PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

2008

MAY  

FISHTANK ENSEMBLE: Spirited Gypsy Tunes

Friday, May 2nd

The master musicians collectively known as Fishtank Ensemble offer a unique and truly worldly musical experience. From the smoky cafés of Bucharest to the Gypsy caravans of yesterday, this lively band evokes the spirit of a past age together with the sounds of tomorrow. Romanian folk and Transylvanian Roma music form the basis of their material, which also draws on flamenco, klezmer, gypsy jazz, and other folk sources.

Formed in 2005 and touring extensively since 2006, Fishtank Ensemble has performed at festivals such as DjangoFest (both San Francisco’s and the Northwest’s), and at venues such as the Getty Center at the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles).

Fabrice Martinez: violin
Djordje Stijepovic: upright bass
Aaron Seeman: accordion
Doug Smolens: guitar
Mike Penny: shamisen
Ursula Knudson: violin, saw, banjolele, vocals

“For those in need of having their dervish whirled, the Bay Area's Fishtank Ensemble are the rompin', stompin' leaders of cross-pollinated Gypsy music. French fiddler Fabrice Martinez paid dues gigging Europe in a mule-drawn caravan, including stints in Romani villages. El Douje is the master of 21st-century flamenco guitar, while Aaron Seeman is the king of punk accordion. Audience eyes tend to focus on Ursula Knudsen, not only for her virtuosic saw playing and a voice that sings in octaves not yet invented, but also for her sensual beauty. The mix includes a Japanese shamisen player and a rock-bottom upright bassist, and we have a young band that is one of the most thrilling live acts on the planet.”
~ LA Weekly

www.fishtankensemble.com

myspace.com/fishtankensemble

$15 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

- Special Weekend Engagement!

Saturday, May 3rd and Sunday May 4th

Part of an ongoing series/collaboration between the Red Poppy Art House and See.Think.Dance.

Saturday, May 3rd / Urban Art Sessions:

Embodying the landscape through motion, music, + come what may

Urban Art Sessions invites you to expand into the spirit of the spontaneous moment of creation that drives performance from under – skin + under -- ground. Over the course of one day into one evening YOU become the medium + the message, the audience + the performer.

Urban Art Sessions is the compression of daily experience re-birthed as movement + nurtured through sound. Poet + MC Davu Flint takes liberties with rhythm + rhyme, excavating textual histories + pushing them to bear the joy + weight of modern time. Performance artist Rashad aka Soul Nubian personifies the urbanite at his highest level, calling forth dance as ancient movement + social connector. Other artists participating in the urban art community are welcome in this rhythmic mosaic intertwined with the love for freestyle.

www.seethinkdance.com

$12 - $15 suggested donation. Video installation at 7:30 pm. Performance at 8:00 pm.

2:00pm Afro House Hop Workshop with Soul Nubian

suggested donation $5

Sunday, May 4th / The Intimacy Project™

Unraveling the threads that keep us together + hold us apart

The Intimacy Project™ is the recognition that mainstream culture, crafted around + through us, may no longer support us as emotional individuals + communities. As afternoon transitions into evening, The Intimacy Project™ will be the dynamic result of how honest, how vulnerable we intend to be with ourselves + the world around us.

The Intimacy Project™, as performance, takes flight with collaged reflections in sound by DJ Fflood. The journey expands through the inspired movement + embraceable direction of dancer/choreographer/facilitator Sheena Johnson. Poet/Activist Shantay Armstrong continues the expressive challenge by wrapping text around complex histories + the undulating present moment. Dissolving traditional audience-performer relationships, The Intimacy Project™ promises to be an introduction of a new paradigm.

www.seethinkdance.com

$12 - $15 suggested donation. Video installation at 7:30 pm. Performance at 8:00 pm.

