Two of the Bay Area’s most respected saxophonists, David Boyce and Richard Howell, join drummer Sameer Gupta and bassist David Ewell for this evening-length exploration into musical improvisation. Their music reflects the continuum of jazz from a global orientation, embracing the tones and textures of Africa, India, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe. Featuring: David Boyce […]
This bicoastal quartet–comprised of New York-based singer Jenny Luna and Bay Area residents Bianca Rodriguez (flamenco dance), Morgan Nilsen (clarinet), and Chris Reid (guitar)–promises to bring you a fresh take on music from Turkey, Spain, and the Balkans. Ole! Opa!, formed by Bianca Rodriguez and Jenny Luna, draws from Jenny’s background in Balkan and Turkish […]
Straight from Budapest to the Red Poppy comes Hét Hat Club, four street musicians who put their own spin on classic Django-style jazz standards and Balkan folk melodies. On their first American tour, they’ll be playing songs from their just-released debut, Pompe It, and entertaining audiences with fresh arrangements that reflect their international roots. Featuring: […]
Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Caitlin Belem and guitarist Terrence Rosnagle take you on a trip through Latin America, playing sumptuous samba, bossa nova, cumbia, son, and so much more as they make their way from Brazil to Cuba and everywhere in between. Featuring: Caitlin Belem - vocals, saxophone, guitar, fiddle, hand percussion Terrence Rosnagle - guitar Caitlin Belem, […]
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. […]
The Red Poppy is proud to host Iranian multi-instrumentalist Pezhham Akhavass and tar/setar player Shahin Shahbazi, who will present an evening of Persian classical music. The performance, which will feature percussion and stringed instruments, promises to showcase these acclaimed artists’ lifelong study of Sufi music and improvisation. Featuring: Pezhham Akhavass - tombak, daf Shahin Shahbazi […]
Influenced by the contemporary and free jazz canons, the classical avant-garde, and beyond, this Bay Area trio will explore the boundaries between jazz and their own highly refined and individualized forms of expression. Each member of the trio has built a diverse and prolific musical life in the Bay Area, and in this new ensemble […]
Saxophonist/flutist Dann Zinn, hailed as a distinctive composer and passionate soloist, leads a sax, guitar, and drums trio that combines virtuosic musicianship with memorable melodies and heartfelt passion. Featuring: Dann Zinn - saxophones Chris Robinson - guitar Alan Hall - drums Dann Zinn’s resume includes stints with Peter Erskine, Taylor Eigsti, Joe Henderson, and Barry […]
San Francisco pianist/composer Adam Shulman presents an evening of post-bop original compositions, performed by a sextet of some of the Bay Area's most prominent jazz musicians. With a hard-swinging group aesthetic and close harmonic writing inspired by the classic groups of Horace Silver and Art Blakey, Shulman and his bandmates embrace history while adding to […]
The Yale Slavic Chorus was founded in 1969, the first year that women were admitted to Yale University. Since then, the “Slavs,” as they are affectionately known on campus, have been sharing Slavic and Eastern European music with the Yale and New Haven community, as well as communities across the country and internationally. Their recent […]
Irish-born violinist Colm Ó Riain and some stellar musical friends combine the music of Ireland with rhythms and melodies from all over the musical world – jazz, blues, Roma, India, Cuba, Brazil, and much more. Featuring: Colm Ó Riain - violin Joe Kyle Jr - bass Geoff van Lienden - guitar Wade Peterson - percussion […]
In the spirit of the black church, jazz, the Freedom Singers, and disco sensation Sylvester, MoonCandy creates an environment for survival music to live and thrive through live performance. The eight-piece ensemble, which features five of the East Bay’s most underrated jazz, soul, blues, and gospel singers, specializes in inspirational lyrics and transfixing grooves, giving […]
Drawing from folk and R&B traditions, Kat Morgan sings slow and powerful, metaphor-laced melodies about loving and living. Her Red Poppy debut promises to conjure moods from defiant to melancholic, from soppy sweet to broken and blue. Featuring: Kat Morgan - vocals, guitar, keyboards Alena Coons - bass Lien Do - drums Caitlin Ross - […]
Bay Area-based quintet Mean To Me resurrects classic sounds of the 1920s through 1940s–sometimes including the modern stylings of Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, and Ahmad Jamal–and a wide variety of soul- and Latin-influenced jazz. The three core members of Mean to Me are Judy Butterfield, trained as a cabaret singer but whose love is for […]
Vocalist, songwriter, and producer Masha Campagne once again collaborates with young guitar star Ian Faquini to explore the treasure trove of Brazilian music. Expect their reverent tributes to Tom Jobim, Ivan Lins, and Guinga–as well as their own original compositions–to transport you to a sensuous dreamland rich with quiet fire and deep soul. Featuring: Masha […]
