CIIS Public Programs & Performances has an action-packed April in store for you with two amazing shows:

Catch The Rumi Concert: Lion of the Heart on Saturday, April 20th at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Jalaluddin Rumi, one of the world's most revered mystical poets, produced a prolific range of inspiring and devotional poetry that encapsulates the Sufi experience of union with the divine. Although Rumi was a Sufi and a scholar of the Qu'ran, his appeal reaches across religious and social divisions. This performance unites the classic poetry of the thirteenth century mystic with the innovative music, dance, and story of a remarkable ensemble: poet and Rumi translator Coleman Barks, cellist David Darling, world percussionist Glen Velez, and dancer and storyteller Zuleikha. It is a soul-stirring collaboration. Get your tickets HERE!

On Friday, April 26th, The Paris Combo brings their intriguing sound to the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Fronted by the mischievous vocals of chanteuse Belle du Berry, the combo has struck a positive chord with critics and audiences for their fun-loving mix of jazz, French pop, cabaret, gypsy, Latino, and Middle Eastern rhythms. Get your tickets HERE!

CIIS Public Programs & Performances and Amoeba Music present Karsh Kale featuring sarod master Alam Khan in Classical Science Fiction: An Intimate Sonic Exploration of the Future Sounds of Indian Classical Music on March 21st at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

Classical Science Fiction, brainchild of producer and multi-instrumentalist Karsh Kale, breaks down the traditional constructs of Indian classical music, while maintaining that music's emphasis on rhythm, scale, and improvisation.

This is not just an exercise in blending various musical traditions. "The effective fusion of styles and repertoire," according to Karsh, "is not dependent on the musical concepts or genres used, but rather the musicians assembled." In this case, Karsh has put together an all-star ensemble of musicians, rooted in their traditional styles, and yet all have created new paths in music. Indian classical, electronica, blues, jazz, rock, and ghazal come together in a seamless blend.

Karsh would be the first to admit that the fusion of Indian classical and other musical traditions is not new. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Remember Shakti, and Tabla Beat Science (of which Karsh is a founding member) have all incorporated Indian classical with genres such as jazz, Western classical, and to lesser extent, electronic music. With Classical Science Fiction, Kale and his collaborators push these boundaries even farther, blending the new Western idioms of 21st century America.

CIIS Public Programs & Performances have an action-packed month this February with two amazing shows:

Catch Suzanne Vega on Friday, February 8th at the Herbst Theatre in SF. Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labeled contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world's best-known halls. Get your tickets HERE!

On Saturday,  February 16th, Eric Bibb and Habib Koite join the rhythms of their guitars and voices in some transatlantic blues at the Herbst Theatre in SF.

"I watched my parents and it rubbed off on me", this is how Habib Koite traces the origins of his profession and talent as a 20th century griot. He is the heir to an ancestral knowledge set to song that places him among the most influential voices of contemporary Africa. Eric Bibb, who also absorbed some of his talents from family, is the god son of Paul Robeson and has established his name in the new generation of blues-men without renouncing the legacy of folk and gospel. Get your tickets HERE!

Amoeba Music and CIIS Public Programs & Performances present Sweet Honey in the Rock: Celebrating the Holydays on December 8th at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

Internationally renowned a capella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock presents a one-of-a-kind seasonal concert, celebrating music from many faiths and religions of the globe through stunning vocal prowess rooted in the rich textures of African American legacy and traditions. With American spirituals, Latin, Chinese, African, and Hebrew influences, this program honors the holiday spirit from Christmas to Kwanzaa. Founded by Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973 (with Mie, Carol Maillard and Louise Robinson) at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, Sweet Honey In The Rock has been a vital and innovative presence in the music culture of Washington, D.C., and in communities of conscience around the world.
 

Don't miss your chance to see this dynamic group! Get your tickets HERE!
 

Amoeba Music and CIIS Public Programs & Performances present Not in Our Name: Dia de Los Muertos Concert with The John Santos Sextet on October 27th at the Brava Theatre in San Francisco.

"Perhaps the most innovative Latin Jazz group playing today outside Cuba...highly innovative, intimately explosive."

— East Bay Express

Five-time Grammy nominee and USA Fontanals Fellow, John Santos, and his stellar Sextet shed light on the historical and cultural significance of Latin Jazz, as well as its aesthetic characteristics pertaining to instrumentation, rhythm, interpretation and improvisation. Organized in 2003, they specialize in educational presentations from lecture/demonstrations to detailed clinics focusing on any number of relevant subjects such as composition, arrangement, rhythmic development, stylistic interpretation, studio performance, etc. Their repertoire consists of exciting arrangements from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the US, as well as original compositions. Their first CD, Papa Mambo, was released on John's Machete Records label in the summer of 2007. Their second CD, Perspectiva Fragmentada, was released in October, 2008. Equally at home with a dance or concert repertoire, the John Santos Sextet presents a wide range of styles and rhythms for audiences of all ages.

Don't miss your chance to see this dynamic group! Get your tickets HERE!