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 […]
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. […]
On the heels of a celebrated new album, acclaimed saxophonist/composer Michael Zilber brings in some of his favorite musicians (and some of the Bay's very best) for an evening of modern acoustic jazz steeped in the tradition of John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter but firmly in the present, too. Featuring: Michael Zilber - saxophones Peter […]
Boca do Rio, the immensely danceable result of a two-decade musical partnership between guitarist/singer Kevin Welch and percussionist Alex Calatayud, brings their multi-layered electro-funk party boat to the Poppy. Their musicá organicá, born of Brazil and the San Francisco Bay, showcases the rhythms of living and working between the Americas. Featuring: Kevin Welch - guitar, […]
Fula Brothers is the high-spirited meeting of three seasoned touring performers, each of whom has spent decades pursuing the shared heartbeat in music from around the globe. All three musicians creatively weave a history filled with intercontinental collaborations–from West Africa and Scotland to Haiti and the U.S.–into a rich tapestry of sound and rhythm. The […]
Los Angeles-based singer Douyé brings her trio to the Poppy to celebrate her first album of jazz standards, Daddy Said So. After two well-received R&B releases, the Nigerian-born vocalist goes back to her roots with an evening of classics inspired by legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington. Featuring: TBA Her upbeat […]
Homenagem Brasileira plays the full spectrum of Brazilian jazz, from Rio-based bossa nova and samba to baião and frevo from Brazil’s northeast. At their Red Poppy show, they’ll present music from classic composers like Jobim and Caymmi, as well as music from Cressman's most recent album, Entre Amigos, which features collaborations with Jovino Santos Neto, […]
Art can be used to bring awareness. Through art and culture, we can learn to identify with each other and explore what we all have in common. In a journey of peace and understanding, we can explore the six countries on Donald Trump's travel ban, which are a source of rich music and art. We […]
Priscilla Portes joins David Jacob and Rouzbehan Richard for a tribute to northeastern Brazilian legend Dona Selma do Coco with an evening of vocals, piano and trumpet, and Middle Eastern daf frame drum. Featuring: Priscilla Portes - vocals David Jacob - trumpet and piano Rouzbehan Richard - daf Priscilla met David and Rouzbehan at Berkeley […]
Southern California pianist and composer Danny Green, renowned for his beautifully articulated touch and melodically charged sensibility, arrives at the Poppy with bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Julien Cantelm for a night of Green's latest works, as well as music from their critically acclaimed 2016 release, Altered Narratives. Featuring: Danny Green - piano Justin Grinnell […]
Five-piece string band the Creak, who blend folk, pop, and Americana with intriguing songwriting, makes their Red Poppy debut with mostly original music from their latest release, You Got Eyes, as well as select covers. Joined by composer/pianist John Steven Morgan, the evening includes a hard-swinging rhythm section and memorable melodies, along with instrumental interplay […]
A native New Yorker of Indian origin fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and French, acclaimed composer/jazz vocalist Kavita Shah incorporates her ethnographic research on Brazilian, West African, and Indian musical traditions into her original repertoire. At her first Red Poppy show since 2014, expect to hear songs from her discography, as well as selections from her […]
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: […]
Playing his Red Poppy debut just days before leaving for college, Joshua Tazman will be presenting two fresh new works. The first piece is the premiere of "After After Lorca: The Spicer Songs," a searing and whimsical collection of musical settings to Jack Spicer poems for voice, violin, viola, and cello. Tazman will also be […]
The Red Poppy is proud to welcome back our original resident artists, VidyA, who will present an evening of their characteristically seamless blend of Carnatic and jazz music with saxophone, bass, and drums. Having approached this music deeply for years together, the separate idioms dissolve as the group dwells and expresses in the essence itself. […]