Workshops:

2:00pm Breathing into the Intimate Self with Beandrea Davis, CYT

suggested donation $5

4:00pm Deepening the Intimate Voice with Khalil.Anthony

suggested donation $5

SALVADORA GALAN: Flamenco Songstress
Friday, May 9th

Salvadora Galan is a singer/guitarist born in Olvera, a small town near Ronda in Cadiz, Spain. At the age of nine she moved with her family to Utrera, Seville. Salvadora grew up in a family where flamenco was a way of life. Her father was a singer; her brother, now retired, was a very well-known dancer in Utrera who performed in the Carmen Amaya movie Los Tarantos. By the age of 13, Salvadora had won her first flamenco singing competition. At 17, Salvadora began her professional singing career, traveling throughout Spain and Portugal, and working with flamenco icons La Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera. Salvadora has also performed throughout Mexico and the US with the Maria Benitez, Susana de Palma, and Jose Molina companies. Salvador’s unique talent begins with the fact that she not only sings flamenco, but also accompanies herself on the guitar—extremely rare in the flamenco world, and unheard-of for a female artist.

For tonight’s performance, Salvadora Galan has compiled a selection of flamenco puro (traditional) and contemporary flamenco music.

“Passionate surrender, dramatic force and a complete command of technique, closely knit with natural talent are perhaps the outstanding characteristics of flamenco guitarist and singer Salvadora Galan.”
~ El Sol de San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

“Singular, unequaled! I invite you to see this gypsy volcano of pure flamenco feeling.”
~ Jaime Castañeda Reyes, El Universal de Ciudad Juarez, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

“The soulful wail of seasoned singer Salvadora Galan sets the tone for the show. Her mournful, ancient song reminds us that for all the fiery footwork, traditional Spanish dance is more about true passion for life and the fight with death rather than mere entertainment.”
~ Candelora Versace, The Santa Fe New Mexican

$10 – $12 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

THE NICE GUY TRIO: First of The Nice Guys + 1 Series!—“Root Exchange”
with BEN GOLDBERG and JOHN SCHOTT
Saturday, May 10th

Tonight’s performance marks the start of The Nice Guy’s exciting residency at the Red Poppy Art House—and the debut of “The Nice Guys + 1 Series”! This concert series will feature the playing and compositions of a different guest artist (or artists) alongside the trio each month. Tonight’s very special guests are … Ben Goldberg on clarinet, and John Schott on guitar!

The Nice Guy Trio is Darren Johnston (trumpet), Rob Reich (accordion), and Daniel Fabricant (bass). Together they create a sound that is both intimate and reflective of their contrasting yet complimentary musical backgrounds—and always with an emphasis on spontaneity. Their performances navigate a uniquely diverse collection of original compositions and songs from folk traditions across the globe—from jazz and klezmer to Balkan dance forms, calypso and beyond.

Darren Johnston: “One of the most exciting elements of the Nice Guy Trio, for me, is how each of its members comes from such a different musical background. When together, we are each pushed out of our comfort zones, and for our troubles we not only grow as individual artists, but together arrive at unique forms of expression that we might not have reached otherwise. Inspired by this phenomenon, we have decided to develop a series wherein we invite a diverse cross-section of some of our favorite local musicians to join us. Each guest also comes from a different musical origin, and yet strives for goals similar to ours through their work: creating beauty, spontaneity, personal growth, and music which is simultaneously new, yet hauntingly familiar. Each concert will feature original music from The Nice Guy and our guest artists, as well as some collectively chosen cover material that seems to suit the instrumentation du jour. Please join us, as each concert will prove to be unique unto itself, and each effort a truly collaborative journey.”

More About Tonight’s Musicians …

Since settling in San Francisco in 1997, Canada-born trumpeter Darren Johnston has built a web of alliances, from avant-garde excursions with the likes of the ROVA saxophone quartet, and the Splatter Trio, to straight-ahead jazz outings with bassist/composer Marcus Shelby. As a bandleader, he is best known for his work with the United Brassworkers Front, whose second CD, In Between Stories, was recently released on Evander Music. Another new release in '07, Reasons for Moving, features Fred Frith and Larry Ochs, and was released on the Not Two label. Darren’s current focus is on the Nice Guy Trio, his own Darren Johnston Quintet featuring Ben Goldberg, Sheldon Brown, Smith Dobson V and Devin Hoff, and the Evan Francis/Darren Johnston Quartet. Darren was mentioned in last June’s issue of Down Beat magazine as one of “25 trumpeters for the future.”

www.myspace.com/darrenjohnstonsmusic

Rob Reich plays accordion, piano and guitar with Gaucho, The Golden Melody Band, Kally Price, The Trifles, Sean Hayes, and many other Bay Area bands. His expansive musical sensibility is rooted in a firm belief in melody, improvisation, and group play, with particular interest in the idioms of klezmer, traditional jazz and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and folk.

