Jessica & Tony Jones, Peter Apfelbaum & Howard Wiley: Tenor Madness
2016-08-14 19:30 - 22:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Rob Reich Quintet: New Music for Jazz Accordion
2016-09-30 19:30 - 22:00
Fresh off the release of his debut album, Shadowbox, accordionist, pianist, and composer Rob Reich and his quintet return to the Red Poppy. Mixing improvisational romps with refined and melodic ensemble arrangements, Rob’s idiosyncratic accordion style mixes doses of wry humor and elements of spontaneous revelation that help propel the instrument’s modern renaissance.
Rob Reich (photo by Eddy Joaquim) grew up in Long Island, New York, and began studying piano at the age of three. After graduating from Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a degree in music composition, he moved to the Bay Area where he discovered the accordion. He has since become one of San Francisco’s stalwart underground artists, well-known for his work with revered chamber music ensemble Tin Hat Trio. In addition to performing live soundtrack to silent films and composing music for contortionists and trapeze artists with Circus Bella, Rob performs with the acclaimed groups Todd Sickafoose’s Tiny Resistors, Ben Goldberg School, Gaucho, Nice Guy Trio, and Prez Kids. His debut album of original compositions, Shadowbox, combines strong melodic ideas, rhythmic drive, and a spirit of irreverence and experimentation.
“Rob Reich has carved out a niche as a premier avant-roots voice… like Nino Rota writing for a small jazz group.” — JAZZIZ

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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October 1st MAPP: Calling Divine Spirits / Joining Opposing Forces
2016-10-01 19:00 - 21:10
Byb Kongo Bibene presents Nkisi Nkondi: A Divine Sculpture from Central Africa, a public talk which reveals the not so told functions of the nkisi nkondi, the sacred statues found in the great kingdom of Kongo in the 19th century. The Nkisis were power figures used by individuals, families, or whole communities to destroy or weaken evil spirits, prevent or cure illnesses, repel bad deeds, solemnize contracts or oath taking, and resolve disputes. A diviner or holy person would activate the statue, using magical substances. In this presentation, Byb shows a portrait of Central Africa before and after colonization, with social, political, and religious implications. The talk precedes a demonstration of a few dances that may have served as support in the process of calling for the divine spirits to inhabit the body of the nkisi nkondi, as practiced by the Kongo people.
Dynamism is Ben Baker’s project for the exploration of themes relating to the deliberate bringing together of oppositional forces. He has adopted the practice of butoh to examine existentialist themes. Butoh, known as the Dance of Utter Darkness, is characterized by dancing through imagery and may be utilized to examine the ongoing battle between light and darkness.

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.

MAPP Schedule:
7:00-8:00PM – Nkisi Nkondi: A Divine Sculpture from Central Africa
Dance Demonstration & Public Talk with Byb Kongo Bibene
8:10-9:10PM – Dynamism
Butoh Dance-Theatre Talk & Performance with Ben Baker

About the Artists:
Byb Chanel Bibene is a choreographer and performer working in theater and contemporary dance. His own technical and aesthetic sensibility is rooted in the culture and dances of his country of origin, the Republic of Congo. He has toured the world and performed internationally with companies and choreographers from Africa, England, France, and the USA. Artistic Director of Kiandanda Dance Theater, Bibene launched Mbongui Square, a multidisciplinary arts event that gathers artists from the Bay Area and around the world.
Ben Baker holds an MA in Drama from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Contemporary Performance from Naropa University. He is a Performance Artist that assumes many roles in theatre as a writer, director, actor, dancer, and choreographer. He presently teaches improvisation, movement meditation, and ecstatic voice workshops in SF.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Event 7:00PM
Admission: Free
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

CHIVES: A Bicoastal Contemporary Jazz Collective
2016-10-07 19:30 - 22:00
With a deep musical connection they’ve nurtured since middle school, the bicoastal trio known as CHIVES specializes in a contemporary jazz sound. Sometimes playing inside themes and sometimes soaring far beyond, saxophonist/clarinetist Steven Lugerner accompanies bassist Matthew Wohl and drummer Max Jaffe in a performance that is both elastic and buoyant. Come see this trio of native San Franciscans play a special hometown show at the Red Poppy to celebrate the release of their latest album, Yeaux.
Featuring:
Matthew Wohl – bass
Steven Lugerner – saxophones, clarinets
Max Jaffe – drums
Matthew Wohl, Steven Lugerner, and Max Jaffe grew up together in the suburbs of San Francisco, surrounded by peers and teachers that nourished their musical sensibilities. They have collaborated together in various settings for more than half of their lives. After relocating to Brooklyn, CHIVES produced and released For Brian Wilson, followed by Dads, on the Primary Records label. Their third recording, Yeaux, will be released on October 7th with a special performance at the Red Poppy Art House. CHIVES maintains an active performance schedule in both the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.
Learn more: Website | Bandcamp

