Red Poppy Art House

Scott Amendola Trio: Original Music & Sonic Soundscapes
2016-07-22 19:30 - 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
The Scott Amendola Trio presents original music from Scott as well as a selection of cover songs. From structured forms to more outside-the-box sonic soundscapes, the trio’s breadth of possibilities are endless.
Featuring:
Karl Evangelista – guitar
Jason Hoopes – electric bass
Scott Amendola – drums/electronics
For Scott Amendola, the drum kit isn’t so much an instrument as a musical portal. As an ambitious composer and savvy bandleader for some of the world’s most inventive musicians, Amendola applies his wide-ranging rhythmic virtuosity to a vast array of settings. His closest musical associates include guitarists Jeff Parker, Nels Cline, Charlie Hunter and Henry Kaiser, Hammond B-3 organist Wil Blades, ROVA saxophonist Larry Ochs, and Tin Hat clarinetist Ben Goldberg ‒ players who have each forged a singular path within and beyond the realm of jazz. While rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area scene, Amendola has woven a dense and far-reaching web of bandstand relationships that tie him to influential artists in jazz, blues, rock, and new music.

“…drummer/signal-treater Scott Amendola is both a tyrant of heavy rhythm and an electric-haired antenna for outworldly messages (not a standard combination).” – Greg Burk, LA Weekly
Follow Scott on Facebook.

Admission: $15-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Michael Zilber: A Saxophonist's Tribute to Jazz Greats
2016-07-23 19:30 - 22:00
A tribute to saxophone giants, San Francisco’s Michael Zilber performs music from his upcoming album of all originals. The recording features New York jazz greats Dave Kikoski on piano, James Genus on bass, and Clarence Penn on drums. Accompanying Zilber at the Red Poppy is a group made up exclusively of New York expatriates, including pianist Matt Clark, bassist Peter Barshay, and drummer Akira Tana.
Saxophonist and composer Michael Zilber is described by NEA Jazz Master David Liebman as “one of the best players and composers around anywhere. Period!” The Canadian-born ex-New Yorker has 7 CDs to his name as a leader and has also been a sideman on a myriad of recordings. He co-led a band with drumming great Steve Smith for 8 years and throughout his career has performed, toured, and recorded with numerous leading jazz artists such as Liebman, Miroslav Vitous, and Mike Clark among many others.

Admission: $10-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Jaz Sawyer: Abstract Jazz and Instrumental Experiments
2016-07-30 19:30 - 22:00
An integration of abstract jazz with breakbeats and improvised grooves, Jaz Sawyer explores an instrumental experiment including both originals and arrangements of jazz and pop standards.
Featuring:
Jaz Sawyer – drums, percussion
Sarah Voynow – harp
Cava Menzies – piano, keyboards
Imalu Menzies – percussion, keyboards
Jaz Sawyer began playing drums at the age of two in the Haight Ashbury District of San Francisco. His musical studies have taken him through the various programs at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, SFYO, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Jaz has worked with many notable artists including Wynton Marsalis, Abbey Lincoln, George Benson, Bobby Hutcherson, Phil Lesh, and Dee Dee Bridgewater in some of the world’s premier concert venues.
Sarah Voynow has performed extensively with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Juilliard and has performed in numerous recordings at Skywalker Sound. As a performer with the ensemble Richard Stoltzman and Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd, she played on the Grammy-nominated recording of Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto. A highly versatile musician, Sarah also plays rock and roll with an electric harp.
Bay Area native Cava Menzies is a classically trained jazz pianist, composer, producer, and educator. In 2001, she received a BA from the Berklee College of Music in Boston for jazz piano and music education, and in 2008, she received her MM from the University of Miami where she studied composition and music production and recording. Her musical talents extend from collaborations with various hip hop, soul, jazz, and Latin artists, to film documentaries. Cava remains a founding faculty member and teacher at the Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) where she chairs the Music Department, overseeing both the Instrumental and Vocal programs.

Check out Jaz Sawyer’s music on SoundCloud.

Admission: $10-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Los Vega: Son Jarocho de Veracruz
2016-08-04 20:00 - 22:00
Hailing from Veracruz, México, Los Vega brings the tradition of son jarocho music and dance to the Red Poppy. The genre is rich in narrative and performed with traditional instruments such as the jarana, requinto, and the percussive rhythm of zapateado dancing. Los Vega hopes to preserve the rich history of this music and promote the culture of southern Veracruz with notable songs such as Las Poblanas, El Celoso, Zapateado, Balaju, Cascabel and the original Bamba.
Featuring:
Fredi Vega – jarana
Claudio Vega – requinto
Raquel Palacios – jarana
Rosario Cornejo – zapateado
For more than six generations the Vega family has recreated son jarocho in community fandangos and on stages across the world. Since evolving into “Los Vega“, the new generation has carried on the musical tradition with contemporary verses, a variation of tones, and further stories that invigorate the family’s profound roots.

