

Weaving together Afro-Caribbean beats and fueled by folklore, pop, and gritty East Bay funk, Guarandinga descends on the Poppy for an infectious electronic dance party that promises to help you forget the cold, wet weather.Featuring: Rowan Jimenez - vocals, percussion Jeremy Allen - bass, vocals, cuatro, percussion Kenya Moses - percussion, vocals Chris Carter - guitar Brian Andres - drums Edgar Lavado - vocals, percussion Henry Hung - trumpet/synth Makini Duewa - danceOakland’s ...

Hard-swinging Bay Area ensemble La Mixta Criolla returns to the Red Poppy with music rooted in the criollo culture of Puerto Rico and the Latin-Caribbean. Performing both originals and funky renditions of classic tunes, the quintet combines a variety of swinging Afro-Caribbean grooves, from plena, bomba, guaracha jíbara, seis, and aguinaldo to merengue, son, cumbia, and salsa. Featuring: Héctor Lugo - congas, barril, panderos, vocals Ayla Davila - bass, vocals Sandra García Rivera - ...

Amie Cota’s sound, which melds American folk and soul, has been described as “Billie Holiday raised by hippies.” The vocalist formerly known as Amy LaCour returns to the Poppy accompanied only by bass and piano for an evening of music that’s not quite jazz, soul, or folk, but a delectable combination of the three.Featuring: Amie Cota - vocals Ruthie Dineen - piano Schuyler Karr - bassOver her nearly 20-year career, vocalist/composer Amie Cota has independently released four albums a...

New York-based saxophonist Roxy Coss brings her feel-good take on contemporary jazz to the Red Poppy for an evening of selections from her latest album, Restless Idealism. Coss, a rising composer and experienced educator who’s considered one of the most innovative saxophonists of her generation, is credited with a sound that DownBeat calls “intelligent yet accessible.”Featuring: Roxy Coss - saxophones Maya Kronfeld - piano Doug Stuart - bass Hamir Atwal - drumsOriginally from Seattl...

Rumba music originated in the Afro-Cuban neighborhoods of Havana and Matanzas as the soundtrack to community, partnered dancing and get-togethers as a means of cultural expression. Its global diaspora means rumba rhythms have found their way into other genres of music such as country, rock, and blues, and continue to impact the genres of today. Every first Sunday, Rumberos de Radio Habana bring their own contribution to the Red Poppy for a free afternoon of beat-making, hip-shaking, and good com...

An interdisciplinary residency program supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and San Francisco Arts Commission, Crossover Collaborative Residencies provides a framework to support the exploration of collaborative processes between artists in dance and music disciplines. Pairing six choreographer/dancers and six composer/musicians, the program follows a four-stage development from preliminary artists gatherings and orientation workshops, to early-stage “raw” presentations of works-in-progres...

With a setlist that ranges from Bulgarian wedding tunes to hot club jazz, the Alex Hand Band mines the common ground between swing and Eastern European folk dance music–the soundtrack of Western music moving across Balkan borders and being changed by European village music.Featuring: Alex Hand - guitar Kevin Gerzevitz - keys, accordion Gabe Case - bass Valentino - percussionAlex Hand, who has traveled to the Balkans to study folk music, is involved with various projects in the Bay Ar...

Ready to forget everything you thought you knew about marching bands? Don’t miss the eight-piece Axon Orchestra’s dazzlingly electrified Red Poppy debut, which promises to use urban and rural musical styles of the Balkans and Middle East to take listeners on a post-punk, postmodern sonic journey like no other.Featuring: Miles Jay - buzuk, bass Paul Bertin - saxophone Fabrice Martinez - violin Morgan Nilsen - clarinet Dusty Brough - guitar Andrew Cohen - tuba Marco Peris - tapan Ian J...

Makrú’s unifying ethos is more than just talk: This pan-cultural five-piece uses Spanish and English lyrics to blend reality and fiction, and their signature mix of rumba flamenca, reggae, cumbia, and ska promises to bring everyone to the dancefloor.Featuring: Jenny Rodriguez - vocals Raúl Vargas - cajón, vocals Haluk Kecelioglu - oud, violin Bob Sanders - guitar OriAche - percussionLearn more: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp EVENT DETAILS Time: Doors 7:00PM / Sho...

Javier Navarrette: Afro-Cuban Tribute to Orishas and Ancestors

Zina Bozzay & Vadalma: Hungarian Songs of Grief & Merriment

Sueños: Contemporary Jazz + Hip-Hop Beats

Tango No. 9: Exploring the World of Tango

IndiviDúo: California & Colombian Pop Duo

Beaucoup Chapeaux: Sounds of an Old-World Café

FRESH Exchanges: Alternative Conservatory ft. Dance Studies Working Group

FRESH Exchanges: Alternative Conservatory ft. Tessa Wills

FRESH Exchanges: Alternative Conservatory ft. Brontez Purnell

FRESH Exchanges: Experimental Structures ft. Amelia Uzategui Bonilla & Hana Erdman

FRESH Exchanges: Experimental Structures ft. Dia Dear & Sebastian Hernandez

FRESH Exchanges: Experimental Structures ft. Chani Bockwinkel & Keisha Turner

FRESH Exchanges: Dis[rupt]·co·theque ft. Vagittarius Rising

Peter Whitehead: Handbuilt Instruments, Heartfelt Vocals

Brian Andres and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel ft. Sandra Garcia Rivera: Latin Jazz Meets Spoken Word

Conspiracy of Venus: 30-Member Female Vocal Ensemble

Lavay Smith: Celebrating the Lady Day Songbook

STOOP: Sounds & Stories of the Mission

Guarandinga: Afro-Venezuelan Pop for the Dancefloor

La Mixta Criolla: Latin-Caribbean Grooves

Amie Cota & the Liberation Project: American Folk & Soul

Roxy Coss: “Restless Idealism” CD Release Celebration

Rumberos de Radio Habana: Community Rumba

MAPP: Crossover Collaborative Residencies, Cohort II, Final Performance

Alex Hand Band: A Balkan Jazz Quartet

Miles Jay ft. Axon Orchestra: Post-Punk Balkan Marching Band

Makrú: A Night of Rumba Flamenca, Ska, Reggae & Cumbia