The African diaspora is a vast cultural archipelago, and in each community spiritual and communal necessities gave rise to music and dance traditions reflecting the realities of the landscape. Neblinas del Pacífico is an ensemble devoted to marimba de chonta music from the Afro-Colombian Pacific coast. Rarely heard in California, it’s music that evokes the […]
A supergroup bringing together leading Ethiopian musicians from Addis Ababa’s fervently creative music scene, QWANQWA features Endris Hassen on the bowed, one-string masinko, Bubu Teklemariam on groove-driving bass krar, Misale Legesse on goat-skin kebero drum and incantatory vocals by Selamnesh Zemene. The group was convened by Santa Cruz violinist Kaethe Hostetter, a founding member of […]
Deeply versed in jazz and classic soul music, PHER is equally comfortable in both musical realms, and often brings the techniques and cadences of one idiom into the other. Formerly known as Chris Turner, the Oakland native has become a phenomenon over the past decade, from his standout appearance on Snarky Puppy’s 2016 hit “Liquid […]
In reclaiming the legacy of a Bay Area giant, Beth Wilmurt has uncovered a trove of long-forgotten songs by Malvina Reynolds, the San Francisco-born singer-songwriter devoted to environmental and human rights activism (1900-1978). Directed by Wilmurt, singers from four Community Music Center Neighborhood Choirs perform Reynolds’ songs, which address topics both serious and lighthearted with […]