From the category archives:

Local Hip Hop

Brass, Bows & Beats: A Hip Hop Symphony

May 5, 2009

SF Jazz showcased the premiere of Adam Theis’ Brass, Bows & Beats: A Hip Hop Symphony at the Palace of Fine Arts on Saturday, April 18, 2009. Supported by a generous “Emerging Composer” grant from the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the composition featured more than 40 of the Jazz Mafia’s incredible jazz, funk, classical, and hip hop musicians.

It was a truly remarkable event, my hat goes off to everyone involved! I was quite simply blown away by it all, and I was grateful to have been given such intimate access to document the day in photos. If you’d like to read a more detailed review of how entirely awesome it was, make sure to stop by Kirk Hamilton’s Blog for a fittingly excellent writeup.

Musicians
Adam Theis, Rita Thies, Evan Francis, Alex Budman, Sheldon Brown, Kasey Knudsen, Matt Nelson, Doug Rowan, Dave Scott, Neil Levonious, Mike Olmos, Joel Ryan, Joel Behrman, Danny Grewen, Jeanne Geiger, Jaime Dubberly, Allison Sawyer, Mads Tolling, Anthony Blea, Dina Macabee, Celia Harris, Kathy Marshall, Graeme Jennings, Elizabeth Prior, Charith Premawardana, Darcy Rindt, Jess Ivry, Robin Reynolds, Sam Bass, Jon Monahan, Matt Berkeley, Colin Hogan, Geroge Ban-Weiss, Tommy Folen, Eric Garland, Joe Bagale, Pat Korte, Matt Lucas, Aspect McCarthy, Karyn Paige, Chris McGee, Dublin, Seneca, Gedeon, and Lyrics Born. I’m sure I missed someone, sorry, but I wrote everyone I could possibly remember!

Related Posts: Realistic Orchestra Live in Golden Gate Park, Brass Mafia Live at the Fillmore Street Jazz Festival, Brass Mafia Live at the Fillmore St. Jazz Festival, Brass Mafia Live at Bruno’s

 

Tags: Adam-Theis, Alex Budman, Allison Sawyer, Anthony Blea, Aspect McCarthy, BayTaper, Beats, Bows, Brass, Celia Harris, Charith Premawardana, Chris-McGee, colin-hogan, danny-grewen, Darcy Rindt, Dave-Scott, Dina Macabee, Doug Rowan, Dublin, Elizabeth Prior, Eric-Garland, evan-francis, Funk, Gedeon, Geroge Ban-Weiss, Graeme Jennings, Hip-Hop, Jaime Dubberly, Jazz, Jazz-Mafia, Jeanne Geiger, Jess Ivry, Joe-Bagale, Joel-Behrman, joel-ryan, Jon Monahan, Karyn Paige, Kasey-Knudsen, Kathy Marshall, Live, lyrics-born, Mads Tolling, mafia, Matt Berkeley, Matt Lucas, Matt Nelson, Mike-Olmos, music, Neil Levonious, Pat-Korte, rap, Rita Thies, Robin Reynolds, Sam Bass, San-Francisco, seneca, Sheldon-Brown, Symphony, Tommy Folen

 

Categories: Local Funk, Local Hip Hop, Local Jazz, Photos

 

 

 

 

 

Realistic Orchestra Live in Golden Gate Park

November 9, 2008

I’ve been sitting on this gem for far too long, so here’s a post with photos and a tasty audio sample of the Realistic Orchestra performing live, with other acts that included Mos Def, as part of the Band Shell Music Summit in Golden Gate Park on October 18, 2008.

The band delivered some serious music to an enthusiastic crowd and were joined by special guest vocalists that included Chris McGee, Joe Bagale, Karen Page, and a first-ever performance by Lavay Smith with the Orchestra! The included audio track is Sun Up segued into Search with solo action from Doug Rowan, Mike Olmos and Evan Francis.

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Musicians
Adam Theis, Bandleader & Trombone
Eric Garland, Bandleader & Drums
Joel Behrman, Trumpet
Daniel Casares, Tenor Sax
Evan Francis, Alto Sax & Flute
Jeanne Geiger, Trombone
Danny Grewen, Trombone
Colin Hogan, Keys
Erik Jekabson, Trumpet
Kasey Knudsen, Alto Sax & Flute
Jon Monahan, Guitar
Matt Nelson, Tenor Sax
Mike Olmos, Trumpet
Doug Rowan, Bari Sax
Joel Ryan, Trumpet
Dave Scott, Trumpet
Joe Bagale, Guest Vocalist
Chris McGee, Guest Vocalist
Karen Page, Guest Vocalist
Lavay Smith, Guest Vocalist

Related Posts: Mos Def Live in Golden Gate Park, Realistic Orchestra Prince Tribute Live at Bruno’s, Realistic Orchestra Live at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Realistic Orchestra Live at the North Beach Jazz Festival

 

Tags: Adam-Theis, Alto Sax, Bandleader, bari, bass, Bass-Clarinet, BayTaper, Big-Band, Chris-McGee, clarinet, colin-hogan, Daniel Casares, danny-grewen, Dave-Scott, Doug Rowan, drums, Eric-Garland, Erik-Jekabson, evan-francis, Flute, golden-gate-park, guitar, Jazz, Jazz-Mafia, Jeanne Geiger, Joe-Bagale, Joel-Behrman, joel-ryan, Jon Monahan, Kasey-Knudsen, Keys, lavay smith, Live, Matt Nelson, Mike-Olmos, music, orchestra, realistic, Realistic-Orchestra, San-Francisco, sax, Sheldon-Brown, tenor, Tenor Sax, trombone, trumpet, vocals

 

Categories: Local Funk, Local Hip Hop, Local Jazz, Photos, Recordings

 

 

 

 

 

Shotgun Wedding Quintet Live at the Great American Music Hall

April 16, 2008

Photos from the Shotgun Wedding Quintet live at the Great American Music Hall on April 4, 2008.


