Adrian Arias: Addicted

Posted on January 4, 2016January 29, 2016 by Red Poppy

Adrian Arias, local poet, visual and performing artist visited the Poppy to offer the Professional Development Track a taste of his addiction. Limes. Limes for ceviche. Limes spread on the table. A lime in Adrian’s hand. He walked around the room and beckoned its scent by scraping his nail against the peel. One by one, each person sniffed the lime in his hand. In 2002, Ceviche became an art piece. Why art? Art is to “create an aesthetic, [to] share [a] vision of beauty with somethin...

In partnership with the Red Poppy Art House, Jazz in the Neighborhood presents the Guarneri Jazz Quartet. Led by trumpeter Mario Guarneri, the concert will feature his own works as well as the music of Thelonious Monk. The Bay Area quartet has been performing together since 2000 and has recorded three CDs, which are available on berp.com. Their first album, From My Heart, has been praised by Herb Alpert for its "wonderful sound, great heart and beautiful ideas." Featuring: Mario Guarneri - t...

With a love of tackling the string quartet canon and as fierce a passion for discovering newly composed works, Amaranth Quartet was founded in 2013 and proudly calls the Bay Area home. Members Katie von Braun, Abigail Shiman, Erica Zappia, and Helen Newby strive to present classical music to divergent audiences in a variety of locales. Upcoming projects include a residency and performance with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra as well as appearances on Switchboard Presents and SF Presidio S...

Don’t Rush to Follow the Lines

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Red Poppy

Caleb Duarte leads a figure drawing class for the Poppy’s Professional Development Track. It started with a conversation: everyone standing around the kitchen, drinking their respective coffees and teas. Then it migrated over to the main room. We had to bring in fold-up chairs as the usual comfy chairs everyone knows at the Poppy were placed in an art-piece, stacked against, with, and on top of each other as a sculpture in front of the red double doors. We sat in a circle in the main r...

The Allison Au Quartet is a Toronto-based contemporary jazz ensemble. Since its formation in 2009, the group has performed at major jazz venues across Canada and have earned a JUNO award nomination for their debut release, The Sky Was Pale Blue, Then Grey. The quartet was also awarded the TD Jazz Fellowship Scholarship (2011), The Alfred and Phyllis Balm Scholarship (2012), and The Margareta and Benno Nigg Scholarship (2013) to conduct artist residencies at the acclaimed Banff Centre. Celebratin...

A rare live performance of two simpatico artists, Sherri Roberts reunites with longtime collaborator bassist Harvie S to preview songs from their upcoming recording ‒ a jazz tribute to springtime ‒ and to revisit material from their earlier acclaimed CDs. Sherri is heavily influenced by the West Coast cool vocal style of the 50’s, and Harvie first cut his musical teeth on the bandstand with countless East Coast jazz heavyweights ‒ most notably in his longstanding duo project with vocal legend, S...

A positive way to spend a Thursday night in San Francisco, comedian Chris Duffy brings to the Poppy his hit variety show, You Get A Spoon!, for a special one-night-only Bay Area edition. Three talented guests each perform a set and enthusiastically endorse things they love, which are then given to the audience Oprah-style. Previous audience members have taken home candy bars, books, magazine subscriptions, kitchen appliances, nose flutes, and gaff tape. Every show, one lucky audience member rece...

Accordion player and pianist Rob Reich is quintessentially what makes the San Francisco music scene a vibrant and vital mecca for independent music; he’s become one of its stalwart underground artists. Shadowbox, the musician's debut album, marks a fully-realized collection of original compositions. The tunes branch off from his work with revered Bay Area ensemble Tin Hat Trio, mixing improvisational romps with refined and melodic ensemble arrangements. Doses of wry humor and elements of spontan...

Spanish pianist Alex Conde finds his own path to the music of the great jazz musician, Thelonious Monk. Named in "Best of 2015" by DownBeat Magazine and All About Jazz Magazine, Conde's album Descarga for Monk incorporates flamenco, swing and Latin rhythms with unmistakable virtuosity and lyricism. After graduating at the conservatory of music in Valencia, Spain, Alex Conde came to study at Berklee College in Boston with Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, and George Garzone. He has toured around the g...

