Love is Alive: A Canto in Four Parts ft. Arisa White, Tammy L. Hall, & Amber McZeal – Curated by Derek Lassiter

In these times of increasing and consistent violence against black and brown bodies, against women, against those who do not abide by the norms set out by our dominant culture, Love is Alive calls our attention to the healing we are capable of enacting through love. Curated by Derek Lassiter, the evening features a word score with improvisational music by Arisa White, Tammy L. Hall and Amber McZeal.

Arisa White is a Cave Canem fellow, an MFA graduate from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the author of the chapbooks Disposition for Shininess and Post Pardon, as well as the full-length collections Hurrah’s Nest and A Penny Saved. She is a 2013-2014 recipient of an Investing in Artist Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation and a BFA faculty member at Goddard College.

Tammy L. Hall, a supremely gifted pianist versed in jazz, gospel, and classical music, began keyboard studies at age four in her native Dallas and relocated to the Bay Area to attend Mills College. Following a two-year stay in Belgium, she returned to San Francisco in 1989 and established herself as a keyboardist and accompanist, performing with artists including Houston Person, David “Fathead” Newman, Marcus Shelby, Regina Carter, Kim Nalley, Melba Moore, and Etta Jones, to name a few. Hall is a respected educator and bandleader, releasing a pair of superb albums under her name as well as a duo recording of spirituals with vocalist Valerie Joi.

Amber McZeal is inspired by the literary works of Toni Morrison, Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, and artistic scholar Omi Osun Joni L. Jones (the theatrical jazz aesthetic). Her soul is continually ignited by the aural musings of Betty Carter, John and Alice Coltrane, Oumou Sangare, Joni Mitchell, Bobby McFerrin and Nina Simone. Her affinity for the transcendent has been nurtured by the works of Sobonfu Somé, Caroline Shola Arewa, Edward Bynum and Robert Farris Thompson, among many other scholars and healers. Amber has recently completed her Master’s degree in Depth Psychology with Somatic Specialization and will begin dissertation development in the Community Psychology, Liberation Psychology, and Ecopsychology Specialization at Pacifica Graduate Institute in October of 2015. She resides in Oakland, CA.

About Derek Lassiter:
Derek Lassiter, a mainstay on the San Francisco arts scene, has received accolades for both his recordings and live performances featuring Bay Area notables such as pianist/composer Tammy Hall, producer/percussionist PC Muñoz, and composer/pianist Art Khu. Lassiter is profiled in Julian C. R. Okwu’s book, Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age.

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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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