Related Posts: John Brown’s Body Live at the Great American Music Hall, MSJO and Jon Jang Seven Live at the Great American Music Hall, Shotgun Wedding Quintet Live at Bruno’s, Shotgun Wedding Quintet Live at 12 Galaxies

 

Tags: Adam-Theis, aspect, Bay-Area, BayTaper, Dublin, gamh, Great-American-Music-Hall, Hip-Hop, Joe-Cohen, Live-Music, pdub, Quintet, San-Francisco, shotgun wedding, swq

 

Categories: Local Hip Hop, Photos

 

 

 

 

 

Realistic Orchestra Live Album Recording Session at Bruno’s

March 15, 2008


 
Here’s a killin’ video clip featuring Realistic Orchestra with special guest Dublin on vocals during their recent live album recording session last Tuesday night March 4, 2008. As usual, the Jazz Mafia crew was lighting up Bruno’s just like they always do, so make sure to head down there on Tuesday nights for a good time, and definitely keep an eye on their website for updated info about when their new live album will be released.

Related Posts: Realistic Orchestra Prince Tribute Live at Bruno’s, Mitch Marcus And Friends Recording Session at the House of Cubes, Realistic Orchestra Live at the North Beach Jazz Festival, Terrence Brewer Recording Session at Fantasy Studios

 

Tags: Adam-Theis, band, Bay-Area, BayTaper, Big-Band, Brass, Brunos, Dublin, Funk, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Live-Music, mission, Realistic-Orchestra, San-Francisco

 

Categories: Local Hip Hop, Local Jazz, Video

 

 

 

 

 

Lyrics Born Live at The Independent

December 8, 2007

Photos from Lyrics Born live at The Independent in San Francisco on November 18, 2007. I’d like to give a huge shout out to LB and his tour manager, as well as to PDub and Justin, for making these photos possible. It was a kickin’ night of music for sure, so thanks!

Related Posts: Shotgun Wedding Quintet CD Release Live at The Independent, Crown City Rockers Live at The Independent, Dirty Dozen Brass Band Live at the Independent, John Brown’s Body Live at The Independent

 

Tags: BayTaper, Hip-Hop, independent, Live, lyrics-born, music, rap, San-Francisco

 

Categories: Local Hip Hop, Photos

 

 

 

 

 

Brass Mafia Live at the Fillmore St. Jazz Festival

July 2, 2006

Here’s my next installment from the 2006 Fillmore Street Jazz Fest. The Brass Mafia headlined the last slot at 4pm on Sunday’s schedule at the Sutter Street Stage, and boy was it worth the wait! These guys are part of the Jazz Mafia collective, and they sure know how to have a stompin’ good time!

The band features ringleader Adam Theis on the oh-so-low sousaphone, Joe Cohen on the tenor and bari saxes, Mike Olmos blasting on trumpet, and Pat Korte thumping on drums. And if that wasn’t enough, they were also joined by special guests Will Bernard on guitar/banjo, Doug Beavers on trombone, and Matt Lucas playing percussion. As can be imagined with that kind of lineup, their two sets brought the Sutter Street Stage to a festival-ending climax on Sunday with a mix of original compositions and some truly awesome medleys and arrangements of a few classics that included material from Fela Kuti and the Skatalites.

Their last (official) track of the day invited rappers Dublin, Orukusaki, Jebediah, Natron, and Seneca on stage for a 10-minute medley that mixed live jazz, hip hop, and improvisation in all it’s new-school glory. But, little did the crowd expect, when the six o’ clock ending time came and past, the boys just kept on playing by grabbing a snare drum, bass drum, and their brass instruments and heading out into the crowd New Orleans marching-band style! It was fantastic, and it whipped the fans into a frenzy — what a great way to end the weekend’s festivities! So, check out my photos above, and the videos and audio files below to get a taste of what their performance was like on Sunday. And whatever you do, make sure to go see these guys live sometime, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

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Download: Track 1Track 2Track 3Track 4Track 5Track 6Track 7Track 8Track 9

Audio Tracks
Do Like Eddie / Soulful Strut
Rocky / The Model / 80′s Mekka Medley
Fela Kuti Medley: Colonial Mentality / Rofroro Fight
“It’s Hard Work”
Whoopin’ Blues
Confucious / Outkast
Brass Mafia Theme
Rappers Intro
Hip-Hop Medley


Related Posts: Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra Live at the Fillmore St. Jazz Festival, Kurt Ribak Trio Live at the Fillmore St. Jazz Festival, Mitch Marcus Quintet Live at the Fillmore St. Jazz Festival, Terrence Brewer Trio Live at the Fillmore St. Jazz Festival

 

Tags: Adam-Theis, Bay-Area, Brass-Mafia, Fillmore-Street, Jazz, Jazz-Festival, Jazz-Mafia, Joe-Cohen, Joel-Behrman, Live-Music, Mike-Olmos, Pat-Korte, San-Francisco

 

Categories: Local Classical, Local Funk, Local Hip Hop, Local Jazz, Photos, Recordings, Video