Jeff Bradshaw, Catherine Russell and More Among Yoshi's San Francisco's 13 New Shows, March-June 2013

JEFF BRADSHAW
Hidden Beach Recording's soul/jazz trombonist
Tue, Mar 5, 8pm
$21

This Philly born soul/jazz innovator has changed the way people view the trombone. Hidden Beach Recording Artist Jeff Bradshaw has shared the stage and recorded with artists like: Michael Jackson, Earth Wind & Fire, Jay Z, Mary J Blige, Patti LaBelle, Jill Scott, and Tyler Perry, just to name a few. His warm, tantalizing sound and smooth yet gripping performances are what people like most about this Sexy Philly Soul/Jazz Man! He has just released his sophomore CD Bone Appetit (Hidden Beach/2012), which features Raheem Devaughn, Maysa, Kindred The Family Soul, Marsha Ambrosious, Natalie The Floecist Stewart, Coko (of SWV), and PJ Morton. Bone Appetit made its debut three times in the Top 20 and twice in the Top 10 on the BILLBOARD CONTEMPORARY JAZZ CHARTS, and also earned a NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINATION FOR "BEST JAZZ ALBUM." This Trombonist/Vocalist/Producer/Writer is on his way to making history with The Trombone. World take notice, and prepare for a Soulful Jazzy Entree known as Bone Appetit. Read more here.

THE FAMILY STONE

Bay Area's own legendary funk band
Wed, Mar 6, 8pm
$26 adv, $30 door

Original founding members, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and R&B Pioneer Award Winners -- Jerry Martini, Cynthia Robinson and Greg Errico -- the first inter-racial / inter-gender band in Rock & Roll history bring you the hits of Sly & The Family Stone. Featuring the powerful voices of Alex Davisand Trina Johnson, they bring you the message of peace, love, and social consciousness through musical harmony, with some of the funkiest players of all time. Players like Nate Wingfield on the guitar and Musical Director Blaise Sison on bass add the proper pocket to the raw Family Stone sound. The Family Stone continues giving you the musical experience that has brought them in front of over half a million people through Europe and the US, spreading the roots of funk that is The Family Stone. Read more here.

DJ AFRIKA BAMBAATA
Hip Hop pioneer
Fri, Mar 8, 10:30pm in the club
$24 adv, $28 door

Afrika Bambaataa was an important rap-music pioneer who became a forgotten elder statesman as rap evolved. Bambaataa, who took his name (which means "affectionate leader") from a movie about Zulu warriors, quit the notorious Black Spades street gang in the mid-1970s and formed Zulu Nation, a music-oriented "youth organization." Among the members who became minor rap luminaries were DJs Red Alert, Jazzy Jay, and Whiz Kid, as well as Afrika Islam, who went on to work with Ice-T. Read more here.

THE TUBES feat. Fee Waybill
'70s & '80s Rock & Roll as Theatre band
Thu, Mar 14, 8pm
$30 adv, $34 door

From humble beginnings in Phoenix, Arizona, to the streets of San Francisco, THE TUBES were catapulted into Rock and Roll's limelight in the mid 1970s and made there most memorable mark on Rock history throughout the '70s and '80s with such classic rock staples as "White Punks On Dope," "What Do You Want From Life," "Mondo Bondage," "Don't Touch Me There," "Sushi Girl," "Talk To Ya Later" and their Number 1 Billboard hit "She's A Beauty." No matter how memorable THE TUBES' recordings were, the lifeline of the band has always been their live performance. From the exuberant and imaginative to the outrageous, THE TUBES continue to perform for hordes of fans throughout the world. The current line up of THE TUBES (still retaining four original members) consists of the enigmatic and unforgettable vocalist Fee Waybill, the elusive guitarist Roger Steen, the solid bass playing of Rick Anderson, the legendary Prairie Prince on drums, and keyboardist extraordinaire David Medd. THE TUBES didn't invent the idea of Rock & Roll as theater, but they have certainly thrived on the concept. Few bands have had a more entertaining and over-the-top live show than THE TUBES. Read more here.

