Producer, composer, electronic musician, and percussionist Charles Xavier performs jazz standards, as well as compositions by his former band, ’70s jazz ensemble SATORI. Join Xavier and his quartet, who specialize in “unconventional music for unconventional minds,” as they touch on jazz, new age and ambient music, and holiday classics.Featuring:
Clifford Brown III - trumpet
Terry Rodriguez - piano
Richard Saunders - bass
Charles Xavier - drumsA jazz drummer from the age of 16, Bay A...
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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 bassWith a voice that has been described as “nourishing,” “sensual,” and “rich,” Nicole Stromso...
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Two highly acclaimed jazz saxophonists, Patrick Wolff and Grant Stewart, light up the night with dexterous and exhilarating renderings of the classic two-tenor groups. Alongside a vibrant trio of experienced musicians, Wolff and Stewart pay tribute to the time-honored compositions of Charles Mingus, Al Cohn, Freddie Redd, and Duke Ellington, brought to life in a magnetic convergence of East and West Coast virtuosity.Featuring:
Grant Stewart – tenor saxophone
Patrick Wolff – tenor and alto...
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Bay Area trio StringQuake uses unusual instrumentation–electric harp, cello, and percussion–to explore far-flung sounds inspired by Greece, India, Africa, and the Americas. With a penchant for improvisation and unexpected meters, the group boasts a wide-ranging repertoire that runs the gamut from contemplative to vigorous.Featuring:
Amelia Romano - electric harp
Misha Khalikulov - cello
Josh Mellinger - cajón, tabla, frame drumComposer/arranger Romano, Uzbek cellist/educator Khaliku...
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Oakland's Redwood Tango Ensemble presents a set of brand new compositions as well as arrangements of contemporary tango favorites.Featuring:
Charles Gorczynski - bandoneon
Elyse Weakley - piano
Anton Estaniel - cello
Kendra Vernon - violin
Mia Bella D'Augelli - violin
Daniel Fabricant - double bassDedicated to the study and performance of traditional Argentine tango music, Redwood Tango Ensemble has played hundreds of milongas (social dance events) since their inception in 2011. L...
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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...
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The Red Poppy Art House warmly welcomes the AZA Band–with Arouna Diarra, Biko Casini, and special guest Yacuba Diarra–for an evening of traditional music from Burkina Faso.Inspired by the pulsing melodies and infectious dance grooves of the balafon, Tennessee native Biko traveled to Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso’s second-largest city, to study djembe in 2007. Five years later, Arouna, born into a family of musicians in Bobo-Dioulasso, moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where he established h...
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With soaring vocals that tell dramatic tales of love, loss, and redemption, Fátima Santos breathes life into fado, Portugal’s passionate, soul-stirring version of the blues. Her repertoire, a mix of original compositions and traditional songs, showcases her command of Coimbra fado style, an operatic vocal technique seldom practiced by women.Featuring:
Fátima Santos - vocals
Full lineup TBAPortugal native Fátima Santos began singing in church, inspired by composers such as José Afonso,...
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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 - pianoTiffany 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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Music, poetry, and history converge powerfully in LOAN, a collective of artists integrating new-generation, African-American avant-garde poetry and jazz-influenced musical exploration. The quartet, founded by poet Tongo Eisen-Martin and guitarist Peck the Town Crier, aims to give musical shape to the longing for revolution by way of word and chord.Featuring:
Tongo Eisen-Martin – poet
Peck the Town Crier – guitar
Jon Rogers – drums
Miles Wick – upright and electric bassTongo Eisen-Mar...
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With music that’s equal parts flamenco, reggae, cumbia, Cuban son, and ska, LoCura happily crosses borders to bring back the goods for your soul and your dancing feet. Their Red Poppy show will feature a new lineup, new songs, and remixed classics.
Featuring:
Featuring:
Kata Miletich - vocals
Bob Sanders - guitars
Melissa Cruz - cajón, flamenco dance
Juan Manuel Caipo - bass guitar
Katiana Vilá - percussion, cuatro
Inspired by the Spanish phrase “ida y vuelta (round trip),” which ...
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Arm Sized Legging gets its signature sound both from its unusual instrumentation–woodwinds (saxophone/oboe/clarinet), cello, bass and drums–and an all-original repertoire. Using both free-form improvisation and traditional song forms as the basis of collective soloing, composer/bandleader Renzi’s music explores textures, colors, and sonorities while adding a contemporary classical touch to the mix with cello.Featuring:
Matt Renzi - saxophone, oboe, clarinet
John Wiitala - bass
Hamir Atwal...
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RPAH Professional Development Track
Speaker Series in Community-Engaged Arts Presenting ft. Todd Thomas Brown
Red Poppy Art House founder Todd T Brown headlines the Poppy's October professional development session with a conversation on resilience while making art and creating art spaces."Zena Carlota, Red Poppy's Managing Director, asked if I would be the guest speaker for the Poppy's October professional development session. I decided I would take the opportunity to share some of...