Admission: $20-25 door / $20 online. Doors at 7:30pm. Show at 8:00pm. All ages welcome.

Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Jacqui Sutton with the Frontier Jazz String Quartet: Jazz and Bluegrass Swing Together
2016-08-05 19:30 - 22:00
Jacqui Sutton returns to the Red Poppy with her Frontier Jazz String Quartet. Imagine if Billie Holiday, Dolly Parton and Aaron Copland came together to create music for a night; this would be the sound of Jacqui Sutton. Described by music/arts critic C. Michael Bailey as the place “where jazz meets the American frontier,” Jacqui draws from over 20 years of musical and stage experience, interweaving jazz and bluegrass with orchestral, pop and Americana influences. In her ears, the banjo, mandolin and fiddle continually intermingled with jazz, eventually coalesce into her distinctive frontier jazz sound. She was recently featured in Chris Becker’s Freedom of Expression: Interviews with Women in Jazz (November 2015), a book discussing the contributions made by women in the jazz world.
Featuring:
Jacqui Sutton – vocals
Paul Chester – banjo, guitar
Anthony Sapp – bass
Max Dyer – cello
Henry Darragh – piano
*This performance is proudly sponsored by Ifshin Violins.

Admission: $20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

August 6th MAPP: "Surface" Artist Reception & Crossover Collaborative Residencies
2016-08-06 13:00 - 20:00
The exhibit Surface: Rodney Ewing & Joyce Nojima brings together works on paper by the two Bay Area artists. Ewing and Nojima have created work offering a transmutation of tactile and visual experience across the surface of the paper. This pairing allows for exploration of the various ways in which this familiar material is treated and how the marks made upon the surface may evoke diverse readings and interpretations. The curators, Modesto Covarrubias and Monica Lundy, present these works in the performance space of Red Poppy Art House with an aim to spark a dialogue between music, voice, movement, and the act of seeing. With an interest in how to interact and live with art, the curators seek out work that enlivens and engages the space in which it exists.
Crossover Collaborative Residencies provides a framework to support the exploration of collaborative processes between artists in dance and music disciplines. Pairing six choreographer/dancers and six composer/musicians, the program follows a four-stage development from preliminary artists gatherings and orientation workshops, to early-stage “raw” presentations of works-in-progress, a middle-stage free community-engaged presentation, and a final performance/presentation. The third month of the residency utilizes the Mission Arts & Performance Project’s bimonthly neighborhood festival as a platform to put the work before a larger and more spontaneous audience.
Schedule:
1:00-4:00pm – Surface Exhibition
Artist reception with curators Modesto Covarrubias and Monica Lundy and artists Rodney Ewing and Joyce Nojima
6:00-7:30pm – Crossover Residencies
Collaborative works in progress with resident artists Daniel Riera/Latanya Tigner; Erika Oba/Sammay Dizon; Sandra Ndu/Larry Arrington
7:30-8:00pm – Crossover Residencies
Discussion with resident artists and curator Amara Tabor-Smith

About the MAPP:

Launched in 2003, the Mission Arts & Performance Project (MAPP) is a homegrown bi-monthly, multidisciplinary, intercultural happening that takes place in the Mission District of San Francisco. On the first Saturday of every even month of the year, the MAPP transforms ordinary spaces, such as private garages, gardens, living rooms, studios, street corners, and small businesses, into pop-up performance and exhibition sites for a day/night of intimate-scale artistic and cultural exchange among a kaleidoscope of individuals and communities.
Learn more about the program at http://mappsf.com/.

About the Artists (Cohort 1):

Sandra Lawson-Ndu is an Oakland-based musician. As a vocalist and songwriter, she has contributed to and collaborated on a number of live and recorded projects, including works with DJ Center (Everything in Time LP) and Nomadic Wax (Diaspora Mix Tape Volume 2). She helped found and organize the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival, and in the last two years, she has been invited to participate in both the Zoo Labs Artist Residency and Revolutions Per Minute Artist Lab. Currently, Sandra is co-leading the band Bells Atlas and working on her solo project.

Laura Larry Arrington is a dance-artist working in hybrids of idea and practice. Her work in dance (time/space/body/whole) pivots around a desire to orient towards the capacities in us all that can glimpse unseen and unutterable horizons. Her body is her life and her life is her work. (Photo by Robbie Sweeny)

Erika Oba is a composer, pianist/flutist, and educator based in the SF Bay Area. She is a member of the Montclair Women’s Big Band, the Mara Performance Collective, Ends Meat’ Catastrophe Jazz Ensemble, and the Oba/Bastian duo. She received her BM in Jazz Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and her MA in Music Composition from Mills College.

