Advance tickets available from the Ashkenaz front desk on show nights or online from Ticketweb or call 1-866-666-8932.

Show line: (510) 525-5054

Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center
1317 San Pablo @ Gilman in Berkeley

Ample parking across the street in the REI parking lot. Wheelchair accessible. All ages all the time.

Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center is a non-profit, tax-exempt community organization supported by patrons, donors, staff, musicians and volunteers.

Singer and prolific songwriter Val Esway leads her band El Mirage, an all-star collection of eclectic musicians from experimental music producer Myles Boisen to fellow Loretta Lynch singer Heather Davison, in a set of her own music that blends folk, rock, country, and other styles into a soulful sound she likes to call “Ameri…kinda.” Songs come from her second CD with El Mirage, “Pretend to Believe,” and its predecessor, “Lovers, Losers, Liars,” where Esway spins torch tales, hillbilly lullabies, murder ballads, and lowdown blues. www.myspace.com/valesway

From Richmond’s Salesian High School, Block Four makes its first big club appearance playing a mix of R&B and Latin music, directed by AguaLibre’s bassist Steve Hogan.

Obeyjah sings conscious reggae built on a life of music from deep roots and a style he calls Mississippi Delta reggae. Born into a sharecropper’s family in Mississippi, he discovered reggae in the ’70s through “A Jamaican brother named Rashon,” Obeyjah recalls. “Reggae won me over when he told me its guiding message, ‘People must be free and chant down the walls of Babylon.’ This music vibrated with my work life, with my coming out of the slavery of the South. When I listened to Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer singing songs like ‘Africa Must Be Free’ delivering the message that Black African people must wake up and take charge of their destinies, I realized that these songs were opening up doors that would never again close.” Over the next two decades Obeyjah melded reggae with the blues and soul of his youth and, after moving to the Bay Area in 1995, started his own band, writing songs inspired by Rastafarian teachings and the Bible. He recorded his first CD, “Let Jah Rise,” in 1997 in the Marley family’s Tuff Gong Studio in Jamaica’s Trench Town. www.obeyjah.com

Asheba has called Oakland home since 1999 and has since put out three popular kids’ CDs: “Go Itsy, Music for Kids Caribbean Style,” “No More Monkeys,” and the latest release, “Children Are The Sunshine.” He is also featured on two Putumayo children’s collections: “Reggae Playground” (2005) and “Animal Playground” (2007).
www.asheba.net

The artistic director of Café Flamenco, now in its eighth year at ODC Theatre in San Francisco, Yaelisa is a master dancer and teacher. The Emmy Award-winner is renowned for her understanding of the cante and teaches students from around the world how much fun improvising can be. Her mission is to present flamenco dance with a contemporary approach that echoes the “nuevo flamenco” movement currently happening in Spain today. She is dedicated to multi-disciplinary collaborations with artists in other fields, with a recent highlight being the duet “Sin Fronteras” with tap dance star Savion Glover at the 2006 New World Flamenco Festival in Irvine. Her presentations enrich and educate the community by pushing boundaries and infusing a traditional art form with new ideas.

Gator Beat is now in its 19th year of playing full-tilt party dance music. Their mostly original songs are powered by the group’s own gumbo of dance rhythms: a blend of Louisiana Cajun and zydeco, a touch of New Orleans funk, and, as the band itself proclaims, “a beat that bites.” Tunes come from the five Gator Beat CDs, including the 2006 release, “Keep on Smilin’.” Dedicated to the band’s late founder, Richard Domingue, who died in July 2005, the CD features songs written by Domingue. Gator Beat is a culturally and stylistically mixed crew, with Zydeco Flames founder Bruce Gordon on accordion, guitarist Randy Quan, bassist Linda Hutchinson, washboard player Willard Blackwell, Puerto Rican drummer Luis Rodriguez, and Australia native David Scott on saxophone, pennywhistle, and percussion.
www.gatorbeat.com

