In these times of increasing and consistent violence against black and brown bodies, against women, against those who do not abide by the norms set out by our dominant culture, Love is Alive calls our attention to the healing we are capable of enacting through love. Curated by Derek Lassiter, the evening features a word score with improvisational music by Arisa White, Tammy L. Hall and Amber McZeal.
Arisa White is a Cave Canem fellow, an MFA graduate from the University of Massachusetts, Amhe...
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Mostly Kosher is a band based in Southern California with a mission to preserve Jewish musical traditions as well as progressing these genres through the sounds of other cultures and contemporary music. The group takes klezmer and Yiddish theater tunes and incorporates genres ranging from Latin jazz and tango, to Afro-Cuban and even hip-hop. Soon after the release of their debut album, Mostly Kosher's title track, Ikh Hob Dikh Tsufil Lib (I Love You Much Too Much), earned them a recent award fro...
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Indira Urrutia, co-founder of Mi Cultura Art Project, visited the Poppy’s Professional Development Track to share photos of her epic journey.
An image of the bicycles Indira and Marc rode on their four year journey
Currently the co-founder of Mi Cultura Art Project, a company that travels to bring artistic education to youth across the Bay Area, Indira Urrutia has taken a long journey to fulfill her life’s passion. Much of what she shared with the Poppy was a particular epic journey she and he...
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The Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present the third series of Beyond the Blues: Ending the Prison Industrial Complex on September 10, October 8, November 12, and December 10, 2015. Marcus Shelby and Jacqueline Ramos return to the Red Poppy for the continuation of these interactive discussions concerning our justice system.
Led by composer, bassist, and bandleader, Marcus Shelby, the series explores the prison industrial complex, restorative justice, prison abolition, the death penalty, th...
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Ramana Vieira and her group performs traditional, ballad-style fados that pay homage to the “Queen of Fado,” Amália Rodrigues, along with up-tempo compositions from their new album, Fado Da Vida. Her new work captures both the language and cultural heritage of Portuguese-speaking countries in a musical tapestry that ranges from whispering, haunting ballads to collaborations featuring the works of famous Portuguese-Canadian poet, Euclides Cavaco. Two of the tracks on the album were internationall...
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Roberto Gutiérrez Varea, associate professor at USF, visited the Professional Development Track during March’s evening session to discuss how performance-based art can engage and transform society.
Image from a performance in Serbia as seen in Acting Together
Roberto Gutiérrez Varea has been studying theater because of his belief that art can bring transformation. Why else, he cited, would artists be disappeared in his native South America if art did not have transformation power?
There is ...
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Five writers with fresh work and crazy talent will read on the topic of evolving love. The stories will range from the funny, surreal, soul-crushing and redeeming aspects of loving people, language, culture, community and self.
About Lit Crawl:
The 11th annual Lit Crawl will span over three hours in the Mission District's Valencia Street corridor, featuring an astonishing 101 literary readings and events, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comedy and more, in bookstores, bars, galleries,...
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The Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present the third series of Beyond the Blues: Ending the Prison Industrial Complex on September 10, October 8, November 12, and December 10, 2015. Marcus Shelby and Jacqueline Ramos return to the Red Poppy for the continuation of these interactive discussions concerning our justice system.
Led by composer, bassist, and bandleader, Marcus Shelby, the series explores the prison industrial complex, restorative justice, prison abolition, the death penalty, th...
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Alejandro y Maria Laura is a Peruvian duo consisting of singer-songwriters Alejandro Rivas and María Laura Bustamanate. Together with guest Diana Gameros, they round off their North American tour with a special farewell concert at the Red Poppy Art House.
Alejandro y Maria Laura started making music together in 2009, collaborating on each other's original songs and doing cover versions of songs from various genres. Back in Lima at the end of 2010, the duo collaborated on the exhibition En Pau...
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Amara Tabor-Smith returns to the Red Poppy with Fleshing it (in) OUT, an informal evening of early stage work in progress dance, music, and performance art, rough and ready to be witnessed. Following the performances, the audience is invited to eat delicious food and engage in a discussion about the work. This event is an opportunity for artists and audience to break bread together, ask questions, and share dialogue about art making in an intimate and supportive environment.
Featuring:
Chris...
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As part of the new monthly series at the Red Poppy Art House, Jazz in the Neighborhood presents Three in a Row – three concerts highlighting the music of local jazz guitarists. The series will feature Jeffrey Burr Trio on August 9, Steve Erquiaga and Frank Martin on September 13, and John Schott’s Actual Trio on October 11.