DAWN RICHARD
Lead singer of Danity Kane tours solo album Goldenheart
Wed, Mar 20, 8pm
$20 adv, $24 door

Singer/Songwriter Dawn Richard is a founding member of the Bad Boy Records multi-platinum selling group Danity Kane. Born and raised in New Orleans, Richard grew up with music constantly surrounding her. Her father, a musician and choir director was one of the members of RCA Records' R&B group,Chocolate Milk. Attending the University of New Orleans on a full scholarship, Richard's first claim to fame was as a opening act for Anthony Hamilton. Five years later, the songstress auditioned for Making The Band, Season 3. After making the group, Richard wrote several records for Danity Kane's second platinum album Welcome to the Dollhouse and eventually wrote for other Bad Boy recording acts including Day26 and Diddy himself. In 2010, Richard joined Diddy to form the critically acclaimed group, Dirty Money. Richard wrote on five records for the Last Train To Paris album that has sold over 500,000 copies since its 2011 debut. On March 27, 2012, Richard released her Armor On EP which debuted at the #1 spot on iTunes R&B/Soul Charts. The EP landed on the Billboard charts at the #4 spot on the Heatseeker Charts, #15 on the Independent Charts and #28 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts.

Coming off the heels of her critically acclaimed #1 EP, Armor On, singer/songwriter, Dawn Richard released her debut LP, Goldenheart. The 16-track LP marks the solo debut from the New Age R&B singer, introducing fans and newcomers alike to the first of a three-part series of love, loss and redemption. The album was released worldwide on January 15, 2013, with the help of Altavoz Distribution. The album features production from longtime collaborator and GRAMMY-nominated producer Andrew "Druski" Scott (Trinitee 5:7, Michelle Williams, Letoya Luckett), The Fisticuffs (Miguel, Jhene Aiko) and Deonte(Will.I.Am, Chris Brown, Lloyd). Read more here.

FREDDIE JACKSON
GRAMMY Nominated, American Music Award winning vocalist
Thu-Fri, Mar 21-22, 8 & 10pm $25-$42
Thu 8pm $35, 10pm $25
Fri 8pm $42, 10pm $35

For You (Entertainment One Music/2010) embodies all of the qualities that have made Freddie Jackson one of contemporary R&B's most beloved icons. In a recording career that spans more than a quarter-century, the New York-bred vocalist has set a much-emulated standard for sophisticated, romantic balladry, spotlighting a smoothly expressive voice that's one of the most recognizable in popular music. Although he's already produced a large and influential body of music, For You makes it clear that Jackson is currently creating some of his most compelling music to date. The new album maintains the artist's established style, while simultaneously expanding into exciting new musical territory. On such heart-touching new tunes as "I Don't Wanna Go," "Slow Dance," "Incognito" and "A Dozen Roses," Jackson's singular voice combines with heartfelt lyrics and distinctive grooves to make music that carries the timeless appeal of his best work. Read more here.

BOCA DO RIO
plus support TBA
Brazil meets the Bay
Tue, Mar 26, 8pm
$10 adv, $15 door

Boca do Rio is música orgânica. Live music inspired by the thousands of musicians and the music lovers that have gone before us and laid the rhythmic foundations of samba, baião, samba-reggae, the dances for the orishas, and all that gives homage to the beats. It is the African diaspora alive through rhythms and pulses - it is the commonality that binds humans to the air we breathe, the food from which we nourish, the water we imbibe, and the love through which we flourish. Boca do Rio exists to share and celebrate music and everything that it brings to our lives through the cross-pollination of the Americas. It's the water that flows from mountains to oceans, from inside to out. It's the earth beneath our feet, the soil beneath the concrete, the minerals from the stars that grace each of our cells. The San Francisco band Boca do Rio takes its name from the Portuguese "mouth of the river" - the place where myriad streams and sources converge into one powerful, flowing, physical energy. Read more here.

MARCUS JOHNSON
Renowned jazz keyboardist, composer and producer

Sun, Mar 31, 6 & 8pm
6pm $16, 8pm $24

Marcus Johnson is a renowned jazz pianist, who incorporates the rhythms of soul, rock, hip hop, and R&B. With the commercial and Billboard chart success of his NAACP Image Award nominated CD Poetically Justified (Three Keys Music/2009) (#4) in his rearview and having been included among the ranks of contemporary jazz greats such as Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, and Vanessa Williams for that nomination, Marcus Johnson released his 12th CD titled, This Is How I Rock (Three Keys Music/2010). This album boldly signifies an evolution: Johnson's deliberate crossing into the pop/rock genre with a jazz spin, inspired by some of pop music's most celebrated songs, songs that remained a significant influence in the life of the award-winning keyboardist, composer and producer and motivated his desire to pay tribute to some of the greatest pop hits. Prior to the release of his current offering, Marcus Johnson released Poetically Justified making it his 11th solo jazz record and is considered to be his most unique and multifaceted album to date. In 2008, Johnson introduced the jazz world to the groundbreaking Billboard Top 15 Contemporary Jazz FLO series - FLO: Chill (#7), FLO: Romance (#7) and FLO: Standards (#2). Read more here.

PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT play Beck, Brubeck & Bach
Selections from the Beck Hansen Song Reader featuring Laura Gibson.
"This indie orchestra gives classical music a jolt of energy," ~Spin Magazine

Wed, Apr 3, 8pm
$21 adv, $25 door

Since the group's inception in late 2007, the Portland Cello Project (or, PCP, as their fans affectionately call them), has wowed audiences all over the country with extravagant performances, everywhere from Prairie Home Companion, to that punk rock club in the part of town your grandma warns you not to go to after dark. The group has built a reputation mixing genres and blurring musical lines and perceptions wherever they go. No two shows are alike, with a repertoire now numbering over 800 pieces of music you wouldn't normally hear coming out of a cello. The Cello Project's stage setup ranges from the very simple (4-6 cellos), to the all out epic (which has included 12 cellos playing with full choirs, winds, horns, and numerous percussion players). Read more here.

PHAROAH SANDERS
Legendary tenor jazz saxophonist & 1960s Coltrane collaborator
Thu-Sat, Apr 4-6, 8 & 10pm $21-$32
Thu 8pm $25, 10pm $21
Fri-Sat 8pm $32, 10pm $25

Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, Sanders' sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce, and although he made his name with expressionistic, nearly anarchic free jazz inJohn Coltrane's late ensembles of the mid-'60s, Sanders' later music is guided by more graceful concerns. Pharoah Sanders (his given name, Ferrell Sanders) formed his first group in 1963, with pianist John Hicks (with whom he would continue to play off-and-on into the '90s), bassist Wilbur Ware, and drummer Billy Higgins. His first record as a leader was in 1964 for the ESP label. The group played an engagement at New York's Village Gate, where John Coltrane heard him and by 1965, Sanders was playing regularly with the Coltrane group. Strength was a necessity in that band, and as Coltrane realized, Sanders had it in abundance. Read more here.

RENAUD GARCIA-FONS
Renowned double-bassist/composer, known for his customized five-string bass and virtually reinventing the way the instrument is played
Tue, Apr 30, 8pm
$24

"Double bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons was destined to create music that spans genres and borders: He was born in France to a family with roots in the Catalonia region of Spain, and he's fluent in French, Spanish and English. Classical, jazz and flamenco represent equal parts of his musical DNA, and his technique reflects the delicate arco stylings of concert halls, the deep groove of jazz and the raw vitality of flamenco." ~NPR Read more here.

DAN HICKS and The Hot Licks
"Dan Hicks is fly, sly, wily and dry!" ~Tom Waits
Sun, Jun 2, 6 & 8pm
6pm $18, 8pm $25

Beginning as a drummer in the seminal '60s San Francisco rock band The Charlatans and continuing with the unique and legendary Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Dan Hicks is widely acknowledged as one of the central defining figures in American roots music. Hicks has earned a reputation as a true original with his signature eclecticism and humor. He continues to carve his own way through a number of genres from proto-psychedelia to western swing and jazz; from Tin Pan Alley to country blues, while always cultivating his own unique sound. The original Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks recorded five groundbreaking and Billboard-charting records for the Columbia, Blue Thumb and Warner Bros. labels. They toured worldwide and Dan appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine three times.

The newest incarnation of DH & HL released the wildly successful Beatin' the Heat in 2000, featuring collaborations with Bette Midler, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones and Brian Setzer. USA Today called it "one of the blessings of the new millennium." That release was followed by the live CD Alive & Lickin' in 2001, and the late-2003 CD/DVD Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks Featuring an All Star Cast of Friends. That project reunited Hicks with virtually every musician he has ever played and recorded with. Both Mojo and DownBeat Magazine rated it "Four Stars...one of the best CDs of 2004." Read more here.

Genuine, soulful jazz and blues singer
Sun, Jun 23, Doors 8pm; Show 8:30pm
$18 adv, $22 door

GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Catherine Russell is a native New Yorker, and a graduate of American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Ms. Russell has toured the world, performing and recording with David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein, and Rosanne Cash. Since the 2006 release of her debut album, Cat, on Harmonia Mundi's World Village label, Catherine has been making new fans and friends. Three acclaimed and chart topping albums have followed, including her latest release - Strictly Romancin', awarded Prix du Jazz Vocal 2012 (Vocal Album of The Year) by the Jazz Academy in France. Catherine has been a guest on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS-TV and Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR. Will Friedwald writing in The Wall Street Journal, calls Catherine Russell "one of the outstanding singers of our time." Read more here.