SAMMAY is a Bay Area-based emerging choreographer/producer and interdisciplinary performing artist of Kapampangan, Ilokano, and Bikol descent. Her work has been performed at SOMArts Bay Gallery, Diego Rivera Art Gallery, Dance Mission Theater, and Oracle Arena among others. She is the founder and producer of URBAN x INDIGENOUS, an inter-generational multi-disciplinary arts festival which celebrates the indigenous spirit in the urban environment of our present day.

Daniel Riera is a flutist, EWI player, bassist, producer, composer, and sound designer from San Francisco. He is active as a stage performer with groups such as Soltron, Camille Mai, as well as his own ensemble. His musical training began at the age of ten with Latin-jazz flute virtuoso and composer John Calloway. Daniel continued his studies at San Francisco’s School of the Arts High and Berklee College of Music, where he earned his degree in Music Synthesis. Since 2012, Daniel has been an instructor at Academy of Art University teaching music theory and notation. He is also involved with the group Today’s Future Sound which provides music production education to underserved middle and high school communities in the Bay Area.

Latanya d. Tigner is a choreographer who has performed professionally with Dimensions Dance Theater since 1986. She has studied and toured nationally and internationally, performing multidisciplinary works rooted in African diasporic dance forms. Latanya holds a B.A. in Physical Education/Dance, a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration, and currently teaches dance at Contra Costa College. Her current research and study of the Second Line parading traditions of New Orleans has enabled her to create one of her most notable pieces, The Last Dance/St. Anne and N. Rampart. Latanya recently completed her second commissioned work for Dimensions, The Town on Notice.(Photo by Kimara Dixon)

CANCELLED - Soup SF: Summer Edition
2016-08-07 18:00 - 20:00
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience!

SOUP is like Shark Tank meets Kickstarter for social good in our community. Come together with great folks over a delicious meal and fund a creative, community-benefit project with your vote!
How It Works:
1) $15-25 donation gets you soup and a vote (no one will be turned away for lack of funds)
2) Three creative community-benefit projects present and answer our Q&A
3) We vote to grant the proceeds from the meal to the most inspiring project

More About Soup SF:
Soup SF is a volunteer effort and exercise in community, food, creativity and good times. The SF edition was instigated by a group of folks that were wanting for more chances to be with and participate in their community. Inspired by stories of FEAST in Brooklyn and InCUBATE’s original Sunday Soup in Chicago, they decided to bring the goodness to SF (with blessings).
Read about Soup SF’s previous projects here.
Join the Facebook event here.

Lavay Smith: The Songs and Sounds of Duke Ellington
2016-08-12 19:30 - 22:00
Internationally recognized chanteuse Lavay Smith and her world-class band come to the Red Poppy to pay tribute to the great Duke Ellington. Performing popular favorites, as well as obscure gems, Lavay and her band evoke an authentic feeling of classic blues and jazz.
Featuring:
Lavay Smith – vocals
Jules Broussard – alto and tenor sax
Danny Armstrong – trombone, vocals
Chris Siebert – piano
Ron Belcher – bass
Lavay Smith is the vocalist and bandleader of the San Francisco-based Red Hot Skillet Lickers, one of the top swingin’ jazz and blues bands in the world. Growing up in Southern California and the Philippines, Lavay developed a singing style influenced by greats like Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Bessie Smith, and Little Esther Phillips. Her lush, bluesy vocals and enthralling stage personality recalls an era of jazz queens and sensuous pinups in the authentic style of the 1940s and 1950s. Smith and her seven-piece band maintain a busy schedule, performing original compositions, as well as a large repertoire of classic tunes throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.
“A living testament to the jump-blues era, Lavay is an impassioned singer.” — JAZZIZ

Admission: $15-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Event at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.

Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Jeff Denson Quartet: Jazz CD Release Celebration
2016-08-13 20:00 - 22:00
Bay Area-based double bassist/composer/vocalist Jeff Denson performs a CD release show with his quartet at the Red Poppy Art House for his fifth album, Concentric Circles. Steeped in the jazz tradition, Denson’s music features uncommon instrumentation and a highly individual juxtaposition of composed and improvised material.
Featuring:
Jeff Denson – double bass, vocals
Paul Hanson – bassoon
Dan Zemelman – piano
Alan Hall – drum set
Jeff Denson has balanced a full career as an acclaimed performing musician, a professor at the California Jazz Conservatory, and the Artistic Director of Ridgeway Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization. Jeff has toured with his own groups throughout the U.S. and Europe and has worked with some of jazz’s finest artists, such as Anthony Davis, Joe Lovano, Jane Ira Bloom, Kenny Werner, Charles McPherson, Dave Douglas, Ralph Alessi, Cuong Vu, and Warren Wolf.

