Events for Thursday, May 16 - Tuesday, June 4

Beaming in from the sizzling Addis Ababa nightlife scene, QWANQWA shines an experimentalism based in the virtuosity of rooted traditions. With swirling masinko (one-stringed fiddle), wah-wah violin, bass krar grooves, the heavy riffs of goat skin kebero beats, and powerful mellismatic lead African diva vocals, QWANQWA keeps audiences rapt in celebratory attention. QWANQWA's debut US […]

Little Wings is Kyle Field's band since 1998... Exploring themes of loneliness and togetherness with oneself and others, the music tries to capture through poetry the feelings of being a human being and match words with their appropriate tone and color. To be alive. (((folkYEAH!))) Website More info:  info@folkyeah.com

French-Algerian acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist and composer Pierre Bensusan, surnamed “Mister DADGAD”, has taken his unique sound to all corners of the globe. Winner of the Independent Music Award for his triple live album Encore, voted Best World Music Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine reader’s Poll, winner of the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival […]

Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation's pivotal figures in music and the related arts. A recognized prodigy, Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age three, and his playing quickly became a mature melding of musicality, technique, and concept. Downbeat observed that his "nimble touch, measured […]

Composer-pianist Vijay Iyer has carved out a unique path as an influential, shape-shifting presence in 21st-century music. His deeply interactive, powerfully expressive musical language is indebted to the composer-pianist lineage from Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk to Alice Coltrane and Geri Allen, the creative music movement of the 60s and 70s, and rhythmic traditions of […]

Meet our '23/'24 Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band! Featuring Reuben Cave, Ryu Cirillo, Derick Freitas, Nolan Frink, Adrian Hagedorn, Jonah Harre, Kyle McMillan, and Logan Manildi, the Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band showcases some of the most talented high-school student musicians from Santa Cruz County and the Central Coast region. These young jazz ambassadors pass a rigorous […]

Peter Asher takes you through the magical 60s, 70s & more, with tales of the Beatles' Apple, James Taylor, and Linda Ronstadt. Featuring the hits of Peter & Gordon. More info, email:  Keith Putney Productions    

GRAMMY-winning pianist, composer, arranger, lecturer, and musical director Tammy L. Hall began playing the piano at age four and is still devoted to that instrument, music, and its calling. After attending Oakland’s Mills College, Hall’s career has spanned more than four decades, with no end in sight. In pursuit of the creation, development, and performance […]

Guitarist Mason Razavi has been a mainstay on the Bay Area jazz scene for over a decade, having led his groups at SF Jazz, San Jose Jazz, and Bach Dancing and Dynamite as well as countless clubs and concert series. His albums have often featured ambitious original music that has been warmly received, with albums […]

Rachel Z is a keyboardist with a long history of award-winning performances in the worlds of jazz and rock. She co-wrote the Grammy-winning song “Tokyo Blue” with saxophonist Najee, and in addition to her thirteen albums as bandleader and her work in internationally acclaimed bands such as Steps Ahead, Vertú, the Omar Hakim Experience, and OZmosys, she […]