The Songstress Salon features original music of three powerful enigmatic Bay Area singer-songwriters. These three ladies recently performed at the de Young museum as part of the Artist Fellows program.Maria Morrell is an artist who writes her songs with an empathic flair for life's joys and pains. Her folk and soul influenced music gives way for an unpretentious, reminiscent experience. She is also one of the lead singers for the group Pop Fiction and performs all over the West coast.Sti...

Described as “sexy, soulful, genuine, and edgy” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and an “indie folk powerhouse” by Bend’s Source Weekly, Valerie Orth is a fearless and genre-bending songwriter. Her distinctive hybrid of rock, groove, soul, and folk reaches out and grabs your attention; her live performances captivate and charm at once.  Rich with melody and metaphor, Orth’s tunes move nimbly between darkness and light, hope and despair, taking deft turns of phrase along unforeseen rhythmic twis...

Heriberto “Tito” Gonzalez, “El Trecero mayor”, arrived in the San Francisco Bay area in the summer of 2000. His music is typical and primarily “El Son”. Now, with a new life in San Francisco and the songwriter’s freedom to experiment and story-telling, Tito, a consummate master of Cuban traditional music, brings a fresh sound to a lifetime of experience.Tito Gonzales spent his young life picking up guitar licks around the rim of the sea thanks to a Cuban-run company that sent fisherman like ...

An Evening Of Original And Improvised Music, And Reinterpretation Of American Rock MusicErick Deutsch, John Shifflett, and Scott Amendola have been playing as a trio on and off for a few years now. Erik lives in NY but comes out west just enough to make this trio feel like a band. From the first note things gelled. We share the appreciation for pop music and enjoy reinterpreting it with our own voices. We also enjoy playing our original music so there's a nice balance of both worlds that i...

With influences of anything that can shake their soul, Makru sounds like smashing the Earth and then playing it on a record player. The group has an acoustic flavor that fuses elements of Rumba, Flamenco, Reggae, Cuban Son, Cumbia, and many other global beats. Makru’s music is performed with a combination of Spanish and English lyrics that bring reality, fiction, hope and joy. Raul Vargas: composer, cajon, guitar and vocals Martina Castro: vocals, palmas Javi Monge: congas, percus...

The Marcus Shelby Trio was founded in 1997 and performs regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, including national and international festivals.  The trio consists of Marcus Shelby (bass), Adam Shulman (piano) and Jeff Marrs (drums).  The MST performs original compositions, re-arranged Standards, Spirituals, Rhythm and Blues, and Pop music—all with a progressive influence of Swing, Ballads, and Blues.  The MST has released 2 CDs (“Un Faux Pas”, “The Sophisticate”), and serves as the rhythm secti...

Join us as Kardash sweeps you away on a magic carpet ride through the Mediterranean, Anatolia, Levant and Egypt. Kardash blends the ancient and modern, renewing musical traditions for today's hectic world, creating a space for you to wander in - hypnotic, meditative, joyous and tragic. Taking a strong nod from the classic Anatolian psychedelic sounds of the 70's, as well as modern Jazz and the Classical music of the Near East, Kardash is about that timeless space evoked in song and dance that ca...

Boca do Rio duo, Kevin Welch and Alex Calatayud, explore the band's new EP, The Dam is Breaking. These tracks present new beats and old traditions in an eclectic mix of organic songs and sounds. The lyrics are sung in both English and Portuguese and topically range from love in the time of climate change to a young prodigy growing up in the Favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro. The musicians have lived these songs in live performances throughout the Bay Area and the sound is translated into a deep ...

CD Release - BrainchildrenLA-based vocalist, trombonist, and songwriter, elizabeth!, is a fun and interactive performer and educator who connects with audiences through the thrill of improvisation and personal, accessible musical stories. Like Nat “King” Cole and Ella Fitzgerald before her, she’s a playful storyteller with a twinkle in her eye that comes through in her music. In her jazzy pop tunes inspired by travels around the world, elizabeth! also harnesses the power of pregnant moments,...

Quijeremá infuses their original contemporary Latin American compositions with a unique sense of ancient musical traditions. The blending of rhythm, texture, and color in their music is seamless, transparent, and always original. Delighting audiences over the course of an eight-year, five-album career, this finely tuned Bay Area quintet mixes the best of roots music with spontaneity and verve.Quijeremá has performed throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America, and has collaborated with a v...

Born Ernesto Browne in Pt. Fortin, Trinidad, NezB has been singing since his youth when he sang onstage with Miriam Makeba. He has sung with OJ Ekemode, Lynn Taitt, Jackie Mittoo, One Love (Randy Jackson on bass), Obeah, Mystic Wariyah, Vision, DV8, Bass Culture, and more…Mamadou Sidibe (Mali) played a groundbreaking role in transforming the music of Mali’s Wassalou region from its origins in hunters’ sacred melodies – played on six string donso ngoni (hunter’s harps) – to a music of philoso...

Reviewed as an “unusually strong-voiced tenor” who “shows great sensitivity,” Kansau possesses vocal flexibility and a range of experience spanning from Latin American music to opera halls and venues. Jimmy Kansau brings his love and appreciation for the music of early to mid 20th century Latin America and the Caribbean combined with his sensitivity and understanding of the elegance of classic American jazz that inspires him to freshly fuse the best of both worlds.  It is to that exquisite nex...

Originally froCuba, Fito Reinoso is a long time Bay Area resident and is celebrating over 30 years in theUS. Mr. Reinoso is considered one of the best sonero’s and songwriters of Cuban music. His live act is not to be missed, as the energy inherent in his performance ensures that an unforgettable party will occur! Tonight, Fito and company will be exploring and interpreting the traditional Cuban repertoire.Fito Reinoso - tres, bass, percussion, vocalsGabriel Navia - guitar, vocals ...

Labeled "The new voice of Portuguese world music" by Mundo Portugues magazine, Ramana Vieira pulls traditional Portuguese Fado music into the 21st century with her powerful vocals and unique stylings. Juxtaposing unconventional instrumental layers over Fado's haunting melodies and melancholy stories of heartache and disappointment, she updates old-world ballads while maintaining the integrity of this time-honored tradition.  This powerful vocalist is making her mark as one of the premier...

Destiny, sound sculptress, writes classical/crossover eclectic Jazz for harp & vocals. Destiny's collaborations include: 'The Secret' visionary Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith, singer/songwriter India, Jazz legends Eddie Gale, Azar Lawrence & Khalil Shaheed and hit-maker Narada Michael Walden to name a few.  She is also a panelist for the West Coast Songwriters Performing Songwriters Panel, an ASCAP Songwriter Awardee and Jazz Ambassador for the Jazz Heritage Center in San Francisco, CA...

Classical Revolution presents chamber music performances in neighborhood venues all over the Bay Area featuring the best local and touring classical musicians. November marks the 5 year anniversary of Classical Rev, with special events planned throughout the entire monthWhere is the future of the string quartet heading?  The answer lies with Squid Inc.  Squid Inc. is a string quartet made up of some of the Bay Area's fiercest string players and will open your ears as the world of popular...

Darren Johnston has been a ubiquitous creative force on the Bay Area music scene for over a decade now, as a composer, trumpeter, and a bandleader.  As a sideman he currently performs with Meklit Hadero (Ethiopian-born singer-songwriter), Brass Menazeri (Balkan brass band), Cylinder (avant-jazz), The Marcus Shelby Orchestra (big band jazz), and others.  All of these seemingly disparate approaches to making music lend insight into his work, which lies somewhere in between genres, remaining un...