Jazz luminary Miles Davis was asked to describe his music and responded quickly with “call it anything.” Describing a performance by vocalist and composer Moy Eng with her long-time duet partner, guitarist Bill Murphy, and with guitarist John Stowell, one could take the expression a step further. “Call it everything” is an apt description of an evening of song with this trio. An exploration of the Great American Songbook intersects classical lyricism and then winds down through the plains of Afr...

After nearly a decade focusing on producing and playing drums for other artists, Bay Area maverick PC Muñoz returns as a songwriter/leader in 2016, with a new album of original songs, Echo, and a new duo with longtime guitarist/collaborator Marc Weibel. The evening will feature two sets of material ranging from angular, instrumental free-jazz deconstructions (SMASH) to stripped-down pop-influenced songs (HITS). PC Muñoz is a musician and producer based in San Francisco. His body of work inclu...

Charged Particles joins tenor saxophonist Tod Dickow in tribute to one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz, Michael Brecker. This performance marks the San Francisco premiere for the quartet celebrating Michael Brecker the composer, Brecker the saxophonist, and Brecker the bandleader. The group first performed the tribute concert at THE Jazz Club in Cloverdale, CA to a standing-room-only and standing-ovation audience. Each piece will be preceded by a photo display capturing ...

Joining together rhythms and instruments from many lands, BOLO uplifts audiences with their sacred folk songs and danceable grooves. BOLO is comprised of Eliyahu Sills (of Qadim Ensemble), Evan Fraser (of Dirtwire), and Surya Prakasha (of Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers). With elements of jazz and influences from Africa, India, and the Middle East, the trio incorporates a diversity of instrumentation ranging from flutes, strings, and percussion. Featuring: Eliyahu Sills - Indi...

With a repertoire mainly drawn from the heyday of the string concerto, – the late Baroque period – Concerto Club plays the music of Vivaldi, Bach, Telemann, as well as composers from other periods, such as Arvo Pärt and Alessandro Rolla. All members earn their way into the club by performing a solo concerto in public at a level that meets its standards. Featuring: Mia Bella D'Augelli - violin Yuri Kye – violin Jacob Hansen-Joseph – viola Christina Simpson - viola Lewis Patzner – cello M...

Diaspora Arts Connection proudly presents Ghazal Shakeri's Letters Never Written, Songs Never Sung. Join us for an intimate event of drama, nostalgia, and music presented by Ghazal Shakeri and accompanied by Sam Solino Mazahery on piano. Come share the magic on one of the year's longest nights. (This program is entirely in Farsi). About Diaspora Arts Connection: Diaspora Arts Connection is an organization dedicated to promoting music, arts, and culture of Iran and beyond, with emphasis on in...

The Red Poppy Art House and Flying Under the Radar join together for a three-night co-production of artists from Brazil and the U.S., featuring Ian Faquini ft. Sandy Cressman & Colin Hogan (Thurs 1/7), Brazil Beat (Fri 1/8), and Ricardo Peixoto Quartet (Sat 1/9). Ian Faquini is a Brazilian guitarist and singer who resides in Berkeley, California. At the age of 15, Ian became the mentoree of the legendary Brazilian guitar maestro Guinga. In a short amount of time, Ian had become one of the...

This special reprise of Janam's 2013 Valentine's Day show will explore the shadowy side of love with tormented love songs, murder ballads, and more ‒ a perfect tone for a dark midwinter evening. Integrating funky Balkan rhythms, gritty Appalachian ballads, arresting vocal harmonies and enchanting acoustic textures, the band creates an inspiring musical experience. Janam (a term of endearment) unites some of the Bay Area's most playful and imaginative devotees of southern Balkan and American r...

Celebrating the release of their new album Unison, Redwood Tango Ensemble is joined by the powerful Rafael Delarue / Scott O’Day duo for an opening set of Argentine tango guitar and vocal duets. Redwood Tango Ensemble is a sextet from Oakland, CA dedicated to both traditional Argentine tango music and original compositions. The ensemble has taken a large step forward with the release of Unison, developing a contemporary and singular voice within the genre. Informed by the creative and wide-re...

