Off the Classical Beat: A Crowden Music Center Benefit at Yoshi's May 5, 2009

Vocalist Karen Blixt and two-time Grammy(R)-nominated violinist Jeremy Cohen team up for Off the Classical Beat, an eclectic evening of innovative jazz in benefit of Berkeley's Crowden Music Center.

Also featuring:

Violinjazz (Jeremy Cohen, Larry Dunlap, Jim Kerwin, Dix Bruce)
Pianist Frank Martin
Bassist Abraham Laboriel
Drummer Alan Hall
Young Crowden musicians
Cameo by Quartet San Francisco performing their new version of Bohemian Rhapsody!

Jeremy Cohen's electrifying jazz violin performances have earned him nationwide accolades. Classically-trained and a student of Itzhak Perlman and Anne Crowden, Cohen's style reflects his respect for a wide range of violinists from Perlman and Fritz Kreisler to Joe Venuti and Eddie South. Nominated for two Grammy(R) awards as a member of the ground-breaking and virtuosic Quartet San Francisco, his inventive arrangements have been performed world-wide by ensembles ranging from the San Francisco Symphony to Crowden students.

Vocalist Karen Blixt, a longtime presence on the California jazz scene, has been garnering critical raves and attention for her inventive takes on the masters and refreshing original compositions on her debut recording Spin This, with jazz greats Joey DeFrancesco and Buddy Montgomery. Her recently released CD Mad Hope with three-time Grammy(R) award-winner Randy Brecker, is a collaboration with pianist/producer Frank Martin, who has recorded and performed with Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder among many others, and who will join her onstage for Off the Classical Beat.

Proceeds from Off the Classical Beat will benefit scholarships for young Crowden musicians, and support Crowden's many distinctive education programs and concerts for the broader community.

The nonprofit Crowden Music Center serves as a vital musical hub for the Bay Area, with over 6,000 individuals attending classes, workshops, rehearsals, concerts, and other events each year. For more information, visit crowden.org.

Tickets are $10 and $25, available through the Crowden Music Center at 510.559.6910 or [email protected], and through the Yoshi's box office after April 5, at 510.238.9200 or http://yoshis.inticketing.com.

Official Website: http://crowden.org/Events/special_events.htm