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The word “garufa” means boisterous and festive merriment, and this Argentine/Swiss/American trio stays true to its name by playing classic and contemporary tango music. Bandoneon and guitar are rounded out by acoustic bass to create the group’s signature sound, which ranges from tango’s golden era in the 1930s and ‘40s to contemporary electro-tango.Featuring:
Guillermo García - guitar
Adrian Jost - bandoneon
Sascha Jacobsen - bassAfter moving to San Francisco in 1999, Swiss-born band...
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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...
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Madelina y Los Carpinteros presents an evening inspired by the socially committed Nueva Trova and Nueva Canción folk music of Cuba and Latin America. Performing standards from their repertoire, as well as unpublished compositions, the group will use well-crafted harmonies and layered acoustic instrumentation to present fresh interpretations of Latin American folk music from Chile, Argentina, the Andes Region, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and the U.S.Featuring:
Madeleine "Madelina"...
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The Poppy invites you to join the artists and curators behind its current exhibition, Needles in the Camel’s Eye.Acquiring its name from the opening song on Brian Eno’s debut solo album, Needles reflects artists Stephani Martinez and Jessica Tang’s needle-related experimentation with the unexpected in an exhibition laced with lyrical, literary, and rhythmic overtones.Tang’s GIRL series features embroidery rendered onto brightly colored, empty fabric that depicts faceless young Asian wo...
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Accomplished indie rock and contemporary jazz journeymen Natalie Cressman and Mike Bono return to the Red Poppy to celebrate the release of their first collaborative album, Etchings in Amber, which captures their intimate, vibrant combination of soulful vocals and acoustic guitar.Featuring:
Natalie Cressman - vocals, trombone
Mike Bono - guitarRaised in an eclectic musical household, San Francisco native Natalie Cressman has continued to diversify and expand her musical universe throu...
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Composer/bandleader/bassist Seth Ford-Young leads his dream quartet on a mission to integrate the transparent textures of chamber music and the ebullient bounce of Django Reinhardt-style jazz. The group will perform pieces from their newest release, Time Memory Beauty Hope, as well as favorites from their first album, Seth Ford-Young.Featuring:
Seth Ford-Young - bass
Evan Price - violin, octave violin
Rob Reich - accordion
Jason Vanderford - guitarSeth Ford-Young has collaborated wi...
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Drawing inspiration from ’70s jazz, funk, and the rhythmic tug of post-Dilla hip-hop, Daniel Riera presents new music for flute, wind controller, and electric ensemble. The multi-instrumentalist is well known for his impressive performances on the wind controller, a digital woodwind delivering earth-shaking bass, acidic melodies, and even chords.Featuring:
Daniel Riera - flute, wind controller
Kev Choice - keyboards
Dame Drummer - drums
Kai Lyons - guitar
Camille Mai - vocalsSan Fra...
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This celebration of the Musical Art Quintet’s latest album, Chamber con Alma—“chamber with soul”—promises to be an evening of contemporary string quintet music with spirited improvisations and cross-cultural influences. The program includes original compositions by bandleader/bassist Sascha Jacobsen, important works by icons such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Tito Puente, and the world premiere of “The Cool, Grey City of Love,” commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission and inspir...
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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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Byb Kongo Bibene presents Nkisi Nkondi: A Divine Sculpture from Central Africa, a public talk which reveals the not so told functions of the nkisi nkondi, the sacred statues found in the great kingdom of Kongo in the 19th century. The Nkisis were power figures used by individuals, families, or whole communities to destroy or weaken evil spirits, prevent or cure illnesses, repel bad deeds, solemnize contracts or oath taking, and resolve disputes. A diviner or holy person would activate the statue...
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The music of flautist Miguelito Martinez bridges the Afro-Caribbean rhythms of Cuba, the powerful melodies of Mexico, and the sounds of traditional jazz. His latest album, Cuba le canta a México, honors the musicians and composers who have contributed to these musical traditions.Born in Chiapas, Mexico, Miguelito Martinez studied music education and transversal flute at the University of Science and Art in Chiapas and La Universidad Veracruzana, with training in Kodály and Orff. He is the fo...
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Karina Deniké presents an original set of reflective songs filled with tales of female aviators, love, memory, as well as personal and regional history. Drawing from Eastern European lullabies and sea shanties, as well as pop music from the 1930s-1960s, Deniké’s vocally driven pieces feature a distinctive ensemble that includes bass clarinet, chord organ, piano, and baritone guitar. Bay Area pianist and vocalist Christianna Valentina opens the evening with her raw, minimalist take on Argentine t...
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Six literary burlesque readers tease you with each story, taking it all off, one word at a time.About Lit Crawl:
The 12th annual Lit Crawl will span over three hours in San Francisco's Mission District, featuring 99 events and over 400 performers. From fiction to nonfiction and poetry to comedy, these events will take place in bookstores, bars, galleries, restaurants, stores, cafés, and community spaces.One of the most anticipated literary nights of the year, San Francisco’s Lit Crawl a...
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