past collaborations
| Markus James (2010) | Ensemble Sendebar (2006-07) John Moremen |
Ray Cepeda (2005)
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Walter Aziz (2001-07) Gamelan Sari Raras (1989-91, 96-98)
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Cheb Nasro (1999) (Not) Memory Green (1988-89) |
Markus James
Mississipi-Mali meets Marrakech
Sat in with the fantastic guitarist Markus James for an Ashkenaz gig and a live session at KPFA in the summer of 2010.
Find Markus James here:
Ensemble Sendebar
Music of Medieval Iberia, Heavy on the Percussion
A multi-continental ensemble (with members from the US, Brazil, and Spain), specializing in medieval music of the Iberian peninsula. Led by scholar and performer Mauricio Molina, the group animates the performance of early music with the raucous rhythms and heterogeneous timbres of Catalan and Moroccan folk music. I performed with the group on Moroccan percussion and guinbri several times in 2006-07, including a concert at the 2007 Amherst Early Music Festival.
Find Sendebar/Mauricio Molina here:
Ray Cepeda
Latin World Rocker
The man with the double neck tres - the coolest axe in the East Bay! I held down bass duties with Ray's latin rock group for a few gigs in the summer of 2005.
Find Ray Cepeda here:
Walter Aziz
Assyrian Nights in California
Walter Aziz is a well-known and influential Assyrian pop singer based in the Bay Area. I played electric guitar in his group for several years, most often at private functions in the Assyrian and Arab communities in the Bay Area and Central Valley. Walter has released many albums of original songs in the Assyrian (neo-Aramaic) language. In addition to these original songs, his live repertoire includes current Arabic pop hits and other international standards.
find Walter Aziz here:
Etty Ben-Zaken
and Ensemble Yatán Atán
Ladino Love Songs
I did a number of performances with the stunning singer Etty Ben Zaken of a song cycle of Ladino wedding and love songs, arranged by Eitan Steinberg. The arrangements are quite striking, written for viola da gamba, baroque recorders, classical guitar and Middle Eastern/North African percussion (yours truly). With Etty's voice on top, it was an unforgettable combination. I also appear on the album of the song cycle:
The Bride Unfastens Her Braids, The Groom Faints: Ladino Love Songs
Find Etty Ben-Zaken and Eitan Steinberg here:
Cheb Nasro
Rai Royalty
Nasro is among the royalty of Algerian rai singers. He's hugely popular in Algeria and Morocco and among expat Maghrebis. Nasro was living in the Bay Area for some time. The most notable show I did with him was at the Kennel Club in SF on Valentine's Day 1999. That show (at which these photos were taken) also featured the rai diva Chaba Zahouania.
Find Cheb Nasro here:
The Connect Four
John Moremen / Mark Robinson
Power Pop Explosion!
THE CONNECT FOUR was a sweet little pop outfit comprised of (L-R) John Moremen (guit, vox), Dave Revelli (drums), Mark Robinson (guit, vox), & me (bass, vox). We popped around the Bay Area for a good year and a half (1994-95). Did a couple acoustic gigs without Dave as The Connect Three.
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We even had a track appear on this fab Spanish Power-Pop compilation. At last check, Amazon had a copy of the CD for $40. Or you can listen to "I've Been Everywhere" by the Connect Four here: |
JOHN MOREMEN. After the Connect Four disconnected, I did some recording with John (his "Punch Me In" album), and became part of his next band with Chris Xefos (bass, vox), Jeff Potts (drums) and me (acoustic guitar, vox). We banged out an EP ("...And The Sun Shines") and a few other songs that appeared on compilations, and gigged at Bottom of the Hill, Hotel Utah, and Slims between 1996 and 1998.
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Listen to "Through The Tide" by John Moremen, from the CD "Punch Me In": |
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Listen to "Fast As I Run" by John Moremen, from the CD "...and the sun shines": |
Find John Moremen here:
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Listen to "Separateness" by Happenstance. (love it - i'm singing backup, playing bass & 2 clarinets, and whistling!): |
Pharoah Sanders & Yassir Chadly
A deep well of feeling and spirit
Before and after the Marhaba band was (almost) a band, I continued performing with Yassir Chadly. I joined him on some jazz gigs with the legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, notably at Davies Symphony Hall, for the San Francisco Jazz Festival in October 1992, for a week at Yoshi's in Oakland, March 1993, and for a fantastic series of performaces accompanying Alonzo King's Lines Ballet (1994 and 2002).
Gamelan Sari Raras
Central Javanese Gamelan at UC Berkeley
I put in several years on bonang panerus and Javanese singing with UC Berkeley's long-running ensemble Sari Raras, working under Ben Brinner, Santosa, and Midiyanto. Mind- and time-expanding!
Find Gamelan Sari Raras here:
(Not) Memory Green
Late '80s Berkeley Jangle
Sat in on bass when I could with this gang of friends and roommates. Though the band itself imploded, members Buddy Woodward, Gregarious Cline and Elena Powell have each continued with green musical pursuits. Fave moment: parading from the back room of the Albion, thru the bar, out on to 16th St. and back inside, singing the a capella portion of the Doobie Brothers' "Black Water".
| find Buddy Woodward here  |
find Gregarious Cline here  |
find Elena Powell here  |