With a book of some 1,700 tunes to draw from, the Bay Area’s Swing Fever has been popular on the dance and party scenes for 30 years, a small band with a big band sound and irresistible swing dance rhythms. Swing Fever featured trumpet legend Clark Terry on two of its previous three CDs, with the third highlighting singer Mary Stallings. Denise Perrier is a regular vocalist with the band. Led by trombonist and singer Bryan Gould, Swing Fever has played nearly every Northern California spot, from the 125th anniversary of the San Francisco Art Institute to the Monterey Jazz Festival, and more than 1,500 weddings. Its repertoire includes witty and romantic dance tunes from the ’30s and ’40s swing era associated with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Louis Jordan, Billie Holiday, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, and Harold Arlen. To name a few.
www.swingfever.com

San Francisco’s rock-blues-soul group Old Agoura is lap slide guitarist Adam Bowers and singer-guitarist David Jorgensen. www.myspace.com/oldagoura

Along with Orphan, the KTO Project features bassist Victor Little (Booker T, The Family Stone Experience), drummer Dezson Claiborne (Santana, Mo’ Rockin Project), keyboardist Bob Crawford (Los Angelitos, Spearhead), percussionist Silvestre Martinez (Jorge Santana Band, Mazacote), and vocalists/percussionists Michelle Jacques (original member of Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, Street Sounds, ’Chelle and Friends) and Amber Hines (Mutama, Albino!, Crosspulse).
www.kellytakundaorphan.com

Rigney and Flambeau feature tunes from the new CD/DVD, “Live at the Throckmorton Theater” (in Mill Valley), as well as the recent “Off the Hook,” where original compositions by Rigney and guitarist Joe Paquin (Rigney’s oft-times music partner since their Sundogs years) mingle with Cajun classics by D.L. Menard and Canray Fontenot and a swinging treatment of the Righteous Brothers’ “My Babe.” As always, Rigney and Flambeau emphasizes dance tunes from all of their CDs, as well as selections from Rigney’s solo release, “A Blue Thing,” including “St. Louis Blues” and “Lunch with Satan’s Grandma.”
www.rigomania.com

Orange Sherbet’s main ingredients are Jill Pierce and Tamsen Fynn. Both women studied music in college and have worked with children for years. Writing, recording, and performing original children’s music is one of their greatest joys. As Orange Sherbet, they present family concerts with songs about dinosaurs, elevators, sunglasses, and dump trucks. From jazz to bluegrass, blues to funk, it’s both sophisticated and fun. The amazing juggling duo Earth Capades performs between musical sets. There isn’t a more fun way to celebrate Mothers’ Day!
www.orangesherbet.org

The nonprofit Albany Music Fund organization of dedicated parents and volunteers saved music in the Albany schools, after budget cuts had taken away funding for music programs, by staging benefit concerts with top-name talent (David Grisman, Angela Bofill, and Elvin Bishop, among others). Tonight’s concert showcases the beneficiaries of the fund drive – the student musicians – in the all-ages Ashkenaz dance hall setting. The money raised will help augment the music program.

The Going Greener Committee is a group of Ashkenaz staff and community members interested in lessening the ecological impact of our organization. If you’d like to learn more, please come to the meeting in the band room (green room) or contact Kristen at 510-525-5099, ext. 2#, or kristen@ashkenaz.com.

The band came together to play a benefit concert in 2004, “and we’ve been busy ever since,” Matovich says. Nobody could agree on a group name, so eventually they were dubbed the Cajun Babes (after the Dixie Chicks), and through democratic process came up with the current group moniker, although there is no CZ. Just high-energy Cajun/Zydeco music.
www.czandthebonvivants.com

This monthly event is a revival of ’70s-style Berkeley folkdancing with some international request dancing to recorded music, capturing the spirit that David Nadel was inspired by when he opened Ashkenaz in 1973 with Balkan folkdancing. One does not need a live band to experience the communal pleasure of dancing together, and the dance lessons help newcomers join in the experience.