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-15 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Opaluna: Contemporary Jazz with Latin Rhythms
2016-10-08 19:30 - 22:00
On their debut, self-titled album, Opaluna, Colombian vocalist Susana Pineda and Bay Area guitarist Luis Salcedo present a fresh approach to contemporary jazz and Latin music, exploring every facet of their instruments while incorporating electronic techniques to create new textures and effects. The duo, joined at the Red Poppy by bassist Jeff Denson and drummer Zach Mondlick, melds their disparate backgrounds through a soulful intermingling of cultures, rhythms, and traditions.
Featuring:
Susana Pineda – vocals
Luis Salcedo – guitar
Jeff Denson – bass
Zach Mondlick – drums, percussion
The voice and guitar duo comprised of Susana Pineda and Luis Salcedo was formed in 2015 at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. Pineda, who hails from Medellín, Colombia, and Salcedo, a Bay Area native, explore the frontiers of folk, rock, Latin groove, as well as the many vibrant colors of jazz on Opaluna, released on Ridgeway Records.
Learn more: Website | Facebook | YouTube | SoundCloud

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $15
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Rumberos de Radio Habana: Community Rumba
2016-10-09 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 genres of music such as country, rock, and blues, and continue to impact the genres of today. Rumberos de Radio Habana are bringing their own contribution to the Red Poppy for a free afternoon of beat-making, hip-shaking and good company.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Event 2:00PM
Admission: Free; donations accepted for musicians ($5-10)
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Fémina: Argentinian Urban Folk
2016-10-12 19:30 - 22:00
Patagonian singer/songwriters Fémina make a stop at the Red Poppy as a part of their first-ever tour of the United States. Commingling rap and funk with Latin genres such as cumbia, candombe, rumba, and bolero, the popular trio boasts a theatrical and potent sound that unites melodic harmonies with poetic hip-hop.
Featuring:
Sofia “Toti” Trucco – vocals, guitar, ronroco
Clara “Wewi” Trucco – vocals, percussion
Clara Miglioli – vocals, guitar
Hailing from the small mountain town of San Martín de los Andes in southern Argentina, Fémina is comprised of sisters Sofia and Clara Trucco and childhood best friend Clara Miglioli. The trio’s assertive onstage chemistry, poetic rhythms, and integration of numerous musical genres have made them popular throughout South America, Mexico, and Europe, and their first tour of the United States will take them to 15 cities. Fémina is currently working on their third full-length album, which will be released in 2017.
Learn more: Facebook

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

The pickPocket Ensemble: Lounge Music for Spies
2016-10-14 19:30 - 22:00
The six-piece pickPocket Ensemble returns to the Red Poppy to celebrate the release of the new album, Pepper Greenwald Presents Lounge Music for Spies. The pickPockets will play selections from the album, transporting listeners into the world of international espionage via European café music. The evening will also include remixes from the record and a set of original pickPocket tunes.
Featuring:
Rick Corrigan – accordion
Yates Brown – guitar
Chloe Allen – violin
Matthew Souther – trumpet
John Slattery – percussion
Kurt Ribak – bass
Inspired by musical traditions from around the globe, the pickPocket Ensemble inhabits a country all their own. The group’s charming, melodic sound allows listeners to travel the world without leaving their seats, but despite their wide range of influences, the ensemble’s music remains intensely personal and immediately engaging. In addition to their work on Lounge Music for Spies, the group has released six albums of original material.
Learn more: Website | Facebook
Pepper Greenwald, dubbed the “second most interesting man in the world,” is the international man of mystery and consummate host who commissioned the pickPocket Ensemble to underscore the 12 stories brought back by the Global Underground Elite Spy Syndicate. His alter ego, Matt Levine, is an accomplished composer and producer of music for video games, film, and television. After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in 1992 with a BFA in music composition, Levine worked in the music departments of Beatnik and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), as well as on his own as an independent composer and producer. In 2015, he joined the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he teaches a course on composition for video games.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $15
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