Interested in the intersection between jazz and the clarinet, Ben Goldberg explores the rich traditions of the woodwind instrument found in klezmer music. Goldberg is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished clarinetists/composers working in today's jazz scene. He studied with jazz legends Steve Lacy and Joe Lovano before going on to establish himself as a creative force alongside Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and John Zorn amongst countless others. He will be joined by SF Bay Area drummer H...

An enthusiast of early and contemporary music alike, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Paul Psarras performs a vast array of genres ranging from classical to Greek folk. In 2012, Paul earned an invitation to the GRAMMY’S with the group El Mundo, and later that year he performed in the San Francisco Opera's Merola program. His previous performances included an appearance with the San Francisco Symphony and at the Fête de la Musique in Switzerland. As a member of the Pacific Guitar Ensemble, Paul pl...

Since 2009, Beaucoup Chapeaux has played numerous tours throughout Northern California and the Pacific Northwest and has spent countless Friday evenings in a French café in their hometown of Nevada City, CA. Over 500 concerts later, every show is still a new, lively voyage. The band has been referred to as a talented, astonishing juggernaut with music hauntingly wild and beautiful. Reinterpreting traditional tunes from a wide swath of Europe and the Balkans, Beaucoup Chapeaux also presents origi...

December 5th MAPP Schedule: 5:00pm - 7:00pm: Classical Revolution Chamber Music for the People 7:00pm - 7:10pm: Byb Bibene & Chris Babingui Afri-Contemporary Dance - Presented by Flying Under the Radar 7:15pm - 7:35pm: Ben Baker Experimental Butoh 7:45pm - 8:00pm: Anna Seva & Jessica Brown Postmodern Dance 8:00pm - 8:20pm: Camille Mai Alternative Jazz 8:30pm - 9:00pm: Dina Zarif Persian/Classical 9:00pm - 10:00pm: Makrú Rumba Flamenca, Cumbia, Ska & Reggae ...

Oakland-based vocalist Amy LaCour returns to the Red Poppy with cellist Misha Khalikulov and percussionist Josh Mellinger for a night of original material inspired by the American traditions of folk, soul, blues, jazz, and bluegrass. Amy and Misha began collaborating in late 2013 and quickly discovered a musical chemistry. Misha brings years of classical training and improvisational experience to Amy's blues and folk-based songwriting. The result is a spare and intimate setting that highlights m...

The Goal: 20% of the proceeds will go to help fund Juan Bencomo's community project in barrio Jesus Maria, La Habana, such as painting his studio and promoting his business. With the hopes of becoming the first Cali2Cuba Casa, children from all over Habana can come and study the folklore of Cuba with the best teachers and artists in the area. About Cali2Cuba: Cali2Cuba is an organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Afro-Cuban culture. The organization seeks to teach, nour...

Details TBA! Featuring: Miss Faye Carol - vocals Joe Warner - piano Marcus Shelby - bass Marcus Shelby is a bandleader, composer, arranger, bassist, educator, and activist who currently lives in San Francisco, California. Over the past 25 years he has built a diverse biography as a composer. His work and music has focused on sharing the history, present, and future of African American lives, on social movements in the United States of America, and on early childhood music educatio...

The Red Poppy Art House and Flying Under the Radar join together for a three-night co-production of artists from Brazil and the U.S., featuring Ian Faquini ft. Sandy Cressman & Colin Hogan (Thurs 1/7), Brazil Beat (Fri 1/8), and Ricardo Peixoto Quartet (Sat 1/9). Originally from Rio de Janeiro and based in the Bay Area, guitarist/composer Ricardo Peixoto is among the top representatives of Brazilian guitar in the US today. His fluid, melodic style and keen compositional sense explore his coun...

The Red Poppy Art House and Flying Under the Radar join together for a three-night co-production of artists from Brazil and the U.S., featuring Ian Faquini ft. Sandy Cressman & Colin Hogan (Thurs 1/7), Brazil Beat (Fri 1/8), and Ricardo Peixoto Quartet (Sat 1/9). Brazil Beat is a project comprised of longtime collaborators Sarah Cabral, Alex Calatayud, Eva Scow, and Mike Taylor. With a focus on Brazilian jazz, the group traverses between classics from the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s while contribut...