John Schott Actual Trio, playing guitarist Schott's memorable and intricate compositions, swings hard, plays from the heart, and seeks to uplift its audiences. The Trio's ...
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Cine+Más SF presents the San Francisco Latino Film Festival (September 18-27, 2015) in theatres and cultural centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, screening award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary and feature films throughout Latin America, South America and the USA. The audience will have the opportunity to participate in discussions with local and visiting filmmakers after many of the screenings.
The Cine+Más SF Latino Film Festival celebrates its seventh installment and...
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Oded Tzur Quartet is a New York-based ensemble that prizes improvisation while exploring the territories of contemporary jazz and Indian music. The Quartet defines its sound by making use of the microtonality and melodic architecture of Indian classical, known as raga, within a jazz setting. Their debut album, Like a Great River, has been released by Enja Records and has received worldwide critical acclaim. This October, the ensemble will be touring the west coast to celebrate the US release of ...
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Hailed as "a real treat for open minds” and an “alleged klezmer band,” Big Galut(e) brings its mix of folk, jazz, klezmer, classics, and more to the Poppy. This East Coast quintet performs music ranging from Argentine Yiddish tangos and Renaissance Jewish sonatas, to Mahler compositions with a klezmer sensibility. For the second set, Big Galut(e) will be joined by Daniel Barton, a San Franciscan lawyer and circus veteran. Barton will narrate The Tale of Monish, which tells the story of what happ...
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As part of the new monthly series at the Red Poppy Art House, Jazz in the Neighborhood presents Three in a Row – three concerts highlighting the music of local jazz guitarists. The series will feature Jeffrey Burr Trio on August 9, Steve Erquiaga and Frank Martin on September 13, and John Schott’s Actual Trio on October 11.
Steve Erquiaga and Frank Martin have been musical compadres going back to the 1970s. They first toured and recorded together in 1978 with the John Handy band. The duo ...
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As part of the programming for the August 1st MAPP, the Red Poppy Art House and EDELO ‘Where the United Nations Used to Be’ invite the public for the closing ceremony of Our Built City, the miniature city thriving on our corner of 23rd & Folsom.
Over the past five months, Caleb Duarte and Mia Eve Rollow of EDELO have been in residence as Artistic Directors in Rotation at the Poppy. For their final curated MAPP, EDELO and collaborators occupy the center of the Art House to dig out the hidd...
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Using a multitude of traditional acoustic and invented instruments, ACKAMOOR/MOLINA DUET creates a ritualistic, improvised musical journey that takes the listeners through various sonic territories, including ambient, experimental, jazz, American folk, and more.
Using modern technology, Molina creates sparse and dense layers, which can range from hauntingly beautiful and meditative to dark and unnerving soundscapes. Idris uses his collection of alto and tenor saxophones, keyboards, and inve...
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Country Soul: Lavay Smith Sings Music Made Popular by
Dinah Washington, Esther Phillips, and Ray Charles
Lavay Smith and Her All-Star Soultet bring a bracing, bluesy jolt of energy to the jazz and country crossroads with her new show Country Soul. In crafting jazz and blues-steeped arrangements of songs associated with the great country American songbook, Smith and her band found inspiration in the country and western recordings of Ray Charles as well as R&B and jazz musicians Big Mayb...
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Prizing improvisation and emotionally honest performances, Musette Explosion takes upbeat, French accordion music to new heights. Musette Explosion is comprised of virtuoso musicians, each with a distinctive voice on his instrument, that explore and expand on the challenging French musette repertoire. The trio brings new life to this multicultural, accordion-driven dancehall music through their highly improvisational communication style and original compositions. Their debut album, Introducing M...
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Wil Blades and Scott Amendola conjure various sonic deities as only a duo, covering everything from avant garde to funk and bebop to rock. Amendola vs. Blades got their start as a group when Scott had the vision of performing Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite with Wil. While quite a daunting task executing a suite (originally written for a big band) as a duo, the Hammond organ had previously been used in the 1940’s and 1950’s to emulate the sound of big bands. With Wil’s knowledge of this traditio...