12th Annual Lit Crawl SF: Naughty, Good Magic
2016-10-15 20:30 - 21:30
Six literary burlesque readers tease you with each story, taking it all off, one word at a time.
About Lit Crawl:
The 12th annual Lit Crawl will span over three hours in San Francisco’s Mission District, featuring 99 events and over 400 performers. From fiction to nonfiction and poetry to comedy, these events will take place in bookstores, bars, galleries, restaurants, stores, cafés, and community spaces.
One of the most anticipated literary nights of the year, San Francisco’s Lit Crawl attracts close to 10,000 people, and is the world’s largest such event. In 2008, Lit Crawl NYC launched in Manhattan, also an immediate hit. Austin was next, swarming for the first time in 2011. In 2012, two more Lit Crawls were born, one in Brooklyn, another in Seattle. In 2013, the event expanded to Los Angeles, Iowa City, and London, and in 2014, Lit Crawls were launched in Miami and Helsinki.
Learn more: Website | Facebook | Twitter

About the Writers:

Nancy Au is an Oakland-based writer and co-founder of The Escapery. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Anthropology and is completing her MFA at San Francisco State University. Nancy taught creative writing at SFSU and California State University Stanislaus. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Liminal Stories, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Journal for Compressed Creative Arts, Necessary Fiction, Fiction Southeast, Word Riot, Identity Theory, Prick of the Spindle, and more.
Carson Beker is a writer, playwright, storyteller, and actor with an MFA and MA from SFSU. She is the co-founder of The Escapery and has taught creative writing at San Francisco State University. She is the former Fiction Editor of Fourteen Hills. Her work has appeared in Gigantic Sequins, sPARKLE + bLINK, Transfer Magazine, and Bourbon Penn, and her plays have been at the San Francisco Olympians Festival and Z Space. She will be a 2016 Lamdba Literary Resident in Fiction and is a recipient of a 2016 Tin House workshop scholarship.

Lynn Brown is a freelance writer and communications consultant with experience in journalism and publishing. She is a speculative fiction writer and the co-curator of the Voices from the Margins reading series. Her work can be found in Conde Nast Traveler, the Colorado Daily News, and the Matador Network.

Kimberly Gomes is a freelance writer and producer for Sunset Magazine and a community workshop facilitator. She’s currently pursuing her MFA in creative writing at San Francisco State, where’s she working on her first novel and a chapbook revolving around the woman’s experience. When she’s not writing, she’s climbing mountains or plotting her next road trip.
Yume Kim received an MFA in Poetry from SF State and a BA in English from George Mason University. Before moving to San Francisco, she was born and raised in a strange land called Northern Virginia. She was a Kundiman fellow recipient and has been published in sPARKLE + bLINK, gesture, and Writing Without Walls among others. Yume is actually a unit of measurement, particularly when one needs to calculate factors on sexiness. During her spare time, she either stalks Improv Nation members or just draws cats and stick figures.

Dawn Robinson is a Lambda Literary Foundation Emerging Voices and VONA Fellow. Dawn wrote, directed, and edited the short film My-Grations, featured in the 2009 QWOCMAP Queer Women of Color Film Festival in San Francisco. Upcoming work includes a collection of queer short stories and a novel set in Oakland. Dawn prefers pie over cake, salty over sweet, crunchy over creamy, beach over snow, dogs over cats, and fire over ice.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 8:00PM / Event 8:30PM
Admission: Free
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Trio Caminos: Latin Jazz Meets Spanish Beats
2016-10-20 19:30 - 22:00
Synthesizing elements of jazz, flamenco, tango, and Latin American music, Trio Caminos is a new acoustic ensemble led by Venezuelan guitarist Carlos Caminos. After moving to the Bay Area, Caminos connected with bassist Sascha Jacobsen and percussionist Sage Baggott to create original compositions and play music by composers such as Astor Piazzolla and Michel Camilo. Together, Trio Caminos boasts a rich, diverse repertoire that marries Latin American music to Afro-Caribbean, Spanish, and joropo beats.
Learn more: Website

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $12-17 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

The Brian Hingerty Group: Emerging Bay Area Jazz Talent
2016-10-21 19:30 - 22:00
Under the guidance of guitarist Brian Hingerty, some of the Bay Area’s finest young jazz musicians join forces to perform a contemporary take on jazz standards. The group, comprised mostly of musicians under 17 and augmented by Northern California bass giant Chris Amberger, combines elements of electronica, funk, and blues as they perform both jazz/rock classics and original compositions.
Featuring:
Brian Hingerty – guitar
Chris Amberger – bass
Matthew Stoloff – drums
Joshua Tazman – vocals
Jasim Perales – trombone
Solomon Alber – tenor saxophone
With several jazz festival honors under his belt, 17-year-old guitarist Brian Hingerty is already well established on the Bay Area music scene. Influenced by musicians like Jim Hall, Bill Frisell, John Scofield, and Derek Trucks, Hingerty draws from a wide range of genres in his exploration of American roots music. He performs regularly, both solo and in ensembles.
Learn more: Website | Facebook | YouTube

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-15 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!