www.robreich.com

Bassist Daniel Fabricant grew up in Ashland, Oregon, where he began playing guitar and trumpet in grade school. Since moving to the Bay Area and transitioning to double bass, he has performed as a freelance sideman with Andrea Marcovicci, Mary Wilson, Spencer Day, and others. He recently completed his education degree at SFSU and teaches music privately and in the classroom.

www.myspace.com/fabdan

Clarinetist Ben Goldberg grew up in Denver and currently lives in Berkeley. He was a student of the eminent clarinetist Rosario Mazzeo and studied with Steve Lacy and Joe Lovano. Goldberg’s group New Klezmer Trio took a slightly different view of the klezmer tradition. Their CD Masks and Faces was listed as one of the 10 best recordings of 1992 by Cadence magazine, and The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that it “kicked open the door for radical experiments with Ashkenazi roots music.” Masks and Faces and Melt Zonk Rewire, as well as the group's third CD, Short for Something, are on the Tzadik label. Ben's other recordings include a record of duets with Kenny Wollesen, The Relative Value of Things (33 1⁄4 Records); two records by Junk Genius (with John Schott, Trevor Dunn, and Wollesen); Junk Genius (Knitting Factory Works), an examination of the bebop repertoire; Ghost of Electricity (Songlines), dealing with aspects of American folk music; Light at the Crossroads (Songlines) with Marty Ehrlich; Here by Now (Music and Arts); What Comes Before (Tzadik), reflections on post-tonal harmonic structures with John Schott and Michael Sarin; and Twelve Minor (Avant), compositions for sextet featuring Miya Masaoka. Goldberg is currently planning a record of new compositions for solo clarinet.

Guitarist John Schott moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. Previously he lived in Seattle, where he studied with jazz legends Julian Priester and Gary Peacock and classical composer Bun-Ching Lam. Schott was a member of the groove-jazz band T. J. Kirk, with guitarists Charlie Hunter and Will Bernard, and Junk Genius, with clarinetist Ben Goldberg. Both groups recorded several critically acclaimed CDs. Schott also appears on records by John Zorn, the Rova Sax Quartet and Steven Bernstein. Schott has four CDs under his own leadership, including Shuffle Play: Elegies for the Recording Angel (New World), which topped several Best of 2000 lists. Recent projects include the soundtrack for the documentary film Broadcast Cowboy, a commission for the Paul Dresher Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, and a just-issued CD with his tuba-guitar-drums trio Dream Kitchen. A passionate teacher, Schott has taught in the music department at the University of California at Berkeley, and the Jazz School. He lives in Berkeley with his partner Naomi and their son Ezra.

www.johnschott.com

$10 - $12 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

COLM Ó RIAIN: Irish Violinist & Company
Friday, May 16th

Violinist Colm Ó Riain—just back from a residency at Berklee College of Music in Boston—tonight joyfully explores with his band the connection between Irish music and jazz, blues and Indian music. Colm Ó Riain’s band delights in exposing the beauty at the borders of genres, where melodies merge and rhythms collide—and having a great time while doing so. As John Perry Barlow once said, “They know how to dance you!”

Since arriving in the Bay Area a few years ago, Colm has embraced the opportunity to swap chops with some great local and visiting musicians, including composer Marcus Shelby, members of the Hot Club of San Francisco, Nik Phelps & the Sprocket Ensemble, Oliver Rajamani, the Venusians, and accordionist Tony McMahom. Colm has performed in Argentina, Brazil, Sweden, Croatia, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom—and while in the States, Colm and his band has thrilled audiences at festivals and venues across the country, from Los Angeles to Anchorage to New York. As host of San Francisco’s most vibrant Irish sessiún (at O'Reilly's in North Beach), Colm has successfully brought his fascination with other musical genres into his playing, to complement and energize that of his native country.

This is Colm's last performance in the Bay Area before he and his partner-in-crime, poet Pireeni Sundaralingam, head off to Europe to perform at festivals and venues in Hungary, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Colm Ó Riain (violin, cajoler)
Geoff van Lienden (guitar)
Tim Kelly (bass)
Wade Peterson (djembes, congas, and other percussion)

“Ó Riain is an Irish fiddler of the highest degree, but he wears a dozen different hats with his current band. His fireworks display of virtuosity easily spans the diverse genres of gypsy, tango, jazz, blues and Irish music all with his characteristic intelligence and pizzazz.”

