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 […]

An Evening Of Original And Improvised Music, And Reinterpretation Of American Rock Music Erick 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Inspired by many world musical traditions, the pickPocket ensemble inhabit a country all their own.  Original, fresh and engaging, the pickPocket ensemble create a contemporary chamber café music that moves both body and soul. "Always rich in mood and atmosphere, they deftly meld inspirations and instrumentation from around the globe. Some are fleeting like single […]

The Evan Francis Group is a boundary-pushing, six-piece ensemble that presents melodic and rich woodwinds over an organic patchwork of Afro-Latin, Avant-garde and Groove rhythms.  The rhythmically-active music is adventurous, dramatic and entirely heartfelt.  Inspiration for this music is especially drawn from modern Cuban Timba music as well as wildly expressive Americans like Rahsaan Roland […]

The brainchild of Rosa Rojas (formerly of the Bay Area’s Ballet Afsaneh) and Fabrice Martinez of Fishtank Ensemble, Califa is a Los Angeles based world music party onstage. Featuring musicians from LA bands Plotz and Rootsystem, the essence of Califa is an offering of highly concentrated musical virtuosity, fun, and party hopping all across the […]

Melissa Czarnik (Zar-nik) is one of the most vital emcees to emerge in recent years. Mixing potent poetry, soulful hip hop and improvisatory Jazz, Czarnik’s music exemplifies artists such as Lauryn Hill, Ani Difranco and Nneka. Hailing from Milwaukee, Czarnik’s first two albums Strawberry Cadillac (HMP, 2008) and Raspberry Jesus (HMP, 2010) have earned her […]

La Gente is a Bay Area-based group led by Colombian/Nicaraguan, San Francisco-born, singer-songwriter and Red Poppy resident artist Rafael Bustamante Sarria. The group is a cultural and musical combination that created its own unique Cali-fusion of Reggae, Salsa, Hip-Hop, Cumbia, Rock, and Reggaeton. Expect a high-energy dance party with politically and socially charged lyrics and […]

CHELLE! and Friends, commemorates the music of Mardi Gras, New Orleans, and celebrates its Creole people and their remarkable music. Michelle Jacques was born in New Orleans. She began this journey to find out what it means to be Creole, to understand her culture, her language and her history and after the devastation of Katrina […]

This evening’s performance will be based on the traditional music of Persia by one of Iran's foremost Percussionist Pezhham Akhavass.  Based on the art of improvisation, the listener will be taken through an introspective and meditative journey through sound. Pezhham Akhavass is known as a virtuoso percussionist of the Tombak and Daf percussive instruments. He has […]

Soul Union is a powerful band that weaves elements of African, Caribbean, and American music together to create a unique, new sound, coupled with truly inspirational lyrics. Soul Union plays music that makes people think, listen, feel and most of all dance! The band was formed in 2007 by John Dutro (lead singer) and Greg […]

Experience a unique fusion between the raw energies of Southern African Township Jazz and Gypsy Jazz. South African born Gypsy Jazz guitarist and composer Louis Matthee created the group in 2010 with a debut album "Gypsy Jive" featuring this unique blend of music styles. His original compositions give personal accounts of life in South Africa […]

For over 15 years, Tango No. 9 has been exploring the breadth and depth of Tango, from the classic sounds of the early dance standards through Astor Piazzolla's revolutionary Tango Nuevo all the way up to Tango-inspired Chamber works that were composed especially for the group. Tonight they will be presenting a mix of new additions […]

Santos Perdidos is an acoustic Latin band based in the heart of San Francisco, playing an eclectic mix of Son Cubano, Rumba Española, Bolero, and Afro-Peruvian Lando. The band met in the summer of 2009 and proceeded to bond as friends and musicians in John Calloway’s Afro-Cuban Ensemble of San Francisco State University.  Their first […]

Wil Blades and Scott Amendola conjure various sonic deities though only a duo. Their live shows have been generating a buzz around the Bay Area.  The two got their start as a group when Scott had the vision of performing Duke Ellington’s “Far East Suite” in duo with Wil.  While quite a daunting task translating […]

Led by Israeli-born Lior Ben-Hur, Sol Tevel is a San Francisco-based band that focuses on connecting Hebrew roots while engaging world cultures. Sol Tevel integrates sounds, rhythms, and multi-lingual lyrics from around the globe to advocate building a strong, conscious and united community worldwide.  Sol Tevel are currently recording their debut album, Orolam (World Light), […]

Q weaves an intricate web of original music. You can hear strands of Brazil, India, Latin America, and modern jazz seamlessly wound together in a soulful, organic way. With roots in many places, Q delivers modern improvisational music from it's intellectual quagmire back to it's soulful origins. His "All Around Dude" Quartet will be featuring […]

Sarah Wilson has emerged as “one of the most intriguing and promising composers and trumpeters on the contemporary music scene," (Derk Richardson, San Francisco Chronicle).  Her original work has premiered internationally and earned numerous commissions including a 2010 Artistic Innovation Grant from The Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), and a prestigious 2011 Composer Collaboration Award from […]