“From his hard-driving quarter-note swing, to cello-like bowed melodies and interactive counterpoint, Denson is always surprising and inspiring!” — Lee Konitz, National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master

Admission: $20. Doors at 7:30pm. Show at 8:00pm. All ages welcome.

Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Rumberos de Radio Habana: Community Rumba
2016-08-14 14:00 - 17:00
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 musical styles, such as country, rock, and blues, and continue to impact the genres of today. Rumberos de Radio Habana bring their own contribution to the Red Poppy for a free afternoon of beat-making, hip-shaking, and good company.

Admission: Free, donations accepted for musicians ($5-10). Event at 2:00pm. All ages welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Jessica & Tony Jones, Peter Apfelbaum & Howard Wiley: Tenor Madness
2016-08-14 19:30 - 22:00
Improvisations, originals, and an exploration of standards unite the four independent viewpoints of tenor saxophonists Jessica Jones, Tony Jones, Peter Apfelbaum, and Howard Wiley. With a deep respect for jazz history and rhythm, and a dedication to finding their own voices, these musicians meet with collective improvisation in its wildest, mercurial incarnation.
Featuring:
Jessica Jones, Tony Jones, Peter Apfelbaum, Howard Wiley – tenor saxophones

Spearheaded by Jessica Jones, this grouping of four strong, creative tenor sax players from Berkeley illustrates the power of unity across diverse voices. A shared love of the saxophone, self-expression and jazz brings this crew together to explore sonic territory inhabited by shared history and imagined landscapes. All products of Berkeley High School, Jessica, Tony and Peter currently live in Brooklyn performing music from around the world. Howard has been a recognized saxophonist/drummer in the Bay Area and beyond since he was 12 years old.

Photos: Peter Apfelbaum by Tom Erlich, Howard Wiley by James Barry Knox

Admission: $10-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Marta Sanchez Quintet: Elegant, Melodic Music for Jazz Quintet
2016-08-18 19:30 - 22:00
Combining elements of rock, pop, jazz, folk, and classical, pianist/composer Marta Sanchez creates music that is rhythmically complex and spontaneously melodic. Her most recent release, Partenika, has been hailed as one of the best albums of 2015 by The New York Times, Downbeat, AllMusic and Jazz Journalist Association. Sanchez, a Madrid native who is currently active in New York City’s contemporary music scene, continues to tour around the globe as both a bandleader and sideman.
Featuring:
Marta Sanchez – piano, compositions
Caleb Curtis – alto saxophone
Raffi Garabedian – tenor saxophone
Dave Ewell – bass
Evan Hughes – drums
Photo by Tayla Nebesky

Admission: $10-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Mamadou and Vanessa: Mali Blues
2016-08-19 19:30 - 22:00
Mamadou and Vanessa perform original, poignant music from Mali. Their sound, influenced by West African rhythms and southern American blues, features the traditional 14-stringed kamele ngoni (hunter’s harp) and the karinye, a traditional percussion instrument.
Master kamele ngoni player Mamadou Sidibe is from the Wassoulou region of Mali, West Africa. He has toured with Malian greats Oumou Sangaré and Coumba Sidibé throughout Europe and Africa. Vanessa Sidibe, from New York, is an accomplished Afro-Cuban and salsa musician. They are joint winners of several prestigious music competitions, including a Billboard world music competition and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Admission: $15-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Pagodinhos SF: Monthly Rio-Style Pagode de Mesa
2016-08-20 13:00 - 16:00, 2016-09-24 13:00 - 16:00
The Red Poppy Art House presents a monthly Rio-style pagode de mesa featuring a revolving cast of the finest players in the Bay Area. Pagode, meaning “party,” is the small group subgenre of samba that is played in samba schools, bars, cafes and backyards of Rio de Janeiro. From cavaquinho and guitar, to vocals and percussion, the musical style includes a lively mixture of songs with active audience participation.

Admission: Free, donations accepted for musicians ($5-10). Event at 1:00pm. All ages welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Joanna Wallfisch: The Great Song Cycle
2016-08-20 20:00 - 22:00
Internationally recognized singer-songwriter Joanna Wallfisch comes to San Francisco as part of her West Coast album release tour, which she is doing by bicycle. Beginning in Portland, OR and concluding in Los Angeles, Joanna will celebrate the halfway point at the Red Poppy. She will perform solo, accompanying herself on ukulele, piano, and loop pedal, layering vocals and melodies into textured soundscapes.
London-born Joanna Wallfisch emerges as an important voice in the international music scene. Behind her voice is a composer who explores aesthetics that highlight her playfulness and fruitful imagination. A multi-instrumentalist and master of vocal looping, she creates striking, multi-faceted live performances, generating beguiling vocal and percussive soundscapes to accompany her self-penned songs. Her third and latest album, Gardens in My Mind (2016), is set to be released on Sunnyside Records.
“[With her] clear-eyed poetry… Wallfisch combines the intimate purview of a singer-songwriter with the technical liberties of a jazz improviser. Crossing borders and flouting rules seem to come naturally to the youngest child of a renowned classical-music dynasty” — The Boston Globe