A classically trained trio with a dozen instruments, Celtic Sands plays its infectious brand of mostly traditional Scottish and Irish music for listening and dancing. With a just-issued CD, “Wild Horses,” the band features its original songs alongside favorites from “Tam Lin” to “Shady Grove,” then adds dazzling instrumental improvisations. Celtic Sands is fiddler Ben Roberts (who doubles on mandolin), guitarist Greg Jones, and Celtic harper Lara Garner, who also plays tin whistle, bodhran, fiddle, Irish flute, recorder, and guitar.
www.celticsands.com

This event is a project of Zephyr Productions, a group of four Oakland Technical High School students that grew out of the school’s BUILD entrepreneurs class. Saying “hip-hop is about community,” Zephyr creates programs and finds spaces to serve as an outlet for teen MCs, DJs, B-Boys, and graffiti artists to express themselves in an open, safe, and comfortable environment.

Kalbass’ high-spirited style reflects the many cultures that the bandmembers have come in contact with. The band plays classic Haitian and Caribbean dance music, specializing in kompa, rara, zouk, reggae, salsa, and merengue. Kalbass came together in 2005, taking its name from the Haitian word for “gourd.” Its mission is to promote awareness about Haiti by sharing with its audience the hopeful and inspiring side of the island through music. In addition to Haitian-born founders singer-guitarist Mr G (Gary Bellot) and lead vocalist-songwriter Sophis (Fredy Dorsainvil), Kalbass features fellow Haitians Pierrot (Pierre Loiseau) on bass and arrangements and J-T (James Thelusma) on keyboards; East Bay native Jason Gouveia on guitar; and master drummer Arsene Kounde from Benin, formerly with Mory Kante and Soukous Stars.
www.kalbasskreyol.com

The energetic duo Uncle Zacky and Cousin Erik are better-known to Ashkenaz’ adult population as multi-instrumentalists Zac Matthews and Erik Yates of Hot Buttered Rum, one of the hottest acts on the bluegrass and jam band circuits. This show finds Zac and Erik exploring their inner children, performing their original kids’ songs and old favorites and pickin’ up a storm! It will be a treat for parents and kids alike.

Before swing became a national craze, jazz vocal stylist Lavay Smith and her band were making music as sharp and irresistible as her period costumes that recall the pinup girls of the Forties. More than a decade later they are still the Bay Area’s hottest swing attraction, as well as that rarity that sounds as good as it looks. Big, bluesy-voiced Smith has deservedly raked in national attention from network television to NPR, and Johnny Otis proclaims that “she and her band are a breath of fresh air!” Multiple award winners, Smith and her Skillet Lickers present not only the best-dressed but also one of the most exciting shows of East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop dance music, as well as sultry torch songs. www.lavaysmith.com

From 7:30 to 7:45, the public is welcome to make open comment.

The BluesBox Bayou Band adds swamp beat boogie and New Orleans R&B to Cajun/Zydeco dance grooves, calling the result “Country Americana.” Having performed for more than a decade, including gigs at fundraisers and festivals from the Gilroy Garlic Festival to the Isleton Crawdad Festival, the BBBB returns to Ashkenaz after a successful debut last fall. Singer and accordionist Pete (PD) Grimaldi formed the band in 1996 after a stint as a promoter of shows in hometown Modesto by acts from Queen Ida and Buckwheat Zydeco to Tom Rigney. That exposure to Louisiana and other roots music inspired Grimaldi to pick up the squeezebox himself and put his own spin on “roots music.” The current BBBB also features bassist and singer Julie Johnson, lead guitarist Frank Grimaldi, drummer Mike Farris, and Jimmy Hildreth (Lil’ Jimmy) on scrubboard and percussion. The group plays original and favorite songs from its latest CD, “Rock a’Bayou,” and its other albums, “Rockin’ Bayou Band,” “Big Fun,” and “Roadside Attraction.”
www.thebluesbox.net