~ The Irish Herald

www.colmoriain.com

$12 - $15 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

TITO GONZALEZ Y SU QUINTETO SONERO
Saturday, May 17th

If you like the music of Buena Vista Social Club, you’ll love the music of Heriberto “Tito” Gonzalez and his quintet. Before arriving from Cuba to the Bay Area in 2000, Tito played with such notable Cuban groups as Conjunto Estrellas de Chocolate, Aribu Quartet, and Chapotin y sus Estrellas. He was also specially chosen as a founding member of Nuevo Conjunto de Arsenio Rodriguez, a group carefully structured to represent the music of the famous Cuban tresero Arsenio Rodriguez.

Tonight's performance will combine a seated concert with dancing. For the first set, Tito and his group will perform a selection of bolero, danzon, and other slower Cuban rhythms. After the break, we’ll clear the seating and open the floor to dancing as the music heats up!

www.titoysusondecuba.com

$15 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

Former RPAH resident artists, VidyA is an outstandingly innovative group that merges the virtuosity of jazz with the melodic and rhythmic nuance of South Indian classical (Carnatic) music. Led by critically acclaimed saxophonist Prasant Radhakrishnan, together with David Ewell on bass (of Lauryn Hill) and Sameer Gupta on drums (of the Supplicants and Marc Cary’s Focus Trio). This night celebrates the release of their new CD.

www.vidyamusic.com
www.prasantmusic.com

“A style that's madly percussive and sparkling … combines jazz's sweet dreaminess with the Indian form's insistent rhythmic and tonal changes.”
~ SF Weekly

“Imagine ragas and American blues folded into a single moment. It's a fusion of Indian classical and jazz, and the leader, Prasant Radhakrishnan, 24, points the way for a number of Bay Area improvisers.”
~ San Francisco Chronicle

“ … when these patterns are played on saxophone, violin, string bass, and jazz drums, there is a build-up of emotional energy and intellectual complexity which seems to recreate the energy that was present at the birth of bebop in 1940s New York. In fact, if Charlie Parker or Dizzie Gillespie had heard VidyA at that time, I think it would have never have occurred to them that VidyA’s music was Indian. They would simply have wondered where these cats had found a sound that was so mercilessly free of the standard melodic and rhythmic clichés.”
~ Teed Rockwell, India Currents

$15 - $17 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

FESTEJEANDO: Marina Lavalle and the Music of Afro-Peru

Saturday, May 24th

For this special carnival weekend performance, Marina Lavalle, former vocalist of Peru Negro, invites you to join her in a magical and bewitched night of the black rhythms of Peru. Among her guest artists will be the twice-Grammy-nominated guitarist and arranger Felipe Pumarada, performing the rhythms of festejo, lando, zamacueca, panalivio, and more.

$12 - $15 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

The Lulo Reinhardt Latin Swing Quartet is headed by Sinti gypsy guitarist Lulo Reinhardt from Koblenz, Germany, and includes violinist Daniel Weltlinger from Sydney, bassist Harald Becher from Germany, and guitarist Doug Martin from San Francisco. The quartet has performed in the US and Europe, and recently did a tour in Shanghai, in October 2007, playing their unique blend of gypsy swing and Latin music while exploring Far Eastern musical influences. For tonight’s performance, the group will be performing original gypsy swing and Latin composition by Lulo Reinhardt, as well as selections from the repertoire from Lulo’s granduncle, Django Reinhardt.

Lulo Reinhardt learned to play the guitar at the age of five. He has toured throughout Europe, traveled in Spain in search of flamenco roots and to South America to explore Latin musical traditions. Constant exploration of other musical forms has brought many influences from outside Europe to Lulo’s music: “My music is a combination of gypsy swing, Latin, samba, flamenco and jazz,” he says. “For me, the most important thing is to play with different musicians. It is in this way that I can experience different cultures and different ways of playing.”