Admission: $10-15. Doors at 7:30pm. Show at 8:00pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Willow Steps: Indie Folk Pop
2016-08-21 19:30 - 22:00
With simple song structures and catchy melodies, Willow Steps features folky tunes of love and heartbreak by singer/songwriter Jesse Strickman and vocalist Leiya Mahoney. The duo’s introspective harmonies are accompanied by upright bassist Schuyler Karr for the celebration of their new community-funded EP, A Truth Too Big to See. Opening the evening is an acoustic set by eclectic Nevada City songwriters Cactus Cult.
Featuring:
Jesse Strickman – vocals, acoustic guitar
Leiya Mahoney – vocals, various instruments
Schuyler Karr – bass
Oakland-based indie-folk duo Jesse and Leiya, best friends and fellow music lovers, launched Willow Steps in 2015 after years of collaborating onstage. Both seasoned musicians, Mahoney has founded a kirtan group and performed in choirs and bands, while Strickman has opened for Damien Jurado, Cake, and Jay Brannan.
Photo by Paul Maguire

Admission: $10-15. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Gari Hegedus and Faisal Zedan: Music of Turkish, Arab & Greek Traditions
2016-08-26 19:30 - 22:00
Master percussionist Faisal Zedan returns to the Red Poppy Art House alongside multi-instrumentalist Gari Hegedus for an evening of music rooted in Turkish, Arab, and Greek traditions. Displaying a dynamic approach to rhythm and melody, the duo enthusiastically rejuvenates classic styles of Middle Eastern drumming.
Featuring:
Gari Hegedus – Turkish and Arabic ouds, saz
Faisal Zedan – derbakki, riqq, and frame drums
Born in Lebanon and raised in Syria, Faisal Zedan grew up impassioned with the derbakki (Arabic drum). At the age of 15, after intensive study with a local drummer, Faisal became exposed to a wide repertoire of Arabic classical and contemporary music. Faisal is affiliated with several groups including Kan Zaman, Qadim, Stellamara, and Aswat Ensemble. In addition to his collaborations with local and international artists, Faisal has taught at music camps, conducted workshops around the world, and produced instructional DVDs on derbakki fundamentals, and Arabic percussion.
Gari Hegedus is an accomplished performer and composer who specializes in oud, saz, violin, and a wide range of stringed instruments from Greece and Turkey. Beginning his musical career playing the fiddle and mandolin, Gari has since performed and trained in the traditional music styles of Ireland, Scotland, France, Turkey, North Africa, and the Middle East for over 20 years. For many years, he toured with the Mevlevi Order of America, and he continues to participate in Turkish ceremonial gatherings around the country.

Admission: $15-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Taraf de Locos: Balkan-Latin Quintet
2016-08-27 19:30 - 22:00
In celebration of a one-night reunion show at the Red Poppy, local band Taraf de Locos performs traditional folk and contemporary tunes rooted in the Balkans, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Spain, Mexico, and Colombia. The evening will mark the group’s first performance together since the end of their last tour in 2015.
Featuring:
Tano Brock – saxophone, guitar, bata, vocals
Miguel Leon – cajon, bata, guira, congas, pandeiro, vocals
Mireya Leon – bass
Cecilia Peña-Govea – trumpet, guira, vocals
Aya Safiya – violin, vocals
Taraf de Locos derives cultural relevance and power from the established Balkan and Latin music traditions of San Francisco’s Mission District and the larger Bay Area. Formed in 2014, Taraf came together through the intersection of diverse musical backgrounds, shared Mission community, and a love of Greek, Albanian, Turkish, New Orleans, Mexican, and Cuban music. The band has since recruited bassist Mireya Leon, released a debut album, and toured the U.S.

Admission: $10-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Ampersan: Mexican Electro-Folk Rock
2016-08-28 19:30 - 22:00
Join Ampersan in a sonic journey through the landscapes of Mexico and Latin America. Their music brings together the feelings of peasant songs, son, and psychedelica with rock, rap, and electronica.
Featuring:
Zindu Cano – jarana, acoustic guitar, vocals
Kevin García – punteador, electric guitar, vocals
Since its inception in 2007, Ampersan has rooted their sound in the traditional acoustic music of Mexico, with forays into contemporary classical music and experimentation. The duo’s compositions have been used for dance performances, puppet theatre, documentaries, and short films. With two albums and a DVD, Ampersan has performed to great acclaim throughout Mexico, Spain, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, Guatemala, and the U.S.