Performing Eastern Mediterranean music for listening and dancing, Kaladrios features violinist, oud player, and singer Aya Davidson; clarinetist Greg Jenkins; Dennis Demakos on laouto and vocals; percussionist-singer Sandy Hollister; and singer Lily Storm. The Berkeley-based group focuses on Greek, Armenian, Turkish, and Albanian traditional folk and dance music.
www.myspace.com/kaladrios

Proclaiming itself “probably the 32nd greatest band in the world,” San Francisco-based Diego’s Umbrella plays Spanish surf music, or maybe it’s Mexicali gypsy party polka. “Hard to place,” the band admits, “but really easy to enjoy.” The group’s sound is tightly wound around driving electric guitars, bass, fiddle, and wild singing. Last year Diego’s Umbrella toured Europe, hitting nearly every country, and reports that “now we can officially say we’re huge in Budapest.” The band is planning a return trip this summer. In addition to the recent CD, “Viva La Juerga,” Diego’s Umbrella has gotten its music out through two films, with two songs featured in the surf movie “Shimmer” and another five in “Sofia,” a documentary about world champion Peruvian surfer Sofia Milanovich. www.diegosumbrella.com

Berkeley-based Latin septet Pellejo Seco aims to bring its audiences closer to the cultures that the music springs from. The group name can be translated as “rawhide,” which for Cuban émigré and band founder Ivan Camblor describes the dry and leathered skin of a campesino or farmer. Founded in 2004, this eclectic group has its roots in traditional Cuban music, but performs only original compositions by Camblor that mix rock, Latin pop, Brazilian, flamenco, Afro-Cuban, and jazz. Camblor plays the tres, the six-string Cuban guitar that is used in traditional Cuban son and other music. Think Buena Vista Social Club playing music not from the past, but from today.
www.pellejoseco.com

Ladin keeps a somewhat monthly calendar of square dances happening around the Bay Area and is praised for her rowdy and accessible calling style. She is known for her flatfoot clogging, banjo playing, and singing with The Stairwell Sisters – recently heard on “A Prairie Home Companion” – and with famed body musician Keith Terry and his world music ensemble Crosspulse. She has also produced a clogging instructional DVD.

Named after a legendary bayou in southwest Louisiana, Courtableu comprises veterans of the Bay Area Cajun/Zydeco scene who perform classic Cajun dancehall music in the style of Aldus Roger and Walter Mouton, with electric steel guitar and drums added to the traditional fiddle and accordion. Fiddler Richard Chon (Swamp Coolers, Sons of the San Joaquin, Saddle Cats) joins Creole Belles accordionist-singer Maureen Karpan, guitarist Gordon Clegg, bassist Bob Huberman, and drummer Dave “Killer” Hymowitz.
www.courtableu.com

Sammy Dread has been making music nearly as long, beginning with his first hit in 1978, “African Girl.” While he performs his best-known songs in concerts, Dread explains, “I try to make my music go to a higher level, so each new song will be better and better.”

Project Greenfield is a rock quintet that combines psychedelic rock, East Bay funk, jazz-fusion, and world beat with the Bay Area tradition for social activism prevalent in the original song lyrics. They have issued two CDs, “Edge of Time” and “The Spiral Path.” Each group member has a long history of playing music in many local bands, studios, and other settings. The lineup includes guitarist-singer Pat Morris, keyboardist-singer Jim Knowles, drummer Tim Cuny, percussionist-drummer Pepe Jacobo, and bassist Jose Reyes.
www.projg.com

Lavault says, “People smile; it makes them feel good. With musette and French music, it’s the feel that it creates, the memories it brings up. You take listeners somewhere, they don’t even know where it is, but afterward they come up and talk about their wonderful experiences.”
www.baguettequartette.org

“In his genial voice he sings serious lyrics about the strife in his homeland, but the music stays buoyant,” wrote a New York Times critic. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Ngo and his five bandmates’ cross-rhythms mesh like the roots and vines of the forest floor...his guitar solos prowl through the sonic thicket with the fierce grace of a panther, unique and yet also unmistakably a part of that whole.”
www.samba-ngo.com