“Whenever the family got together, which was all the time, we played—for birthdays, weddings, communions, always learning and playing Django’s songs. … My first concert was in 1973, playing with the Mike Reinhardt Sextet in front of an audience of four thousand people. It was here that I ‘jumped in the deep water.’ It was here that I felt like a musician and knew that was what I was born to be. I was twelve years old.”
~ Lulo Reinhardt

www.lulo-reinhardt-project.de
www.myspace.com/luloreinhardt

$12 - $15 suggested donation. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Show at 7:00 pm.

MARCUS SHELBY:The Legacy of Duke Ellington

The Early Years (1899-1937): Childhood and influences in Washington D.C.,

early years in NY, The Cotton Club, and the Swing Era

Thursday, May 29th

The Legacy of Duke Ellington is a series of listening parties dedicated to the life and legacy of Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington (1899-1974). There are four listening parties that will focus on four eras of Duke Ellington's celebrated career.

Statement

Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington was one of the most important creative  artists in American history. He led his jazz orchestra for 50 years, wrote music for every conceivable venue including theater, film, and ballet, and was a major influence on the piano. Ellington's life is an incredible story of triumph and purpose that included a musical world of powerful personalities, all which embodied the history and glory of early American music.

May 29 - Duke Ellington: The Early Years (1899-1937)
Childhood and influences in Washington D.C.,

early years in NY, The Cotton Club, the Swing Era

June 5 - Duke Ellington: The Ellington Effect (1938-1949)
Ellington's "mature" period as a composer, The Webster, Blanton, Strayhorn band, “Things ain't the way they used to be..."

June 12 - Duke Ellington: Rebirth of the Duke (1950-1959)
Ellington's "New Testament" band, rebirth at the Newport Jazz Festival, suites, ballets, and movie scores

June 19 - Duke Ellington: Diminuendo in Blue (1960-1974)
Ellington the Statesman, Billy Strayhorn's death, The Sacred Concerts, The final years

Each listening party will include a discussion on the life and career of Duke Ellington, a survey of recordings related to the discussion, a live performance featuring a weekly special guest artist, and audience participation. All in all, a lively discussion on Ellington and his world including analysis on the powerful personalities of his musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Billy Strayhorn, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Barney Bigard, "Tricky" Sam Nanton, and many more.

Everyone is invited, no matter how much knowledge of music you have or how much you know about Duke Ellington.

Cost: $15 – $20 sliding scale per workshop or all 4 workshops for $50 – $70

RICARDO PEIXOTO and CARLOS OLIVEIRA with special guest, percussionist CLAUDIO BEBIANNO
Friday, May 30th

Guitarists Ricardo Peixoto and Carlos Oliveira are among the top Brazilian guitarists in the US today. They are also accomplished composers and arrangers and have collaborated in many musical projects for more than two decades. Their performances explore their country’s rich and diverse traditions—both in their original work and in their arrangements of Brazilian classics—while at the same time allowing for spontaneous interaction with each other and the music. Their approach to the choro, samba, baião, frevo and bossa nova styles is grounded in both the jazz and Brazilian music traditions, and yet always ventures well beyond their borders—combining rich melodies, unusual harmonies, and the unmistakable rhythms of Brazil. Rio de Janeiro-based percussionist Claudio Bebianno will join them for tonight’s performance.

The fluid melodic sense and original harmonic approach of guitarist, composer and arranger Ricardo Peixoto place him at the forefront of Brazilian guitar in the world today. An inspired improviser with a keen compositional sense, Ricardo's eloquent style evokes images far beyond his Brazilian territory. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo came to the Bay Area by way of Boston’s Berklee College of Music. In addition to his ongoing collaboration with Carlos Oliveira, Peixoto’s long-standing partnership with vocalist/composer Claudia Villela has produced the acclaimed CD, Inverse Universe. He has recorded and performed with Flora Purim and Airto, saxophonist Bud Shank, percussionist Dom Um Romão, Toots Thielemans, Dori Caymmi, Guinga, Harvey Wainapel, Marcos Silva, and many others. Ricardo has toured throughout the US, Europe, Canada, Japan and Brazil.