Admission: $12-15. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Ridgeway Arts Presents: Brooklyn Jazz Vocalist Tammy Scheffer
2016-09-04 19:30 - 22:00
Ridgeway Arts presents vocalist and composer Tammy Scheffer as a featured artist in their National/International program, which brings high-profile artists from around the globe to the Bay Area. The Brooklyn-based Scheffer joins double bassist and vocalist Jeff Denson and special guests for a night of contemporary jazz at the Red Poppy.
Featuring:
Tammy Scheffer – vocals
Jeff Denson – double bass, vocals
Special guests TBA
Tammy Scheffer has been a creative voice in NYC’s jazz circle for almost a decade. She is the leader of the Tammy Scheffer Sextet, whose album Wake Up, Fall Asleep was released on renowned saxophonist Greg Osby’s label Inner Circle Music. Most recently, she released a new EP with jazz-rock trio Morning Bound, hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “innovative, provocative, and alluring.”

Admission: $20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer with us! Click here.

Red Poppy Art House Presents: Crossover Collaborative Residencies
2016-09-08 19:00 - 21:00
Crossover Collaborative Residencies provides a framework to support the exploration of collaborative processes between artists in dance and music disciplines. Pairing six choreographer/dancers and six composer/musicians, the program follows a four-stage development from preliminary artists gatherings and orientation workshops, to early-stage “raw” presentations of works-in-progress, a middle-stage free community-engaged presentation, and a final performance/presentation.
With support from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and San Francisco Arts Commission

About the Artists (Cohort 1):

Sandra Lawson-Ndu is an Oakland-based musician. As a vocalist and songwriter, she has contributed to and collaborated on a number of live and recorded projects, including works with DJ Center (Everything in Time LP) and Nomadic Wax (Diaspora Mix Tape Volume 2). She helped found and organize the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival, and in the last two years, she has been invited to participate in both the Zoo Labs Artist Residency and Revolutions Per Minute Artist Lab. Currently, Sandra is co-leading the band Bells Atlas and working on her solo project.

Laura Larry Arrington is a dance-artist working in hybrids of idea and practice. Her work in dance (time/space/body/whole) pivots around a desire to orient towards the capacities in us all that can glimpse unseen and unutterable horizons. Her body is her life and her life is her work. (Photo by Robbie Sweeny)

Erika Oba is a composer, pianist/flutist, and educator based in the SF Bay Area. She is a member of the Montclair Women’s Big Band, the Mara Performance Collective, Ends Meat’ Catastrophe Jazz Ensemble, and the Oba/Bastian duo. She received her BM in Jazz Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and her MA in Music Composition from Mills College.

SAMMAY is a Bay Area-based emerging choreographer/producer and interdisciplinary performing artist of Kapampangan, Ilokano, and Bikol descent. Her work has been performed at SOMArts Bay Gallery, Diego Rivera Art Gallery, Dance Mission Theater, and Oracle Arena among others. She is the founder and producer of URBAN x INDIGENOUS, an inter-generational multi-disciplinary arts festival which celebrates the indigenous spirit in the urban environment of our present day.

Daniel Riera is a flutist, EWI player, bassist, producer, composer, and sound designer from San Francisco. He is active as a stage performer with groups such as Soltron, Camille Mai, as well as his own ensemble. His musical training began at the age of ten with Latin-jazz flute virtuoso and composer John Calloway. Daniel continued his studies at San Francisco’s School of the Arts High and Berklee College of Music, where he earned his degree in Music Synthesis. Since 2012, Daniel has been an instructor at Academy of Art University teaching music theory and notation. He is also involved with the group Today’s Future Sound which provides music production education to underserved middle and high school communities in the Bay Area.

Latanya d. Tigner is a choreographer who has performed professionally with Dimensions Dance Theater since 1986. She has studied and toured nationally and internationally, performing multidisciplinary works rooted in African diasporic dance forms. Latanya holds a B.A. in Physical Education/Dance, a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration, and currently teaches dance at Contra Costa College. Her current research and study of the Second Line parading traditions of New Orleans has enabled her to create one of her most notable pieces, The Last Dance/St. Anne and N. Rampart. Latanya recently completed her second commissioned work for Dimensions, The Town on Notice.(Photo by Kimara Dixon)

Ya Layl: Explorations of the Middle East
2016-09-09 19:30 - 22:00
Ya Layl presents “Mostly Middle Eastern,” a program of Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, and other music performed by Sarah Michael, Peter Maund, and Suellen Primost. Special guest Niko Bakulich joins the trio for an eclectic evening of lively dance numbers, modal improvisations, American standards, and medieval pilgrim songs.
Featuring:
Sarah Michael – kanun (Arabic zither)
Suellen Primost – cello
Peter Maund – percussion
Niko Bakulich – bass

