New York-based saxophonist Roxy Coss brings her feel-good take on contemporary jazz to the Red Poppy for an evening of selections from her latest album, Restless Idealism. Coss, a rising composer and experienced educator who’s considered one of the most innovative saxophonists of her generation, is credited with a sound that DownBeat calls “intelligent yet […]
With a sound influenced by Django Reinhardt, Edith Piaf, Roma music, jazz, and folk, Beaucoup Chapeaux returns to the Poppy for an evening of originals and reinterpretations of traditional European classics, ready to transport you through time and space. Featuring: Maggie McKaig - accordion, vocals Luke Wilson - tenor guitar, plectrum banjo, vocals Murray Campbell […]
Whether playing in loud rock clubs or more intimate spaces, Sueños boasts a remarkably adaptable repertoire that integrates hip-hop beats, gospel harmonies, acoustic bass, bebop-influenced horns, and electronics. The group writes and performs original music, as well as covers by artists such as Roy Hargrove, Christian Scott, Kanye West, and J Dilla. Featuring: Noah Frank […]
This all-star lineup of some of the Bay Area’s best female musicians will pay tribute to the history of jazz, from old-time blues, 1930s and ’40s tangos, choros, valse-musettes, and swing to ’50s and ’60s bebop and ending with a special, contemporary approach on traditional jazz favorites. Featuring: Kally Price - vocals Gabi Cavassa - […]
San Francisco quartet Tango No. 9 explores the music of tango in all its myriad manifestations. Performing tragic vocal ballads, the habanera rhythms of the dance repertoire, and the tango nuevo of Astor Piazzolla, the group combines violin, piano, trombone, and vocals to capture a large sound that is both romantic and heart-breaking. Featuring: Joshua […]
The Red Poppy Art House welcomes back Spanish flamenco-jazz pianist Alex Conde for an evening of Latin jazz classics and originals. Conde has received enthusiastic accolades for Descarga for Monk, his 2015 jazz, flamenco, and Latin tribute to piano genius Thelonious Monk, and his double show promises to deliver the same thrills. Featuring: Alex Conde […]
Guitarist Will Bernard and clarinetist/vocalist Beth Custer present an evening of original compositions and arrangements exploring blues, jazz, folk, and classical music. Featuring: Will Bernard - guitar Beth Custer - clarinet, vocals Guitarist Will Bernard is a Grammy-nominated bandleader and founding member of all-star Bay Area jazz conglomerate T.J. Kirk, as well as Galactic drummer […]
Two of the Bay Area’s most respected saxophonists, David Boyce and Richard Howell, join drummer Sameer Gupta and bassist David Ewell for this evening-length exploration into musical improvisation. Their music reflects the continuum of jazz from a global orientation, embracing the tones and textures of Africa, India, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe. Featuring: David Boyce […]
Influenced by the contemporary and free jazz canons, the classical avant-garde, and beyond, this Bay Area trio will explore the boundaries between jazz and their own highly refined and individualized forms of expression. Each member of the trio has built a diverse and prolific musical life in the Bay Area, and in this new ensemble […]
Saxophonist/flutist Dann Zinn, hailed as a distinctive composer and passionate soloist, leads a sax, guitar, and drums trio that combines virtuosic musicianship with memorable melodies and heartfelt passion. Featuring: Dann Zinn - saxophones Chris Robinson - guitar Alan Hall - drums Dann Zinn’s resume includes stints with Peter Erskine, Taylor Eigsti, Joe Henderson, and Barry […]
San Francisco pianist/composer Adam Shulman presents an evening of post-bop original compositions, performed by a sextet of some of the Bay Area's most prominent jazz musicians. With a hard-swinging group aesthetic and close harmonic writing inspired by the classic groups of Horace Silver and Art Blakey, Shulman and his bandmates embrace history while adding to […]
Irish-born violinist Colm Ó Riain and some stellar musical friends combine the music of Ireland with rhythms and melodies from all over the musical world – jazz, blues, Roma, India, Cuba, Brazil, and much more. Featuring: Colm Ó Riain - violin Joe Kyle Jr - bass Geoff van Lienden - guitar Wade Peterson - percussion […]
In the spirit of the black church, jazz, the Freedom Singers, and disco sensation Sylvester, MoonCandy creates an environment for survival music to live and thrive through live performance. The eight-piece ensemble, which features five of the East Bay’s most underrated jazz, soul, blues, and gospel singers, specializes in inspirational lyrics and transfixing grooves, giving […]
Bay Area-based quintet Mean To Me resurrects classic sounds of the 1920s through 1940s–sometimes including the modern stylings of Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, and Ahmad Jamal–and a wide variety of soul- and Latin-influenced jazz. The three core members of Mean to Me are Judy Butterfield, trained as a cabaret singer but whose love is for […]
The Red Poppy is proud to present an evening with Spanish guitarist/composer Javier Jimenez’s Barrio Manouche, purveyors of original, instrumental jazz manouche, and the Mallar Bhattacharya Band, a Bay Area-based traditional North Indian ensemble. Each band will perform a set and then play together, merging both cultures to become one. Featuring: Javier Jiménez - guitar […]
