This weekend at San Jose Jazz
Living in Berkeley and working in Oakland, San Jose is both so close and yet so far. I find myself in a mini residency through the San Jose Jazz Festival. I will be part of a jam session (Friday) and quartet performance and Q&A on Saturday at the San Jose Jazz Break Room.
I have made music with all of the players but this is is the first time were are together. On drums is Nino Moschella, whom I play with in Suns of Mothers and am collaborating on the next Ocote Soul Sounds album with. Bass is Imari Lee aka cheflee. He has his own thing and is bassist in Toro y Moi and has a studio down the hall in the same building. On congas and batá is Akheel Mestayer, whom I know from UC Berkeley music department. We got to rock together a few weeks back for the 50th Anniversary of Berkeley’s Ethnomusicology Program.
Tomorrow during the day I will be exploring downtown San Jose on foot (took BART down), eating tacos and getting a searching for a haircut that is both stylish and affordable.
Tix and info: https://sanjosejazz.org/tickets/
5/2 at San Jose Jazz Break Room (quartet)
I’m performing next month with Niño Moschella and special guests as a quartet at the San Jose Jazz Break Room next month. Expect rhythm, space, melody, deep listening. I’ll spinning a few records before the show.
Antibalas: NE USA April Shows
I am crossing the continent in a few weeks for some Antibalas shows in two interesting and intimate spots: 4/3 at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY and 4/4 at proper Jersey Warehouse Party at Prototype 237 in Paterson, New Jersey. We will be playing material off our latest release as well as several brand new songs, composed in the last few months. I am very excited to see how these new songs hit.
3/31/23: TESTIFY : A Centennial Reading for James Baldwin
Join us for a collective ritual reading performance celebrating the life and works of James Baldwin. RSVP/TIX: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/testify-a-ritual-reading-for-james-baldwin-tickets-1983460640168
On March 31st, you are invited to witness Testify, the fourth performance in a series of Ritual Readings celebrating the work of Black literary ancestors in the African diaspora. Testify celebrates the life and works of James Baldwin by gathering artists, scholars, activists, spiritual workers, and everyday people to create a shared space for grief, reflection, and ancestral veneration. Readers perform as a choir to create sound, music, and movement through an embodied engagement with the text, and the public is invited to bear witness and engage through deep listening, stillness, and call-and-response.
This reading is conducted by Courtney Desiree Morris and Martín Perna. Readers include Brett Cook, Odaymar Cuesta, Babatunji Johnson, Khalil Anthony Peebles, Brontez Purnell, Bryant Terry, Zekarias Musele Thompson, Henry Washington Jr., and Marvin K. White.
Testify is supported by Berkeley Civic Arts, E.A.R.T.H. Lab SF, and the UC Berkeley departments of Gender & Women's Studies, African American Studies, and English.
Live this Saturday 4/7 at Ivy Room
opening for Cochemea , debuting new project Cien Cuervos. Martin Perna: saxophones/flutes with Eli Knowles: electric piano
PBS: “The Inquisitor” Barbara Jordan Documentary
Cover image to the Inquisitor, featuring a profile image of Texas Congressperson Barbara Jordan addressing the public.
This week, “The Inquisitor”, a documentary about Barbara Jordan debuted on PBS. It tells the story of Black Texas congressperson Barbara Jordan and her quest to hold America accountable to its promise, serving as a key figure in the investigation into the Watergate Scandal and beyond. STREAM/See full credits: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-inquisitor/
The song “Contra El Sol” by Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada was selected as the title track! Five of my Martez “Lamentos” series pieces were selected as well as underscore.
Antibalas: live at KEXP
KEXP is a gem. We stopped there after a short Pacific NW run in December and played a few numbers from our new album.
Cumbia! 2/20 San Francisco
Spinning cumbia vinyl as part of this dj crew. It will be fun to get back on the decks. I have a bunch of records I picked up in Bogota back in 2018 when we played Rock al Parque with Antibalas that I haven’t gotten to play out yet.
On tour in California with Antibalas
Performing our new album “Hourglass” (10/24/25 on Daptone), other new and classic tunes from our 28 years of being a band.
Shows in Riverside (1/16), LA 1/7 and Oakland (1/20-21) Tickets> https://antibalas.com/shows
