Kev Choice will be headlining for the first time at The New Parish in Oakland on April 7th with an incredible lineup of artist. Also on the bill will be T. Carriér, Rob Woods, and DJ Harmonyy. Kev Choice will be debuting music from his upcoming new release!!! Advanced tickets are onsale now!
Ticket Link and More Info:
Stay Tuned for more details.
Kev Choice will be premiering his new live video “Congratulations” on his YouTube channel KevChoiceTV on Friday, Feb. 3rd!
The video was shoot at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. It features an all star cast of musician , Viveca Hawkins-vocals, John “Omega” Adams-drums, Keith Snodgrass-bass, Andrew Levins-guitar, Destiny Mohammad-harp, and Misha Khalikilov-cello.
Tune in to the live premier at noon on 2/3! https://youtu.be/52eYIEiDLXw
Kev Choice has been featured in an amazing new mural in Oakland entitled “Love Letter To Oakland 2”. This is the second of a series of murals lead by Muralist David Burke of Hungry Ghost Studios. He collaborated with artist Pancho Pescador and Joevic Yeban. The mural honors those who have impacted the Oakland community with their art and activism, late Oakland Symphony conductor Michael Morgan and late Mills College professor and artist Hung Liu, Kev Choice and young muralists Elaine Chu and Marina Perez-Wong of the Twin Wall Mural Co. The painting adorns the wall of a PG&E substation in Temescal at 51st and Shattuck Avenue.
Check out the articles in The OaklandSide and also the interview on KTVU!
https://www.ktvu.com/news/new-mural-in-oakland-honors-artists-whove-helped-the-community
Saturday, December 5th, at Zellerbach Hall, Kev Choice will be featured with Hanoi-born composer and Vietnamese traditional music master Vân-Ánh Võ, for Songs of Strength, a three-part suite championing women’s resilience and independence with texts in English, Farsi and Vietnamese. Check more details in story below! Kev was bright on to add his unique, versatile, and socially conscious lyrical abilities, being a featured MC on 4 of the pieces. The band features influences and musicians from Vietnam, Japan, Iran, and the US.
The KQED article from writer Andy Gilbert says:
“More than polyglot, the production is kaleidoscopic, seeking to elucidate universal themes about the struggle for liberation by spinning the artists into unfamiliar terrain. Võ is the overarching conceptualist, but she’s spotlighting several leading Bay Area musicians, including Iranian singer/songwriter Mahsa Vahdat, breakdancer Babatunji “Tunjie” Johnson (who’s also a member of Alonzo King LINES Ballet) and Kev Choice, a rapper and jazz-steeped pianist with a long track record as a creative catalyst.”
Kev Choice will be celebrating new music and performing live at Yoshi’s Oakland on October 1st. There will be two shows, 8pm & 10pm. Kev Choice will be celebrating the online releases of not project Tatu: TheTrioSessions dropping online Oct. 1st and “Movements” with SF Symphony which will be available digitally September 24th.
Kev Choice will feature his all star band for this show plus a special string section to add to the dynamic blend of Hip-Hop, Jazz, Classical, Soul, and more.
Tix available at http://www.yoshis.com
Kev Choice released an exclusive new EP for Bandcamp Friday entitled “Tatu” Tatu, the Swahili word for “3”, symbolizing the trio format that is the center of this project. The three main themes of this project are Hope, Home, and Heart. Songs including a dedication to new Vice-President, a Drake Cover, and a collaboration featuring the traditional African instrument, the Kora, played by Karamo Sasso.
Each song features the standard jazz piano trio format, with some elements of synths and samples to enhance periodically. The trios feature John “Omayga” Adams and bassist Guilio Xavier, with Dame Drummer and Keith Snodgrass playing on La Mer.
Join Kev Choice tomorrow on Instagram Live for Oakland Rising “Tuesday Lunch Special” with Executive Director Liz Suk and fellow Cultural Affairs Commissioner Michelle Mush Lee as we talk about Arts for The People: The Town’s Just Recovery Budget. July 6th 12pm on IG Live!
The Oaklandside’s arts and community reporter, Azucena Rasilla, spoke with Kev Choice and Favianna Rodriguez about the art scene’s in Oakland’s future and how the community can help support it.
