More than a musician or a performer, Idris Ackamoor is a conjurer who transforms any space he inhabits into a protean state where the past manifests and the future reveals itself. A saxophonist, composer, percussionist, actor, tap dancer, producer, and director, he’s the guiding spirit of the San Francisco performance company Cultural Odyssey and the founder and artistic director of the storied jazz and world music ensemble Idris Ackamoor ☥ The Pyramids. A protégé of legendary Chicago clarinetist Clifford King, who got his start in the 1920s playing with New Orleans jazz patriarchs Jelly Roll Morton and Freddie Keppard, Ackamoor is a pioneering Afro-futurist whose music summons the ancestors and from near and far. A griot with his own stories to tell, he’s an ideal artist to relaunch the AfroSolo Arts Festival.
Kev Choice Ensemble
As a pianist, M.C., composer, and producer, Oakland’s Kev Choice is more than an artist with a distinctive vision embracing hip-hop, jazz, R&B, soul, and European classical music. He’s an activist and community leader whose music poses tough questions and suggests celebratory answers. After establishing himself touring and recording with stars such as Lauryn Hill, Ledisi, Lyrics Born, Too $hort, and Michael Franti and Spearhead, Choice settled back in the East Bay, where he’s become a creative force. He kicks off the 2021 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Thursday concert series with an all-star ensemble that includes some of the key collaborators on his 2020 album Social Distancing, a project created and released in the first weeks of pandemic-induced sheltering in place. He’s also joined by special guest vocalist Viveca Hawkins and his Black London bandmates Howard Wiley (tenor saxophone) and Mike Blankenship (keyboards).
Kev Choice is a 2020 YBG Festival Commissions Artist.
See updated safety guidelines under Visitor Information.
Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes
Berkeley-reared, Juilliard-trained pianist, composer, activist and writer Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes gained international attention with the release of his searing 2016 debut album The Transformation Suite, a multimedia project that evolved in tandem with the national movement focusing on black lives cut short by violence. The New York-based composer returns to the Bay Area to present I’m Still Here, a concert combining pieces from his past works and excerpts from The Healing Project, a work in progress. The concert encompasses an array of approaches, from intimate vocal moments to spoken word pieces to group improvisations featuring a large ensemble. It’s a show about making space together to be vulnerable, to support each other, and to speak out on the injustices happening to us and around us.
AfroSolo in the Gardens
For a quarter century the AfroSolo Arts Festival has played an essential role in nurturing, promoting and presenting art and culture from the African Diaspora through presenting solo performances, the visual and literary arts and community engagement. A production of the AfroSolo Theatre Company, the 25th AfroSolo Arts Festival kicks off with this free jazz concert feature an all-star sextet drawn from AfroSolo alumni, including piano master Tammy Hall, who has performed high profile concerts with vocal stars Kim Nalley, Denise Perrier, Holly Near, and Laurie Anderson. Veteran drummer Leon Joyce, Jr., a longtime accompanist for vocal legend Nancy Wilson and piano star Ramsey Lewis, renowned bassist/composer Marcus Shelby, captivating harpist/vocalist Destiny Muhammad, and rising young Oakland saxophonist Ranzel Merritt round out the band.
Presented in partnership with
Creative Voices: Composing for Racial Justice
Samora Pinderhughes and Marcus Shelby join in dialogue about their music and its role in community—inspiring action and cultivating well being.
Berkeley-raised, Juilliard-trained pianist/composer Samora Pinderhughes gained national attention with The Transformations Suite, a multimedia project exploring the radical history of resistance within the communities of the African Diaspora. Currently pursuing a PHD in Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry at Harvard University under mentor Vijay Iyer, he joins San Francisco bassist/composer Marcus Shelby in a conversation about composing for racial justice. YBG Festival’s resident artist Shelby has created a celebrated body of work for his orchestra inspired by a multi-faceted array of Black life, from legendary abolitionists and civil rights leaders to Negro League baseball. He has directed CMC’s tuition free Teen Jazz Orchestra since 2013. Moderating the discussion is Preston Justice, YBG Festival’s house emcee and the programmer of OMCA Friday nights.
This event will be conducted online via video conferencing. RSVP on Eventbrite to receive the link to join, emailed prior to the start of the discussion.
Creative Voices
Hosted by Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and Community Music Center
This series pairs Yerba Buena Gardens Festival (YBG Festival) artists and Community Music Center (CMC) faculty to engage in musical dialogue and conversation about their music and its role in community—inspiring action and cultivating well being.
Join us for inspiring dialogue with these brilliant artists in the Creative Voices series:
- November 17: Composing for Racial Justice – Samora Pinderhughes with Marcus Shelby
- December 8: Music for Life – Ukulenny with Beth Wilmurt
- January 12: Mindful Singing in Community – Valerie Troutt with The Curtis Family C Notes
Co-Presented by
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