Bay Area guitarist Dave Amato – acclaimed as a solo and ensemble performer, composer, educator, host of KUSF’s “Guitar Journeys,” and stringed-instrument repairman – assembles an all-star cast for a kid- and parent-friendly afternoon of laid-back explorations and improvisations. Featuring: Dave Amato - guitar John Trombetta - trumpet Eric Schugren - sax Willem Von Hambracht […]
San Francisco-based bandleader, record producer, concert performer, studio musician, and music educator Terrence Brewer brings his Acoustic Jazz Project to the Poppy for a night of unplugged jazz. Expect to hear selections from his 10 acclaimed albums in a special acoustic setting. Featuring: TBA Award-winning guitarist Terrence Brewer, a 2016 inductee into the Pittsburg Arts […]
"Taraf" means "band" in Romanian, "Locos" means "crazies" in Spanish, and "de" means "of" in both languages–the perfect name for a group who lives at the intersection of Greek, Albanian, Turkish, New Orleans, Mexican, and Cuban music. If their previous Red Poppy shows are any indication, this quintet’s rare break from a self-imposed hiatus promises […]
Moroccan musician, composer, professor of Sufi and Islamic studies, imam, and storyteller Yassir Chadly makes a rare visit to the Poppy, where he will weave together traditional Moroccan Sufi trance music, wisdom from the Sufi tradition, and music from his most recent recording, Asheeq Zeen. Featuring: TBA Yassir Chadly, a Casablanca native and Bay Area […]
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. […]
Mission-based street band Banda Sin Nombre and six-piece rumba group La Mandanga come together for an evening of world folk music, combining rumba, flamenco, cumbia, chicha, and americana. This will be a send-off party for Banda Sin Nombre’s upcoming, month-long tour of Spain, so come out and dance for a good cause! Featuring: La Mandanga: […]
Internationally acclaimed fado artist Ramana Vieira returns to the Poppy for an evening of ballad-style fados and uptempo compositions from her latest album. Featuring: Ramana Vieira – vocals Ela Polak – violin Brad Bivens – guitar Leo Nobre – bass Steve Fowler – bass Others – TBA Ramana Vieira, described by Mundo Portugues newspaper as […]
Drawing from her multi-ethnic French/Chinese/American upbringing, chanteuse/songwriter Jessica Fichot returns for a night of chanson, 1940s Shanghai jazz, and international folk. Her accordion, toy piano, and multilingual vocals will be accompanied by a fiery trio of clarinet/saxophone, upright bass, and guitar. Featuring: Jessica Fichot - vocals, accordion, toy piano Adrien Prévost - guitar Mike Bjella […]
Rooted in India's rich traditional musical culture and enveloped in an artful weave of jazz, rock, and funk, Wahh World Fusion Band plays original music that features contemporary music with Indian and Eastern Influences, including dynamic vocal percussion and Indian raga elements. Featuring: Shankh Lahiri - vocals, tabla Peter Mongaya - guitar Rajib Karmakar - […]
Through a creative approach on some of their favorite songs from the past 40 years, Jenna & the Charmers delight in their dreamy, swinging, and sometimes rocking explorations of the songs that influenced them. Their Red Poppy debut will feature their own original compositions, as well as songs by Joni Mitchell, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Jon […]
Eight years of classical training at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, as well as extensive jazz studies with some of the leading teachers in the Bay Area, have given Texas-born flutist Gerald Beckett a firm command of both his instrument and the jazz idiom. His quintet makes its Red Poppy debut with selections from Beckett’s […]
A Temporary Collection (of An Ordinary Bloodline), Andrea Guskin's first exhibition at the Red Poppy Art House, establishes an open dialogue with the fragmented histories of immigrants, refugees, and ordinary citizens. When persecution’s targets change and crises appear in other forms, it is essential to preserve the thread of our history if we want to […]
Chicago-born singer/songwriter/composer Subhi's music showcases a blend of her Indian roots, pop, the jazz culture of her hometown, and everything in-between. At her first Red Poppy performance, she’ll be presenting selections from her debut album, Shaitaan Dil (“Naughty Heart”), written during her travels between Mumbai and Chicago, as well as the Indian jazz album she’s […]
Using string quartets by Antonin Dvorak, Sahba Aminikia, and Philip Glass, Bay Area-based Circadian String Quartet makes its Red Poppy debut with a program that delves into three different ways of experiencing home: Coming home, paying tribute to home, or watching with alarm as a homeland erupts in strife and division. Featuring: Sarah Wood - […]