A multifarious duo created by two of the Bay Area’s most creative young jazz musicians, Rice Kings channel original electronic jazz directly from the future. Keyboardist and self-described nerd Erika Oba, a Berkeley High alum and Oberlin Conservatory grad, is a rising force on the Bay Area jazz scene who thrives in stylistically diverse settings. Eli Maliwan, a product of Cal Arts, is a highly expressive saxophonist and vocalist who focuses on the EWI (electronic wind instrument) in Rice Kings. Together they create wildly imaginative Asian-American queer anthems that celebrate minorities of gender, race and sexuality.