About
Artistic Mission
As a composer, my work explores the intersection between contemporary jazz and the musical cultures of Brazil, Cuba, India and Spain. Drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions as well as newly evolving forms, my goals are to shine a light on the diverse practices that enrich our world; and to create a fully integrated and uplifting contribution to our shared cultures.
Mariah Parker
Mariah Parker has been playing music from the time she could reach the keys on the grand piano in her family home. As a composer, pianist and bandleader her work crosses cultural boundaries with an exuberant quest for defying musical labels or categorization. Her academic tenure at UC Santa Cruz was distinguished by her involvement with ethnomusicologist Fred Lieberman and the iconic drummer Mickey Hart on the “Planet Drum” project, marking her early foray into the fusion of musical traditions. Parker’s prowess as a composer and bandleader was further cemented through her vibrant performances in festivals in the U.S. and Europe. Her discography began with the critically acclaimed Sangria in February 2009, followed by Indo Latin Jazz Live in Concert in 2017, which enjoyed 16 weeks of prominence on the National Jazzweek Airplay chart. Both albums have been celebrated globally for their innovative soundscapes and compositional brilliance.
Collaborating Musicians
Matthew Montfort is the leader of the innovative world fusion group Ancient Future, and a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar. In 2012, he was added to the 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists list at DigitalDreamDoor.com, joining luminaries such as Michael Hedges, Chet Atkins, John Fahey, and John Renbourn. Montfort has recorded with legendary world music figures ranging from Bolivian panpipe master Gonzalo Vargas to tabla maestros Swapan Chaudhuri and Zakir Hussain. He has performed concerts worldwide, including the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the Golden Coast of Spain near Barcelona and the Mumbai Festival at the Gateway of India in Bombay.
Paul McCandless has brought a soaring lyricism to his playing and composing that has been integral to the ensemble sound of two seminal world jazz bands – the original Paul Winter Consort and the relentlessly innovative quartet, Oregon. A gifted multi-instrumentalist and composer, McCandless has specialized in an unusually broad palette of both single and double reed instruments that reflect his grounding in both classical and jazz disciplines. As a collaborator and solo artist, he has performed on more than 200 albums and appeared with such renowned all-star musicians as Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Wynton Marsalis, Lyle Mays, Mark Isham, Steve Reich, Al Jarreau, Bruce Hornsby, Art Lande, and Carla Bley.
Ian Dogole For nearly 30 years, Ian Dogole has articulated his vision of Global Fusion Music as a multipercussionist, bandleader, educator, recording artist, composer and producer. He has released seven recordings and a DVD as a band leader, and has recorded and performed with artists such as Hamza el Din, Tito La Rosa, and Alex DeGrassi. His instrumental array includes drums and melodic instruments from Africa, South America, the Middle East and Asia. He has received numerous grants, including a Jazz Performance Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and multiple grants from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music (SFFCM).
Brian Rice is a freelance percussionist with a B.M. in Percussion Performance and Ethnomusicology from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A well-rounded musician, Brian is a highly acclaimed performer, educator, and recording artist adept at numerous musical styles including Latin, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and contemporary music. Brian currently performs with several groups, including Mike Marshall and Choro Famoso, and Antionio Calogero Quartet (featuring Paul McCandless and Mike Manring).
Kash Killion is a first-call bassist and cellist who records and performs with various ethnic music ensembles and chamber orchestras ranging from the Sun Ra Arkestra to Cuban/Salsa bands such as Roberto Borrell y Orquesta La Moderna Tradición. With over a hundred recordings to his credit, he has played extensively with musical icons such as B.B. King, Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, Julius Hemphill, Reggie Workman, Sun Ra, Butch Morris, Paul Murphy, Glen Spearman, George Lewis, Alvin Baptiste, Chocolate Armenteros, Richard Egues, Larry Willis, Steve Berrios, and Francisco Aquabella.
Michaelle Goerlitz A talented percussionist with a focus on Brazilian, Afro Cuban, Venezuelan and Peruvian rhythms. She was a founding member of two renowned & long-term projects, the Blazing Redheads and Wild Mango. Both groups blended many different styles which showcased Michaelle’s versatile percussive skills. Michaelle has played, recorded and toured with Mark Levine, Wayne Wallace, Houston Pearson, Denise Perrier, Joan Jeanrenaud, the Pickpocket Ensemble, Samba Rio, Novo Tempo, Bossa 5-0, and many others.
Fred Randolph is an in-demand bass player as well as an accomplished composer, arranger, and educator. In addition to leading his own group, The Fred Randolph Quintet, he has performed with many of the Bay Area’s finest orchestras and musicians, including Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks, Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Collective West Jazz Orchestra, Sandy Cressman’s Homenagem Brasileira, Kenny Washington, Marcos Silva, Charged Particles, Melanie O’Reilly, Al Molina, Terrence Brewer, Akira Tana, and Frank Martin. As a bandleader he has produced three CDs that have garnered enthusiastic reviews.
Mindia Devi Klein is a bansuri and jazz flutist, award winning composer and multi-instrumentalist. Trained in both classical music and jazz, by age 19 she followed her muse to India and Indonesia. A disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, she is a Smithsonian Fellow in Indian classical and a Fulbright Scholar of Balinese Gamelan music. Her cutting edge IndoJazz sound continues to blaze new trails and can be heard on numerous recordings, both as soloist and with many musicians of note.
Anuradha Pal A disciple of the World renowned Tabla Maestros, Ustad Alla Rakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain, Anuradha has been lauded as the only Female Professional Tabla Player in the country by the prestigious Limca Book of Records. An A grade artist of the All India Radio, Anuradha has been performing since she was eleven. Besides giving Solos, she has been accompanying Veterans like Amjad Ali Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sultan Khan, Smt. Veena Sahasrabuddhe amongst many others.
Mark Walker is a Grammy/Latin Grammy Award–winning drummer, a Grammy Award–nominated composer, and a renowned author and educator originally from Chicago. Currently a member of Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval’s group, he is one of the only American drummers equally at home with authentic South American and Caribbean rhythms, straight-ahead jazz, rock, funk and studio drumming. Since 1989, he has performed around the world, touring extensively and/or recording with the group Oregon (with Ralph Towner), Paquito D’Rivera, Lyle Mays, Michel Camilo among others.