Welcome to La Peña! Promoting social justice & intercultural understanding through the arts since 1975.
Tickets: $15 Advance, $18 at the Door
Show at 8pm, Doors open at 7:30pm
Guitarist/composer Michael Joseph Harris is principal guitarist and artistic director for two Gypsy Jazz bands based in Baltimore. Ultrafaux performs strictly original music which is influenced by Romani, Manouche, swing, funk, blues, and musette. The band is an acoustic powerhouse of two guitars and upright bass. Sami Arefin and Michael Joseph Harris trade dazzling leads and harmonize together on rich gypsy-inspired melodies. The dynamic Eddie Hrybyk on upright bass holds down the steady swinging pulse and brings his passion for improvisation to the group. More info on band’s website here.
Barrio Manouche is Javier Jiménez’s new acoustic adventure in the San Francisco Bay Area. Barrio’s core members hail from Madrid, Quebec and Northern California, but they are frequently joined by artists from around the globe.
The band’s first EP “Detrás de la Sombra” is most easily classified as gypsy jazz, but is also deeply influenced by a range of musical traditions. From the swing of Louis Armstrong & Sidney Bechet, to the hot jazz of Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli, to the flamenco firepower of Paco de Lucía & Camarón, to the avant grade sounds of Ornette Coleman & John Coltrane. Barrio’s sound is difficult to classify but instantly recognizable.
The band is formed by Javier & Luis Jiménez. Magali Sanscartier, Alex Zelnick and Chris Bastian
“We play music inspired by the places we come from and the places we have lived, those that have come before us, and the nomadic gypsy spirit. We believe that music is a primary form of expression and we use it to describe the world as we see it.” -Barrio Manouche
“Tocamos la música inspirada por los barrios de donde nacimos y los que hemos vivido, aquellos que nos preceden. Creemos que la música es una forma expresión y utilizamos para contar como vemos el mundo.” -Barrio Manouche