Kanun player Sarah Michael has been studying and performing Middle Eastern music for the past 15 years. Beginning her career as a viola da gamba player, Sarah has studied with composer and accordion virtuoso Elias Lammam. She has performed with Aswat, Flowers of the Nile, the Mevlevi Mutrib, El Alzifoon, and her own quartet, Zamanna.
Peter Maund studied percussion at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and music, folklore, and ethnomusicology at the University of California, Berkeley. Described by the Glasgow Herald as “the most considerate and imaginative of percussionists,” he can be heard on over 50 recordings. Maund, a founding member of Ensemble Alcatraz and Alasdair Fraser’s Skyedance, has performed with a number of early and contemporary music ensembles.
Suellen Primost is a conservatory-trained cellist, composer, and recording artist. She was principal cellist with the Taos Chamber Orchestra and co-founded Sedona’s first “Jazz on the Rocks” festival before moving to California in 2002. She has served as music director for Artship Ensemble in San Francisco and continues to perform with musicians, poets, and artists spanning many different genres. Suellen currently performs with Spiral Dance Chamber Jazz, the Neshamah Duo, the Sarah Michael Qanun Ensemble, and the Espiritu Ensembles.

Admission: $15-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
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Ricardo Peixoto and Duo Violão Brasil: Brazilian Guitar
2016-09-10 19:30 - 22:00
Bay Area-based Brazilian guitarist Ricardo Peixoto returns to the Red Poppy alongside Rio de Janeiro-based guitarists Rogério Souza and Edinho Gerber (Duo Violão Brasil). Performing original compositions, as well as a traditional repertoire from composers like Pixinguinha, Baden Powell, and Tom Jobim, the trio will spend the evening exploring the many styles of 20th-century Brazilian music.
Featuring:
Ricardo Peixoto, Rogerio Souza, Edinho Gerber – guitar

Guitarist/composer Ricardo Peixoto is among the top representatives of Brazilian guitar in the United States today. Born in Rio de Janeiro, his fluid melodic style and keen compositional sense explore his country’s rich and diverse traditions, both in original works and arrangements of Brazilian classics. He has recorded and performed with Claudia Villela, Flora Purim and Airto, Bud Shank, Dom Um Romão, Sivuca, Toots Thielemans, Dori Caymmi, Guinga, Claudio Roditi, and Terra Sul. In addition to his work as a performer and composer, Ricardo is well respected as a teacher and lecturer on Brazillian music.
A master of 6- and 7-string guitars, Rogério Souza is one of the foremost representatives of music from Rio de Janeiro. He has worked as musical director and producer with a multitude of world-class Brazilian musicians, including Baden Powell, Paulinho da Viola, Sivuca, Ney Matogrosso, Altamiro Carrilho, João Bosco, Paulo Moura, Ivan Lins, Guinga, and Turíbio Santos. Rogério performs regularly throughout Latin America, the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Being the son of a Brazilian mother and an American father, guitarist/composer Edinho Gerber possesses a rich musical vocabulary developed in the two countries. Navigating effortlessly between the genres of choro, jazz, samba, and blues, he is always in search of the intersection points within his dual cultural identity. Edinho was a staple in the Chicago music scene for many years and has experience playing with a number of Brazilian groups based in the United States. He currently resides and performs regularly in Rio de Janeiro.

Admission: $20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
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Gautam Tejas Ganeshan: New Carnatic Music
2016-09-16 19:30 - 22:00
Gautam Tejas Ganeshan’s performances reflect his love and deep knowledge of Carnatic music. His elaborate structures, extensive improvisations, and utmost sincerity distinguish him as one of the great practitioners of the form. Performed with chamber ensembles, Ganeshan’s music prioritizes authenticity over ethnicity and immediacy over nostalgia. His concerts offer listeners a rare peek into the complex song forms of a rich oral tradition.
Founder and director of the Sangati Center, a non-profit chamber music concert series, Gautam Tejas Ganeshan has hosted more than 400 public chamber concerts in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley since 2006. He has performed widely in the Bay Area including at SFMOMA, BAM/PFA, Asian Art Museum, as well as given workshops at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Stanford Jazz Workshop. He has earned support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, and more.

“Studio Grand” – 7.24.16 from Gautam Tejas Ganeshan on Vimeo.

