Kev Choice Ensemble will be performing live today at Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco, opening for the legendary vocalist Mavis Staples! This is a free concert and usually draws thousands and thousands of people to watch great shows in this amazing outside venue. Come out and support!!
Mavis Staples
Kev Choice Ensemble
Show starts at 2pm
Stern Grove-Sigmund Stern Grove Park-19th & Sloat-San Francisco
Kev Choice will be performing at to exquisite events today!
3-4pm Kev Choice Trio “A Tribute to Jazz Piano Master’s-Swan’s Marketplace-Oakland- 9th &Clay: “Kev Choice trio will be performing music of jazz piano masters Thelonius Monk, Bud Powell, McCoy Tyner, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, and more!
7-9pm Special guest with Jennifer Johns live at Oakland Center For Spiritual Living: Performing inspirational and inspiring music from the catalogue of Jennifer Johns and many power influences!
Come check out some amazing and powerful music!
Kev Choice Ensemble is excited to be a part of an incredible lineup in tribute to Miles Davis “Bitches Brew” presented by UnderCover & SFJAZZ on August 19th, 7pm-10pm. Kev Choice will be putting his unique hip hop, soul, R&B, infused jazz spin on the 3rd side of the album featuring the songs “Spanish Key” and “John McLaughlin”.
THE LINEUP
Side 1 – Broun Fellinis
Side 2 – Pc Muñoz
Side 3 – Kev Choice
Side 4 – Alligator Spacewalk
Though it was not his first foray into electric fusion, Miles Davis’ 1970 album Bitches Brew hit the jazz world like a bolt of lightning. The revolutionary rock-influenced sound, electric instrumentation, and production techniques (including tape-splicing and looping) were both groundbreaking and immensely controversial. Selling over half a million copies, it was undoubtedly a phenomenon, sparking an age of experimentation in jazz. The fearless spirit of Davis’ work drives daring new interpretations by Broun Fellinis, PC Muñoz, Kev Choice, and Alligator Spacewalk. Each group will re-imagine one side of the double-disk album.
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The Summer Series
Over four nights this Summer at SFJAZZ, UnderCover Presents pays tribute to two legendary artists, one landmark album, and a seminal studio band. Each unique night, showcases 4 different Bay Area ensembles as they present bold reinterpretations of this iconic music.
For Tix and more info! https://sfjazz.org/events/sessions/2017/bitches-brew
Kev Choice Ensemble returns to one of Oakland’s premier venues for live music, Yoshi’s, June 30th for two shows, 8pm & 10pm. Kev will be performing a wide array of music showcasing his signature blend of live hip-hop, jazz, R&B, soul, classical, and more. Kev always debuts new material at Yoshi’s and always has an impressive lineup of special guest as well as his powerhouse band!
Tickets available now at http://www.yoshis.com
In his new video, “Morning Star”, Kev Choice shares his sentiments and amazing experience after visiting Palestine on an impactful and powerful tour with artist Aisha Fukishima and band members Uriah Duffy and Dame Drummer. The song was written and produced in the Jerusalem Hotel, in East Jerusalem, on the last day of his trip throughout the West Bank. The video was shot by Kev on his iPhone as he walked through East Jerusalem, The Old City, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Neblus, and Jericho. The tour was centered around doing youth workshops and exchanges with local musicians. Kev dedicated the video and song to the children he encountered on the trip who left on longing impression sharing their gifts, talents, hospitality, and appreciation for the bands visit. “I wanted to let them know that they have to keep shining and pushing because they have talents and stories that the worlds needs to see and hear, that we aren’t hearing as of now.”
You can Download the song at:
https://kevchoice.bandcamp.com/track/…
https://soundcloud.com/kevchoice/morn…
Kev Choice will be bringing new music, new vibes, new energy, and some new friends rocking at one of Oakland’s dopest spots for live shows!!
March 18th
Kev Choice Ensemble
Tree Thomas
Mani Draper + Brave Area
+Special Guest
Starline Social Club-2236 Martin Luther King Jr. Way., Oakland, CA
UnderCover & Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Presents: A Tribute To Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Kev Choice Ensemble will be featured on this incredible event!!
UnderCover & Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Presents: A Tribute To Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Yerba Buena Center For The Arts -701 Mission St., San Francisco, CA
Admission: $35-45
Doors: 9pm
Show: 9:30pm
All Ages – ADA Accessible
GUEST MUSIC DIRECTOR – Meklit
Here is the lineup of a stellar list of Bay Area bands doing one song from this classic album!
