Kamau Kenyatta Set for 'Monday Night Jazz' at North Coast Rep Next Month

Kamau Kenyatta's band will be performing romantic music by Brazilian composers including Chico Buarque, Tito Madi, Radamés Gnattali & Ivan Lins as part of North Coast Repertory Theatre's Monday Night Jazz Series on the intimate mainstage Monday, April 18, 2016 at 7:30 pm.

Pianist/soprano saxophonist Kamau Kenyatta resides in San Diego, CA. He is a Grammy award-winning producer and arranger. Kamau is a lecturer at the University of California San Diego Music Department. He was honored with the prestigious Barbara J. and Paul D. Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award at UCSD in May 2009.

Originally from Detroit, Kamau's versatility comes from his early exposure to a vast array of musical styles. He has worked with jazz greats such as Hubert Laws, Donald Byrd, Yusef Lateef, Jim Pepper, and Earl Klugh. World tours have taken him to over 20 countries and include stints with The Supremes, Carl Anderson (from Jesus Christ Superstar), Oscar Brown, Jr., SWV, Silk, the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band and New Kids on The Block. In 2013, Kenyatta served as associate producer and arranger for Porter's Blue Note Records debut disc "Liquid Spirit." The work won a Grammy for "Best Jazz Vocal Album," in February 2014. In 2015, he produced "Perpetual Gateways" for the acclaimed Brazilian vocalist, Ed Motta.

Born in Oakland and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, David Castañeda began his professional career as a percussionist, playing various genres of Caribbean dance music (salsa, timber, cumbia, merengue, and others). He attended UCSD, where he studied jazz composition and arrangement with Kamau Kenyatta, earning his B.A. in 2013. David has continued to perform and record in genres ranging from Caribbean dance music to modern jazz in San Diego and Los Angeles. He is currently working on his PhD in Ethnomusicology at UCLA.

Brazilian singer, songwriter, and actress, Thalma de Freitas was raised in a home filled with music and creativity. She is the daughter of maestro Laercio de Freitas, a renowned pianist, arranger and composer. Her rich musical upbringing proved to be instrumental in shaping De Freitas's ear at an early age. As singer and songwriter in Rio's legendary big band Orquestra Imperial, de Freitas' silky and sensual voice captured the very essence of samba. Since arriving in the United States, Thalma has joined forces with Grammy award-winning producer, pianist and saxophonist Kamau Kenyatta to illuminate the power that Brazil's popular music exemplifies.

Peter Jacobson is a cellist, producer, songwriter-singer, chamber musician, teacher and music selector who has recorded, performed and toured with renowned artists. He studied with Eleonore Schoenfeld at USC as well as at Cal Arts and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 2013 he won a Grammy for best Latin Rock Alternative or Urban Album as a member of the group Quetzal. Mr. Jacobson has recorded cello for Dr. Dre and frequently plays alongside the San Diego Symphony.

Tickets for the one-night-only performance are $22/ Subscribers $17 / Seniors/ Students & Military $3 off. To order tickets, visit the website at www.northcoastrep.org, or call the box office, 858-481-1055. North Coast Repertory Theatre is located at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, CA 92075.

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