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As part of the new monthly series at the Red Poppy Art House, Jazz in the Neighborhood presents Three in a Row - three concerts highlighting the music of local jazz guitarists. The series will feature Jeffrey Burr Trio on August 9, Steve Erquiaga and Frank Martin on September 13, and John Schott Actual Trio on October 11. Be sure to take advantage of special ticket pricing for all three events! Click here to purchase.
Jeffrey Burr is lauded for his combination of effortless bebop and a winsom...
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With songs that place an emphasis on spontaneity, lyrics, and story-telling, Broken Shadows' take on roots music includes grooves with origins from around the globe. Broken Shadows is comprised of a highly-adaptable collection of musicians under the leadership of trumpeter/composer Darren Johnston. The ensemble brings poetry, interplay, vocal harmonies, and a cross section of musical interests into a curious new blend of roots/art/dance music. Collectively, members have played and recorded with ...
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Drawing inspiration from 70's jazz and funk and the rhythmic tug of post-Dilla hip-hop, Daniel Riera premieres works for flute, wind-controller and electric ensemble. A San Francisco native, Daniel is a flutist, bassist, producer, sound-designer and teacher known for his enchanting performances on the wind-controller, a digital woodwind delivering earth-shaking bass, acidic melodies and even chords. Winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award, he graduated Berklee College of Music with honors....
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Long-time Bay Area collaborators Dina Maccabee and Jesse Olsen Bay present a new incarnation of their eclectic ensemble Ramon & Jessica, as a vocal sextet with special guest singers.
Inspired by Gertrude Stein's playful language and imagery, this new song cycle builds on the composer's signature style, using tuneful melodies and complex rhythmic interplay, to bring Stein's classic book for children, The World Is Round, to life.
Featuring:
Dina Maccabee and Jesse Olsen Bay – vocals, comp...
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Hailed for their spirited performances of Latin, folk, and adventurous jazz, The VNote Ensemble brings their unique musical sound to the Poppy. Giving voice to a treasure trove of Venezuelan music, the group explores original musical connections from North American jazz to traditional Venezuelan folk songs. The VNote Ensemble combines the lively rhythms of joropo, swing, gaita, soul, be-bop, calypso and more. VNote’s latest album, Urbano, features a three-movement suite called "Suite Jazznera" w...
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The Musical Art Quintet was formed in 2008 as part of the Classical Revolution movement. Although classically trained, the members of The Musical Art Quintet are skilled improvisors that each bring with them an area of expertise. Whether it is Argentine tango, Afro-Cuban son, klezmer, classical works, or even electronica, the Quintet is at home. Their debut recording, Nuevo Chamber, has received much critical acclaim and a second album, Chamber con Alma, is currently in the works.
Featuri...
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The Leni Stern African Trio trio performs original compositions in the funk, jazz, rock, and folk styles, all through the lens of West African rhythms and tonalities. Leni Stern is an awarded electric guitarist and songwriter, leading a trio with Senegalese master musicians Alioune Faye and Mamadou Ba. Their lyrics are poignant and emotional, using naturalistic imagery to convey borderless ideas and stories, music that is meaningful to audiences of all ages and races.
Ms. Stern studied for ...
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Yaelisa and Caminos Flamencos have graciously offered to donate 100% of this night's proceeds to the Poppy's goal to raising $30k by the end of 2015! Please come out for this exceptional evening of flamenco and to support the Red Poppy Art House on Friday, August 14, 2015.
Cast:
Yaelisa - dance
Jason McGuir - guitar
Jose Cortes - vocals
Marlon Aldana - percussion
Paul Martin Sounder - upright bass
Caminos Flamencos' mission is to enrich and educate the community by presenting innovative...
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Vocalist and songwriter, Amy LaCour, returns to the Poppy to workshop selections from Any Place But Here, a new song cycle (a set of related songs performed in a sequence) for voice and string quartet.
Any Place But Here explores the human themes of movement, identity, and expansion as reflected through the Great Migration, and using African-American poetry as lyrics. Amy's songs convey a young African-American male character migrating out of the South and heading toward an unnamed urban cent...
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Jessica Fichot's acoustic style takes audiences on a journey out of the French chanson tradition and into the lands of gypsy jazz, 1940s Chinese swing, and international folk. With a French/Chinese/American upbringing and a pioneering spirit all her own, Jessica has brought her imagination to audiences across the world, backed by a fiery band, and armed with her accordion, toy piano, and multilingual vocals. Her first albums, Le Chemin and Le Secret, offer a beguiling musical tour that capti...
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