The Red Poppy is proud to present an evening with Spanish guitarist/composer Javier Jimenez’s Barrio Manouche, purveyors of original, instrumental jazz manouche, and the Mallar Bhattacharya Band, a Bay Area-based traditional North Indian ensemble. Each band will perform a set and then play together, merging both cultures to become one. Featuring: Javier Jiménez - guitar […]
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. […]
This all-star group of Bay Area jazz-scene stalwarts is as traditional as they come: Tenor and alto saxophones in the front line, with piano, bass, and drums in the rhythm section. Their setlist is comprised of standards with new arrangements and original tunes by the band, all featuring pianist/composer/vocalist Mike Greensill. Featuring: Mike Greensill - […]
Multi-string player Gari Hegedus and Arabic percussionist Faisal Zedan return to the Poppy with a concert of original compositions by Hegedus and traditional instrumental music from various regions in the Middle East. Their focus: Dialogue and interplay between melody and rhythm. Gari Hegedus began devoting his life to music more than 25 years ago […]
"Our Spring" in the Mission: Through music, art, and song, we reflect traditions of protest and resilience inspired by the popular demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan between 2010 and 2013. ABOUT STOOP: Mission Stoop Fest (STOOP) is a civil society arts experiment that transpires on the front […]
The next edition of MAPP, on April 1, highlights the work of an international collective of producing artists who will be featured in the New Experimental Works Festival at CounterPulse on May 4-7th, 2017. The N.E.W. Festival, dedicated to radical theater-making and performance, is part of a collaborative effort between the California Institute of Integral […]
The Jimmy Grant Ensemble infuses swing-era pieces, originals, and traditional Roma tunes with Django Reinhardt’s crunchy rhythms and hot harmonies, creating a signature mix that includes Russian folk, bluegrass, Celtic, and classical music while remaining true to Django’s innovative guitar technique. Featuring: Jimmy Grant - guitar Javi Jiménez - guitar Sascha Jacobsen - bass Northern […]
Combining funky Balkan rhythms, gritty Appalachian ballads, arresting vocal harmonies, and enchanting acoustic textures, Janam unites some of the Bay Area's most playful and imaginative devotees of southern Balkan and American roots music to weave together folk tunes and their own colorful compositions, taking their audiences on a labyrinthine musical ride. Featuring: Dan Auvil - […]
Guitarist/singer Anne Carol Mitchell and violinist Nissa Gustafson perform beautiful melodies that invite listeners to reconnect with the natural world. The Muted Jewel Tones, a vocal harmony trio, perform songs from the sophisticated to the ridiculous, bringing a little jazz, a little folk, a little pop–and hopefully, a little smile–to the audience. Featuring: Sandy Lindop […]
Minsky Duo makes its Red Poppy debut with an all-Russian/Soviet program that includes the first San Francisco performance of living composer Nikolai Kapustin’s rollicking “Sonata for Violin and Piano,” Prokofiev’s “Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor” (described by the composer as "wind whistling through a graveyard"), Tchaikovsky's beautifully lyric “Meditation,” Scriabin's explosive “Piano Sonata […]
New York-based pianist Jason Yeager returns to the Red Poppy for an evening of catchy and quirky melodies inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's fictional characters, re-imagined standards by the likes of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington, grooves from Argentina and Brazil, and musings on Messiaen. He will also perform music from his forthcoming album with violin/mandolin […]
Acclaimed Bay Area poet/playwright/percussionist/radio host Avotcja (pronounced “ah-va-cha”) returns to the Red Poppy with her quartet, whose name means “gratitude” in Yoruba. Expect a set of jazz, blues, Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, and powerful poetry. Featuring: Avotcja - poetry, percussion Jon Jang - piano Sandi Poindexter - violin Francis Wong - saxophone, flute “Heshima” Mark Williams - […]
With an all-acoustic sound, rich harmonies, and soul-soothing rhythms, Soul y Agua blends influences from Mexico, Cuba, and Spain with jazz, R&B, and pop. The Bay Area-based quartet promises truly authentic original compositions along with select favorite traditional pieces. Featuring: Monica Maria Fimbrez - vocals, jarana, guitar Angelica Rodriguez - vocals Daniel Fabricant - bass […]
This trio of vocalists/musicians from France, the U.K., and the U.S.–Laure Sancho on upright bass, Paola Vera on piano, and Rachael Magidson on drums and trumpet–brings a swinging all-Gershwin program to the Poppy that will feature award-winning musicianship and their signature harmonies. Featuring: Paola Vera - vocals, piano Rachael Magidson - vocals, drums, trumpet Laure […]
A trio of acclaimed Bay Area musicians makes its Red Poppy debut with an evening of looped and plugged-in improvisations. Expect daring solo, duo, and trio hijinks, as well as originals and reimagined covers. Featuring: Alex Kelly - cello Matthew Szemela - violin PC Muñoz - drums, percussion Dr. Alex Kelly is a San Francisco-based […]