Admission: $10-15. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
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Broun Fellinis: Afro-Futurist Jazz
2016-09-17 19:30 - 22:00
Broun Fellinis present an evening of postmodern Afro-futurist jazz featuring improvisations and compositions that span their 25-year existence. Their sound, informed by the legacy of black American music, pays homage to the creative women and men who gave us this vast library of music. From field hollers to blues, jazz, funk, hip-hop, and the experimental, Broun Fellinis are part of an ongoing aesthetic cosmic continuum that the Art Ensemble of Chicago coined “Great Black Music from the Ancient to the Future.”
Featuring:
Kirk Peterson – electric bass, effects
Kevin Carnes – drums, loops
David Boyce – tenor and soprano saxophones, effects, poetry

Admission: $10-15. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
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Beyond the Blues: Ending the Prison Industrial Complex, Series 4, Discussion 6 w/ Marcus Shelby
2016-09-21 19:00 - 21:00
Marcus Shelby presents Discussion 6 of Beyond the Blues: Ending the Prison Industrial Complex on Wednesday, September 21, 2016. Composer Marcus Shelby and special guests continue these interactive discussions at the Red Poppy Art House on issues about mass incarceration and combating the prison industrial complex. With a focus on dealing with police violence in our communities, this meeting will feature executive director of AFRO SOLO, poet, and activist Thomas Simpson and his presentation, “Guidelines for Surviving a Police Stop.” The Beyond the Blues discussions are open to anyone interested in reforming our criminal justice system and understanding how the arts can be part of that process.
San Francisco-based Marcus Shelby is an accomplished teacher, composer, arranger, and bassist. He was awarded a 2009 Black Metropolis Research Consortium Fellowship in Chicago and received the City Flight Magazine 2005 Award as one of the “Top Ten Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area.” Active in music education, Marcus currently teaches at The Community Music Center and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. In addition to leading many of the San Francisco Jazz Festival Family Matinee Concerts, he is the artistic director/leader of The Marcus Shelby Orchestra, the music director of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival Freedom Jazz Choir, and an artist-in-residence with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival.

The Beyond the Blues series is supported by the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival.

Admission: $10 suggested donation. Doors at 6:30pm. Discussion at 7:00pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
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Steph Johnson Trio: Soul, Jazz, Funk & Blues from San Diego
2016-09-22 19:30 - 22:00
Steph Johnson brings her trio to the Red Poppy to celebrate the release of her new album, Music is Art, produced by Grammy Award-winner Kamau Kenyatta. Steph’s rich, fervent vocals and soothing guitar will be accompanied by double bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Fernando Gomez for an evening of compassionate soul jazz.
Featuring:
Steph Johnson – vocals, guitar
Rob Thorsen – bass
Fernando Gomez – drums
San Diego-based Steph Johnson is a self-taught musician whose distinctive style of vocal and guitar reflects her soul, jazz, funk, and blues influences. After beginning her music career in the soul/R&B genre, Steph made a drastic leap into the jazz world in 2011 after a chance encounter with upright bassist Rob Thorsen. In 2014, she was nominated for Artist of the Year and Best Jazz Artist awards by the San Diego Music Awards. Johnson currently leads a busy performance and tour schedule with her trio, which includes Thorsen and drummer Fernando Gomez. Her latest album, Music is Art, includes nine soulful, accessible, and evocative original compositions along with “Human Race,” her take on Wayne Shorter’s classic “Night Dreamer.”

Admission: $10-15. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
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Richard Sears Quintet ft. Hard-Bop Legend Tootie Heath: CD Release
2016-09-23 19:30 - 22:00
Taking its name from the Southern California foothills, jazz pianist Richard Sears’ Altadena is a five-part suite that features drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath in a mostly free-form musical context, blurring the line between soloist and accompanist.
Featuring:
Steven Lugerner – alto saxophone, bass clarinet
Patrick Wolff – tenor saxophone
Richard Sears – piano, compositions
Garret Lang – bass
Tootie Heath – drums
Brooklyn-based pianist Richard Sears has performed with some of the greatest jazz musicians alive, including Chick Corea, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, and Billy Hart. His compositions have been recognized by the Aaron Copland Fund and the Los Angeles Jazz Society. In 2015, Richard released his latest trio recording, Skyline, on Fresh Sound Records.
Growing up in Philadelphia, Tootie Heath came of age playing drums with the likes of Bobby Timmons, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison. He made his recording debut on John Coltrane’s first album, Coltrane, in 1957. Tootie, who lived in New York and Denmark through the 1960s, continued to make history working with Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone, Wes Montgomery, and Dexter Gordon, among others. Currently, Tootie lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is 81 years old.

Admission: $15-25. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
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Wahid: Improvisations of Greece and the Levant
2016-09-29 19:30 - 22:00
Using a modern and fluid approach to improvisation, oud player Dimitris Mahlis and frame drummer Chris Wabich explore Greek, Persian, and Indian sounds that date back to antiquity. Described by Digital Jazz News as “eclectic, organic, and unplugged in the truest sense of the word,” Wahid’s newest release, Inside Silence, synthesizes their cross-cultural music into a distinctive jazz idiom.
Featuring:
Dimitris Mahlis – oud
Chris Wabich – tuned frame drums

Admission: $10-20. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.
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