Leaning toward a bebop aesthetic, Adam Shulman and his band adapt Billy Strayhorn’s repertoire to a small ensemble with an emphasis on soloing and spontaneous group interaction. The music of Strayhorn is lyrical and dramatic with an underpinning of great harmonic depth. Refreshing in an age in jazz where angular and heady music seems to predominate, he succeeds in being both cerebral and soulful at the same time. Adam Shulman has been a staple of the Bay Area jazz scene since his move in 2002...

East Coast duo Fátima Santos and José Luis Iglésias join West Coast vocalist Ramana Vieira for an evening of fado-inspired music. Fado, the most widely recognized music of Portugal, is a passionate, soul-stirring genre with soaring vocals and dramatic tales of love, loss and redemption. Ramana Vieira’s personal relationship with fado music lies deep in her family history. Her grandfather was a well-known musician and composer from Madeira Island, Portugal, and she grew up singing fado with ...

For a program of gypsy jazz-inflected tunes, Seth Ford-Young gathers a superlative cast featuring accordion master Rob Reich, violinist Evan Price and rhythm guitarist Jason Vanderford. The evening will include new material combining the transparent textures and dynamic subtlety of chamber music with the ebullient bounce perfected by Django Reinhardt. A rhythmic catalyst in the Bay Area music scene for nearly two decades, Seth Ford-Young now resides in Los Angeles and has been a whirlwind of...

Adrian Arias: Addicted

Jazz in the Neighborhood Presents: Guarneri Jazz Quartet

Amaranth Quartet: Dichotomies of Love

Don’t Rush to Follow the Lines

Allison Au Quartet: Traditional Jazz in Modern Times

The Sherri Roberts / Harvie S Quartet w/ Special Guest Sheryl Bailey: Spring is Just Around the Corner

Chris Duffy’s You Get A Spoon!: A Variety Show and Prize Giveaway

Rob Reich Quintet: Shadowbox: Accordion-Led Evocative Chamber Jazz

[DOUBLE SHOW] Alex Conde: Descarga for Monk: Latin Jazz Thelonious Monk Tribute

Moy Eng with Bill Murphy and John Stowell: An Exploration of the Great American Songbook

PC Muñoz: SMASH/HITS – Curated by Derek Lassiter

Tod Dickow with Charged Particles: A Tribute to Jazz Great Michael Brecker

BOLO: Global Groove

Concerto Club: Local Classical Musicians As Soloists

DOUBLE SHOW: Diaspora Arts Connection Presents: Letters Never Written, Songs Never Sung

Flying Under the Radar Presents: Ian Faquini ft. Sandy Cressman & Colin Hogan

Janam: Dark Side of Love – Balkan & Appalachian Groove

Redwood Tango Ensemble: “Unison” Album Release – Contemporary Tango

Ben Goldberg / Ila Cantor / Hamir Atwal: Jazz Trio: “No telling what would happen!”

Paul Psarras: Baroque Spanish and Contemporary Guitar

Beaucoup Chapeaux: Parisian Bistro, Italian Café and Cirque

December 5th MAPP: Mission Arts & Performance Project

Amy LaCour Trio: Music for the Soul-Searching

CALI2CUBA Presents: Rhythmic Resistance: The Zen Chaos of Afro-Cuban Drumming – A Lecture/Demonstration by John Santos

Marcus Shelby Trio ft. Miss Faye Carol & Joe Warner: The Legacy of the Blues

Flying Under the Radar Presents: Ricardo Peixoto Quartet: An Evening of Brazilian Music

Flying Under the Radar Presents: Brazil Beat ft. Sarah Cabral, Alex Calatayud, Eva Scow & Mike Taylor

The Adam Shulman Quintet: Strays: The Music of Billy Strayhorn

Ramana Vieira and Fátima Santos: An Evening of Portuguese Fado

Seth Ford-Young Quartet: Chamber Music Meets Gypsy Jazz