Guitarist, composer, arranger, and teacher Carlos Oliveira, originally from the state of Pernambuco, in the northeast of Brazil, has been teaching and performing his native music in the US since 1980. He has appeared on the bill with such great Brazilian artists as Sergio Mendes, Gilberto Gil, Jaques Morelenbaum Quartet, and Rosa Passos. As a composer, guitarist and arranger, Carlos has been involved in recordings with David Grisman, saxophonist Harvey Wainapel, pianist Kenny Barron, guitarist Paulo Bellinatti, and mandolin legend Mike Marshall.

www.ricardopeixoto.com
www.coliveira.com

$15 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

This night brings together the music of Nefasha Ayer with presentations by some of their favorite artists. Headed by RPAH resident artists Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown, with compositional collaboration by Prasant Radhakrishnan, Nefasha Ayer weaves together Ethiopian and South Indian melodies against varying backdrops of American jazz.

www.redpoppyarthouse.org/residentartists

www.myspace.com/nefashaayer

$15 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

JUNE  

THE NICE GUY TRIO: The Nice Guys + 1 Series!

with SAMEER GUPTA

Sunday, June 1st

Tonight Red Poppy resident artists The Nice Guy Trio showcase the second installment of their “Nice Guys + 1 Series”! This series will feature the playing and compositions of a different guest artist (or artists) alongside the trio each month. Tonight’s very special guest is Sameer Gupta on tablas!

The Nice Guy Trio is Darren Johnston on trumpet, Rob Reich on accordion, and Daniel Fabricant on bass. Together they create a sound that is both intimate and reflective of their contrasting yet complimentary musical backgrounds—and always with an emphasis on spontaneity. Their performances navigate a diverse collection of original compositions and songs from folk traditions across the globe—from jazz and klezmer to Balkan dance forms, calypso and beyond.

Darren Johnston: “One of the most exciting elements of the Nice Guy Trio, for me, is how each of its members comes from such a different musical background. When together, we are each pushed out of our comfort zones, and for our troubles we not only grow as individual artists, but together arrive at unique forms of expression that we might not have reached otherwise. Inspired by this phenomenon, we have decided to develop a series wherein we invite a diverse cross-section of some of our favorite local musicians to join us. Each guest also comes from a different musical origin, and yet strives for goals similar to ours through their work: creating beauty, spontaneity, personal growth, and music which is simultaneously new, yet hauntingly familiar. Each concert will feature original music from The Nice Guy and our guest artists, as well as some collectively chosen cover material that seems to suit the instrumentation du jour. Please join us, as each concert will prove to be unique unto itself, and each effort a truly collaborative journey.”

More About Tonight’s Musicians …

Since settling in San Francisco in 1997, Canada-born trumpeter Darren Johnston has built a web of alliances, from avant-garde excursions with the likes of the ROVA saxophone quartet, and the Splatter Trio, to straight-ahead jazz outings with bassist/composer Marcus Shelby. As a bandleader, he is best known for his work with the United Brassworkers Front, whose second CD, In Between Stories, was recently released on Evander Music. Another new release in '07, Reasons for Moving, features Fred Frith and Larry Ochs, and was released on the Not Two label. Darren’s current focus is on the Nice Guy Trio, his own Darren Johnston Quintet featuring Ben Goldberg, Sheldon Brown, Smith Dobson V and Devin Hoff, and the Evan Francis/Darren Johnston Quartet. Darren was mentioned in last June’s issue of Down Beat magazine as one of “25 trumpeters for the future.”

www.myspace.com/darrenjohnstonsmusic

Rob Reich plays accordion, piano and guitar with Gaucho, The Golden Melody Band, Kally Price, The Trifles, Sean Hayes, and many other Bay Area bands. His expansive musical sensibility is rooted in a firm belief in melody, improvisation, and group play, with particular interest in the idioms of klezmer, traditional jazz and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and folk.

www.robreich.com

Bassist Daniel Fabricant grew up in Ashland, Oregon, where he began playing guitar and trumpet in grade school. Since moving to the Bay Area and transitioning to double bass, he has performed as a freelance sideman with Andrea Marcovicci, Mary Wilson, Spencer Day, and others. He recently completed his education degree at SFSU and teaches music privately and in the classroom.

www.myspace.com/fabdan

Sameer Gupta is quickly becoming an original voice in jazz, world, and fusion music. He first studied percussion two decades ago in Tokyo, Japan, and has since immersed himself in a range of demanding musical environments. From bebop to avant-garde jazz, from European classical percussion to North Indian classical tabla, Sameer engages music with a mature perspective that now bridges several continents.

www.sameergupta.com

$10 - $12 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

MARCUS SHELBY:The Legacy of Duke Ellington

The Ellington Effect (1938-1949) : Ellington's "mature" period as a composer, The Webster, Blanton, Strayhorn band

Thursday, June 5th

The Legacy of Duke Ellington is a series of listening parties dedicated to the life and legacy of Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington (1899-1974). There are four listening parties that will focus on four eras of Duke Ellington's celebrated career.

