 Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to The Mano Cherga Band experience. Growling of the tuba, wailing of the accordion, spring reverb on the semi-hollow, clinking of the glasses, wind from the skirts on the dance floor, sweat running down your back, a smile on your lips and tears in your eyes. That’s what it’s all about for us, and we love to share those moments with you.
We are Jamie, Beodan, Sasha, Nino and Zhenya – tuba, guitar/voice, accordion, drums, bass – US, Serbia, Ukraine, Bosnia, Ukraine – respectively and always respectfully. The recipe is simple: take Balkan Romani, traditional and popular tunes, apply swing, turn up the bass, don’t be shy on the snare and sing like this is the last song you will ever sing.
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Photo by Reuben Radding 2012
Fanfare Zambaleta was incubated in the Zambaleta Music and Dance School in San Francisco and has since transformed into a full-fledged juggernaut of a band, featuring some of the Bay Area’s most exciting young players and seasoned veterans. Emulating the great Balkan brass bands of the past and present, they play Romani, Serbian, Macedonian and Greek brass band music with passion and dedication. FZ’s music is a potent contrast of wild improvisation with meticulous ensemble coordination, buoyed by powerful bass lines paired with energetic drumming and featuring jubilant and soulful vocals, all designed to move your feet and lift your heart.
The Band
Greg Jenkins – alto sax, bandleader
Noah Levitt – trumpet
Laura Carpenter – trumpet
Theo Padouvas – trumpet
Corinne Sykes – vocals, percussion
Larry Leight – euphonium
Rachel MacFarlane – tenor horn
Peter Bonos – euphonium
Evan Stuart – sousaphone
Ivan Velev – tapan, dance leader
Jake Shandling – snare
 Zambaleta Fanfare on Youtube
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With a voice “like butter†and an array of original, bluesy melodies, Juliet Strong touches audiences with her depth of sound, unparalleled musicality, and lilting lyrics. Juliet’s high energy fusion of folk and soul, accompanied by rhythmic piano, ukelele, and an eclectic band, provides a unique, and infectiously uplifting musical experience.
An Oakland, California native, Juliet has a background in Folk, Classical and Jazz piano and voice. Â Having grown up in the Bay Area and Central Valley folk scene, Juliet has been influenced by traditional Eastern European, Balkan, Turkish, Flamenco, Americana, Irish, Scottish, Indian and Brazilian music and dance. Â She has spent years absorbing these styles in a traditional folk setting, supplementing with her love of Bebop, Soul, Funk and R&B, and travel to Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and Argentina. Â The result is a unique sound often likened to that of Norah Jones, Carol King, and Carly Simon.
MSK.fm is the brainchild of Antonino Musco, italian-born producer, musician and radio host now based in San Francisco.
The City and the Bay inspired the 6 tracks of the EP, a blend of urban, funk, electronic, downtempo and trip-hop, influenced by the love of world music, the eclectic taste of Antonino and the international melting pot of the line-up that includes NYC guitarist Andy Averbuch (The Joe Bataan Band, Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra), brazilian trumpet maestro Leandro Joaquim (Marcos Valle, Lucas Santana, etc), italian cellist Stefano Di Leginio and the SF rising stars Christopher Burch, Jessy Manuel, Hanna Rifkin on vocals/lyrics.
Made of a balance of global musicians and local singers, MadeInSF EP was composed, recorded, mixed and produced by Antonino Musco, who also plays keys, guitars, sampler, drums and percussions. The experienced engineer Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Hercules & Love Affair) mastered the EP at Room Five Studio.