1. Lost Ones – Femme Deadly Venoms (Hip Hop/Electronica)
2. Ex-Factor – Cosa Nostra Strings feat. Lilan Kane (Acoustic/Chamber/Soul)
3. To Zion – RUBaDUB POSSE (Reggae)
4. Doo Wop (That Thing) – Babii Cris (Social Conscious Hip Hop)
5. Superstar – Howard Wiley and Extra Nappy (Authentic Black American)
6. Final Hour – Kev Choice (Hip Hop/Jazz/Soul/Funk)
7. When It Hurts So Bad – FR333 feat. Astu (Hydra-Hop)
8. I Used to Love Him – Josh Jones Latin Ensemble (Latin)
9. Forgive Them Father – Inspector Gadje feat. Sandman (Balkan Brass)
10. Every Ghetto, Every City – Noah Kibreab (Acoustic Soul)
11. Nothing Even Matters – Meklit (Ethio-Jazz)
12. Everything Is Everything – Katdelic (Funk/Soul/Rock)
13. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Osa Vocal Rush (Soul/A Capella)
14. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol(Jazz/Blues/Beyond)
15. Tell Him – SOL Development (Movement Music)
Hosted by Lyz Luke
Projections & Stage Design by Rachel Znerold
Video Art by Phil Elleston II
Artwork by R.Black
Opening Dance Performance by Mini Mix’d of Mix’d Ingrdnts Dance Company
Lauryn Hill inspired countless souls with the release of the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Effortlessly combining soul, hip hop, and reggae, it showcased the confident vision of a young woman dealing with modern life – love, heartbreak, spirituality, racism – with the wisdom and aplomb of an old soul. 18 years later, the album still holds up as a modern classic, and it’s influence can be heard in the next generation of artists like Kehlani and Chance the Rapper.
YBCA and UnderCover present a showcase of local Bay Area artists in a performance that pays homage to the Grammy award–winning artist Ms. Lauryn Hill. Over 75 diverse musical artists each lend their unique creative voices to a song from her iconic soul and hip hop album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Reinterpreting the classic record from start to finish, they create a musical cross-pollination that is unusual to encounter in a single bill. Clas/sick Hip Hop, now in its third iteration, is an artful platform that surfaces questions about the role of hip hop through music, movement, and the politics of freedom. This year YBCA explores gender norms in hip hop culture, highlighting the presence and impact of femininity in a subculture that has historically been undergirded by hyper-masculinity and violence. UnderCover Presents: A Tribute to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill reflects on gender in unique ways while also responding to ongoing curatorial inquiries into the viability of hip hop at a contemporary arts center. We ask ourselves how we can embrace its rapidly changing form as it takes new shape across the domestic landscape and is transposed within international bodies. Clas/sick Hip Hop is our vehicle.
Kev Choice was Lauryn Hill’s musical director 2006-2007, touring in Hawaii, Japan, Brazil, and throughout Europe with the Grammy winning artist.
“UnderCover productions have become storied, stylistically encompassing events that maximize the talent pool by limiting each act to a single song.” – SF Chronicle
“…there are some performances you’ll be talking about for the entire year.”- SF Weekly
“…a vast, all-encompassing experience. We watched as the musical territory staked out got larger and larger, and the connection between making music and going to concerts got closer and closer. In short: It was great.” – The Bay Bridged
“Beyond the racial and gender divides” – KPFA 94.1 FM
“Building Bridges” – Oakland Magazine
Winner of SF Weekly and San Francisco Bay Guardian “Best of” Awards
Don’t miss this!!
January 13th, Kev Choice Ensemble starts off the new year in a big way, returning to perform at their favorite and one of the best venues for live music in Oakland, Yoshi’s. They will be performing two shows 8pm & 10pm and tickets are on sale now at http://www.yoshis.com.
Fresh from a recent trip to Palestine with Aisha Fukishima, Kev returns home to perform this intimate set of music from his previous 4 albums, including his most recent project “88 Steps To Eternity”. He will also be premiering new works and material as well as playing some classic covers to showcase the range and influences of his dynamic ensemble that features amazing rhythm section, horns, strings, vocalist, and guest artist.
Come see what Kev Choice has in store for 2017!!!
Click here for 88 Steps To Eternity
After years of being one of the most in-demand keyboardist on the Bay Area music scene, pianist/keyboardist/composer Kev Choice drops his first full length instrumental project, “88 Steps To Eternity”. On full display throughout the stellar musical journey are Choice’s keyboard and composition chops, having written and arranged all 12 songs on the album. Songs vary in style from a time shifting synth laden sounds of angst “Dance Of The Displaced” to mellow vibed out track’s “Love Trap” and “Spirals, which sounds like the rhythmic and melodic interpretation of today’s Hip-Hop and Trap music. “I wanted to pay homage to the sounds of the past, while exploring and taking inspiration from the music of today.” Says Choice. Song’s like “Rock Wit Me Still” take it back on an 80’s vibe and even feature Choice on keytar. “The 88 reflects the number of keys on a piano, and to Eternity just represent the goal of making timeless music. Inspired by groups like Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock, all the way to current producers like Metro Boomin, Terrace Martin, and others. I’m just trying to bridge the gap and keeping building the bridge towards the future.” The project features Kev Choice Ensemble members who are some of the most in demand musicians on the Bay Area scene.
Check out the new release “Rock Wit Me Still” (Keytar Magik) off Kev Choice’s upcoming instrumental project “88 Steps To Eternity”! Produced and composed by Kev Choice and performed on his signature instrument, the Keytar. Vibe!