Statement

Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington was one of the most important creative  artists in American history. He led his jazz orchestra for 50 years, wrote music for every conceivable venue including theater, film, and ballet, and was a major influence on the piano. Ellington's life is an incredible story of triumph and purpose that included a musical world of powerful personalities, all which embodied the history and glory of early American music.

May 29 - Duke Ellington: The Early Years (1899-1937):
Childhood and influences in Washington D.C.,

early years in NY, The Cotton Club, the Swing Era

June 5 - Duke Ellington: The Ellington Effect (1938-1949)
Ellington's "mature" period as a composer, The Webster, Blanton, Strayhorn band, “Things ain't the way they used to be..."

June 12 - Duke Ellington: Rebirth of the Duke (1950-1959)
Ellington's "New Testament" band, rebirth at the Newport Jazz Festival, suites, ballets, and movie scores

June 19 - Duke Ellington: Diminuendo in Blue (1960-1974)
Ellington the Statesman, Billy Strayhorn's death, The Sacred Concerts, The final years

Each listening party will include a discussion on the life and career of Duke Ellington, a survey of recordings related to the discussion, a live performance featuring a weekly special guest artist, and audience participation. All in all, a lively discussion on Ellington and his world including analysis on the powerful personalities of his musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Billy Strayhorn, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Barney Bigard, "Tricky" Sam Nanton, and many more.

Everyone is invited, no matter how much knowledge of music you have or how much you know about Duke Ellington.

Cost: $15 – $20 sliding scale per workshop or all 4 workshops for $50 – $70

JAZ SAWYER

Friday, June 6th

www.myspace.com/pursuancerecords

Doors open at 8:30 pm. Show at 9:00 pm.

MAPP: Mission Arts & Performance Project

Saturday, June 7th

The Mission Arts & Performance Project is a bi-monthly collaboration among visual artists, musicians, poets and performers. MAPP puts art and performance on the street level by using alternative spaces such as private garages, basements and studios. It’s a block party of the arts for inspiring in ourselves and others the desire for a creative existence and an ever-widening experience of life. By transforming garages and backyards into mini-galleries, MAPP shows how ordinary spaces can be made extra-ordinary, while at the same time bringing people together to share in a diverse experience of fine art and performance. The garages, as they are unpretentious and open to the street, pose the possibility of exposing the arts to people who might not otherwise enter a gallery or theater. This process helps transport art from the margins of our communities to places of greater visibility where it can be understood as a vibrant and vital force necessary to the health of our society. It is our hope that local residents and others attending the MAPP will be inspired to seek expression of their own experiences through creative means and join in sharing what they have discovered in MAPP events to come.

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
The FAMILY MAPP: A full afternoon of activities for youths, including mural and sidewalk art!
FREE

7:00 pm – midnight
The MAPP: Art exhibits, music, poetry, dance and film in 13 locations!
FREE

www.redpoppyarthouse.org/mappdates

MARCUS SHELBY:The Legacy of Duke Ellington

Rebirth of the Duke (1950-1959): Ellington's "New Testament" band, rebirth at the Newport Jazz Festival, suites, ballets, and movie scores

Thursday, June 12th

The Legacy of Duke Ellington is a series of listening parties dedicated to the life and legacy of Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington (1899-1974). There are four listening parties that will focus on four eras of Duke Ellington's celebrated career.

Statement

Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington was one of the most important creative  artists in American history. He led his jazz orchestra for 50 years, wrote music for every conceivable venue including theater, film, and ballet, and was a major influence on the piano. Ellington's life is an incredible story of triumph and purpose that included a musical world of powerful personalities, all which embodied the history and glory of early American music.

May 29 - Duke Ellington: The Early Years (1899-1937)
Childhood and influences in Washington D.C.,

early years in NY, The Cotton Club, the Swing Era

June 5 - Duke Ellington: The Ellington Effect (1938-1949)
Ellington's "mature" period as a composer, The Webster, Blanton, Strayhorn band, “Things ain't the way they used to be..."

