Connecting Cultures – Connecting Community
Join Rhythmix on a sonic journey down Park Street, connecting cultures through the sounds of Zimbabwean mbira, Puerto Rican plena, American Tribal Style belly dance, Detroit blues and students on strings for the final installation of Island City Waterways Art Walks. Featuring music by Piwai, La Mixta Criolla, Jake Sampson and the Bay Area Music Project, with dance performances by Sandi & Yuka, each group presents a mix of styles, combining traditional and modern elements with a unique Bay Area twist.
Become spellbound in front of Karibu Lounge, with Piwai’s captivating vocals and hypnotic sound, as she bends genres, seamlessly flowing from jazz, reggae and folk to pure African rhythms. Dance your way down Alameda Ave with La Mixta Criolla, specializing in original and funky renditions of swinging Caribbean grooves and traditional tunes including plena, bomba, aguinaldo, merengue, cumbia and salsa. Revel in Sandi & Yuka’s rhythmically driven hip isolations, arm undulations and shimmies. Sit back and chill in the Daisy’s parklet with Jake Sampson and Matt Baxter’s Detroit-based blend of Motown, jazz, R&B, blues and soul. Support the Bay Area Music Project as the Advanced String Ensemble (grades 3-5) shows their skills on violin and cello in front of Twirl.
Island City Waterways Art Walks – Connecting Cultures, Connecting Community – is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council and the City of Alameda.
About the Artists
Piwai wows audiences across the globe with her soulful voice and genre-fusing melodies. Fondly known as the girl with the African thumb piano, the mbira, Piwai was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Her love of music is influenced by her multicultural Southern African and gospel exposure in early childhood.
During and after college years in the US, Piwai trained as a jazz vocalist at the Jazz School of Berkeley. She’s studied with world-renowned vocalists and master percussionists/congueros and collaborates regularly with Fantastic Negrito, playing percussion on his 2017 Grammy Award winning album “Last Days of Oakland.”
La Mixta Criolla is a dynamic Bay Area ensemble with deep roots in the creole musical cultures of the Caribbean. Blending instruments and styles from diverse Afro-Latin traditions, this hard swinging ensemble has captivated dancers and music lovers everywhere with soulful performances of singular strength and beauty. Their repertoire of originals and funky renditions of classic tunes features a variety of Afro-Caribbean grooves from plena, bomba, aguinaldo and seis, to cumbia, merengue, son, rumba and salsa. La Mixta was founded by percussionist, singer and songwriter Héctor Lugo and features an all-star cast with Román Ito Carillo on bongó, pandero and barril, Javier Navarrette on congas and cajón, Ayla Dávila on bass, and Camilo Landau on electric cuatro. So bring your dancing shoes and let La Mixta take you on a musical journey to el Caribe!
Hailing from Detroit, Jake Sampson’s blues background is heavily influenced by Motown, R&B, jazz and soul. Matt Baxter elevates Sampson’s masterful bass-playing and sultry vocals, with his own superb slide guitar tinged with the Delta Blues, creating a powerful duo that will transport audiences far beyond Park Street.
Sandi Ball & Yuka Sakata perform FatChanceBellyDance® Style (formerly known as American Tribal Style®). Inspired by folkloric dances from the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, and India, FCBD®Style is a method of improvisational choreography, using a physical vocabulary of movements, cues, and eye contact to communicate with each other while dancing in a group. Sandi & Yuka emphasize the earthy origins of tribal improvisation – utilizing arm undulations, bodywaves, hip bumps, and shimmies, creating inside the immediate experience with a rich subtlety and a strong air of confidence.
Bay Area Music Project (BAMP) is a non-profit, social change through music in- and after-school program serving the social, emotional, cultural and academic needs of children. Participating students receive high-quality music instruction in both small group and orchestra settings plus all necessary musical supplies (instruments, song books, etc), a nutritious snack, and academic support during the school year. Children are empowered to discover their highest potential through musical instruction and performance experiences in a collaborative, orchestral environment that helps build confidence and teamwork. The program provides on-site music instruction and academic support to over 160 children in kindergarten through eighth grade, in the socioeconomically diverse West End of Alameda. BAMP also provides weekly guitar lessons to middle and high school students at Life Academy High School in Oakland.
This event is made possible with support from:
Foundations
Arts Angel
$25,000
Impresario
$5,000
Visionary
$2,500
Innovator
$1500