This all-star group of Bay Area jazz-scene stalwarts is as traditional as they come: Tenor and alto saxophones in the front line, with piano, bass, and drums in the rhythm section. Their setlist is comprised of standards with new arrangements and original tunes by the band, all featuring pianist/composer/vocalist Mike Greensill. Featuring: Mike Greensill - […]
The Jimmy Grant Ensemble infuses swing-era pieces, originals, and traditional Roma tunes with Django Reinhardt’s crunchy rhythms and hot harmonies, creating a signature mix that includes Russian folk, bluegrass, Celtic, and classical music while remaining true to Django’s innovative guitar technique. Featuring: Jimmy Grant - guitar Javi Jiménez - guitar Sascha Jacobsen - bass Northern […]
Guitarist/singer Anne Carol Mitchell and violinist Nissa Gustafson perform beautiful melodies that invite listeners to reconnect with the natural world. The Muted Jewel Tones, a vocal harmony trio, perform songs from the sophisticated to the ridiculous, bringing a little jazz, a little folk, a little pop–and hopefully, a little smile–to the audience. Featuring: Sandy Lindop […]
New York-based pianist Jason Yeager returns to the Red Poppy for an evening of catchy and quirky melodies inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's fictional characters, re-imagined standards by the likes of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington, grooves from Argentina and Brazil, and musings on Messiaen. He will also perform music from his forthcoming album with violin/mandolin […]
Acclaimed Bay Area poet/playwright/percussionist/radio host Avotcja (pronounced “ah-va-cha”) returns to the Red Poppy with her quartet, whose name means “gratitude” in Yoruba. Expect a set of jazz, blues, Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, and powerful poetry. Featuring: Avotcja - poetry, percussion Jon Jang - piano Sandi Poindexter - violin Francis Wong - saxophone, flute “Heshima” Mark Williams - […]
This trio of vocalists/musicians from France, the U.K., and the U.S.–Laure Sancho on upright bass, Paola Vera on piano, and Rachael Magidson on drums and trumpet–brings a swinging all-Gershwin program to the Poppy that will feature award-winning musicianship and their signature harmonies. Featuring: Paola Vera - vocals, piano Rachael Magidson - vocals, drums, trumpet Laure […]
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been cancelled.
Jazz vocalist/composer/arranger Andrea Claburn will be joined by an all-star band to celebrate the release of her debut, Nightshade, a collection of original compositions and new arrangements of lesser-known standards by Duke Ellington, Betty Carter, and Pat Metheny. Featuring: Andrea Claburn - vocals Dan Zemelman - piano Aaron Germain - bass Greg Wyser-Pratt - drums […]
This Canadian quartet explores instrumental music that draws inspiration largely from film scores, jazz, rock, surf, and elements of Eastern European, African, and South American music. At the Poppy, the only San Francisco stop on their first U.S. tour, Atlas Revolt promises music from their acclaimed debut alongside selections from their upcoming album, due this […]
Ready for authentic storytelling, original compositions, and selections from the Great American Songbook? Globetrotting Arizona native and Los Angeles resident Kathleen Grace brings a pure sound and her honest and soaring voice to the Poppy for an evening of jazz, folk, and Americana. Featuring: Kathleen Grace - vocals Storm Nilsson - guitar Jeff Denson - […]
Led by bansuri flutist John Wubbenhorst, a composer influenced by decades of studying classical Indian music, Facing East combines Hindustani and Carnatic sounds with modal jazz in the vein of icons such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Weather Report, John McLaughlin, and Oregon. Featuring: John Wubbenhorst - flutes, keyboards, vocals Eric “Doc” Smith - Zendrum […]
Saxophonist Tom Griesser and his longtime collaborators, bassist Ollie Dudek and drummer Dan Foltz, present selections performed during their three-year stint at the Burritt Room in San Francisco, as well as new compositions to honor visionaries and rebels in a variety of endeavors. The trio draws from a wide range of influences, including 1930s Benny […]
Songwriter and producer Nino Arobelidze, born in the formerly Russian republic of Georgia and raised in Chicago, boasts a sound influenced by jazz, soul, indie rock, her time in a funk duo, and her travels around the world. For her Red Poppy debut, Nino will be joined by frequent collaborator Pablo Gordy on guitar and […]
Ready for an easygoing evening of friendly, familiar jazz tunes? Local quintet Zona Blu, whose Italian name is a nod to Milanese jazz club “blue zones” and Miles Davis’ iconic Kind of Blue, presents a laid-back night of Latin, funk, and swing grooves that’s sure to ease you into the weekend. Featuring: David Kaufer - […]
Singer/songwriter Alicyn Yaffee makes her Red Poppy debut with an evening of indie-pop sensibilities, punk, jazz guitar, and soulful vocals. Her trio includes Santana bassist/musical director Benny Rietveld, who produced her debut album, Someone Else, which features Cindy Blackman, Ronnie Foster, and Rietveld. Featuring: Alicyn Yaffee - guitar, vocals Hamir Atwal - drums Jeff Cressman […]