June 12 - Duke Ellington: Rebirth of the Duke (1950-1959)
Ellington's "New Testament" band, rebirth at the Newport Jazz Festival, suites, ballets, and movie scores

June 19 - Duke Ellington: Diminuendo in Blue (1960-1974)
Ellington the Statesman, Billy Strayhorn's death, The Sacred Concerts, The final years

Each listening party will include a discussion on the life and career of Duke Ellington, a survey of recordings related to the discussion, a live performance featuring a weekly special guest artist, and audience participation. All in all, a lively discussion on Ellington and his world including analysis on the powerful personalities of his musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Billy Strayhorn, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Barney Bigard, "Tricky" Sam Nanton, and many more.

Everyone is invited, no matter how much knowledge of music you have or how much you know about Duke Ellington.

Cost: $15 – $20 sliding scale per workshop or all 4 workshops for $50 – $70

LICHI FUENTES

Friday, June 13th

www.lichifuentes.com

Doors open at 8:30 pm. Show at 9:00 pm.

DARREN JOHNSTON PROJECT with MYRA MELFORD,

BEN GOLDBERG, and LISA MEZZACAPPA

Saturday, June 14th

Darren Johnston:www.darrenjohnstonmusic.com

Myra Melford: www.myramelford.com

Ben Goldberg:www.bayimproviser.com/bengoldberg

Lisa Mezzacappa:www.myspace.com/lisamezzacappa

Doors open at 8:30 pm. Show at 9:00 pm.

MARCUS SHELBY:The Legacy of Duke Ellington

Diminuendo in Blue (1960-1974): Ellington the Statesman, Billy Strayhorn's death, The Sacred Concerts,The final years

Thursday, June 19th

The Legacy of Duke Ellington is a series of listening parties dedicated to the life and legacy of Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington (1899-1974). There are four listening parties that will focus on four eras of Duke Ellington's celebrated career.

Statement

Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington was one of the most important creative  artists in American history. He led his jazz orchestra for 50 years, wrote music for every conceivable venue including theater, film, and ballet, and was a major influence on the piano. Ellington's life is an incredible story of triumph and purpose that included a musical world of powerful personalities, all which embodied the history and glory of early American music.

May 29 - Duke Ellington: The Early Years (1899-1937)
Childhood and influences in Washington D.C.,

early years in NY, The Cotton Club, the Swing Era

June 5 - Duke Ellington: The Ellington Effect (1938-1949)
Ellington's "mature" period as a composer, The Webster, Blanton, Strayhorn band, “Things ain't the way they used to be..."

June 12 - Duke Ellington: Rebirth of the Duke (1950-1959)
Ellington's "New Testament" band, rebirth at the Newport Jazz Festival, suites, ballets, and movie scores

June 19 - Duke Ellington: Diminuendo in Blue (1960-1974)
Ellington the Statesman, Billy Strayhorn's death, The Sacred Concerts,The final years

Each listening party will include a discussion on the life and career of Duke Ellington, a survey of recordings related to the discussion, a live performance featuring a weekly special guest artist, and audience participation. All in all, a lively discussion on Ellington and his world including analysis on the powerful personalities of his musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Billy Strayhorn, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Barney Bigard, "Tricky" Sam Nanton, and many more.

Everyone is invited, no matter how much knowledge of music you have or how much you know about Duke Ellington.

Cost: $15 – $20 sliding scale per workshop or all 4 workshops for $50 – $70

MARCUS SHELBY TRIO

Friday, June 20th

www.marcusshelby.com

Doors open at 8:30 pm. Show at 9:00 pm.

ELAMENO QUINTET

Saturday, June 21st

www.elamenoquintet.com

Doors open at 8:30 pm. Show at 9:00 pm.

MITCH MARCUS

Friday, June 27th

www.mitchmarcusmusic.com

Doors open at 8:30 pm. Show at 9:00 pm.

MALAMAÑA

Saturday, June 28th

JULY  

THE NICE GUY TRIO: The Nice Guys + 1 Series!

with MEKLIT HADERO and SMITH DOBSON

Friday, July 11th

www.meklithadero.com

www.myspace.com/smithdobson

ADAM SCHULMAN

Friday, July 18th