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 - […]
Brooklyn Raga Massive, headed by percussionist Sameer Gupta, brings together a diverse roster of artists who specialize in modern jazz, Indian classical music, and a full spectrum of other genres. At their only Poppy show in 2017, this New York-based collective will present exciting new works and concepts while featuring several special guests. Featuring: Jay […]
Bay Area jazz quartet Zona Blu, who specialize in Latin, funk, and swing grooves, returns to the Poppy with singer Suzanne Kramer, renowned for her alt-pop country/folk vocals with indie band Sugar Ponies. Featuring: Suzanne Kramer - vocals Jim Wasco - piano David Kaufer - guitar Steve Teich - alto sax/flute Greg Galli - drums […]
Los Angeles trio Homenaje invites special guest vocalist (and Red Poppy all-star) Dina Zarif to the stage for an evening that incorporates heavy influences of Cuban and African music along with jazz, classical, and folk. Expect to hear selections from Homenaje's new album, La Mariposa y el Mentiroso ("The Butterfly and the Liar"), which tells […]
Vocalist/multi instrumentalist Caitlin Belem and guitarist Terrence Rosnagle take you on a trip through Latin America, playing music from Brazil to Cuba and everywhere in between – samba, bossa nova, cumbia, son, and more. It’ll be a Saturday night for listeners and dancers. Featuring: Caitlin Belem - vocals, saxophone, guitar, fiddle, hand percussion Terrence Rosnagle […]
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. […]
Polish pianist Joanna Rozewska and Russian cellist Yulia Fomicheva, two highly respected international competition winners and alumna of San Francisco Conservatory, will present an evening of piano and cello music by Chopin, Myaskovsky, Rachmaninov, and other great Polish and Russian composers. Featuring: Joanna Rozewska - piano Yulia Fomicheva - cello Yulia Fomicheva is a cellist […]
Violinist/composer Colm Ó Riain and some stellar musical friends mix the soul of his native Ireland with rhythms and melodies from all over the world — jazz, blues, Roma, India, Cuba, Brazil, and more — while exploring new frontiers of sound, all with a developed sense of humor. Featuring: Colm Ó Riain - violin, vocals […]
Joined by New York vocalist Diana Mangano, four Bay Area musical treasures convene for one night to present the music of Beth Custer and David James, and to explore spontaneous improvisations. Custer's growling bass clarinet meets James's versatile guitar, on a bed of grooves by Amendola and Glasgow. Featuring: Beth Custer - clarinets David James […]
Acclaimed jazz vocalist Kellye Gray–renowned for her powerful voice, four-octave range, and 1990 Top 20 hit, Standards in Gray–comes to the Poppy to celebrate the release of a new album, Rendering. Featuring: TBA Texas native Kellye Gray has recorded seven albums as a leader, performed nationally and internationally at world-class venues and festivals, and shared […]
Pianist Myra Melford, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, and saxophonists Angela Morris and Steve Adams perform original compositions and spontaneous improvisations. Ranging from melodic free jazz to energetic sonic explorations, they bring their unique chemistry to the West Coast for the first time this fall. Featuring: Myra Melford - piano Angela Morris - tenor saxophone Lisa Mezzacappa […]
Highest Ani plays traditional Armenian songs blended with diverse musical influences. Committed to paying homage to Armenian music, while incorporating musical identities taken from rock, jazz, indie, blues, and others, Highest Ani is a band that strives to carve out its own sound. Featuring: Mark Sarkis Ohanesian - qanon Avo Chalaganyan - drums, vocals Marina […]
Blending elements from their own musical upbringings with influences from Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, and other Latin American countries, Los Angeles-based Primary Colors focuses on original compositions and arrangements. At their first Red Poppy show, expect to hear selections from their upcoming debut album. Featuring: Liza Wallace - harp, vocals Josh Johnson - saxophone Ryan Knudsen […]
Fred Frith, revolutionary of the electric guitar and pioneer of a form of improvisation which refuses all constraints, stylistic or otherwise, will present his first Bay Area solo performance in many years. Featuring: Fred Frith - prepared electric guitar Fred Frith learned his craft playing in rock bands, notably Henry Cow, and creating music in […]
Readings, live music accompaniment, and vivid projected images will recreate an episode of "The Republic of Sin" podcast, the story of a lost English-speaking colony of pirates, spies, and mercenaries on the legendary Coast of Sin, a tropical paradise full of dark secrets. After the intermission, writers will explore the ebullient linguistic space of animals, […]
Degenerate Art Ensemble’s Skeleton Flower is an immersive performance that combines rich imagery, live music and song, visceral solo dance, and storytelling ritual. The work will be performed in a rare duo performance by the company's two co-artistic directors, dancer Haruko Crow Nishimura and musician/composer Joshua Kohl, over two nights at the Poppy. Featuring: Haruko […]
Join French Oak Gypsy Band as they take you on a caravan ride through many lands, with songs in French, Spanish, Roma, Catalan, Portuguese, Russian, and English. Highlighting both French music and the French relationship to American jazz, French Oak aims to reach into the depths of an emotion-fueled Piaf song and the light coquettishness […]