Kev Choice Ensemble will be performing live at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
July 1 TIME: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
VENUE: Esplanade, Yerba Buena Gardens
Mission St. between 3rd & 4th Sts.
San Francisco, CA
As a pianist, M.C., composer, and producer, Oakland’s Kev Choice is more than an artist with a distinctive vision embracing hip-hop, jazz, R&B, soul, and European classical music. He’s an activist and community leader whose music poses tough questions and suggests celebratory answers. After establishing himself touring and recording with stars such as Lauryn Hill, Ledisi, Lyrics Born, Too $hort, and Michael Franti and Spearhead, Choice settled back in the East Bay, where he’s become a creative force. He kicks off the 2021 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Thursday concert series with an all-star ensemble that includes some of the key collaborators on his 2020 album Social Distancing, a project created and released in the first weeks of pandemic-induced sheltering in place. He’s also joined by special guest vocalist Viveca Hawkins and his Black London bandmates Howard Wiley (tenor saxophone) and Mike Blankenship (keyboards) plus John “Omayga” Adams (drums), Giulio Cetto (Bass), Andrew Levin (Guitar), and Daniel Riera(Flute, EWI).
Kev Choice is a 2020 YBG Festival Commissions Artist.
BLACK MUSIC MATTERS IS BACK!!
“A Black music experience for the people, by the people, to inspire, to heal, to give voice to Black musicians and artists, to provide space for cross cultural collaborations, to support communities most impacted by covid with health and wellness as the state reopens, to honor legendary yet unheralded Black musicians whose shoulders we stand on, to provide support for the future of our music, and to uplift arts and culture as one of the vital components in our community.” -Kev Choice
We have an incredible lineup celebrating the diversity of Black music!
Kev Choice Community Ensemble * Black London *Grand Nationxl * Netta Brielle * DJ D-Sharp * Drew Banga & Basi *Ja Ronn & Flow *Josh Jones & The Latin Jazz All-Stars* Jada Imani & The Erfftones *Tyler Lauren* Ajai Wilborn ++++ More!!!
“Artists are crucial to social movements, offering spiritual nourishment, catharsis and hopeful visions for moving forward.” -KQED
After over a year of basically no performances and lack of live entertainment, BLACK MUSIC MATTERS 2, returns to welcome community back to live shows, musicians back to stages, and in celebration of Black Music Appreciation Month. With so much affecting our communities over the last year from Covid-19, a rise in violence, media driven division between Black and Asian people, plus a heightened attention on mental health, music as a healing, connecting, and positive source of energy is essential and necessary now more than ever. In an effort to highlight Black music and collaborators from genres including Jazz, Hip-Hop, R&B, Gospel, Soul, Salsa, and World Music, BLACK MUSIC MATTERS 2 will take place Saturday, June 26th, 2021, 12-6pm at Lake Merritt’s Edoff Bandstand in Oakland, CA. Kev Choice is pushing forward with his vision to make this an annual festival for Oakland community.
In 2020, BLACK MUSIC MATTERS was organized in support of those on the frontlines of the social justice uprising that took over the streets of our nation and the world demanding justice for George Floyd, Breaonna Taylor, and so many others who have lost their lives at the hands of police violence. Co-organizers Kev Choice, Ryan Nicole, and Jennifer Johns, organized a full day of music in less than two weeks that featured over 40 musicians, 15 artists, 8 bands, 4 DJ’s, 2 comedians and 2 host’s.
This year the focus will be on community healing, cultural collaboration, youth arts education, health and wellness, and honoring unheralded legends in Bay Area Black Music. Organizer Kev Choice has put together a stellar lineup of local rising and established stars, with support from community sponsors and partners including Kapor Center, Square, Center for Cultural Power, Bay Area Blues Society, and more.
The lineup will include a focus on up and coming young artists, cross cultural collaborations with Black, Latino, and Asian musicians, and highlighting musicians and artists from the Bay Area with socially conscious and positive messages from communities impacted by gentrification, homelessness, and violence. Kev Choice will debut his “Kev Choice Community Ensemble” featuring an all star lineup of Musicians and artist from throughout the Bay Area.
In addition, Umoja Health will be onsite providing free covid test and vaccinations.
Admission is Free
Bring your own food and water
Black Music Matters
Edoff Memorial Bandtand
Lakeside Park(666 Bellevue Avenue)
12-7pm
June 26th
Kev Choice 